Naruto: The Scientific Ninja

Chapter 41: The Art of Gluttony

"A full Golden Gong Fish feast!"

"There's even a Yellow-Margined Box Turtle stew!"

Torifune drooled at the sight of such a sumptuous banquet. He had only tasted the turtle stew once before, at a state dinner in the Fire Daimyō's court. The memory was still fresh, and he instantly recognized the famous dish. To enjoy such a home-cooked meal on the front lines was already a great satisfaction, but this was a temptation beyond belief.

"Please!" Sasuke said, respectfully handing his leader a bowl and chopsticks that were twice the size of a normal pair.

Torifune did not stand on ceremony. He immediately took the bowl and began to eat and drink with gusto.

"Wow! Delicious, delicious!" he praised endlessly. As a gourmet with aspirations, he knew that eating alone was not as satisfying as competing with others for food. "Let's eat together!" he mumbled through a full mouth, waving his chopsticks to indicate everyone should join in.

Sasuke, who could wait no longer, secretly activated his infrasonic radar, located a particularly plump piece of turtle buttock meat in the stew, and placed it in Torifune's large bowl before starting on his own meal. Torifune beamed, praising his subordinate's sensibility.

Soon, all five of them were happily eating, with even the ninja hound Akimaru wagging its tail in delight. The stew was so delicious that Sasuke couldn't help but use his radar again to pick out the best pieces for himself, but even then, he couldn't keep up with the great eater, Torifune. After the meal, the other four combined had eaten less than him.

"Ahh! So full!" Tekudō said, lying on the grass with his belly swollen like a ball.

"Great! I haven't felt this good in a long time," Torifune said, patting his own stomach with a look of great satisfaction.

"Lord Torifune," Tekudō asked with a curious envy, "is your belly a sealing scroll? You eat so much, but your stomach isn't as big as mine."

"Lord Torifune is a jōnin from the Akimichi clan," Ryo explained. "Of course he has a big appetite. This is nothing. I once saw him at a barbecue restaurant in Konoha. His appetite was much more terrifying than this."

Sasuke was surprised. It was well known that the Akimichi had large appetites, but to eat food that exceeded one's own body weight was a bit unbelievable. He activated his infrasonic radar, and his eyes widened in shock.

He could see it. The chakra in Torifune's body was stimulating the vagus nerve endings in his intestines, causing a massive secretion of gastric acid, bile, and digestive enzymes. This was rapidly digesting the food in his stomach, converting it into biological energy. Then, through a secret Yang Release technique, that energy was being stored in his body fat.

No wonder he could eat so much.

It's amazing, Sasuke thought, a surge of excitement running through him. This secret Akimichi technique… it's almost the same as the Yin Seal. If I could learn this, my chakra deficiency problem would be solved!

But he quickly calmed down. Stealing a clan's secret technique was a taboo. If he were discovered, Konoha would have no place for him, and he would be forced to become a rogue ninja. And that was a path only the truly strong could walk. Besides, even if he wanted to, he couldn't. He lacked the relevant knowledge of Yang Release; he didn't understand how to convert food energy into fat, or how to burn that fat to produce chakra.

I can't learn the complete secret technique for now, he decided, but I can learn from the clan's food digestion technique. The Yang Release was too difficult to decipher, but the digestion part was relatively simple and much harder to detect.

"My shadow clone is almost out of time, so I'm going back first," Torifune said, patting his belly and preparing to leave.

"Lord Torifune," Sasuke said, a fawning look on his face, "why wait until later? Are you free tonight?" He couldn't let this fat Akimichi get away. He had only learned the general idea; he needed to study him more to completely master the digestion technique.

"Hey, I'm free, so free!" Torifune was instantly overjoyed, praising his subordinate for being so sensible and well-behaved. A subordinate this good was truly a rare find.

=======

That's all for now, but you don't have to wait to find out what happens next!

Remember, I have a Patreon where subscribers are already enjoying many advanced chapters of this novel (and my others!). If you're someone who just can't wait, this is the place for you: https://www.patreon.com/c/iLikeeMikee