By the afternoon, the consequences of overeating had become apparent.
Even after burning through chakra and performing multiple rounds of strenuous exercises, Rin's body simply could not keep up.
Her digestion had long since reached its limit. Compared to Garfield and Senju Hashirama, she was hopelessly outmatched and was the first to surrender.
Next to fall was Hashirama himself.
Although he had eaten an astonishing amount, enough to leave the restaurant piled with empty plates, he was still nowhere near the level of the true monster at the table.
Garfield.
The orange cat's stomach was less an organ and more a bottomless furnace of nothingness.
In the comics alone, beings like Goose had devoured entire space battleships. Compared to that, tailed beasts were… merely snacks.
Hashirama stared at Garfield in stunned silence.
The entire restaurant was empty. Every dish was eaten
"…Tailed beasts aren't much more than this, are they?" Hashirama muttered faintly.
The restaurant owner stood nearby, his expression one of profound despair.
Seeing this, Garfield calmly reached into his pocket, pulled out a solid gold brick shaped like a cat's paw, snapped off a corner with his teeth, and handed it over.
"Don't cry," Garfield said casually. "I won't owe you."
Dinner ended in absolute defeat for Senju Hashirama.
Upon learning that Garfield and Rin were searching for a place to stay, Hashirama warmly offered them a small cabin on the outskirts of the village.
Garfield accepted without hesitation and moved in with Rin in the most carefree manner imaginable.
By the time they settled in, night had already fallen.
The initial excitement finally faded, and Rin physically and mentally exhausted, fell into a deep sleep almost the moment she lay down.
She had already come to terms with the truth.
She had returned to her world.
And entered the wrong timeline.
Her breathing grew steady. Rin slept soundly.
Garfield, however, remained awake.
Lying on the bed, he lazily swayed his tail back and forth, his golden eyes half-open.
His thoughts returned to the encounter earlier that afternoon. He had already prepared himself to fight Hashirama if necessary.
Despite how foolish Hashirama appeared in manga and anime, the man in reality was anything but stupid.
He simply refused to become the kind of person he despised. That was why he had deliberately exposed flaws in front of Rin, subtle tells meant to provoke awareness and force the truth into the open.
To let Garfield know…
Senju Tobirama, as expected, had followed the bait.
The gambling, the eating, the casual losses were all a cover. Tobirama had been observing Garfield closely the entire time, testing him while pretending to be careless.
Just then…
Garfield's devouring instinct flared. Four massive energy signatures lingered outside the cabin.
The corner of his mouth curled into a smirk.
"…So you've finally arrived," He murmured. "Good. I'll give you something interesting."
He raised a claw.
Magic circles bloomed into existence throughout the cabin, one after another, spells interlocking seamlessly. From the outside, the hut appeared unchanged.
Inside, however, it had been transformed into a layered magical labyrinth.
Garfield then created a clone using transformation magic.
The clone padded to the door, pushed it open, and lay down lazily on the threshold, looking exactly like an ordinary house cat.
On a large tree nearby.
Uchiha Madara glanced at the orange cat lounging by the door and scowled.
"This?" He said irritably, turning to Senju Hashirama. "This is the unfathomable orange cat you were talking about?"
Hashirama nodded calmly. "That's right. It placed its claws on the back of my hand faster than I could perceive."
Madara's expression darkened.
"Did you gamble too much today," He sneered, "Or did you lose all your strength competing with me over my wallet?"
The mocking tone instantly annoyed the Devourer's true body inside the cabin.
Garfield clicked his tongue. "What a nasty attitude."
Uchiha Izuna quickly raised a hand, stopping his brother before things escalated.
"Brother, calm down." Izuna said.
"Hokage-sama wouldn't lie about something like this. I also asked Gatekeeper Kameda and others. That orange cat and the girl are… unusual."
Tobirama added coolly, "I questioned several clans. There is no ninja named Rin Nohara recorded anywhere in the village."
Madara frowned.
Izuna would not lie.
And as irritating as Senju Hashirama was, he would never fabricate something of this magnitude.
That infuriating, honey-sweet confidence of Hashirama's, that was what Madara hated most.
Why was he always treated like a fool?
Why was he the one constantly pushed aside by other clans, all in the name of the village?
His fists clenched.
Hateful.
Truly hateful.
꧁𓊈𒆜༺⚜༻𒆜𓊉꧂
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