There was one thing about Ren Akihara that nobody in Konoha knew.
He wasn’t originally from this world.
In his previous life, he had been completely ordinary.
He spent his days the same way countless others did.
Watching anime.
Playing games.
Reading novels.
Nothing remarkable.
Nothing special.
Then one day, an online friend reached out to him.
The guy claimed he was developing a mobile game and needed ideas for abilities, equipment, skills, and power systems.
Since Ren was familiar with all kinds of anime and games, he happily agreed to help.
For several days, he compiled information and sent over every interesting concept he could think of.
A few weeks later, his friend sent him a playable prototype.
There was only a short message attached.
“Try it out.”
It was the last message Ren ever received.
The moment he launched the game—
Everything went black.
When he opened his eyes again, he was standing in the world of Naruto.
Fortunately, the unfinished game had come with him.
And over the years, it had become his greatest advantage.
A translucent blue screen appeared before his eyes.
[Host: Ren Akihara]
[Skills]
Feast (Mythic)
War Cry (Bronze)
Mountain Crusher Strike (Silver)
[Experience Points: 41,839]
The system itself was straightforward.
Spend ten thousand experience points.
Receive one random draw.
The rewards varied wildly.
Skills.
Items.
Equipment.
Or things far stranger.
Low-rank rewards appeared often.
High-rank rewards were rare.
As for Mythic abilities…
Those were the kind of rewards most people would never see in a lifetime.
Ren’s gaze settled on the skill that had changed everything.
Feast.
“Activate.”
A familiar screen appeared.
[Feast — Mythic Rank]
The host’s stomach possesses traits derived from Void creatures and gains spatial expansion properties.
By killing and consuming living creatures, the host accumulates Feast stacks.
Depending on the consumed target, the host permanently gains increases to physique, endurance, strength, speed, and durability.
The moment the skill activated, a warm current spread through his body.
His muscles tightened.
His bones emitted faint cracking sounds.
A subtle but unmistakable surge of strength flowed through every part of him.
Stronger.
Again.
A little stronger than before.
A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Cho’Gath’s Feast.
Anyone who had played League of Legends would recognize the inspiration immediately.
An endless predator.
A creature driven by insatiable hunger.
A monster that grew stronger by consuming everything in its path.
The stronger the prey, the greater the growth.
In the game, Feast mainly increased health.
Reality was far more unreasonable.
An increase in physique naturally improved strength.
Greater strength enhanced speed.
Endurance improved.
Durability improved.
Nearly every aspect of the body benefited.
Though durability remained the most noticeable increase by far.
Ren slowly clenched his fist.
The sensation was addictive.
“A Mythic skill really is ridiculous.”
Unfortunately, even a Mythic ability wasn’t perfect.
Feast had a weakness.
Digestion.
Its growth potential was practically limitless.
But every creature consumed had to be fully digested before its benefits could be completely absorbed.
In gaming terms—
A cooldown.
At his current level, digesting a single creature required roughly two months.
Painfully slow.
Of course, there were ways to accelerate the process.
And one of those methods involved physical activity.
More specifically—
Combat.
Ren finished the last bite of fish and wiped his mouth.
Then he slowly raised his head.
The surrounding students immediately stiffened.
An odd silence settled over the area.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody moved.
Years of experience had taught them an important lesson.
Whenever Ren started looking around like that…
Someone was about to suffer.
His gaze swept across the gathered students.
Obito.
Rin.
Several clan heirs.
A handful of unlucky classmates.
Then his eyes stopped.
“Asuma.”
A smile appeared on his face.
“Come here for a second.”
The reaction was immediate.
Several male students visibly relaxed.
Obito nearly sighed in relief.
The atmosphere instantly improved.
Everyone felt safer.
Everyone except Asuma.
The Hokage’s son froze.
Then slowly pointed at himself.
“Me?”
Every instinct in his body began screaming warnings.
Years of surviving around Ren had sharpened those instincts considerably.
“Asuma.”
Ren’s smile widened.
The danger level somehow increased.
Asuma cautiously took a step backward.
“What do you want?”
“I just finished eating.”
“Okay…?”
“And I’m feeling a little too full.”
A terrible premonition rose in Asuma’s chest.
Then Ren casually delivered the verdict.
“So I figured I’d beat you up for a while.”
He cracked his knuckles.
“To help with digestion.”
Silence.
Complete silence.
The students stared at him.
Kurenai covered her face.
Rin let out a long sigh.
Obito nearly collapsed from laughter.
Asuma himself looked completely dumbfounded.
“What kind of reason is that?!”
Ren blinked.
He looked genuinely confused.
“What do you mean?”
“Exercise helps digestion.”
“That’s common knowledge.”
“Then go run laps!”
“Running laps isn’t as effective.”
Ren took a step forward.
“Asuma, stop resisting science.”
“WHOSE SCIENCE IS THAT?!”
The shout echoed across the training grounds.
A flock of birds exploded from the surrounding trees.
The next second—
The entire area descended into chaos.