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After Miyuki spared Toji for his brash comment, their food finally arrived.
Finally, Naoya's jumbo bowl of ramen, along with a tray full of gyoza, was brought out.
"Remember, 30 minutes to finish it all," said the shopkeeper with a smirk.
Miyuki looked at the amount of food and wondered if the kid could even eat a fourth of it.
However, her doubts soon turned into shock.
The shopkeeper's eyes and mouth were wide open in disbelief.
In under 10 minutes, Naoya devoured the entirety of his food.
Misaki and Miyamura puffed their little chests in pride. Their friend broke another person after all.
"...What the hell? How can you eat that much?" asked Toji.
He had never seen him eat back at the Zenin estate, so this scene was new for him as well.
"Boss! The ramen was great!!! Another Challenge set!!!" ordered Naoya with a smile on his face.
Miyuki started coughing, hearing him order once again.
Toji patted her back and offered a cup of water to the helpless girl beside him.
The shop owner, on the other hand, started writing something and then showed the pamphlet to Naoya.
"...1 challenge bowl per person....that's cheating," said Naoya in displeasure. The man changed the rules because of Naoya.
"My shop, my rules," replied the man.
The two glared at each other for a while before Naoya ordered more food.
After eating 10 more bowls, Naoya finally stopped.
"I pity the cooks at the Zenin clan," said Toji.
"It's fine. They like feeding me," replied Naoya.
"Is it fine to make him pay? We should at least pay for our portion," said Miyuki.
"It's fine, Miyuki-san. I said that it was my treat in the first place. I got to meet nii-san after such a long time, after all."
Naoya smiled and continued walking with the couple. Miyamura and Misaki were dropped first, and now it was Miyuki's turn to be dropped.
"It's fine. His family is loaded," said Toji with a shrug.
"...Act like a reliable older brother. How will you become a role model for him?" chided Miyuki.
"Me? A role model?.... His family will disown him if he were to turn out like me," said Toji and chuckled.
Miyuki looked at her boyfriend with displeasure. She didn't like that self-deprecatory joke.
"I apologise on his behalf. Nii-san don't have the best of personalities," said Naoya with a helpless smile.
"No need to apologise, Naoya-kun. Honestly, it's kind of a chore to straighten his personality. Still, once he is reformed, this man will be something I can brag about," said Miyuki and interwined her fingers with Toji.
"...I am not a science project," said Toji.
"My handsome science project," Miyuki corrected with a sweet smile.
Toji wanted to retort, but seeing her smile, he let it go and smiled as well.
Soon they reached their destination. A small apartment complex that looked a bit old.
"This is it. We live here, Naoya-kun. If you ever want to drop by, you can come to room 104," said Miyuki, ruffling Naoya's hair.
"I will. Miyuki-san," replied Naoya with a smile.
"Call me onee-chan from now on. Okay?" she asked warmly.
"Got it. Miyuki nee-chan, it is," replied Naoya.
Miyuki smiled and whispered, "Thank you for today. Toji seemed happier than usual to me."
Naoya looked at the smiling Miyuki for a while before he looked towards Toji and smiled.
Toji heard what Miyuki whispered, thanks to his superior senses, but just snorted in response.
'This woman knows me too well...' thought Toji.
"Alright. Enough. Get away from my girl," said Toji and grabbed Naoya by the collar.
"I'll come back after dropping off the brat," he added, walking away.
"Bye, Miyuki nee-chan!!!"
"Bye, Naoya-kun! If Toji troubles you, tell me next time. I'll beat him for you," Miyuki said, flexing her nonexistent biceps.
Toji snorted at that while Naoya just chuckled.
Once, they were quite a bit away from Miyuki, Toji dropped Naoya back on the ground.
"I can go back on my own, you know," said Naoya.
"Miyuki will chew me out if I leave you as is. I'll take you near the clan area and head back," replied Toji.
"Never expected you to be so well-mannered, nii-san. Miyuki nee-chan is a great person."
"Of course she is. Perhaps too much for a person like me."
"Don't say that. Miyuki nee-chan will probably beat you."
"Heh, she definitely will. So, how the things at the clan? Any chaotic event that happened there?" asked Toji.
Naoya smiled and started recounting the tales to Toji.
"I really want to see those prideful shits getting beaten by a kid," Toji said with regret. From what Naoya told him, he had been using his 'ass-whooping arts' to humble several clansmen, and Toji wished he could have watched in person.
"Enough about me and the clan. How are things going for you?" asked Naoya.
"Hmm... okay, I guess. I thought making a living would be hard, but apparently knowing how to kill is in high demand, and I get a lot of gigs," Toji replied casually.
"...You became an assassin?" asked Naoya in disbelief.
"Yep. It pays well if you're amazing like me."
"..."
Naoya was speechless at the confession. To kill someone for money as a job...he didn't know how to feel about that.
"Change that mentality as soon as you can. Being naive is good for kids, but you are a jujutsu sorcerer first. Right now, you are a hot topic among assassins. A lot of commissions are coming for you these days," said Toji.
Naoya stopped dead in his tracks.
"Wait! What!!!" yelled Naoya in shock.
Why was someone after the adorable him?!
"It's true. The bounties are juicy. Honestly, if you weren't my student, I would've taken the job myself... Though, I'll keep you alive for now for when I need quick cash," Toji said with a smirk.
"You should think of PROTECTING me, you idiot!!!" Naoya yelled, stepping away from him.
"My golden egg-laying goose~" said Toji in a sweet voice.
Naoya felt a shiver down his spine at Toji's sweet voice.
"Don't worry. I will keep an eye out for you. But still, from now on, sleep with one eye open. Check your food and water for poison. Be aware of your surroundings at all times. And don't enter shady places like you did today," warned Toji.
Naoya nodded aggressively. He needs to work even harder from now on.
"Still be a bit confident in yourself as well. You are now ranked 5 of Hei. Until someone seriously strong comes after you, you should be fine," said Toji and stopped walking.
"I will go back now," said Toji.
Naoya looked ahead and realised that they were already close to the clan area.
"Bye nii-san!! I will drop by sometime!!"
"Bring a gift when you come," replied Toji without looking back and vanished from his sight in a blur.
Naoya looked ahead and gulped. His life might actually be in danger now.
'System'
Ding~
____________________
Name: Naoya Zenin
Title: Body Stealer, Possible Zenin Heir, Busiest Elementary Schooler, Hei Rank 5
Cursed Technique: Ten Shadows Technique (Active) / Projection Sorcery (Active)
Cursed Energy: 14360/14360
STR: 185 (+2)
DEX: 191 (+1)
VIT: 248 (+1)
INT: 202 (+1)
LUK: 105 (+4)
Extra Points: 0
Achievements:
_____________________
'Alright, first order of business, getting STR and DEX to 200,' thought Naoya.
'Should I complete the exorcism ritual for another shikigami?' thought Naoya with a serious look on his face.
He has formed a pact with 6 of the 10 shikigami, and though they were strong in their own right. The remaining ones were more offence-oriented than the ones in his arsenal.
'The remaining ones are the Elephant, Ox, Tiger, and the Divine General,' thought Naoya.
All of them were strong, so he was planning to tackle one of them after all his stats were above 250. But now it seemed like he needed to take a bit of risk.
It might entirely be possible that completing the exorcism ritual for some of the shikigami might not be difficult, but it was never wrong to be more cautious than needed.
Naoya rushed towards his home and gave the lunch box to one of the servants, and headed to his room.
He immediately changed into his training clothes and rushed towards the clan warehouse.
"Naoya-sama," greeted the storehouse guards.
"Good evening. Get me four sets of Curse Binding Shackles," said Naoya.
Cursed Binding Shackles were cursed tools that the Zenin clan used to hold and restrain curses in the disciplinary pit. The shackles are very heavy and make moving around very difficult.
The guards looked at Naoya a bit weirdly, not understanding why he would need such a thing. However, Naoya outranked them, so they followed orders without questioning.
The two chanted a spell and made some hand signs, which made the seals on the warehouse gates open.
Naoya got inside and soon spotted the things he was looking for.
He stored the four of them in his shadow and walked out.
The guards registered his name along with the date and time of taking out the cursed tools and closed the warehouse once again.
Naoya got back to his training area and took the heavy restraints out of his shadows.
Naoya followed that by strapping the shackles on his legs and trying to run around.
He was around his physical limits for his age, so easy and normal training was not going to cut it anymore.
'Turtle Hermit way of training it is,' thought Naoya and tried to do a normal workout with the heavy shackles.
Even taking a simple step forward was difficult, much less running around at full speed. He could do a bit more with cursed energy reinforcement, but he was not looking for shortcuts right now.
The nearby trainees looked at the young Zenin with confused looks on their faces. The boy was getting weirder and weirder for them to understand him.
Naoya simply ignored them and continued his normal training.
Right now, his survival was back on top of his priority list.