Soldier pills. Not bad.
Filling, restores chakra, easy to consume.
Aside from being somewhat unpalatable and lacking the actual sensation of eating—truly not bad.
Hii Kōri had always considered nutritional gel, meal paste, and such among the world's finest inventions. So convenient for saving time.
Taste? Eating these, did anyone think he cared about taste?
Efficiency versus culinary desires—never comparable for Hii Kōri. At least during closed experiments. Occasionally relaxing, he'd treat himself at recommended places.
He simply had low material desires in other areas. Not taste-impaired.
"You've been living on soldier pills all this time?!"
This concept was too ahead of its time for Pakura.
In her understanding, even ninja on missions avoided soldier pills exclusively when conditions permitted. Yet Hii Kōri endured over a month straight. With such perseverance, surely he'd succeed at anything.
Thinking this, she suddenly felt relieved.
"Had to travel back to Sunagakure. No leisurely cooking along the way."
Swallowing the pill, Hii Kōri retrieved a water flask from the scroll fixed in his tool pouch's inner lining and took two swallows.
That scroll was from Chiyo—small capacity, only fit for odds and ends. Perfect for practicing sealing techniques. If he impulsively dismantled it, no one would miss it.
In meticulous budgeting, Sand was too authoritative.
"Ah, speaking of which, Hii-kun was adopted by Chiyo-sama."
Karura recalled Rasa's words before the spar.
"Yeah. Old hag saw my exceptional talent—one in ten million genius—and brought me back."
Not a lie. Just omitted troublesome explanations.
"Then Hii-kun's parents..."
"Dead. Killed by other ninja right before my eyes."
His tone is utterly bland—as if discussing someone else's business.
Sitting at a desk, Hii Kōri licked his slightly chapped lips, drank again, then added: "I cremated them myself. Burned everything—house included."
"..."
Both girls fell silent, exchanging bewildered glances. His delivery felt mismatched with the content.
This overly "matter-of-fact" attitude even made them overlook his disrespectful address toward Chiyo—one of Sunagakure's top players.
"What's with those faces? In this era, such things are taken for granted. At least I'm not dead."
Propping his cheek on one hand, the other continuously extracted and replaced various trinkets from his tool pouch. Raising an eyebrow, he reminded: "Lunch break's limited. You two should eat."
"Right." "Mm."
With Hii Kōri actively changing the subject, the girls dwelling stopped on unmanageable issues, redirecting focus elsewhere.
They exchanged glances, then sat opposite sides, opening bento boxes.
Already full, Hii Kōri glanced over. Both contained home-cooked dishes. Only notable feature: abundance of dried goods.
Given Wind Country's climate, understandable.
But neither girl touched their chopsticks. He figured they felt constrained with him present.
From previous life's understanding, girls typically chatted over meals and drinks.
Thus thinking, Hii Kōri turned toward Pakura.
"Speaking of which, Pakura's chakra is Fire Nature—rare in Wind Country."
Beyond the resource-rich, geographically diverse Fire Country, other Great Nations' ninja naturally followed regional, social chakra characteristics.
Wind Country—sand-swept desert nation—naturally produced mostly Wind Nature. Pakura's Fire Nature was indeed rare.
"I actually have dual natures—Wind and Fire."
Hearing Hii Kōri address her, Pakura's eyes visibly brightened.
She glanced at Karura, then eagerly explained.
Her Fire Nature made her feel special. A unique existence.
Though this exquisite pride had just been shattered by Hii Kōri—all the better!
"Wind and Fire... Sunagakure probably lacks many Fire techniques? What's your plan—switch back to Wind?"
Normal enough. Pakura not having Wind Nature would be strange.
"You're so strong—must have special training methods. I'll learn them and defeat you!"
Pakura huffed, setting down chopsticks, crossing arms, tilting her head confidently.
Clearly, this was her found reason to spend more time with Hii Kōri—transforming that inner astringency into over defeat and neglect. Genuinely wanting to defeat this opponent, then...
Make his gaze lock onto me forever—never look away!
"...Is this Sunagakure's prevailing atmosphere?"
Hii Kōri was speechless.
Ignoring her non-sequitur response, wasn't this essentially "I'll copy your bottom pressing techniques"? A bit too much, no?
Even in his past life, he never did anything so blatant—though he imitated everything worth imitating.
Including just now, recording Pakura and Rasa's hand seals and chakra circulation during techniques.
Ah, thinking that, can't quite confidently refute.
Hii Kōri sensed his bottom line might be eroding—meaning more moral than before.
"Uh...probably? Probably?"
Karura blinked, looking uncertain.
Joking—she was certain.
'The poor mountains breed cunning people.' Nowhere in the ninja world had poorer mountains or more poisonous waters than Wind Country. Even the other minor nations refused to trade territory with them.
Need something? Take it. If you didn't take it, you got nothing. That was the atmosphere in Sunagakure — indeed, in all of Wind Country.
The same applied to desired people.
Hiding her eyes behind a smile, Karura felt an unprecedented desire to compete for something.