Akimichi Yoshimaru had returned a while ago, a little out of breath from hurrying back.
"Whew... whew... Shigeo, here!"
He pulled out a large lunchbox from his jacket and handed it to Aburame Shigeo.
When Shigeo opened it, he was greeted by a pungent medicinal aroma. The box was filled with a black, paste-like substance.
"What... is this?"
"Soldier pills!" Yoshimaru cheerfully explained. He skillfully scooped a bit of the paste with his thumb, rolled it into a ball, and presented it to Shigeo.
"See? Just like this. The ones sold outside are dried versions. By the way, is this enough? If not, I can go back and grab a few more boxes!"
"Grab...?"
Shigeo froze momentarily, then quickly nodded. "This is plenty! More than enough!"
For Shigeo, buying soldier pills every month required scrimping and saving, and even then, he could only afford a small pouch—maybe six or seven ounces at most.
But Yoshimaru had brought an entire box, weighing nearly two pounds! If all of it were turned into soldier pills, it could sell for nearly ten thousand ryō at the prices in the Nara family pharmacy!
This thought brought a flicker of worry to Shigeo's face.
"Uh... Yoshimaru, these pills are pretty valuable. What if your family finds out you gave them to me?"
"Haha, don't worry! It's fine!" Yoshimaru waved it off with a grin.
"It's not that expensive. I bought the ingredients from the Nara family, and it doesn't use much—just sticky rice and flour in large amounts. All in all, a box like this costs about 200 ryō. I used to eat it as a snack!"
"..."
Only 200 ryō? A snack?
And sticky rice and flour are the main ingredients?
The Nara family was marking up the price by dozens of times! What a rip-off!
Cursing the Nara family's profiteering in his heart, Shigeo carefully closed the lunchbox and said, "Thank you, Yoshimaru. I'll take the box and return it to you tomorrow!"
"Okay!" Yoshimaru nodded but added, "Don't forget the bugs you promised me."
"Don't worry, I won't!"
After parting with Yoshimaru, Shigeo returned home.
There, he immediately began rolling the paste into small pea-sized balls, slightly smaller than the soldier pills sold by the Nara family.
The quality of *parasite soldiers* depended on the effectiveness of the soldier pills. Too many would be wasteful, and pea-sized was just right.
Previously, Shigeo could only buy standard pills, leaving him no choice in their size. But now, with control over the process, he became more strategic.
From the paste in the box, he managed to roll over 300 soldier pills—enough for a month's supply.
He was slightly surprised. He had expected to make over 600 pills with the two pounds of paste.
It quickly dawned on him: the paste was moist and heavy, whereas the Nara family's pills were dried. Naturally, the weight didn't match.
"Tsk... oh well. 300 is 300. Let's see how effective they are."
He released a *parasitic insect*, fed it one of the freshly rolled pills, and focused his thoughts.
"Synthesize!"
In an instant, the small bit of chakra he had recovered after dinner was drained, leaving him fatigued.
But he couldn't care less about the exhaustion, as his attention was fully on the newly synthesized *parasite soldier*. A smile of delight appeared on his face.
"It worked!"
The experiment confirmed it—Yoshimaru's paste was indeed the real deal, identical to the Nara pharmacy's pills.
With these 300-plus pills, combined with the ones he usually bought, he wouldn't have to worry about enhancing his strength for at least two months.
Previously, he had been cautious about using all his chakra to synthesize *parasite soldiers*, fearing he'd run out of pills.
Now, he could confidently plan his chakra use, balancing synthesis with maintaining a stockpile of regular insects.
The *parasite soldiers* in his body currently numbered close to a thousand, sustaining nearly ten thousand ordinary insects. Without enough soldier pills, any sudden die-off would force him to rely on his own chakra—a setback for his training.
Ninja training was like rowing upstream: without progress, one would regress.
To prevent this, Shigeo meticulously calculated how many *parasite soldiers* he could afford to create each day—enough to grow stronger without exceeding his budget.
He also ensured to exhaust all his chakra daily since its recovery rate increased when reserves were low, encouraging growth.
This discipline distinguished talented ninjas from laggards. Shigeo didn't know if he was a genius, but he made sure to maximize his training.
With leftover chakra, he even synthesized different *flavored insects* as snacks. These synthetic bugs were durable, lasting up to two weeks without sustenance.
Lately, his focus on soldier pills left him with a surplus of these edible bugs. Now, they could serve a purpose.
He filled Yoshimaru's lunchbox with dozens of fruity-flavored insects and brought it to school the next day.
When Yoshimaru saw the box full of tasty bugs, he was overjoyed, immediately offering to bring Shigeo another box of paste.
Shigeo politely declined—not because he didn't want it but because he knew it was risky to take too much of something so valuable. Moderation was key.
The school bell soon rang, and Shigeo returned to his seat, pulling out his textbook as the teacher entered the room.
Dressed in green ninja armor, the teacher announced the afternoon's practical training matchups.
"Minato Namikaze vs. Shirō Harada, Kitagawa vs. Naoki Eihira, Nozomi Nohara vs. Yoshimaru Akimichi... Aburame Shigeo..."
When the teacher reached Shigeo's name, he sighed, closing his list.
"Shigeo, you'll observe again today. By the way, Shigeo scored first place in the recent theory exam. Everyone should learn from him. Now, open your textbooks..."
This scene was so routine that neither Shigeo nor his classmates batted an eye. They all opened their books and began the lesson.
During the afternoon training, students gathered on the schoolyard for sparring sessions. Shigeo, as usual, found a shady spot under a tree and settled into a small chair to watch.
The fights were little more than structured brawls, but the children's punches and kicks had some measure of skill.
The teacher guided them, offering praise, encouragement, or consolation as needed.
Shigeo, meanwhile, grew drowsy.
With an ample stock of soldier pills, he had spent his lunch break synthesizing more *parasite soldiers*, draining his chakra and leaving him fatigued.
Unwilling to push himself, he released a *recording insect* to capture the matches and leaned back against the tree to nap, a faint smile on his face.
He truly enjoyed this peaceful, fulfilling life.
*(End of chapter)*