The Great Love Immortal Venerable Achievement System divided achievements into active and passive ones.
Shihui Aburame's achievements were all passive, triggered at random by his specific actions.
Other people, like Hinata Hyuga, would each have a current active achievement.
After it was completed, a new active achievement would appear.
Their achievements were all closely related to themselves.
Shihui Aburame thought they seemed a lot like wish-based achievements, with him as the one making dreams come true.
Mmm!
Delicious!
Hinata Hyuga ate her tonkotsu ramen, her little eyes sparkling.
She did not know whether it was because she was hungry or because of Shihui Aburame's cooking skills, but either way, it was delicious.
She soon finished a bowl of noodles.
Hinata Hyuga let out a breath.
After hesitating for a few seconds, she decided not to finish all the broth.
That would have been far too ill-mannered.
If her father found out, he would definitely be disappointed.
"Hinata."
Shihui Aburame returned with another bowl of tonkotsu ramen in his hands.
"Yes."
Hinata Hyuga answered instinctively.
"Eat."
Shihui Aburame took away the empty bowl in front of her and replaced it with a full bowl of tonkotsu ramen.
Hinata Hyuga stopped herself from speaking, wanted to speak, then stopped herself again.
She really wanted to say she was already full, but... she could not waste food.
Having convinced herself, she happily began eating again.
Shihui Aburame nodded in satisfaction.
My cooking's pretty good.
When Hinata Hyuga was not looking, he got up and went to the kitchen again.
Two bowls of ramen definitely would not be enough.
In the original story, Hinata Hyuga had entered an eating contest and eaten a full forty-six bowls of ramen.
Although she was younger now, seven or eight bowls would be no problem.
Hinata Hyuga put down her chopsticks.
She finally felt a little full.
"Eat."
Shihui Aburame replaced her bowl with another one.
"I... I..."
Hinata Hyuga froze for a moment, then timidly raised her head, stammering.
She felt that eating any more would seem abnormal.
Her little sister Hanabi only ever ate one bowl and never had more.
Her father would eat two.
"What's wrong?"
Shihui Aburame looked at her and asked, "I switched to char siu ribs for this bowl. Don't you like them?"
"N-no."
Under his gaze, Hinata Hyuga lowered her little head in a fluster, her cheeks flushing a little more.
For some reason, she felt that Shihui Aburame was rather mysterious.
He was clearly around her age, yet he exuded an air of composure.
And he was so capable.
She really envied him.
After Hinata Hyuga finished her third bowl of ramen, another bowl was placed in front of her before she could speak.
Confusion and conflict appeared on her little face.
Does he think I can eat a lot?
"A new flavor. Tomato and egg."
Shihui Aburame said calmly, "I grew the tomatoes myself. All-natural and pollution-free."
He even knows how to grow tomatoes?
During her earlier brief glimpse, she had indeed seen a vegetable patch behind the moon orchids.
Hinata Hyuga felt as though she were dreaming.
She picked up her chopsticks again, telling herself that this was the last bowl, the very last one.
But when the fifth bowl of ramen appeared, she was utterly dumbstruck. Why was there still more?
Her blank, adorably dazed expression made Shihui Aburame laugh despite himself.
Hinata Hyuga saw his smile and lowered her head in embarrassment.
She really wanted to muster the courage to refuse, but she did not dare.
Then I'll eat.
Hinata Hyuga was in a very good mood.
For the first time in so long, she understood what it meant to eat her fill.
She readily accepted the next four bowls.
After finishing the ninth bowl, she burped.
Realizing her lapse in manners, Hinata Hyuga's little face flushed crimson, as though steam might rise from it at any moment.
Shihui Aburame suspected she might faint.
[Completed Hinata Hyuga's "Poor and helpless, but she could really eat" achievement. Reward obtained: Black Boar Gu.]
[Black Boar Gu: a rank-one Gu that modifies a Gu Master's body, fundamentally increasing the Gu Master's physical strength.] Did that trigger a passive achievement?
Black Boar Gu. Good stuff. What a windfall.
Physical strength was quite useful.
What was more, this was a rare permanent increase in strength.
Even if the Black Boar Gu died, its effects would not disappear, and it could also be used on other people.
After losing their chakra, ninja would be left unable to get back up.
The same was true of Gu Masters who lost their primeval essence.
But with physical strength, things were different. They could keep fighting with their fists and feet.
It was like a mage hitting people with a wand.
The only nuisance was that every five days, the Black Boar Gu would have to show him its three-bites-to-a-whole-pig act.
With a thought, Shihui Aburame sank his awareness into his aperture.
The so-called aperture could be understood as a dantian or inner palace, a place where primeval essence gathered.
He was a rank-one Gu Master, and his aperture was a sea of blue-green: the bronze sea.
Every drop of seawater was primeval essence, the fruit of his efforts over the past few years.
Three Gu were bathing in the sea: the Rejuvenation Gu, the Moonlight Gu, and the newly arrived Black Boar Gu.
Gu naturally had wills of their own. To subdue a Gu, a Gu Master had to erase its will, a highly dangerous process.
But the Gu provided by the system had no wills and could be understood as pure tools.
"Are you full?"
Shihui Aburame glanced at the nine large bowls on the table as he asked.
"Y-yes, I'm full!"
Hinata Hyuga instinctively raised her voice.
This time, it was true. Even her little tummy had grown considerably rounder.
"You need to eat more to grow."
Shihui Aburame spoke with a faint smile.
Especially since she grew in all the right places.
This was what they called nurturing from childhood.
Criminal. Truly criminal.
Hinata Hyuga lowered her head again.
At home, she would not have dared to eat this much.
"I'll take you back."
Shihui Aburame stood up as he spoke.
It took little thought to know what would happen if the Hyuga Clan's eldest young lady went missing.
He did not want them coming to his door and giving him dirty looks.
Hinata Hyuga instinctively tightened her little hands.
For some reason, a sudden sense of loss and reluctance rose in her heart.
But she said nothing, following Shihui Aburame out of the wooden house and toward the little grove.
"Lady Hinata!"
As soon as they entered the grove, an anxious voice approached from the distance.
A figure appeared before them.
"Tokuma, I'm fine."
Hinata Hyuga shook her head as she spoke.
She turned to look at Shihui Aburame, only to find that he had already turned and left.
His figure gradually disappeared into the heavy snow.
Hinata Hyuga pressed her lips together, then suddenly remembered something, regret appearing on her face.
She had forgotten to ask his name.
Shihui Aburame did not return to the wooden house.
He was standing before a tree of an unknown species.
After obtaining the Black Boar Gu, he had felt his strength increase.
But he was not quite sure by how much.
Now he was going to imitate a certain priest and beat up a tree.
Shihui Aburame clenched his fist and punched.
He sucked in a sharp breath.
It hurts! It hurts so much!
He had forgotten that every action had an equal and opposite reaction.
For now, old Newton's coffin lid remained firmly in place.
As for the tree he had punched, it merely shuddered slightly, as a token of respect.
Shihui Aburame was a little disappointed.
That's it?
A teeth-grating sound suddenly rang out.
The tree, as thick as an adult's waist, snapped clean through and toppled backward.
Shihui Aburame glanced at his fist, which was considerably smaller than a sandbag.
One punch from me could leave someone crying for a long time, couldn't it?
In a good mood, Shihui Aburame returned to the wooden house, opened the refrigerator, and prepared to have an extra meal.
But there was no food left.
Feeding Hinata really was not that easy.
(End of chapter)