The next day at noon.
As the school bell rang and students began taking out their lunch boxes, a striking scene unfolded in a corner of the classroom.
Led by Ueno Mori, along with Uchiha Tekka and Uchiha Inaho, a few boys walked reluctantly toward Akimichi Ryoko's seat, each carrying a lunch box in their hands.
Ueno Mori had originally felt that delivering food to Ryoko alone was quite embarrassing, so his movements had been stealthy.
But when he saw even the usually arrogant Uchiha Brothers carrying lunch boxes over, the awkwardness in his heart instantly lessened by more than half.
After all, it was better for several people to be embarrassed together than to be embarrassed alone.
However, a new doubt immediately surfaced in his mind:
Why were these two geniuses of the Uchiha family also delivering lunch boxes to Akimichi Ryoko? Had they also used lunch boxes to 'bribe' Ryoko into throwing a match?
But he hadn't heard anything about that...
He soon learned the reason, however.
Uchiha Inaho placed the luxurious lunch box in his hand on Ryoko's desk, folded his arms, tilted his chin high, and looked down his nose at Ryoko, saying arrogantly:
"Here, eat up. Enjoy this Uchiha luxury meal while you can. Once this great one's speed special training is complete, it'll be your turn to cry. Cherish the days you can still eat this great one's lunch boxes!"
Beside him, Uchiha Tekka also had a dark expression as he added, "We've invited Brother Fugaku from the clan to personally guide us. Our strength will improve by leaps and bounds very soon."
"When the time comes, you will surely be defeated by us, and your failure will wash away the Uchiha's disgrace."
Although the two were delivering food, their tone and posture made it seem as if they were declaring victory, filled with a mysterious confidence.
Looking at their 'highly motivated' appearance, Ryoko felt immensely gratified.
That's right, they needed to maintain this illusion that 'they could definitely win next time' so he could have a steady stream of challenge fees and lunch box income.
As for the special training and declarations of certain victory they spoke of so solemnly, Ryoko didn't take them to heart at all.
This wasn't blind arrogance, but rather stemmed from a clear understanding of his own strength.
As a transmigrator, he was well-versed in the classification of Ninja strength and even clearer about the transformation his body underwent after being well-fed.
He suspected he had mutated, with a super-enhanced Akimichi Clan bloodline that was incredibly compatible with the family's secret techniques.
Under constant eating, his strength, defense, and the Chakra accumulated in his body had long surpassed most Ninjas, and it was still steadily growing as he continued to eat.
By the time he reached adulthood, he might earn the title of 'Tailed Beast without a Tail' even before Kisame Hoshigaki.
Trying to catch up to the growth speed of a 'Humanoid Tailed Beast' like him was exceptionally difficult.
However, to keep motivating these two 'wealth-delivering boys,' Ryoko cooperatively showed a disdainful expression and picked his ear with his pinky finger:
"Hmph, anyone can talk big. I'll be waiting for your challenge, but let's agree now: if you lose again next time, you have to deliver lunch boxes for another month. Do you dare to bet?"
The surrounding classmates, hearing their conversation, finally realized the truth.
It turned out The two Uchiha brothers were delivering lunch boxes as a punishment for failing to challenge Ryoko.
This made everyone look at Ryoko with even more amazement. Just how unfathomable was the strength of this new fat classmate?
As for why Ueno Mori was delivering food, most of them understood that reason as well.
This shameful guy must have used food to bribe the other party into going easy during the assessment, allowing him to achieve victory.
Sitting not far away, Hyuga Aoki watched this scene silently, a trace of relief rising in his heart.
Fortunately, he had stayed calm and hadn't rushed to challenge like those two reckless fools from the Uchiha family, choosing instead to return to the clan for hard training.
If he had been in a hurry to wash away his disgrace, he probably would have fallen into Akimichi Ryoko's trap just like those two Uchiha idiots, foolishly delivering food to him.
Thinking of this, he compared himself to the still stubborn Uchiha Brothers and unconsciously straightened his back.
He thought to himself, 'As expected, our Hyuga Clan is the strongest clan, possessing both strength and wisdom.'
'What "strongest Uchiha"? It's nothing but self-boasting.'
However, upon hearing that the two brothers were receiving special training from a clan senior, Hyuga Aoki immediately felt a sense of urgency and prepared to redouble his efforts in practicing the Gentle Fist.
He had to defeat Akimichi Ryoko fairly and squarely before the Uchiha Brothers did.
Only then would everyone understand that the Hyuga Clan is the undisputed strongest ocular power clan in Konoha!
Ryoko naturally had no time to speculate on the various thoughts of his classmates.
He was currently enjoying his spoils of war with pleasure.
The quality of the lunch boxes delivered by different people was starkly different: as a civilian Ninja, Ueno Mori's box only contained white rice and a single, lonely pickled plum, looking truly meager.
In contrast, the lunch boxes sent by the Uchiha Brothers were much more abundant, featuring not only carefully color-coordinated dishes but also a significant portion of small dried fish.
Ryoko chewed heartily, sweeping through the three lunch boxes like a whirlwind and patting his stomach with satisfaction.
"The taste is good, but the quantity is still a bit too small."
He smacked his lips; this little bit of food barely lined his stomach, and it was still a hundred thousand miles away from filling his gluttonous maw.
But since it was all free, it tasted delicious regardless.
Still wanting more, his gaze involuntarily scanned the classroom again, calculating if he could develop a new source of lunch boxes from another classmate.
Unfortunately, after the previous incidents, the students were all aware of his fierce reputation. As soon as they saw him look over, they immediately lowered their heads like startled quails, clutching their lunch boxes tightly, not daring to make any eye contact with him.
"Sigh, how boring."
Ryoko felt a bit listless; without a proper excuse, he felt embarrassed to forcibly take a classmate's lunch box.
"Eh? Wait..."
He suddenly shook his head, feeling that his thought just now was a bit dangerous.
"How could I have the idea of attacking my classmates? It must be an illusion; I'm a good kid."
Just then, he caught a commotion in the corner of the classroom out of the corner of his eye.
A few kids were surrounding a red-haired girl with malicious smiles, saying harsh things.
That red-haired girl was Uzumaki Kushina.
Ryoko listened closely; it was nothing more than mocking her bright red hair that was so out of place, calling her nicknames like 'Tomato' or 'Pepper Head.'
"Oh, this part of the plot..." Ryoko remembered.
After the Land of Whirlpools was destroyed, Kushina was brought back to Konoha by Uzumaki Mito to be trained as the next Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
As an orphan in a strange environment with no relatives except for the elderly Mito, being ostracized and bullied at school was almost inevitable.
"Tsk tsk, how pitiful," Ryoko curled his lip.
But on second thought, it seemed quite normal.
This seemed to be a unique cultural trait of the island nation; even the children of their own imperial family could encounter bullying at school.
Looking at it this way, Uzumaki Naruto's experiences in the original work didn't seem so hard to understand anymore.
The fact that they could achieve equality for all through bullying regardless of rank was truly something else.
However, looking at the arrogant bullies, Ryoko rubbed his round chin, his gaze becoming somewhat subtle.
"It's a bit annoying to watch. Perhaps I can be a righteous campus hero and stop this bullying."
Of course, what he didn't say out loud was that if he protected these weaklings, shouldn't they give him some thanks?
Like a lunch box, for example.
And those bullies—if they had the energy to bully others, they must have eaten too much. He would reluctantly eat their lunch boxes for them.
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