Walking down the bustling streets of Konoha, Allen deliberately acted like a child, looking left and right with wide-eyed wonder.
It couldn't be helped. Standing at a mere 150cm, a "shorty," and possessing a somewhat youthful baby face, he looked no different from a twelve or thirteen-year-old boy. If he didn't maintain the act, it would be far too easy for the "Copy Ninja" Kakashi walking beside him to spot a flaw.
Of course, half of that curiosity was genuine. He had seen plenty of modernized concrete jungles, but a hybrid settlement that was half-modern and half-ancient was a first for him.
Especially when they passed a ninja tool shop, he felt a strong urge to go in and grab a few Explosive Tags to see if they were more powerful than his own engineered explosives. Unfortunately, Kakashi dragged him away under the pretext of "you're not a ninja yet," heading straight for the famous "Ichiraku Ramen."
Clearly, Kakashi's "treat" consisted of a few bowls of ramen.
Silently grumbling about the "Masked Man's" stinginess, a famished Allen didn't hold back. He polished off ten bowls without a second word. Such a voracious appetite and eating speed left the owner and the surrounding patrons stunned.
Even Kakashi couldn't help but chime in: "Hey! You haven't eaten for months. Don't go bursting your stomach by accident."
"Don't worry! My stomach will be fine even if I eat twenty more bowls. Boss, two more!" Allen finished another bowl in less than five seconds and looked up at Teuchi, who was dressed in white chef's whites, holding up two fingers.
"Is this also related to your family's secret art?" Kakashi put down his chopsticks, staring with interest at the boy whose gaze and behavior were both quite peculiar.
Through his observations along the way, Kakashi was fairly certain that the boy came from a very secluded place. Otherwise, he wouldn't be so curious about everything, even eager to try things firsthand. These traits were typical for residents of isolated villages.
After all, in the entire Shinobi world, there was hardly a place more prosperous than Konoha. However, Kakashi would never have guessed that Allen's behavior wasn't because of Konoha's prosperity, but rather its extremely backward, primitive charm. It was like a city dweller visiting a remote village and being captivated by the vastly different environment.
"Yes. Aura is life energy. Once you master this power, your appetite inevitably increases to maintain the body's extra consumption." During the conversation, Allen polished off several more bowls before finally patting his completely flat stomach in satisfaction.
"Well then! It seems I'll have to speak with Hokage-sama about giving you a slightly larger living allowance, or you really might starve." Looking at the towering stack of bowls, Kakashi sighed helplessly. He felt a bit lucky he had chosen the cheaper ramen instead of the barbecue shop next door; otherwise, one meal might have bankrupted him. He wondered if he could file for reimbursement later...
After paying a thick stack of bills, the two returned to the street under the ramen shop owner's enthusiastic farewell.
Upon returning to the lodging, Kakashi immediately flopped into a corner, pulled a copy of Icha Icha Paradise from his pocket, and began reading with gusto. Without looking up, he asked, "What are your plans? Just a heads-up, I won't be looking after you forever. If your daily appetite is really that massive, you'd better accept Hokage-sama's invitation to become a ninja."
"Hmm… I haven't decided yet. But before I make a choice, can I follow you and learn for a while?" Allen tested the waters, putting on a conflicted expression.
Having arrived in the world of Naruto, it would be a total failure not to learn about Chakra and Ninjutsu. Moreover, this place was far more dangerous than the Hunter world; even innocent bystanders could drop dead at any moment. And since the final boss was an alien, he certainly wouldn't be able to defeat them with his current power.
"Learn? What do you want to learn?" A glint of amusement flashed in Kakashi's eyes.
"Let's start with refining Chakra. That's the basic prerequisite for becoming a ninja, after all," Allen replied with a shrug.
"Sure!" Kakashi agreed without a second thought.
As Allen had noted, refining Chakra wasn't a secret in the Shinobi world; even civilians could buy basic textbooks if they were willing to spend a little money. The only difference was that not everyone had the aptitude. Only if at least one parent was a ninja did a child have a high probability of refining Chakra. Those so-called "civilian ninjas" usually had ninja ancestors or had married into ninja families. A pure-blooded civilian with no ninja or samurai lineage could almost never refine it.
The main reason Kakashi was willing to teach him was to see what was special about the boy's constitution and if the power called Aura had any connection to Chakra.
Soon, under his guidance, Allen began trying to extract energy from his 130 trillion cells. But he spent the entire afternoon trying! No matter how focused or hardworking he was, the final result was zero. To be precise, he lacked a certain vital medium, making it impossible to mobilize this energy using spiritual power.
"Heh, it seems your special constitution can't refine Chakra," Kakashi concluded with a laugh before turning to go to his room to sleep.
Watching him walk away, the feigned frustration on Allen's face vanished instantly. He expanded his En to confirm no one was monitoring him, then whispered, "Vaelastrasz, what's going on?"
"Based on my observations, these so-called ninjas have a special medium in their bodies. Only by possessing this medium can they refine that energy called Chakra. You aren't from this world, so it's normal that you can't refine it," the Red Dragon answered without hesitation.
"Which means... we need to eat a person!" A cold glint flashed in Allen's eyes.
"Correct! By utilizing the ability of the Chimera Ant King, you can immediately acquire a person's genes and abilities just by eating them. Since it's the first time, you must swallow them whole," Vaelastrasz suggested solemnly.
"But the problem is, we can't leave this place right now. Where am I going to find a ninja?" Allen frowned, rubbing his chin.
Leaving Konoha now was clearly unrealistic. He hadn't even figured out the working principles of the surrounding barrier or the hidden checkpoints. Even if he used God's Accomplice, he could only disappear for a short while; once he switched to Shadowmeld, he would quickly be sniffed out by ninken or spotted by the Hyuga Clan's "cataracts."
During his earlier routine questioning, he had learned that the Byakugan could see the life energy he released when using Nen.
"If there's no other way, I'll have to accept the old man Hiruzen's offer and join Konoha as a ninja. If I need to later, I'll just defect..." After careful consideration, Allen made his choice.
To him, Konoha was merely a temporary shelter. He felt no sense of belonging or identity here. Most importantly, he had already seen the darkness of this place in the anime. He knew the old geezer Hiruzen was the typical double-standard dog who said one thing but did another in private. Allen would feel zero psychological burden in betraying him.