We Mustn't Waste Food

Hinata lowered her head even further and said softly, "A... a little..."

"Why isn't the teacher here yet?" Naruto hadn't heard what she said at all. He buried his head in his arms again and groaned dramatically, "I'm starving to death—"

Just then, a familiar figure appeared at the far end of the path.

Naruto's eyes lit up. He sprang back to life in an instant, leaping out of his chair and charging forward with all his might.

"Teacher Qiushui—! You're finally here—!"

Qiushui saw Naruto charging toward him and sidestepped, avoiding a potential collision.

Naruto skidded to a stop and turned around with a grin.

"I made a little extra food, so it took me a while," Qiushui said without batting an eye.

"Teacher Qiushui." A soft voice came from behind them.

Hinata came over too, standing half a step behind Naruto. She held her hands neatly in front of her, her head bowed slightly as she greeted him softly.

Qiushui nodded, walked over to the grass beneath the shade of a tree, and spread out the cloth he had brought. Then he set down the lunch boxes one by one.

Naruto crouched beside him, staring intently at the lunch boxes. His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed, and he couldn't help licking his lips.

"You two finish all of this." Qiushui pointed at the food in front of them. "Don't leave anything."

Those four words—"Don't leave anything"—were like music to Naruto's ears.

He rubbed his hands together eagerly, gazing at the tempting food with stars in his eyes. "Don't worry, Teacher Qiushui! We'll clean every last bit off the plates."

As soon as he finished speaking, he eagerly opened the first lunch box.

Extra-thick-cut roast beef rice bowl.

The pink slices of beef, the golden garlic chips, the rich sauce—all of it gleamed enticingly in the afternoon sunlight.

Without another word, Naruto picked up his chopsticks and dug in.

Hinata opened the lunch box in front of her too. She murmured, "Let's eat," then picked up her chopsticks and began eating in small bites.

The moment the first bite of tomato and egg stir-fry touched their tongues—

The world before them suddenly changed.

Blue skies.

White clouds.

Golden feathers.

Chicken wings.

But the vision lasted only an instant before fading away.

Naruto blinked. He was still sitting beneath the tree, lunch box in hand. He turned to Hinata and saw that she was looking at him too. They met each other's eyes. Though they'd had the same experience yesterday, they still saw the same astonishment in each other's faces.

But the astonishment was quickly swallowed up by the delicious food.

Naruto bent over his lunch and wolfed it down, shoveling food into his mouth with lightning-fast chopstick work. He ate with no regard for appearances, but his face was so blissful he looked like he was floating among the clouds.

Hinata was much more ladylike by comparison—though only by comparison. Her chopsticks moved at an unhurried but remarkably steady pace, bite after bite, without a pause. She held the lunch box in her fair hands, her gaze focused and earnest, her cheeks puffed out like a hamster's.

Qiushui sat beside them, watching them eat.

Time passed, second by second.

Naruto gradually slowed down.

He picked up the last piece of beef, put it in his mouth, chewed, and swallowed.

Then Naruto put down his chopsticks.

He rubbed his stomach, his face showing a complicated mix of satisfaction and reluctance. Scratching his head sheepishly, he said, "Teacher Qiushui, um... I... I'm full."

Qiushui looked at the lunch boxes in front of him. Three of them, all empty.

Then he looked at Naruto's stomach. His normally flat belly was now slightly bulging, stretching his shirt a little.

Qiushui smiled, not bothered at all. "It's fine. Just eat as much as you can." He looked at Hinata. "Then I'll leave the rest to you, Hinata."

Hinata was holding the third lunch box. At those words, her hands paused.

She looked up at Qiushui, a hint of hesitation on her face. "Teacher Qiushui... aren't you going to eat?"

"I ate at home," Qiushui replied.

"But..." Hinata still sounded uncertain. "There's so much left..."

Qiushui looked at her, his tone gentle but earnest. "Hinata, we mustn't waste food. I worked hard to make all of this."

The system's mission-complete notification hadn't appeared, so he'd guessed Hinata still wasn't full.

Hinata's heart gave a slight tremble at his words.

Food Teacher Qiushui had worked hard to make.

It mustn't go to waste.

She looked down at the half-full lunch box in her hands, then at the two unopened boxes beside it. A resolve unlike any she'd ever felt before welled up within her: she absolutely couldn't let all of Teacher Qiushui's hard work go to waste.

"I... I'll eat."

Naruto, sitting beside them, was utterly dumbfounded.

The usually soft-spoken Hinata, who blushed at the drop of a hat around him, had transformed completely into a super eater.

She picked up the third lunch box and moved her chopsticks in a steady, efficient rhythm, sending bite after bite into her mouth. She still chewed carefully, but her speed had already gone completely beyond Naruto's understanding.

He looked down at his own bulging stomach, then at Hinata's stomach, which hadn't changed at all.

Then he rubbed his eyes and looked again. Nothing had changed.

Where was she putting all that food?

A series of huge question marks appeared in Naruto's mind.

How could she eat so much?

And her stomach still hadn't changed at all?

That made no sense!

The last lunch box was finished.

Hinata set down her chopsticks and let out a soft breath.

Five empty lunch boxes sat neatly in front of her.

She looked up and met Naruto's eyes, wide as saucers, and Qiushui's smiling gaze. She froze for a moment, then her face flushed scarlet.

"D-did I eat too much?" she asked softly, her voice tinged with embarrassment.

A notification appeared before Qiushui.

[Daily Mission: Make Hinata, a high-quality talent, eat a hearty meal. Completed]

[Reward: Fire Style: Great Fire Dragon Jutsu (Advanced)]

The Great Fire Dragon Jutsu was a B-rank Fire Release Ninjutsu. To perform it, the user first had to refine a large amount of Fire Release chakra and compress it within the body. Then they forcefully expelled it through their mouth, turning the chakra into several roaring fire dragons that flew at high speed along the path chosen by the user, swallowing their enemies with tremendous heat and impact.

Qiushui's eyes lit up when he saw the technique.

Most of the techniques he'd mastered before lacked explosive power. Although this technique and Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu both involved expelling a dragon, its hand seals were much simpler.

It only needed six seals to perform. Even more excitingly, thanks to the proficiency granted by the system, he only needed to form two seals to use it.