Chp-15: Life Field

"Come on, Satoru! Please reconsider! Are you really not going to share your whitening secret with me?"

Hyuga Satoru sighed in exasperation. Beside him, Anko clung to his arm, pleading with him to share his beauty secrets.

"I've already told you countless times, Anko. I don't have any whitening secret."

He was at a loss, forced to repeat the same words over and over again. 

Is the allure of fair skin really this strong for girls? Since he arrived this morning, Anko has been pestering him for two whole classes. No matter how much he explained, she just wouldn't believe him.

"There's no way you don't have a whitening secret! It's only been a few days of vacation, and you've gotten so much fairer. It's like you're a different person!"

Jealousy laced Anko's voice, her eyes filled with a desire to know the truth as if she wanted to tear the secret out of Satoru.

Ah, the idle jealousy of women.

Satoru shook his head. 

His body had undergone a transformation after his electromagnetic force had levelled up, making him more handsome. How could he have known that it would also make his skin fairer?

Since arriving this morning, he'd overheard several students whispering that he looked like a "pretty boy." This was probably because he had been spending a lot of time with Uchiha Rin recently, which seemed to have affected even her reputation.

Glancing at Anko, he ruthlessly shattered her fantasy: "I'm telling you, forget about this whitening business."

"Why?"

"First, awaken a magnetic release."

Anko: ???

What does a magnetic release have to do with this?

At that moment, their teacher, Fujino Daikichi, walked in with a textbook, and Anko had no choice but to abandon her line of questioning.

Today's lesson covered the theory behind the Transformation Technique. While it wasn't particularly useful for Satoru, it was the only source of knowledge for many civilian students.

Thanks to the life field, Satoru felt refreshed despite staying up late the previous night. Bored, he decided to flip through the textbook earnestly.

This scene brought tears to Fujino Daikichi's eyes. Finally, his class had something that even Satoru found engaging. Seeing Satoru not sleeping in class was a touching sight.

---

After school, Satoru, Rin, and Anko headed to Ichiraku Ramen. Recently, Rin had been spending a lot of time with Satoru and, by extension, had become familiar with Anko as well.

At this point, the owner, Teuchi, was still young, and his daughter Ayame, who wasn't much older than Satoru, was busy in the kitchen, dressed in white.

Rin casually found a seat and raised an eyebrow, speaking plainly.

"My treat."

Hearing this, Anko hesitated before saying, "Rin, we should pay for ourselves. It's our first time eating out together, after all."

Given that they hadn't known each other for long, Anko felt it was more polite to split the bill.

"Anko, if Rin wants to treat, let her treat. She doesn't mind the cost."

Satoru quickly intervened. He knew Rin well; she didn't mind spending money but valued her pride.

"Well... thank you, Rin."

With the matter settled, Anko smiled at Rin. She was surprised by Rin's warmth, having always seen her as aloof.

Rin nodded in acknowledgement.

Teuchi soon brought over several bowls of ramen, setting them down with a smile.

"Enjoy your meal."

"Thank you."

Rin had ordered a bowl of clear broth ramen. She didn't like overly rich flavours and would not have chosen ramen if Satoru hadn't suggested it. Taking a small bite, she savoured the delicate taste, silently praising the dish.

Anko, sitting beside her, had chosen a bowl of tonkotsu ramen, which looked incredibly appetizing. She ate slowly and daintily, maintaining an air of elegance even as she enjoyed her meal.

Rin nodded in approval, her impression of Anko improving.

However, when she looked at Satoru, her eyes twitched. Satoru was devouring his ramen with gusto, not bothering with chopsticks. Instead, he wrapped the noodles into a large ball and swallowed them whole. Beside him, a stack of bowls grew higher and higher.

One... two... five... seven...

The number kept increasing.

"Boss, another bowl!"

Satoru shouted, his mouth full of noodles, as he raised his hand.

Anko, pausing her own meal, stared in disbelief at the towering stack of bowls, a testament to the "battle" that had taken place.

"Satoru... is everyone in the Hyuga clan this gluttonous?"

Anko stammered.

"More or less." Satoru swallowed his noodles. "The Hyuga clan members have to sustain their Byakugan, so they tend to eat a lot more than others."

"But this is too much..." Anko struggled to find the words.

There was another reason Satoru didn't mention: his life field. The constant stimulation of his body's life activities increased his energy consumption, making him eat even more.

The combination of these factors meant that after just one bowl of ramen, it felt like a ravenous beast had awakened inside him, demanding more.

Rin, calculating the money she had on her, felt a headache coming on. Although she wasn't short on cash, she didn't carry large amounts with her. Who would have thought Satoru could eat so much...

"That damn glutton..."

Watching Satoru devour his food, Rin gritted her teeth slightly.

---

"Please come again!"

Teuchi and Ayame bowed deeply as the three walked out, their faces beaming with joy.

What a generous customer! Their consumption alone had nearly covered the day's earnings. Especially that boy—his love for ramen was evident!

It was an honour to have such customers, Teuchi thought happily.

Rin's face was dark with anger, her teeth clenched as she stared at Satoru, who was now rubbing his belly contentedly.

So close! She thought. Luckily, she had brought extra money today, or it would have been humiliating.

Still feeling indignant, Rin stepped forward to give Satoru a piece of her mind. Just as she reached for his arm, he grabbed her wrist and turned to look at her seriously.

"Wait."

Rin had never seen Satoru so serious before and was momentarily stunned.

Following his gaze, she saw a small store where several customers were whispering, and their faces twisted in disgust.

"Hey, did you hear? White Fang abandoned his mission and caused a huge loss to the village."

"Yeah, I heard it was to save a comrade?"

"Hmph! To think we once thought of him as a hero!"

"Exactly!"

---

White Fang?

Rin froze. Isn't that Kakashi's father?