Chapter 5: The Hunger of a Cultivator
"From now on, I can be considered a cultivator."
Asakawa Naoki stepped off the bed, his excitement still bubbling—until a wave of hunger slammed into him like a truck.
"I'm starving!"
It wasn't just hunger. It was the kind of deep, aching emptiness that made him feel like he hadn't eaten in days. And he instantly understood why. That tiny thread of mana in his body had cost him far more energy than he'd expected. Even though it looked weak, cultivating it had drained nearly every bit of energy he had stored up.
"I just became a cultivator—I can't starve to death on day one!"
He rushed to the door and flung it open. The living room was bathed in warm sunlight, not dark like he'd expected. Golden rays filtered in through the windows, still carrying a bit of heat.
Ninja school had ended around three yesterday. After the delay from beating up that four-man group, Naoki had returned home around five.
It was summer. Long days, short nights. The sun usually set around seven—but this light wasn't the fading warmth of dusk. It was too bright.
"Wait... is this the second day already? Or maybe the third?"
They say time doesn't exist in cultivation. He was starting to believe it. He'd been training so long he hadn't even noticed time passing.
"I think I'm late for school."
It was almost noon now—morning classes were definitely over.
The old, seven-year-old Asakawa Naoki might've panicked and rushed to school. But the current Naoki, a man who'd gone through college and the daily grind of adult life, wasn't too bothered. School could wait. Right now, his body was crying out for food.
He scrounged through the house for something edible and chugged some water—just enough to keep from collapsing. Then he carefully hid the scroll that held the Basic Qi Refining Technique, pocketed 1,000 taels, and headed out.
His destination: the ramen shop on the commercial street.
As someone who'd once been a broke Chinese college student, Naoki had learned to cook out of necessity. But right now? He didn't have the strength for that. Eating out was the better option.
"Boss, two bowls of ramen!"
The shop owner glanced at the small boy standing before him and raised an eyebrow.
"Kid, the portions here aren't small. One bowl should be enough."
"I can handle it," Naoki said confidently with a nod.
The owner sighed. "Alright. Two bowls—100 ryo"
He clearly wasn't thrilled. Money was good, but he hated wasting food. If this kid couldn't finish even one bowl, he'd be annoyed.
Minutes later, the two steaming bowls were placed in front of Naoki. The owner shook his head and returned to the kitchen, mentally preparing to clean up unfinished noodles.
"Finally."
Naoki stared at the massive servings. He had to admit—if it were the old him, he'd barely get through one bowl. But now?
He was Asakawa Naoki—a cultivator!
He started with a sip of broth, then attacked the noodles. Despite the speed of his eating, there was a strange grace to it. In less than ten minutes, one bowl was gone. Soon after, the second followed.
With food in his belly and strength returning, Naoki started cycling the Basic Qi Refining Technique. He could feel the mana coursing through his meridians, slowly strengthening.
"It feels so damn good to be stronger."
But with mana surging, his digestion also sped up. Even after two full bowls, he wasn't satisfied.
The ramen wasn't legendary like Ichiraku's—but it was affordable, filling, and available. And besides, Ichiraku hadn't even opened yet in this timeline.
"Boss, two more bowls!"
This time, the shop owner looked at him in disbelief, eyes darting between the empty bowls and the boy.
"You actually finished them?"
He had assumed Naoki was just a reckless kid. But seeing the bowls licked clean, he smiled and brought over two more servings.
After realizing Naoki wasn't wasting food, the owner's attitude softened. Still, he was suspicious.
"This kid eats like someone from the Akimichi clan... but they're all chubby, and this one's too good-looking to be one of them…"
While Naoki was stuffing his face, someone else was anxiously missing him.
Uzumaki Kushina sat in her usual spot in the back of the classroom. Her gaze kept drifting to the empty seat beside her, worry etched into her features.
"Did he not come because he was too hurt from the fight yesterday?"
"It's my fault... If I hadn't gotten involved, Naoki wouldn't have needed to fight."
"If only I were stronger. Then I could've protected him."
"I'll ask the teacher for his address after school. I need to make sure he's okay."
Her eyes narrowed as they shifted to the group of four boys seated in the middle—Yamagami Taro and his friends.
"It's their fault!"
As if sensing her hostility, the four turned around and met her glare. A chill ran down their spines.
It was still summer, but Kushina's gaze made them feel like it was the dead of winter.
"Why did we have to mess with her…?"
They regretted it now—especially giving that dumb nickname to the new kid.
But what they didn't know was that Kushina wasn't mad because of what they'd done to her. She was mad because they'd hurt the only friend she had—Asakawa Naoki.
If they had only bullied her, she probably would've let it slide.
But hurting Naoki?
Unforgivable.
You can never really guess what a girl is thinking. And with Kushina, you'd always guess wrong.
---
Noon passed quickly. The first class of the afternoon was with the homeroom teacher, Masaki Yuto.
"Yesterday, after school, there was a fight involving students from our class," Yuto said, scanning the room. When he noticed Naoki's seat still empty, his eyes twitched slightly.
"Everyone involved—hand in your written apologies. If something like this happens again, I'll have no choice but to contact your parents."
Yamagami Taro and two others sheepishly got up and handed in their apologies. They'd spent all night writing them.
Kushina was just about to rise and submit hers when the classroom door slid open.
"Sorry, teacher. I'm late," said Asakawa Naoki, walking in casually.
Masaki Yuto exhaled in relief. The kid was fine.
"Just don't make a habit of it. Now, where's your apology?"
"I didn't do anything wrong," Naoki replied, eyes wide and innocent. "Why would I write one?"
******
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