Sakura Haruno walked down the main street carrying Terumi Mei on her back. However, the Executioner's Blade, wrapped in bandages, was still somewhat conspicuous, and passersby would occasionally glance at her.
Being glanced at like this from time to time felt really awkward. Sakura hurriedly found an inn, tossed Terumi Mei onto the bed, and then went out again to buy supplies.
Without various enhancement states, Sakura found it quite strenuous to face the Kirigakure ANBU's pursuit. Originally, if the rampage hadn't occurred, she wouldn't have had to worry at all. But now...
She wandered around the street and bought another pile of materials for Military Ration Pills. There was no other way; this was the only practical and easily obtainable thing Sakura could think of at the moment. As for a ninja tool shop, she still hadn't seen one.
Without the Strength of a Hundred Technique as a backup, kunai and shuriken, which she hadn't used much before, became Sakura's only way to conserve chakra. Ninja tools that were previously overlooked had now become scarce items. She had also spent most of her money. It seemed she needed to sell the Executioner's Blade quickly, otherwise, even if she found a ninja tool shop, she wouldn't be able to replenish her ninja tools.
On her way back, she heard some rather interesting information. The town she was currently in was called the Land of This. When Sakura heard this, she almost burst out laughing.
Such a tiny place dares to call itself a country? Looking at the scale of this town, it's not even as big as Konoha Village. At most, it's just a feudal lord's domain.
However, this also indicated the Land of Rivers' weak control over its territory; "countries within a country" were rampant in the Land of Rivers. But this had nothing to do with Sakura.
Another piece of news was that this evening, the Land of This was going to hold an "Imperial Cuisine Competition." After finding out that this "Imperial Cuisine Competition" was actually an eating contest, Sakura wondered if she could participate.
It was strange; Sakura's appetite used to be average, no different from an ordinary person. But she didn't know when it started, Sakura suddenly found herself able to eat a lot, and she would get hungry easily.
So, for the past two months while wandering outside, she had often gone hungry one meal and full the next. When she first met Terumi Mei, they had started fighting before she could even finish the table full of food Mei had treated her to. The only time she had eaten well was at the hot spring inn in the Land of Waves.
Now that there was this opportunity, she might as well have a big meal. As for Kirigakure's pursuers, well, she had already suffered enough; she couldn't let her stomach suffer too. Anyway, she wasn't planning on leaving today.
So, after finding out the location of the Imperial Cuisine Competition, Sakura returned to the inn with a pile of things and found Terumi Mei still asleep.
Thinking for a moment, Sakura sat on the edge of the bed, helped Mei sit up, and then shook her vigorously a few times. Mei's saliva flew everywhere from the shaking.
However, it seemed to have worked. Seeing Mei's eyelids tremble slightly, Sakura knew she was about to wake up. Don't blame me for waking you up so violently; there's a whole bunch of delicious food waiting for you.
Sakura would never admit that she woke Mei up just to save money on a meal.
When Terumi Mei struggled to open her eyes, she rubbed her blurry eyes, squinted at the young girl, and said weakly, "Wh-where are we?"
"The Land of This. We've shaken them off," Sakura explained. "Can you still move?"
"I... I'm so hungry!" Terumi Mei pouted at Sakura.
"Hungry is right. Come on, get up. I'll take you to eat something good," Sakura said.
"Ugh, I have no strength," Terumi Mei said in a weak voice.
Err, Sakura had experienced the effects of chakra exhaustion once before. That time during the rampage, not only was her Yin Seal depleted, but even her own chakra was completely exhausted. However, she hadn't fainted, just her vision went black, and she collapsed. It took a while to recover.
It seemed Terumi Mei's constitution couldn't compare to hers. What to do? Sakura fumbled in her pocket and found a few Military Ration Pills left.
So, she took one out, stuffed it into Mei's mouth, and said, "Eat one first, regain some stamina."
"Mmph..." Terumi Mei, realizing it was a Military Ration Pill, made a face and swallowed it whole.
"Let's go, I'll take you to eat," Sakura said, walking towards the door.
Walking on the street, Terumi Mei kept her head down, following closely behind Sakura.
"I'm sorry, am I being a burden to you again?" Terumi Mei suddenly said.
"Hm?" Sakura turned her head to look at her and saw Mei with her head down, looking dejected.
"Yeah," Sakura said.
Hearing the young girl's words, Terumi Mei's expression instantly changed, as if she had suffered a huge blow.
"But, if it weren't for you, we wouldn't have escaped so easily. Thank you," Sakura's tone changed as she spoke.
Hearing this, Terumi Mei's sad expression instantly brightened. Sakura was everything to her now; Mei cared a lot about Sakura's attitude towards her.
The two arrived at the registration point. There were already many people there, but not many were registering. According to the locals of the Land of This, the Daimyo organized this Imperial Cuisine Competition every few months.
So, they were all used to it. Very few locals registered, so Sakura and Terumi Mei were successfully selected.
"Will all contestants please enter the arena!"
A person in formal attire stood at the gate of the inner city and shouted to the contestants gathered at the entrance.
"Remember, this isn't a competition; we're here to eat. Just eat until you're full, don't overeat!" Sakura reminded her anxiously, afraid that Mei would overeat just to avoid being a burden.
"Mhm," Terumi Mei nodded, but seeing the fighting spirit in her eyes, Sakura was a little worried.
After entering the inner city, many "an" (low tables) were placed in an open area. Seeing these tables, Sakura's teeth ached a little. They weren't high-legged tables but traditional an, which required one to eat while kneeling.
Separated by blue screen walls nearby was the area where chefs prepared ingredients, and various restaurant signs were erected there.
It seems this Daimyo is quite good at making money. Sakura looked at those signs and instantly thought of the sponsorships that were particularly popular at events back on Earth.
No wonder it was held every few months; it turned out to be for making money.
Sakura found a random spot with Terumi Mei and sat down. Then, the person in formal attire in front cleared his throat and began to speak, "To pray for the prosperity of the Land of This and abundant harvests, the Daimyo is holding this Imperial Cuisine Competition. The winner will receive a reward from the Daimyo, so please do your best..."
After another long speech, the competition finally began. Sakura looked at the steamed buns being served and swallowed hard.
"Gulp, this smells so good!" Sakura smelled the aroma, and her stomach growled even louder. She felt like she could eat the plate along with the buns.
"Provided by the famous downtown shop, Tian Tian An..."
Then followed another long introduction. Sure enough, I wasn't wrong. The Daimyo takes the lead in organizing it, the merchants get publicity, and the Daimyo also receives a lot of money. This Daimyo is quite interesting.
She picked up a steamed bun and took a bite. Instantly, the soup spilled everywhere.
"Th-this is a soup dumpling in a bun?" Sakura wiped her mouth. A soup dumpling made into a steamed bun... this was... too damn delicious.
The filling and soup of the bun were exposed to the air, and the rich aroma stimulated the young girl's eyes, making them gleam. Picking up the buns with both hands, Sakura ate with great relish.
Sakura swore that after everything was over, she would definitely poach the chef from this shop and have him make steamed buns for her every day.
Sakura devoured the plate of steamed buns in no time. Patting her stomach, she felt only half full.
She turned to look at Terumi Mei and found that she had also finished her plate of buns. Judging by her expression, it didn't seem like she had forced herself to finish them. It seemed her expenditure was indeed not small.
Bang! After the sound of a gong, the man in formal attire standing in front announced that time was up.
"Those who haven't finished, please leave the arena quickly," the man said.
Instantly, many people left dejectedly. Not everyone was like Sakura, here to freeload food and drinks; they had come to compete with dreams.
"Next up is the second round, the ramen showdown, provided by the famous downtown shop, You You Tei!" the man announced.
"Ramen, huh? I wonder how it compares to Ichiraku Ramen," Sakura said, picking her teeth with a toothpick without any regard for her image.
She glanced around and found that most of the remaining people were quite large. Err, there was also a relatively "thin" one.
But that silhouette looks a bit familiar? Sakura looked at a slightly chubby b...oy??? sitting in the first row.
Err, although his build is sturdy, he seems to be a child. As expected of the Naruto world, even children can eat so much.
Looking at the large portion of ramen being served, Sakura's mouth watered uncontrollably again. She hadn't eaten properly for two months; today was finally a feast.
"Mmm, delicious, delicious, delicious," Sakura quickly slurped the ramen from her bowl. This was definitely ramen comparable to Ichiraku's.
In no time, Sakura had eaten every last bit of ramen in her bowl, not even leaving a drop of soup. Only then did she feel somewhat full.
She glanced over at Terumi Mei. She seemed to be full already, looking at the remaining half bowl of ramen with a troubled expression.
"If you can't eat anymore, then don't," Sakura said, burping. "You can go back to the inn in a bit. Process those materials I bought. You should know how to make Military Ration Pills by now, right?"
"Yes, I understand," Terumi Mei said, a hint of regret on her face.
With the bang of the gong, the ramen competition ended.
Looking around the arena, including herself, there were six people left, among them the little chubby boy.
He can really eat. I really want to see what he looks like, Sakura thought, looking at his back.
After the eliminated people had left, the man in formal attire spoke again.
"Congratulations to everyone for entering the final battle! The first round is a speed-eating contest: one hundred pieces of sushi! Only the top three will qualify for the final championship. Provided by the famous downtown shop, Zhong Zhong Sushi."
Sakura watched as the low tables were removed and replaced with high-legged tables. The six people sat in a row. She couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
If she still had to eat while kneeling, she probably wouldn't be able to eat anymore. Looking at the situation, she could probably make it to the finals.
Coming to the long table, Sakura saw the little chubby boy also go over. Tilting her head slightly to look, among the six people, only he was a child. Sakura was genuinely a little curious.
But when she saw his face, Sakura froze. How could it be him? Choji!
Damn it, why do I keep running into acquaintances? It was like this last time in the Land of Sea.
Choji seemed to have noticed Sakura's gaze as well. He turned his head to look, and his expression also faltered. He opened his mouth but didn't say anything, then turned his head back, not greeting Sakura.
Never mind him. I'm just here to freeload a meal. Sakura looked at the sushi in front of her and unconsciously swallowed again. She was clearly full, but seeing these sushi, she felt hungry again.