It wasn't that the three cooks had prepared too little food—it was simply that Arata had gone through far too much that day.
First came the high-intensity rush across long distances, racing from Konoha and arriving at Uzumaki Mito's side in the blink of an eye.
Then he fought alongside Mito against the immensely powerful Monkey Sage. In that battle, Arata had pushed himself to the absolute limit, exhausting every ounce of strength to unleash his strongest slash.
If the Monkey Sage hadn't died—and if a portion of the natural energy within its body hadn't replenished Arata, allowing him to break through a bottleneck and ease the backlash of his exertion—then Arata would have needed a massive meal on the spot just to recover his fighting strength.
But even after that, he went on to face the Uzumaki clan's enemies: a coalition army of twenty thousand shinobi. He personally defeated the Kage of the Land of Lightning and the Land of Water.
Although it didn't look like much energy was spent, that was only relative. The consumption was still significant.
After that came the battle against the pinnacle of the shinobi world—Uchiha Madara himself. That was a true clash between peak super-Kage combatants. Even though Arata held the advantage throughout, the stamina he burned was staggering.
By the time Madara withdrew and Arata finally had a moment to rest, his stomach was already completely empty.
If his attention hadn't been occupied with the Uzumaki clan's situation, he would have realized much earlier that he was so hungry he could barely stand.
The physical training methods from the One Piece world were indeed exceptional—but like certain extreme warrior clans, they came with side effects. Anyone who trained this way would see their appetite skyrocket.
Arata was no exception.
He glanced at Shizune and Kushina and couldn't help wondering what it would be like if they developed the same kind of appetite as he had in the future.
The thought alone made him hesitate—should he really teach them Karp's training method?
Looking closer, he realized Shizune was already showing signs. At barely two years old, her appetite was already keeping pace with Kushina's. If this continued for a few more years, who knew what would happen?
Kushina, meanwhile, had completely forgotten about eating. She'd taken only two bites of her ramen before stopping entirely, her gaze fixed on Arata instead.
She had no idea how much he'd eaten already.
Although his eating looked a little ridiculous, for some reason she found this version of Arata far more approachable than the earlier one—calm, unreadable, and distant.
Thinking about it, Kushina realized she herself was actually quite carefree by nature. She'd only acted ladylike because of her grandmother's teachings. When alone, her true personality always slipped out.
Seeing Arata like this made her last traces of awkwardness vanish.
Soon, she started eating freely as well—not as exaggerated as Arata, but without restraint.
Seeing the elegant older sister eating just like her, Shizune broke into laughter too.
Arata felt relieved. A big appetite was good. But if Kushina ever started eating like him, she might never get married.
At that moment, one of the cooks finally spoke up nervously.
"Arata-sama… if this still isn't enough, we may need to hire more cooks. We started preparing this dinner at noon. This is really the limit…"
The cook was a young woman—handpicked by Arata. Not stunning, but at least not off-putting either.
Hearing this, Arata scratched his head in embarrassment. He really had been starving today.
He understood the cooks' situation. After all, he'd insisted that meals be refined and well-prepared. In his previous life, Arata had been a true foodie—no matter how poor things got, he never shortchanged his stomach.
Now that he'd been reborn as a powerful shinobi, there was no way he'd start doing so.
Looks like they really did need more cooks.
After making a mental note, Arata said calmly, "It's fine. I'm not blaming you. You can go for now. I'll arrange for more help when I have time."
For servants in most households, hearing that more staff would be hired often meant anxiety—fear of being replaced or falling out of favor.
But not in Arata's household.
His appetite was so terrifying that every meal felt like a battle. Just preparing ingredients and washing dishes was exhausting enough for the staff.
If Tsunade didn't have some savings—and if Arata's mission rewards hadn't been generous—this household would have already been eaten into poverty.
...
Turning to a young woman in a red-and-white kimono standing beside Shizune, Arata said,
"Anzai, hire a few more cooks tomorrow. If we're short on hands elsewhere, hire more helpers too."
Anzai was the house steward Arata had personally promoted. She managed all household affairs and staff, handling everything except major decisions.
She was around eighteen, plain but pleasant, hardworking and sharp. That was why Arata trusted her.
She was also closest to Shizune, often attending her personally—which was how Shizune had learned about Ichiraku Ramen before.
At this moment, however, Anzai hesitated, clearly wanting to speak but holding back.
Arata noticed immediately.
"If something's wrong, just say it. You know I'm not someone who loses his temper easily."
Though he employed servants, Arata never acted high-handed. He'd been a commoner himself once and treated everyone with courtesy.
Outside of necessary work, he rarely ordered people around.
Anzai quickly shook her head.
"No, Arata-sama treats us very well. You're the easiest master I've ever served!"
That only made Arata more curious.
"Then what is it? Is it hard to find cooks?"
Gathering her courage, Anzai spoke honestly.
"It's not that… it's just that the funds you provided are almost used up. At this rate, we'll be out of money by the end of the month. If we hire more people…"
Arata smacked his forehead in realization.
So the household finances really were in trouble. His relentless eating had truly drained the coffers.
A famous figure of the shinobi world, reduced to worrying about money because of food—if word got out, it would be utterly laughable.
Kushina, overhearing this, burst into laughter, clearly realizing that the shortage was entirely Arata's fault.
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