Chapter 799: NASM - 799

"Tonight is going to be another peaceful one. There’s no sign of anything moving around here. The only creature nearby was that bear, and we’ve already eaten it. We can sleep soundly tonight without worrying about anything disturbing us," Hiroshi said softly with a smile after finishing his meal.

Harumiko nodded in agreement. She knew it would be quiet — all the other animals had stayed far away, scared off by the bear. Now that the bear was gone too, there was nothing left to fear or be alarmed by.

"Let’s rest well tonight. Tomorrow we’ll keep going and try to cover as much ground as possible, so we get even closer to Konoha," she said, wiping the grease from her chin.

Hiroshi nodded. He knew they had to make good progress tomorrow and increase their pace, otherwise they wouldn’t reach the village within the planned time.

"Alright, enough talking — let’s focus on the food. There’s enough here to last us a day or two. Though some will have to be left behind; we can’t carry it all, so the other animals will get to eat the rest," he said, slicing off another piece of roasted meat with his knife.

It took them over an hour to finish most of what they had prepared. Their appetites were truly enormous — it was amazing how much food the two of them could put away.

Throughout that hour, they ate while chatting happily. It was clear they cherished these moments; sharing a meal and talking together brought them great joy.

The past few days had been so relaxed. Nothing and no one had bothered them, and they had barely seen any wildlife at all.

In fact, they had become so accustomed to this calm that even the slightest strange occurrence made them anxious that enemies were lurking nearby.

"I’m absolutely stuffed. I couldn’t eat another bite if I tried. My stomach is completely full — it’s nearly twice its usual size! This feels wonderful. I don’t want to move an inch; I just want to sit here and rest," Hiroshi said contentedly.

Harumiko took out a cloth and wiped the grease from her hands and mouth. She also felt incredibly heavy and sluggish. After eating so much, staying seated was definitely the best idea — moving around felt impossible, since their bodies now felt much heavier than before.

Eventually, though, she stood up slowly, walked over to wash her hands — which were quite oily — and then made her way back to the fire, sitting down again carefully. She definitely had no energy left for activity; all she wanted was to rest right where she was.

"This is perfect. Eating that much has completely satisfied my hunger. I can’t be bothered to move or do anything at all — just sit here and relax," she said, leaning back against the tree trunk with a smile.

Hiroshi nodded. He was feeling exhausted too. After such a big meal, doing nothing but resting or lying down was exactly what he needed.

"You know what it’s like — when you eat until you’re bursting, you just don’t want to move a muscle. Sitting or lying down is the only comfortable thing to do," he replied with a grin.

He patted his stomach and let out a satisfied burp. Every breath still carried the delicious aroma of roasted meat. They had used up nearly half their supply of salt too — cooking such a large animal really did require a surprising amount.

"We’ll head up to sleep after we’ve rested a bit. I think sleeping in the trees tonight will feel extra comfortable, especially with full stomachs. Just thinking about it makes me happy," Harumiko murmured softly.

Hiroshi nodded. He was very tired, but he knew he would eventually have to climb up to their resting spot in the branches.

"Though honestly... right now, climbing up there feels like too much effort. I really don’t want to move at all. Let’s just sit here and rest a while longer before we go up. That way it won’t feel so hard," he said quietly with a smile.

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