Now it was time to monitor the body's reaction.
The first five minutes passed quietly — and that was more alarming than any potential side effect. Any proper chakra stimulant should either hit like a hammer or cause some sort of internal fluctuation. But here — nothing sharp.
At first, just a slight warmth in the stomach, like I'd drunk a hot herbal brew. I held my breath. My pulse quickened — or was that just in my head?
About thirty seconds later, a sharp sensation of emptiness pierced through me. Hunger. Real, unbearable hunger. As if my body suddenly remembered it had been running on empty, and now, with chakra starting to recover, it urgently needed fuel. Right now. Immediately.
My stomach clenched, as if someone had dropped a stone inside. I even groaned — not from pain, but from a furious need to eat.
"No-no-no…" I muttered, standing up. "I need… I need to eat something. Now…"
I shot off the training ground like a bullet, not caring how I looked — covered in dust, hair a mess, hands trembling. I raced through the streets of Konoha until the food stalls finally appeared on the horizon.
The smell of grilled rice, miso, charcoal chicken — it all hit me like a blow to the brain. I practically crashed into the nearest stand, nearly knocking over the vendor, and gasped:
"Everything. You have. Please. Fast!"
They didn't ask questions. In Konoha, a shinobi in a half-wrecked state is nothing unusual. Within a minute I was hungrily biting into a rice onigiri, washing it down with miso soup. My hands were still shaking, but my chakra was slowly stabilizing. My body began absorbing the food, fueling itself.
As I chewed, nearly in tears from relief, I realized: this pill works. But it doesn't give chakra — it demands it. And if the body doesn't get what it needs, it'll start devouring itself.
Despite the sudden, almost painful hunger — the effect of the drug was clear. My strength was returning. Chakra was gradually flowing back, my movements were becoming more precise, my breathing — more even. The tension in my body faded, as if the system was rebooting.
I finished another onigiri, clarity returning to my mind.
Twenty minutes later…
"That'll be 157 ryō," the chef said calmly across the counter, eyeing the tray of empty bowls.
I turned to look at the small "disaster zone" I'd created: ramen bowls, a few soup cups, remnants of fried rice, a couple of bamboo wrappers from snacks.
"Yeah, I ate a lot…" I exhaled quietly, pulling out the money. The hunger wasn't ordinary — it was a command from the body to immediately replace what had been spent. As if all the food was going straight to use.
After paying, I nodded politely to the cook and stood up. The lightness in my legs had returned, but now — it was conscious. I could feel the chakra moving through my channels more steadily. The effect was soft, but tangible.
"Time to head back to the training ground," I thought, heading for the exit.
But I had barely taken a few steps when I heard a familiar voice:
"Hey, Kotetsu!"
I stopped and turned. Tokara — my classmate — was walking toward me. We weren't close friends, but we kept in touch. Both clanless, and ever since I'd proven my abilities, others like me often gravitated toward me.
He looked me over, noticing the dirt on my clothes.
"Heard Gai got injured?"
"Yeah, something like that," I replied, not hiding my fatigue.
Tokara gave a small smile, as if checking if I was busy.
"So, you're free right now?"
"Not really. Still training," I said.
"We need help," he said, nodding toward Tsubaki, who was quietly standing nearby.
"With what exactly?" I asked, curious.
"Aoyu's sick, and we already accepted a mission. We can't cancel — sensei's gone, and there's no one else to take over," Tokara shrugged, his voice a little tense. "They told us to find a replacement ourselves since they're short on people. Lucky we ran into you!"
I frowned.
"What kind of mission?"
He grinned with mild pride.
"C-rank!"
I smirked in return.
"C-rank missions can vary. That alone doesn't mean much."
Tokara glanced at me and tried to sound casual as he explained:
"Well, the deal is: we need to catch a boar that's been tearing up the local farmers' fields. The thing's caused a lot of damage, people are complaining, and our job is to handle it."
At that moment, Tsubaki, who'd been silent all this time, added:
"It's not far from Konoha."
Tokara nodded and continued:
"Yeah, about a two-hour walk. But we need to get there before it causes more trouble."
I paused for a moment, imagining the task — boar hunting didn't sound hard, but do things ever go as planned? Especially when it involves wild animals.
"Sounds simple," I said, "but missions like that can get tricky. A boar isn't just an animal — it can be dangerous, especially if it's injured or cornered."
Tokara shrugged:
"Exactly. That's why we need someone else with us — or they won't let us take it."
I nodded, knowing it would be hard to refuse.
"Alright," I said. "I'll help. But I need to get my gear first."
Tsubaki smiled:
"Great! Then hurry — we'll wait by the village gate!"
…They turned and ran ahead, leaving me alone for a moment. I wiped my face, brushing off the last crumbs of food.
"A boar, a C-rank mission, and I'm fresh off a stimulant that almost fried me from the inside," I thought, heading home. "Sounds like a great day to die… or survive with a bonus."
Half an hour later, already changed, gear tightly fastened, and wearing clean clothes, I stood at Konoha's main gate. The sun had risen higher, warming the stone beneath my feet and stirring the village into daytime bustle.
Tokara waved at me from a distance:
"Oh! There you are. That was fast!"
"I tried," I nodded. "You sort everything out?"
Tsubaki stepped closer and handed me a marked map:
"This is the farm's boundary. The boar shows up here the most," Tokara said, pointing to the map. The village was small, about ten kilometers from Konoha.
"He's already destroyed the crops a few times," Tsubaki added. "The locals are scared, their harvest is at risk."
"He's active day and night, bold, doesn't even flee from noise," Tokara nodded. "They say he almost broke down a stable fence."
"Then he's either wounded… or not an ordinary animal," I muttered, putting away the map. "We'll have to be careful."
I looked at them.
"Shall we move out?"
They both nodded at once.
We quickly completed the exit paperwork since I was already registered as a team member for the mission.