What Bad Intentions Could Miya Possibly Have?

At the barbecue restaurant, Miya patted his little belly.

"Ahh..."

"I'm so full, so full."

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Miya, whose belly was nearly bursting, utterly puzzled.

"Wasn't Miya supposed to eat a whole lot?"

Counting the plates of barbecue Miya had demolished-one, two, three, four, five—it amounted to a mere five people's portions.

He strongly suspected that the teachers at the school had deliberately exaggerated.

Was five people's worth of barbecue a lot?

Really a lot?

Like hell it was!

It was perfectly normal. Miya had only eaten twice as much as he had.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had thought this meal would cost him a fortune, couldn't help breathing a sigh of relief.

He had wondered whether Miya was putting on an act, but surely that little belly, stretched almost to bursting, couldn't be faked?

If Miya were pretending to be stuffed, how could he possibly fool Hiruzen's sharp eyes?

That left only one explanation: the teachers at the Ninja Academy had certainly falsified their assessment of Miya.

The Third Hokage was furious, and the consequences would be severe.

Miya patted his little belly. What bad intentions could a little kid like him have? He just wanted Hiruzen Sarutobi to treat him to a few more meals!

Otherwise, why would he have put so much effort into playing himself that he had nearly eaten until he threw up?

The difference between Miya's appetite when he didn't use the nuclear fission furnace inside him to digest his food and when he did was as vast as the difference between heaven and earth.

In the former case, Miya would be stuffed after eating at most three people's portions.

In the latter, he could gorge himself twenty-four hours a day.

To take Hiruzen Sarutobi for a ride, he had nearly eaten until he threw up. After putting so much effort into playing himself, he wasn't worried that Hiruzen Sarutobi wouldn't take the bait.

"Burp~~"

"Old man Third, thank you for treating me. I'm very, very full."

"I should go home now."

"It's not very safe for a little kid like me to be out this late."

Miya stood up, his big belly sticking out, and made as if to leave.

"Wait, Miya."

Hiruzen Sarutobi called out to stop him. When Miya looked at him in confusion, he asked kindly:

"Was the barbecue good?"

Miya nodded and replied:

"It was. Didn't you see how stuffed I got?"

"Burp~"

To prove that he really was stuffed, Miya patted his distended little belly again and let out a satisfied burp.

"Would you like to have it again?"

Without even thinking, Miya replied:

"Yes."

"Are you going to treat me to barbecue every day?"

"If you do, I won't have to go hunting anymore."

Every day? Wasn't that a bit extravagant?

Good heavens...

Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a few drops of cold sweat form in his heart.

But then he remembered that Miya had been an orphan since childhood and had to live on the allowance provided by the village.

Believing he had to risk the child to catch the wolf, Hiruzen Sarutobi tempted him kindly:

"As long as you agree to graduate early, I'll treat you to a week of barbecue. How does that sound?"

Miya stared at Hiruzen Sarutobi, speechless. After all the effort he had put into his performance, he'd only managed to squeeze a week's worth of meals out of him?

This Hokage was far too stingy.

"No deal."

"You think a week is enough to trick me into graduating early?"

"Grandma Sako was right. Old men are all bad, always tricking children."

Seeing that Hiruzen Sarutobi had already stepped into his trap, Miya rejected his offer and invoked the name of the elderly neighbor who had cared for him as he grew up.

With that, Miya turned to leave.

How could Hiruzen Sarutobi let Miya leave just like that? He had finally heard that Miya was willing to graduate early.

He had to strike while the iron was hot. Once it cooled, he wouldn't be able to shape it.

"Then how long do you want to eat it for?"

"As long as you agree to graduate early, I'll grant your wish."

That was exactly what Miya had been waiting to hear. He quickly turned around, looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, and asked:

"Really?"

"Then I want to eat it for a year."

Hiruzen Sarutobi instantly choked on Miya's words.

"Cough, cough~ cough, cough~~"

A year of barbecue-Miya really had the nerve to ask.

It wasn't that Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't afford it, but that wouldn't just be a costly meal. It would bleed him dry.

"A year is too much. How about a month?"

Looking at Hiruzen Sarutobi's kindly face, Miya lowered his head, seeming torn, or perhaps deep in thought.

In truth, his heart was blooming with joy.

A month of free meals had been Miya's bottom line all along. He couldn't keep fleecing the same person forever, could he?

After thinking for a while, Miya raised his head and looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"You said you'd find me a powerful teacher. Does that still count?"

Of course it did. It absolutely had to!

"It does."

The little brat had finally agreed. Hiruzen Sarutobi felt that handling official business usually wasn't this exhausting.

"Words aren't proof. Can we put it in writing?"

He had no intention of going back on his word anyway, and getting Miya to agree mattered more than anything, so Hiruzen Sarutobi replied:

"No problem."

Miya smiled happily. Hiruzen Sarutobi had fallen right into his trap.

"All right, I agree. I'll go get the owner."

A little over ten minutes later, Hiruzen Sarutobi held a written agreement made out in triplicate: one copy for him, one for Miya, and one for the barbecue restaurant owner.

He smiled.

He had put a lot of thought into getting Miya to graduate early.

With Miya's strength, the big plan ahead was as good as assured!

Smiling? You'll be crying when the time comes.

Miya, delighted with himself, looked at the barbecue restaurant owner, who stood beside them treating Hiruzen Sarutobi with the utmost respect, and said solemnly:

"Boss, make sure you keep this agreement safe."

"Otherwise, if old man Third refuses to honor it later, don't come looking for me."

The barbecue restaurant owner looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, his eyes showing a hint of concern and inquiry.

Hiruzen Sarutobi also spoke to the owner:

"Don't worry!"

"When the time comes, bring the bill to me, and I'll pay it for him."

With those words from Hiruzen Sarutobi, the barbecue restaurant owner immediately breathed a sigh of relief and replied:

"All right, no problem."

"Thank you, Lord Hokage."

After returning home in high spirits, Miya was overjoyed and immediately hid the agreement he held.

It was his meal ticket for the next month.

Hiruzen Sarutobi also went home in a cheerful mood, already working out his plans for what to do next.

With Miya as his trump card, Hiruzen Sarutobi gazed into the distance from his study until his wife came in.

"Hiruzen, it's time to rest."

Although Biwako Sarutobi had retired from the ranks of the ninja to care for her husband and raise their children at home, as the Hokage's wife, she still paid attention to the current situation and made her own judgments.

She also knew just how much pressure Hiruzen Sarutobi was under.

"Mm, let's rest, then."

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Biwako Sarutobi and smiled knowingly.

"What's this?"

Biwako Sarutobi saw the agreement Hiruzen Sarutobi had left on the desk and asked about it.

"It's something that can ease Konoha's current predicament."

"All right, let's go rest!"

Hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi say that, Biwako Sarutobi asked no more.

Hiruzen Sarutobi held Biwako Sarutobi and fell peacefully asleep.