Ino-Shika-Cho

Life at the Konoha Orphanage was hard, but it was peaceful, and hardly anyone came to bother them.

The people in the orphanage were like the weeds of Konoha—unnoticed and uncared for.

Another month had passed since Yakushi Nonō successfully made the fish trap.

Thanks to the fish trap, the children at the orphanage had fish to eat every day that month. With meat supplementing their diets, they gradually shed their sallow, emaciated appearance, looking less malnourished and a little more well-fed.

Kirito Tonsaka had changed the most. He had grown fair and chubby, with a rosy complexion, completely unlike the skinny, yellow-faced boy he had been before.

There were naturally two reasons for such a huge change. One was sufficient nutrition; the other was his success in cultivating Natural Energy.

After a month, Kirito's Strength and Speed had both steadily risen to 3 points.

Since he had no clear benchmark for comparison, he did not know exactly how strong he was now. But ordinary beasts such as wild boars, wolves, and pythons were no longer a challenge for him.

With his Stone Throwing Technique, which never missed within ten meters, every ordinary beast he spotted ended up on his plate.

The ordinary beasts in the forest deserved much of the credit for how fair and chubby he had grown.

One day at noon, Kirito emerged from the woods behind Konoha, dragging a wild boar weighing at least several hundred pounds with one hand, then entered the village.

The sight of a six-year-old child dragging such a massive boar with one hand was undoubtedly shocking to ordinary people.

But in Konoha, a ninja village full of superhuman people and gifted talents, Kirito's astonishing feat did not draw much surprise from the villagers. At most, they gave him a few extra looks and were mildly surprised that such a young child could hunt a wild boar.

Ever since Kirito had demonstrated before the old headmistress that he could hit birds in the sky with stones and easily lift a rock weighing several hundred pounds, he had gained the right to enter and leave the orphanage freely.

The old headmistress had forbidden children under eight from leaving the orphanage on their own, keeping a close watch on them because she worried they would get lost or be unable to protect themselves.

But Kirito Tonsaka clearly no longer needed her to worry about him.

The strong should stand on their own.

That was even more true for children from poor families.

In short, the orphanage no longer provided his meals. From now on, he had to feed himself.

Kirito had not kept his strength hidden, because he needed money to attend the Ninja Academy, and hunting the ownerless beasts in the forest was undoubtedly a quick way to earn it.

Besides, in a place like Konoha, where ninjas were everywhere, it was too difficult to conceal his strength. He did not even know any ninjutsu, so it would be even harder to hide it from the village's Anbu ninja.

Moreover, as an orphan with no one to rely on, if he did not show at least some potential worth cultivating, he might not even get the chance to enroll in the Ninja Academy.

To enter the Ninja Academy, one first needed to be a villager. Strictly speaking, Kirito was merely an orphan brought back from outside by Konoha ninja. Though he had ninja talent, in Konoha he was nothing remarkable and could be seen as taking up educational resources meant for villagers.

Therefore, displaying some of his talent was actually more beneficial to him.

Konoha was not a place that easily stifled talent. The Ninja Clans were quite tolerant, after all. No matter how talented someone was, could they surpass the God of Shinobi who founded Konoha?

What was there to fear from a mere civilian brat who was not even a ninja?

So far, Kirito's approach had greatly helped him achieve his goal of becoming a ninja.

By selling game meat, he had already earned the 100,000 yen needed for tuition. With the old headmistress's recommendation and a simple entrance test, he had successfully qualified to enroll in the Ninja Academy.

Barring any surprises, he would be able to enter the Ninja Academy as he wished in another month.

Theoretically speaking, becoming a ninja was already a sure thing for him.

Thus, Kirito had set a new goal: helping the other children at the orphanage become ninja as well.

Even a great man needed help from others. If he wanted to establish himself in Konoha in the future, he certainly could not do without companions, and the best companions would naturally be his fellow orphans who shared the same background.

These orphanage children were all remarkably mature for their age. They, too, longed to become ninja and gain extraordinary power, even though they knew becoming a ninja was extremely dangerous.

Kirito dragged the wild boar to a butcher shop. The owner spotted him from afar and warmly greeted him, "Yo, little Kirito. You got another wild boar today? You're really something. If the village hunters knew you'd caught wild boars for three days straight, they'd be jealous to death."

Kirito had been coming here often to sell game recently, and it had improved the owner's business considerably.

"Just luck. Boss, please weigh it for me."

Kirito smiled.

The owner immediately called for an assistant to help carry the wild boar into the shop for weighing.

Soon, Kirito received a decent payment for the meat—five thousand yen in total, equivalent to the reward for a ninja's lowest-level D-Rank Mission.

After receiving the money, Kirito decisively went to a nearby bun shop he frequented.

They had freshly steamed large meat buns there, big and generously filled, with plenty of fat and oil. They were cheap too, costing only 20 yen each, making them perfect for a poor big eater like Kirito.

Ever since he had begun cultivating Natural Energy, Kirito's appetite had grown better and better. Part of the reason he went hunting was that he could not get enough to eat at the orphanage, which had seriously hindered his growth stronger.

Kirito arrived at the Meat Bun Shop and bought ten buns in one go.

"I'll take twenty."

As soon as Kirito finished buying his buns, a familiar voice sounded beside him. It belonged to a chubby boy around Kirito's age, who was currently looking at him with a provocative gaze.

The chubby boy was from the Akimichi Clan, and his name was Choza Akimichi.

Noticing Choza's tiny, challenging eyes, Kirito said disdainfully, "Twenty? Can you even finish them, loser?"

The day before yesterday, he had run into Choza here while they were both buying large meat buns. Perhaps because big eaters were naturally incompatible, a silent contest of appetite had begun. In the end, Kirito ate ten large meat buns without any trouble, while Choza threw up after his eighth.

"Quit talking. I'll definitely beat you today."

Choza still had the temperament of a child. Kirito had defeated him in the field he excelled at most the day before yesterday, and today, no matter what, he had to win back his pride.

For this showdown, he had made a huge resolution—he had gone an entire day without snacks.

Without any snacks, his fighting power was immense. He was certain he would win today.

"What a drag."

Beside Choza, a boy with a pineapple-like hairstyle watched his friend get so fired up over an eating contest and sighed like an old man.

Meanwhile, the blond boy on Choza's other side watched the eating contest with great interest.

Shikaku Nara, Inoichi Yamanaka, and Choza Akimichi—the best of friends.

The new generation of Ino-Shika-Cho had gathered here.

If anyone was happiest about this eating contest, it was undoubtedly the young lady in the Meat Bun Shop. Not only was she making money, but Kirito and Choza's contest had also drawn in nearby passersby, effectively advertising her family's shop.

The contest began quickly.

Choza immediately displayed the Akimichi Clan's hearty eating style. He opened his mouth wide and swallowed one large meat bun after another, while Kirito ate in small bites. Yet his speed in finishing the buns was not the slightest bit slower than Choza's.

In less than a minute, the two had finished ten large meat buns.

Seeing that Choza intended to keep eating, Kirito straightforwardly ordered another ten large meat buns from the young lady and continued eating.

"Hey, hey, hey, you've got to be kidding. Who exactly is that kid? His appetite is actually no less than an Akimichi Clan child's."

"That's already the fifteenth one. What an appetite. And after eating so many large meat buns, his stomach still hasn't even bulged. His digestion is incredible."

"Look, look, it seems like that Akimichi Clan kid is about to reach his limit."

The villagers gathered to watch laughed and discussed the two, pointing at them as they spoke.

Choza was ultimately still too young. On top of that, he had not yet begun training in his clan's secret techniques. By the fifteenth large meat bun, he was already close to being unable to eat anymore. Since he had eaten too quickly, he nearly choked and had no choice but to drink some water. The starch swelled in his stomach, leaving him feeling as though his belly was about to burst. It was incredibly uncomfortable.

"Looks like I win again today."

Kirito unhurriedly finished his sixteenth large meat bun and made a victory gesture at Choza.

"I—I can still eat, urk—blegh!"

Seeing this, Choza stubbornly insisted and tried to force down the sixteenth bun.

But the moment he finished speaking, he threw up.

Kirito and Choza's second great eating contest.

Kirito emerged victorious.

At the same time, a White-Eyed Little Girl in the crowd stared brightly at Kirito, who had won decisively. Her soft pink lips quietly murmured, "Amazing."

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