Buying Ninja Tools

Half a month had passed since the first exam.

Uchiha Kiyoshi had been living a very fulfilling life during this period.

Every day in class, Uchiha Kiyoshi would take out his novel—cough, his materials—and read them attentively.

It wasn't as though Uemura Naoki hadn't noticed Uchiha Kiyoshi's behavior. But after calling on him several times and throwing out a few deliberately difficult questions, Uemura Naoki had accepted it.

Uchiha Kiyoshi already knew it all. There was really nothing he could do about him.

Uchiha Kiyoshi had temporarily stopped researching hand seals. Other than during class, he spent all his time practicing the Three Basic Techniques, Taijutsu, and kunai throwing.

In just half a month, Uchiha Kiyoshi had basically mastered the Three Basic Techniques.

By "basically mastered," he naturally meant that he could perform them.

However, he was still lacking when it came to the fine details needed to make them convincingly real.

The Three Basic Techniques could be considered the foundation, and Uchiha Kiyoshi intended to seriously train all three Ninjutsu.

If he could master the Transformation Technique, its applications would be extensive. If he could pair his defensive fighting style with a body shape that changed at any moment, it should prove quite confusing for his enemies.

"Hehe, you thought you hit my heart? Sorry, you missed."

Then there was the Clone Technique. Although Uchiha Kiyoshi would inevitably cultivate other tangible clone techniques in the future, the Clone Technique was the most fundamental of all clone techniques, so he needed to master it well. Moreover, combining the Clone Technique with Genjutsu, or combining it with movement techniques like Shisui did, could produce excellent results.

Finally, there was the Substitution Technique. Though it was not a prerequisite for any other Ninjutsu, Space-Time Ninjutsu alone was enough to warrant Uchiha Kiyoshi devoting considerable effort to studying it.

It was perfectly reasonable for the Substitution Technique to be Space-Time Ninjutsu. As a life-saving technique for ninja, if the Substitution Technique were truly nothing more than a visual trick, that would be rather absurd. Based on the scenes from the original work, the user was indeed real before activating the technique. In other words, at the instant the technique was activated, the caster and the target were swapped.

If it was not Space-Time Ninjutsu, then it could only be pure speed. That would mean instantly dragging the caster to the corresponding location, but how could the body endure that? Such a sudden pull was not something a Ninja Academy student could withstand. Even with Chakra protection, the amount of Chakra required for that process could not possibly be so "small."

Therefore, there was no issue with classifying it as Space-Time Ninjutsu. (That explanation was clear enough, right?)

As the only Space-Time Ninjutsu Uchiha Kiyoshi could currently access, the Substitution Technique naturally interested him the most. While practicing, he would also think about how to perfect it. If he succeeded, perhaps the core of his future path would be secured.

Uchiha Kiyoshi guessed that when the Substitution Technique had first been developed, it was probably intended to become Space-Time Ninjutsu. But perhaps something had gone wrong along the way, preventing its creator from completing it. A flawed Space-Time Ninjutsu was tasteless to use yet a pity to discard, so it gradually spread and became a life-saving skill for low-level ninja.

Even incomplete Space-Time Ninjutsu held value. As for how such a technique had been allowed to spread so widely, Uchiha Kiyoshi guessed that it must have been during the era of Ninshu. Only that era had been a time of great Ninjutsu development. Not only had the Substitution Technique emerged then, but the various Kekkei Genkai clans had also taken shape during that time.

No matter what had caused the Substitution Technique to remain incomplete, Uchiha Kiyoshi intended to give it a try and see whether he could solve some of its problems. At the very least, he needed to be able to use it properly himself.

Unfortunately, after researching it for so long, Uchiha Kiyoshi had concluded that it required extremely advanced Sealing Jutsu. His current abilities seemed insufficient.

Still, Uchiha Kiyoshi did not give up. He quietly made a note of the matter and decided that once his Sealing Jutsu improved, he would definitely study it again.

Besides, to be honest, it was time to put Sealing Jutsu on the agenda. He had spent several years researching both fields, and the time invested had been roughly the same. Compared with Sealing Jutsu, however, Uchiha Kiyoshi's progress in Medical Ninjutsu had been far faster thanks to the foundation from his previous life.

Now, he did not have enough Chakra to continue practicing, and his Medical Ninjutsu had also reached a bottleneck. It was time to shift his focus to Sealing Jutsu.

After a full day of classes today, Nawaki looked listless as well.

Unlike Uchiha Kiyoshi, Nawaki was a textbook poor student. It was not merely a matter of whether he studied seriously; his learning ability itself was worrying. At the very least, he was not very efficient at listening in class.

But in order to avoid giving his sister a chance to beat him up, Nawaki could only do his best to pay attention.

What? Report his sister for domestic violence? Go ahead, go ahead. Your sister would be waiting for you in the Hokage's office! Let's see whether the Hokage would side with you or her own disciple.

In truth, Tsunade's high demands were also partly because of Uchiha Kiyoshi.

The young master of the mighty Senju Clan sitting beside an Uchiha was bad enough, but he was actually worse than him—and not just worse, but utterly crushed. No one could stand to watch that.

Poor Nawaki still had no idea that his hellish life was entirely thanks to his deskmate.

If events followed the original story, Nawaki would repeat a year under Tsunade's arrangement because of his grades.

That was right, repeat a year. Who made him part of the privileged class? He was the young master of the Senju Clan, and his sister was also a disciple of the Hokage.

Unfortunately, everything had changed because of Uchiha Kiyoshi's arrival.

This was also the first time Uchiha Kiyoshi had affected an important figure from the original story since coming to this world.

Uchiha Kiyoshi did not know that, without his awareness, the changes he had brought to the Ninja World had already quietly begun.

Today, Uchiha Kiyoshi planned to buy a batch of ninja tools. The kunai he had freeloaded during special training had all been scrapped, so he could only spend his own money now.

This time, besides kunai, Uchiha Kiyoshi also intended to buy some shuriken and Senbon.

When Nawaki heard that Uchiha Kiyoshi was going to buy ninja tools, he loudly insisted on coming along. After listening to classes all day, he was eager to relax.

As a poor man with no source of income, Uchiha Kiyoshi could only choose cheap shops. At Nawaki's recommendation, he chose a privately owned Ninja Tool Shop.

In Konoha, Ninja Tool Shops were mainly divided into those established by clans and those opened by private merchants.

Clan-run Ninja Tool Shops generally had guaranteed quality. With large ninja clans behind them, their stock was also plentiful.

Compared to them, smaller privately owned Ninja Tool Shops naturally offered no guarantee of quality, but they were cheap.

Of course, selling military supplies such as ninja tools in Konoha naturally required official approval from Konoha. The basic quality was still there.

Therefore, Uchiha Kiyoshi had set his sights on these smaller Ninja Tool Shops.

However, Uchiha Kiyoshi had never bought such things before, so he did not know which place offered the best value. Naturally, he could only listen to his deskmate's advice.

As the young master of the Senju Clan, Nawaki had an absurd amount of pocket money. He occasionally bought things to play with himself. Moreover, to avoid his sister causing trouble for him, he deliberately avoided clan businesses and sought out small shops instead.

After going back and forth often enough, Nawaki had become familiar with which shops offered good value.

Upon arriving at the shop Nawaki recommended, Uchiha Kiyoshi looked at the hundred-square-meter storefront before him, with its sign reading "Field Ninja Tool Shop," and silently wondered, Had I misunderstood the meaning of the word small before?

Turning to look at Nawaki beside him, Uchiha Kiyoshi gave him a look that said, Are you sure this is a small shop?

Unfortunately, Nawaki could not understand what Uchiha Kiyoshi meant.

Still, Nawaki introduced the shop.

"Kiyoshi, this shop is the largest private Ninja Tool Shop in all of Konoha. The product quality is guaranteed, and the prices are very reasonable too."

Uchiha Kiyoshi was skeptical, but he still entered the Ninja Tool Shop.

After entering, Uchiha Kiyoshi saw the owner of the shop sitting behind the counter, working.

As for how he knew she was the owner, one only had to look at her clothes. Compared with the staff in the other sections, the person behind the counter was dressed in a Chinese-style qipao from head to toe, and she was not doing a cashier's work either.

After entering, Uchiha Kiyoshi fell into deep thought when he saw the owner's outfit.

"A qipao? This kind of Chinese-style clothing feels familiar. Could this be the future Tenten Ninja Tool Shop?"

Before long, a staff member came to Uchiha Kiyoshi. After asking about his needs, the staff member led him to the ordinary ninja tools section.

Yes, the ordinary ninja tools section was the cheap goods section. The tools here were made from ordinary iron, with no master smith specially crafting them. They were similar to the standard-issue kunai Uchiha Kiyoshi had used before.

He was only buying them for practice, so Uchiha Kiyoshi did not need expensive ninja tools. Naturally, he chose whatever was cheap. In fact, compared with sharpness, he valued durability more. Under the staff member's introduction, he selected one particular model.

Fifty kunai, twenty shuriken, and twenty Senbon would be enough for Uchiha Kiyoshi for half a year. The kunai cost one thousand ryo each, the shuriken eight hundred ryo each, and the Senbon five hundred ryo each, for a total of seventy-six thousand ryo. Nearly half of Uchiha Kiyoshi's little savings disappeared at once, making his heart ache terribly.

After painfully paying the money, Uchiha Kiyoshi put away the scroll handed to him by the staff member.

For customers like Uchiha Kiyoshi who bought ninja tools in bulk, the Ninja Tool Shop also gave away a one-time storage scroll to make carrying them easier.

Storage scrolls were expensive. Even one-time-use ones cost tens of thousands of ryo, so Ninja Tool Shops naturally would not simply give them away. What they gave away were defective products created through mistakes during production. They still had storage functions, but aside from being usable only once, their usage time was limited. After about a day, the scroll would become useless, and the items inside would also be damaged. Thus, the Ninja Tool Shop gave these defective products away so customers could conveniently carry their purchases. As long as they returned home in time and took out the ninja tools inside, it would be fine.

After receiving the scroll, Uchiha Kiyoshi did not leave immediately. Instead, he asked to visit the other sections.

Out of consideration for Nawaki, a regular customer, the staff member did not refuse. Besides, he could clearly see the Uchiha clan crest on Uchiha Kiyoshi's clothes. In Konoha, no one dared to impersonate the Uchiha Clan's crest.

Led by the staff member, Uchiha Kiyoshi arrived at the high-end section.

There, Uchiha Kiyoshi even saw a kunai made with Chakra Metal.

Of course, it was not made entirely from Chakra Metal. Only a certain amount of Chakra Metal had been added to the material, and the proportion was not even high.

Even so, the price of that kunai was astronomically high—one million ryo. In any case, Uchiha Kiyoshi could not afford it.

Chakra Metal was a high-grade resource and scarce throughout the entire Ninja World. Unlike ordinary metals, Chakra Metal possessed excellent Chakra conductivity. As long as some Chakra Metal was added to a weapon, a ninja could easily coat the weapon with their own Chakra when using it, greatly increasing both offense and defense.

Besides occurring naturally, it was said that Chakra Metal could also be artificially created. As long as a ninja completely wrapped a piece of metal in Chakra and soaked it in that Chakra over a long period, Chakra Metal could be produced. But the Chakra consumption involved was enormous. Maintaining Chakra twenty-four hours a day, even for a piece of metal only the size of a fist, was something only an Elite Jonin could barely manage. Moreover, the process could not be completed in a day or two. It was measured in years.

In other words, even if an Elite Jonin went all out and spent years continuously supplying Chakra without interruption, he could only produce a fist-sized piece of Chakra Metal! This alone showed how precious Chakra Metal was.

"One million ryo? What could you not buy with that money? At least buy a sword. Who would spend one million ryo on a kunai? Even if it has Chakra Metal, no one would buy it, right?"

The staff member beside him answered Uchiha Kiyoshi's question with a smile.

"This kunai is actually displayed here to showcase our shop's strength and show that we can produce ninja tools containing Chakra Metal."

As he spoke, the staff member proudly raised his head.

Uchiha Kiyoshi nodded. So it was an exhibit. He understood that, but he still casually voiced his doubt.

"Um, then doesn't making something no one will buy just waste that piece of Chakra Metal?"

At this point, even Nawaki beside him looked at his deskmate in confusion. Wasn't he supposed to be smart? Why was he asking something so pointless?

"What is it?"

Seeing Nawaki's expression, Uchiha Kiyoshi was baffled. He had no idea what was with that look.

When Nawaki saw that Uchiha Kiyoshi truly did not understand, he could not help laughing.

"Kiyoshi, I always thought you were pretty smart. How can you not understand something this simple? Although the Chakra Metal has been added to this kunai, that doesn't mean it has been wasted.

"Not to mention attracting customers like we just discussed, if they need it someday, they can extract the Chakra Metal from this kunai again."

Hearing Nawaki's words, Uchiha Kiyoshi froze, then asked.

"Didn't the Chakra Metal fuse with the other metals? Are you saying it can still be separated again?"

"Of course. Otherwise, with how little Chakra Metal is produced, if using some meant there was less forever, how much could possibly remain? Who could afford it?"

Nawaki rolled his eyes, speaking as though it were obvious.

Uchiha Kiyoshi also came to his senses. It seemed that he had learned in his previous life that it could be separated—he had simply forgotten. Still, he was a medical student. It was not really wrong for him to forget chemistry, was it?

Then Uchiha Kiyoshi seemed to think of something. His face lit up with wild joy as he muttered.

"Separation... separation! How did I not think of that? Hahaha, so that's it!"

Seeing Uchiha Kiyoshi acting so strangely, Nawaki was startled. His deskmate had not gone stupid, had he? He reached out and waved a hand in front of Uchiha Kiyoshi's face.

Uchiha Kiyoshi irritably slapped Nawaki's hand away, then explained himself. Otherwise, he feared he really would be mistaken for an idiot. The expression of the staff member beside them already looked like he was watching one.

"Cough, cough. Um, I'm fine. I just suddenly figured something out and got a little excited."

However, Nawaki still did not look convinced. After all, Uchiha Kiyoshi had asked such a stupid question and then burst out laughing. Wasn't that exactly what being stupid looked like?

Thus, under Nawaki's strange gaze, Uchiha Kiyoshi said goodbye to him and hurried home.

Because of the clans' relationship, Nawaki could not conveniently escort Uchiha Kiyoshi home. After saying goodbye, he returned home himself.

Please add this to your collection!!!

I have class this afternoon, so I might not be able to update, but there will be no interruption tonight. Updates will continue as usual. I'll either post five thousand words then or two chapters.