Night had fallen, and the lights inside the Kame House glowed a warm, golden hue.
The round dining table, already not very large, now seemed like a volcano ready to erupt.
Piles of food covered the surface like tiny mountains.
There were king crabs the size of washbasins, a whole roasted wild boar leg glistening with golden fat, heaps of white rice stacked like pyramids,
and a large pot of fish soup bubbling gently.
Master Roshi had personally gone to the sea to prepare this "luxury feast" to welcome his returning students.
"I'm starting!"
With that declaration, the warm, peaceful atmosphere of the dinner instantly collapsed, replaced by the chaos of a battlefield.
Yamcha, his frustration building all afternoon, channeled every ounce of his anger into his appetite.
He grabbed a giant crab and, too lazy to shell it, shoved it straight into his mouth, crunching it audibly. The sound made teeth ache.
"Since I can't beat you in a fight, I sure as hell won't lose in eating!"
He mumbled as he chewed, his chopsticks a blur as they furiously scooped rice into his mouth.
Krillin watched Yamcha devour food like a starving dog but didn't rush to eat.
A blue gleam flickered in his eyes as Genius Intellect activated again.
[Target: Roasted wild boar leg. Calories: 45,000. Optimal entry point: rear leg tendon junction. Eating strategy: removing bones takes 0.3 seconds, chewing efficiency +200%.]
Now, Krillin was not just a martial artist he was a precise energy-conversion machine.
The side effect of the Saitama-style regimen was… hunger.
A hunger so primal it felt as if every cell was screaming for energy. Resistance was impossible.
"Too slow."
Krillin struck.
His chopsticks traced a perfect, fluid arc through the air, slicing through Yamcha's frantic defense like a surgical blade and plunging into the roasted boar leg.
A flick of his wrist,
plop
and a large, tender piece of meat with crispy skin slipped cleanly from the bone into Krillin's bowl.
"You!"
Yamcha started to protest, only to find his chopsticks clamping nothing but a bare, polished bone.
"Eat more bones for calcium. Your bone density is a little low."
Krillin chewed the meat, swallowed, and smiled in contentment.
"Perfectly cooked. Still, nothing beats Master Roshi's cooking."
"You bastard! That was mine!"
Yamcha roared, abandoning all dining etiquette, and lunged to snatch the plate of steamed fish.
"This is the law of the jungle," Krillin said, blocking his attack with ease.
His chopsticks struck like lightning, snatching the choicest morsels with surgical precision.
The two sets of chopsticks collided above the dishes with crisp clinks, like clashing weapons.
Rice scattered everywhere, and a fish bone even flew onto the turtle watching TV, who recoiled into its shell.
Master Roshi sat at the head of the table, holding a cup of wine, eyes twitching uncontrollably at his two students, eating like reincarnated starving ghosts.
"Slow down… nobody's stealing your food…"
His voice trembled.
Before he could finish, the massive bowl of rice, enough for ten grown men, was already empty.
"Another bowl!"
"I want some too! And more meat!"
Both students lifted their empty bowls in unison, shouting in perfect sync.
Master Roshi stared at their polished bowls, not a grain of rice left, then at the empty rice cooker, a bead of sweat trickling down his forehead.
This meal had been his carefully prepared supply for two days.
In less than ten minutes, only fish bones, crab shells, and pork bones remained.
Krillin, especially was his stomach connected to another dimension?
He used to eat a lot, but never to the point of devouring entire plates at once.
"Uh… we're out."
Master Roshi cleared his throat, trying to sound composed.
"Out?"
Yamcha froze.
"I'm only half full! How is this training?"
"Same here."
Krillin rubbed his stomach, which felt like a bottomless pit.
The food had already been converted by his supercharged digestion into pure energy, instantly absorbed by his ravenous cells.
"Master, any reserves? Even compressed biscuits would do."
Master Roshi didn't answer.
He silently pulled out a shriveled, dried-up frog-shaped wallet from his chest.
His hands trembled as he opened it, turning it upside down and shaking it.
Clink
Only a few pitiful coins fell onto the table, their sound sharp yet pitiful.
Alongside them lay a wrinkled supermarket coupon stamped "Expired."
Silence filled the room.
The waves outside sounded mournful, as if paying respects to Master Roshi's empty wallet.
"Ahem."
Roshi quickly hid the wallet, putting on a stern face to mask his poverty.
"As martial artists, you must learn to endure hunger! It is part of training! You cannot be thinking about food all the time!"
"But Master, you said 'eat well, sleep well, train well,'" Krillin said mercilessly.
"That was before!"
Roshi bellowed, spitting,
"Do you know how expensive rice is now? Gas prices have gone up! Do you think an old man like me can easily save for retirement?!"
"At this rate, I'll have to sell the Kame House tomorrow!"
Dust rained from the ceiling at his outburst.
Krillin shrugged and sighed.
"Fine, we'll be self-reliant."
"I'll go hunting tomorrow. I hear there are sea snakes near here as long as dinosaurs. The meat's tough, but there's plenty of it."
"I'm going too!"
Yamcha wouldn't be outdone.
"I'm catching that T-Rex! I'm roasting it myself!"
Master Roshi watched the two of them excitedly plan tomorrow's wild feast, but joy eluded him.
He sank back into his chair, imagining a far worse scenario.
That tail-swinging kid, Goku.
The super glutton who could eat a whole cow in one sitting.
If that guy came back…
Three massive eaters together.
Roshi shivered.
He pictured the Kame House devoured down to its foundations, and himself begging on the streets for food.
"This is over…"
He buried his face in his hands, groaning in despair, filled with fear for the future.
"I should never have taken these gluttons as students.
My retirement fund… my swimsuit magazine savings… my peaceful old age…"
Night deepened.
The sea breeze cooled.
Krillin lay on the familiar cot, listening to Yamcha snore like a hurricane from the bunk above.
Though Yamcha's pride was intact, his body was exhausted; he fell asleep the instant his head hit the pillow.
Krillin, however, was wide awake.
He raised his hand, letting the moonlight illuminate his palm.
The gravity bracelet continued to apply double gravity, a subtle pressure that gave him comfort.
He could feel his power growing slowly, steadily, never stopping.
"Goku…"
Krillin whispered, a faint smile forming.
"I want you to see just how strong I am now."