Undoubtedly, the Four-Tails' decision to break its silence and communicate was an excellent start. As unique, immortal lifeforms that had existed throughout the history of the shinobi world, the Tailed Beasts held many secrets and had witnessed countless brilliant ninjas.
Through his conversation with the Four-Tails, Allen gradually realized that the Ten-Tails' God Tree was essentially a colossal energy collection device. Its interior contained a massive amount of "media" used to extract and compress Chakra. The Chakra Fruit was simply the final product of this device's operation.
As for the nine Tailed Beasts split from the Ten-Tails, each had acquired a portion of this media, which resulted in their distinct elemental characteristics. It was due to these media that Tailed Beasts could infinitely draw energy from the natural world, rather than merely squeezing the life force from their own cells like humans. In this regard, it shared a striking similarity with the Sage Mode that appeared in the later stages of history.
"Interesting! Sage Mode and Tailed Beasts operate on the same fundamental principle! That is a staggering discovery. It seems once the Konoha Crush plan is over, I'll have to pay a visit to Ryuchi Cave to meet this so-called Great White Snake Sage." A look of intrigue appeared on Allen's face.
Now that he understood the nature of the Tailed Beasts, he was eager to find out how the animals of the Three Great Sage Regions extracted natural energy for their own use. Of course, the priority remained the ongoing second stage of the exam and the imminent launch of the "Konoha Crush."
Thinking of this, Allen turned the roasting fish over the crackling campfire, which was already wafting a rich aroma. He smiled and asked Karin, "So, are those three audacious little brats still following us?"
"Mhm! They're behind a tree about thirty meters away," Karin answered without a second thought.
Under her powerful sensory abilities, it didn't matter if they were fresh graduates or elite Jonin, they had nowhere to hide.
"Do you need me to deal with them?" Haku asked tentatively.
Allen shook his head slightly. "No need. Let's see how long these three can keep their patience and when they plan to make their move."
With that, he handed the roasted fish to his teammates. Karin took a huge bite and let out a sound of pure bliss. Needless to say, this was the added effect of Max-Level Cooking (from WoW) and special spices. Beside her, Haku's eyes lit up the moment he took a bite, and he immediately quickened his pace of eating. He could hardly believe that Allen, who rarely ever cooked, could produce such delicious roasted fish. The flavor, texture, and heat were all near perfection.
Hidden in the shadows, Choji Akimichi watched them eat with such gusto that drool uncontrollably leaked from the corner of his mouth. He whispered, "Shikamaru, are we still not moving? if we strike now and take out those Sound ninja, we can have some of that delicious fish for ourselves."
"Idiot! All you think about is food! Hold it in! These three aren't simple!" Ino Yamanaka rolled her eyes in annoyance.
"Sigh, what a drag. Those three look lazy, but they haven't shown a single opening. I'm not sure if we can pull it off if we strike now." Shikamaru scratched his head, feeling helpless. Cautious by nature, he had no intention of acting without a solid plan.
Thus, the new generation of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio spent an entire night in a state of indecision and hunger. It wasn't until the next morning, when sunlight pierced through the dense canopy, that they finally decided they had reached their limit.
They couldn't help it! The opposition was far too relaxed and arrogant! Not only did they sleep soundly for ten hours without even setting a watch, but the first thing they did upon waking up was start a fire to cook!
As the scent of thick wild chicken and mushroom soup mingled with the aroma of golden-brown, mouth-watering wild boar meat, even the even-tempered genius Shikamaru snapped. This was bullying! They had gone a full day without eating, terrified that any sound or scent would give them away.
And the enemy? Three meals a day, never missing one, and with a varied menu to boot. To make matters worse, the food smelled so good it was challenging the very limits of human endurance. Ino was dying to rush out and ask: Are you here for the Chunin Exams or a picnic?! Where is your professional awareness as shinobi? Are all Sound Genin as reckless as you?!
"Allen-sama, they're moving," Karin whispered as she sipped her soup.
"Hehe, finally lost their cool? It must have been hard for them to endure a day and night of starvation." Allen curled his lips into a wicked smile. He had intentionally made the food smell that good.
As the saying goes, "Man is made of iron and food is his fuel; miss one meal and you'll feel the cruel." Especially for teenagers in the middle of a growth spurt, the sensation of hunger was unbearable.
In that instant, Shikamaru, who had crept within ten meters, activated his Shadow Possession Jutsu, successfully snaring Allen's shadow. Choji immediately transformed into a giant boulder and came rolling forward.
"AAAAHHH! Feel the wrath of hunger! Human Boulder!"
Unfortunately, just as he was about to slam into his target, Karin reached out a single hand and pinned him in place, rendering him immobile. "Behave, little fatty. Didn't your parents teach you that it's very rude to disturb people while they're eating?"
"Oh no! Ino! Now!" Realizing Choji's attack had failed, Shikamaru signaled his last teammate.
Ino didn't have time to think. She immediately formed her hand seals and unleashed her clan's secret technique: "Mind Transfer Jutsu!"
In an instant, she successfully invaded Haku's body and attempted to use him to attack Karin. But Karin didn't even look her way; she simply raised a leg and kicked Haku flying. Under the influence of that staggering strength, Ino's consciousness and soul were forced back into her own body in less than a second. She collapsed on the ground, coughing violently. The pain and disorientation from the blow completely stripped her of the courage to try the technique again.
Allen easily broke free from the shadow binding and appeared behind Shikamaru using Shunshin. He looked at the high-IQ prodigy with a smirk and said, "Give it up. You've failed. If you agree to hand over your scroll, I'll treat all three of you to breakfast."
"Breakfast?" Sweat rolled down Shikamaru's cheek.
Though the exchange had been brief, he realized he had made an unpardonable error in estimating the strength of these Sound ninja.
"Mhm! Exactly! Why all the fighting? As shinobi, we should spread love and justice, not hatred and slaughter. Come on, before the soup and roast meat get cold."
With that, Allen reached into Shikamaru's pouch, pulled out the scroll needed to complete their set, and returned to the campfire. This bizarre behavior and speech left the new Ino-Shika-Cho trio looking utterly bewildered.
However, given that their lives were in the hands of the enemy and their stomachs were indeed growling, the three soon found themselves huddled around the fire, wolfing down their first hot meal since the second exam began.