When the two of them pushed open the door and stepped into the porch, the aroma of food immediately filled their noses.
"You're back? The food is ready, go wash your hands."
The tall and strong Akimichi Daiding heard the noise coming from the door and poked his head out from the kitchen. Upon seeing his two sons, a smile appeared on his slightly honest face.
The Akimichi clan all had big appetites. Among the four members of the family, only the mother, Akimichi Yoshiko, had an appetite similar to that of a normal person. At this time, the couple was busy in the kitchen.
"Okay." ×2
The two brothers responded and ran to wash their hands.
When they came out again, the food had been served on the table.
Because of the separate dining system, four portions of food of different sizes had been placed on the not-so-small table.
Small, medium, large, extra-large.
Then, Akimichi Hikaru walked towards the "super-large bowl" without any expression.
The rice bowl that belonged to him was probably bigger than the washbasin. In this family, he was the one who ate the most, even more than Akimichi Daiding.
After saying "I'm starting" as usual, Akimichi Hikaru began to eat like a madman. His eating manners were not elegant at all, given the large amount of food he needed to consume.
There weren’t many rules here. During the meal, the Akimichi couple casually asked the two brothers about their school situation and then started chatting.
"By the way, Hikaru, we’ve found the replacement material for the 'energy pills' you requested. Your Uncle Shikaku has already asked people to try it out. According to what you provided, there are various flavors available."
"If successful, your feeding problem can be solved, and the tribe will also benefit from you."
At the end of the meal, Akimichi Daiding said to Akimichi Hikaru.
It could be seen that he was also very happy. Liking delicious food and hating having to eat a lot weren’t contradictory. One was a pursuit, and the other was a necessity for survival.
It was a harsh truth that most of the Akimichi clan ninjas would suffer from extremely severe anorexia when they were old.
This situation had lasted for nearly a hundred years.
There was a solution, but the cost of popularizing it to all members of the tribe, aside from a few high-ranking individuals, was too high, and the Akimichi clan couldn't afford it.
It wasn't until the appearance of Akimichi Hikaru that the Akimichi clan, with the help of his seemingly abnormal cooking skills, joined forces with the Nara clan, who managed medicinal materials, and found an antidote named "energy pill."
Stolen novel; please report.
For the Akimichi clan, this was much better than the chakra pills, which had side effects if eaten too much. Not only did it taste good, but most importantly, it saved effort.
According to Nara Shikaku, a weakened version could also be used by regular ninjas, though its chakra restoration effect wasn’t as strong as that of the chakra pill. But even so, it could bring considerable benefits to the Akimichi clan.
One pill served two purposes. It not only solved the long-standing issue for the Akimichi clan, but also opened up new income channels. The current clan leader, Akimichi Choza, was extremely happy.
"That's great."
Akimichi Hikaru also smiled. As someone who had suffered from a poor appetite for a long time, he was finally hearing good news.
"By the way, Father, the development of various flower cakes has also been completed. You can show them to Uncle Inoichi later. As for the pricing, you two can discuss it together."
Akimichi Hikaru swallowed the last bite of food and wiped his mouth.
He hadn’t slacked off when Sarutobi Hiruzen was giving his speech today.
"Okay, no problem."
Akimichi Daiding answered in a straightforward manner, but he felt a sense of pride.
The trio of pig, deer, and butterfly clans were united—they prospered together and suffered together. He was proud that his son hadn’t forgotten their allies.
The Akimichi clan knew very well that, historically, they were the only clan among the three that had been shielded. After all, the tasks of offense and protection weren’t solely the Akimichi clan's responsibility.
After the high-ranking member Akimichi Tofu died in the Nine-Tails' attack, though the other two clans didn’t abandon their old ally and continued their alliance, the Akimichi clan was already in decline.
Now, only by giving back to both clans could they achieve healthier development.
My son, you have the makings of a Hokage!
This thought flashed in Akimichi Daiding's mind, but he quickly suppressed it.
As the patriarch, he understood well that the Hokage position wasn’t a blessing. He didn’t want his children or tribe drawn into power struggles—it was good to maintain the status quo.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have joined forces with Inoichi and Shikaku to keep Akimichi Hikaru's abilities under wraps.
Unless Akimichi Hikaru desired it himself in the future, as a father, he’d never let his son become a tool for ambition.
Watching his two sons chatting with his wife, his heart gradually calmed down.
After lunch, Akimichi Hikaru returned to his room.
Sitting at the table, he calmed himself.
Today was his first step in the ninja career. Although he hadn’t extracted chakra today, it still felt like a change.
Akimichi Hikaru actually had a plan for his future path.
Now that he’d overcome the effects brought on by his Uzumaki bloodline, he finally stood at the starting line. His foundation was also much stronger than that of his peers.
But when comparing, it made sense to measure against the strongest. Among his age group, the best benchmarks were naturally Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto.
It was almost a pity—these two would only reveal their talents after graduation. Akimichi Hikaru felt embarrassed to compete with them at this point.
Akimichi Hikaru's talent in ninjutsu wasn’t remarkable. But when it came to talent, Hatake Kakashi was Konoha’s genius benchmark.
After refining chakra, Akimichi Hikaru tested its attributes: yin, yang, fire, and earth—two standard attributes, which were quite good.
His yang attribute was much stronger than his yin, but it was fortunate he possessed both.
Unlike conventional attributes, balancing yin and yang required external aids. Despite that, Akimichi Hikaru was firm in avoiding shortcuts.
The clan’s secret techniques would be his first priority. The Akimichi family’s secret techniques were quite powerful, especially with enhancements.
The next step would be fire and earth ninjutsu, as they consumed a lot of energy but were relatively easy to master.
For the more intricate ninjutsu, he’d wait. Currently, he was just beginning to shed the effects of his Uzumaki bloodline.
His soul was still a weak point, and he didn’t want to act recklessly, so he decided to take it step by step. His chakra reserves were vast, and even with waste, he had more than enough for now.
Moreover, in the near future, he might even awaken his unique Uzumaki bloodline talent, adjusting his plans accordingly.
Living at the same time as Naruto, time was on his side!
Akimichi Hikaru stood up from his chair, took out a chocolate-shaped candy from the small bag at his waist, and popped it into his mouth. The candy was sweet, and the sun shone brightly outside the window.