Breaking Through to New Heights

The moonlight deepened as the fire flickered.

The large boar had been roasted through over the campfire. Its seasonings mingled with the fat sizzling on its skin, and as a gentle night breeze blew, its aroma carried for miles.

"It's ready. Help yourselves if you want some."

After tearing off one of the large boar's hind legs and saying that to Rin Nohara and Kurenai Yuhi, Miya immediately grabbed it and began gnawing.

"Smack, smack, smack..."

Nothing in the world mattered more than eating.

He had no intention of sharing the pork leg in his hand with the two girls. The large boar was right in front of them, so they could help themselves.

"Mm."

After answering, Rin and Kurenai each tore a large piece of meat from the boar.

Neither of them could eat much anyway.

"It smells so good!"

Rin sniffed with her pretty nose and couldn't help exclaiming.

"It's delicious!"

Kurenai dug right in, and after a single bite, the taste of the roast boar immediately won her over.

"Have some more if you like it."

Miya swallowed a large piece of meat and replied with a faint smile.

Then Miya turned his attention inward.

As Miya ate the meat and bones, the Nuclear Fission Furnace inside him began running again. The stabbing pains throughout his body reminded him that although no injuries were visible on the surface, the torn wounds beneath his skin had yet to heal.

Miya certainly hadn't forgotten about his injuries. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been in such a hurry to leave the hospital and come out hunting this late.

Although having two girls by his side felt pretty good.

After the boar meat was crushed, broken down, and pulverized by the Nuclear Fission Furnace inside Miya, his body rapidly absorbed the remaining nutrients, and the injuries throughout his body quickly healed as they took in those nutrients.

After finishing one hind leg, Miya tore off the other. Now he was like a starving ghost reborn, eating frantically without pause.

"Smack, smack, smack..."

Rin and Kurenai were completely stuffed. As they watched Miya concentrate on eating the roast pork, the longer they looked, the more handsome he seemed.

People said a man looked handsome when he was focused, and they were absolutely right.

As for Miya's terrifying appetite, the two girls had completely ignored it. Once he became a ninja, would he have to worry about getting enough to eat?

An hour later, aside from the portions Rin and Kurenai had eaten, the two large boars had gone entirely into Miya's stomach.

"Smack, smack..."

Smacking his lips, Miya said to the two girls beside him:

"We're done eating. Let's head back!"

"I'll make you some more after school tomorrow!"

After putting out the fire with water, Miya took Rin and Kurenai home before turning to head back to his own house.

Looking at the two lunchboxes on the dining table, Miya thought it over and decided not to let them go to waste.

They were tokens of Rin and Kurenai's affection for him, after all.

After opening the lunchboxes, Miya didn't immediately pick up his chopsticks. Instead, he turned his attention inward. The nutrients he had absorbed from the two large boars had helped his body recover considerably.

With Rin and Kurenai beside him earlier, he hadn't had time to properly take stock, so he might as well check now.

As Miya focused inward, there seemed to be a rhythm to each breath he took, and the state of his body surfaced in his mind, detail by detail.

"Seeing" the wounds all over his body, Miya's delight showed plainly on his face.

He reckoned that another eight or ten boars would be enough to heal more than half the injuries inside him.

The thought excited Miya so much that if it hadn't been so late, he would have gone out hunting.

About ten minutes later, Miya opened his eyes and started shoveling down the food in the lunchboxes, finishing it in no time.

"Ah, that hit the spot..."

After picking up the wine on the table and taking a hefty swig, Miya let out a loud, boozy breath.

If he had stayed in the hospital to recover from his internal injuries, Miya reckoned it would have taken at least two months or so.

How could that recovery speed compare to eating meat by the mouthful?

"This is the best way for me!"

After finishing the bottle of wine in his hand, Miya sighed contentedly.

"Time for bed, time for bed."

"I'll go hunt a few more big boars tomorrow."

Miya flopped onto his bed and fell into a deep sleep.

Five days had passed since Miya left Konoha Hospital.

Over those five days, Miya had wreaked plenty of havoc among the large, ferocious beasts in the Forest of Death. After all his efforts, they were nearly extinct.

Fortunately, Hiruzen Sarutobi had been terribly busy these past few days and hadn't had time to use his "peeping" technique to watch Miya. Otherwise, he would have been so angry he'd have suffered a cerebral hemorrhage.

The large, ferocious beasts in the Forest of Death were very difficult to raise and could be considered a rare species in Konoha Ninja Village.

It was precisely because of these large, ferocious beasts that the Forest of Death was so well suited to serve as one of the Chunin Exam sites.

Now, thanks to Miya's actions, Hiruzen would have to put in considerable effort to restore the Forest of Death to its former "glory."

As for why Miya had been so single-mindedly wreaking havoc among the large beasts in the Forest of Death lately, he naturally had a reason.

After Miya had recovered from more than half his injuries two days earlier, he discovered that his physique had actually been broken down and rebuilt stronger. With his body only halfway recovered, he could already run the Nuclear Fission Furnace at the same power level as when he had been uninjured, before his fight with Minato Namikaze.

The injuries caused by using Overload Mode this time had turned out to be a blessing in disguise, greatly increasing the strength of his physique.

After consuming another large beast, Miya's Nuclear Fission Furnace began running frantically. He couldn't wait to find out just how strong he was once he had fully recovered.

Had he reached the threshold of a Jonin?

But some things often happened unexpectedly.

As the last wound inside Miya disappeared, while the Nuclear Fission Furnace was still running.

Miya, who was sitting on a rock, began trembling violently all over, and Particle Chakra instantly spread throughout his body.

It was a sign that his physical strength was breaking through.

Miya was best placed to speak about this sudden development in his body; he had experienced it several times before.

It was just that his previous breakthroughs hadn't been this intense.

"Break... for me!"

As soon as Miya's low shout rang out, the Chakra Particle Battle Armor that had been covering the area beneath his skin burst forth, wrapping around the surface of his body.

Limit Mode, activate!

"Hah..."

With another low shout, Miya's trembling body jolted.

"Pop."

It was as though something inside his body had been pierced, causing him to stop trembling. In that instant, the strength of his physique also broke through its current limit and reached a new height.