A ninja who is always hungry

"When he said the fruit had no weaknesses, I thought he meant just the Sea Stone and sea water. I didn't expect the bad taste to be fixed too!" Tony exclaimed, surprised, as he continued eating the Devil Fruit with delight.

[Ding! The host has acquired the abilities of the Devil Fruit.]

[Kuku Kuku no Mi: A Paramecia-type Devil Fruit that allows the user to transform any material into food. Because the fruit has no weaknesses, the food it produces tastes delicious and superior to any other.]

"Wait, isn't that the ability Streusen from Big Mom's Pirates had?"

Tony was excited about the ability he had gained. Not only would he never have to worry about a lack of food again, but he could even turn it into a business with no cost. This ability shouldn't be underestimated; Tony remembered how Streusen turned the Whole Cake Chateau into a fluffy cake with meringue when it came crashing down.

[Ding! The host has fulfilled the conditions for activating the System.]

[The Gourmet Ninja System has been activated.]

"Ninja?" Tony looked at the translucent window in front of him, confused. "There are too many worlds that use ninjas, with Naruto being the most well-known. Maybe... System, show me my status."

[Status]

Name: Gluttony, also known as Tony.

Current World: Naruto.

Ability: Kuku Kuku no Mi Devil Fruit (no weaknesses).

Weapons: None.

Traits: Unawakened.

Summoning Contract: None.

Description: An apparently ordinary boy with the mysterious ability to transform things into food.

"I see, so I'm really in the world of Naruto," Tony reflected. "Now the big questions are: where and when am I? Before the Nine-Tails attack? After Kaguya? Damn, I hope it's not Boruto's timeline; I refused to watch that sad attempt to extend the series. And I don't remember much about Naruto..."

He tried to organize his memories, but due to the filler episodes, he often skipped several chapters to avoid them. If he could visit Konoha, he might get his bearings better.

"Right! System, what are your functions?"

[The System will act as an assistant for the host most of the time. It will also issue optional missions and can help obtain more food and related abilities.]

"Fortunately, the missions are optional," Tony felt relieved to know. "Do you know where or in what moment of Naruto we are?"

[No idea.]

"Okay, let's take it step by step then. Since food won't be a problem, let's take things slow. Let's start by seeing what I can do."

He remembered that Streusen used a short sword to activate his power, so the first test was to see if he could transform things into food with his own hands. He picked up a branch from the ground and thought about changing it. The branch softened and slowly turned red until it became strawberry licorice.

"Not bad for the first attempt," Tony nodded. "The transformation is a bit slow, but it should get faster as I practice and develop the ability. Though, I wonder what kind of power the fruit will have when awakened. Will I turn everything around me into food indiscriminately? Maybe even living beings into food?"

He took a bite and stood still. How could it be so delicious?

"I'm going to have to be careful with my own power; otherwise, I'll end up becoming a version of Gusteau from Ratatouille."

He chose a random direction and started walking, hoping to find a path that would lead him to a town or city.

"I need to be careful so that no one discovers my ability, at least for now. Given the paranoia and greed in this world, they might think it's a Kekkei Tōta. Or was it a Kekkei Mōra? I don't remember."

As he walked and ate, after a while, he noticed something strange.

"System, why do I feel so good but haven't gotten full yet?"

[The food the host has transformed has the ability to accelerate chakra recovery and physical stamina. As for why you don't feel full, that's a surprise.]

"Another surprise, I see," he remembered that in the status tab he had a section indicating he had unawakened traits. "So, aside from the Devil Fruit power, I do have something like a bloodline. Interesting. I wonder what it could be?"

As he continued walking into the unknown, he started to think about what he would do in this world. For starters, he estimated that his current body was about nine years old and had no money; that is, anyone who saw him might take him for an orphan, which would give him the chance to be adopted by one of the five great hidden villages. But that represented both a danger and an opportunity.

He could rule out the Village Hidden in the Sand because, from the landscape around him, he clearly wasn't in their territory. It was also one of his last options. He remembered it was a village with few resources and whose daimyō had a grudge against its Kage. If they discovered his ability, they might lock him up as a strategic resource.

The Village Hidden in the Rock also didn't seem like a good option. He didn't remember much about it, except that its Kage and ninjas were stubborn as mules and seemed to look for any excuse to fight. He wasn't sure if it would be a good place to live.

The Village Hidden in the Clouds gave him a better impression than the previous two. Okay, the Kage was a muscular guy who liked to go shirtless, and according to the timeline, he might have to endure the acoustic attack that is Bee's rap. Wait, wasn't this the village that had a habit of kidnapping ninjas with special abilities? He vaguely remembered something about Kushina and Hinata. Alright, discarded.

The Village Hidden in the Mist... definitely not. Between the Bloody Mist period, its Kage manipulated by Obito, and the massacre of the clans, Tony was pretty sure there wasn't much culinary culture in that place.

That leaves him with the Village Hidden in the Leaves. On the bright side, he knew many characters and knew things that would happen, so he could prepare a bit. On the downside, they had Danzō and his lover, the Third Hokage. Not to mention the corrupt duo of advisors. It could be said that it was the village with the worst and most inept leaders of the five villages and only holds on due to the accumulation of its predecessors. A good example of this is what happens to the Senju. Fortunately, Orochimaru remedies this later, even if only in part.

It seems his only options are the Rock or the Leaf.

"System, if a sensor ninja tries to read my memories, will they discover you?"

[No, they will be shown false memories reflecting that the host is the sole survivor of a small destroyed village, the kind no one cares about.]

"Let's figure out the timeline first and then decide," he concluded.

If he was in Boruto's time, he would move to the Village Hidden in the Rock without hesitation. If, on the other hand, he was still in Naruto's time, the Leaf might be his best option. He just needed to find an idiot with yellow hair and bright orange clothes. Damn, now that he mentions it, there was nothing less ninja and discreet than that.

"One second, do I have to go through puberty again?!"