300,000 Ryo, Not a Single Ryo Less

When Chiyue saw the big orange cat curl into a ball in pain, having lost even the desire to attack, he could not help but laugh.

Was this guy all bark and no bite?

No, this had probably just been a lucky accident.

He had happened to kick its chin, making it bite its own tongue and lose the will to fight from the pain.

It was no different from a man losing all fighting ability after getting hit in the balls.

The difference was that the big orange cat had bitten its own tongue. Chiyue had merely kicked it in the chin.

"Chiyue, are you all right?"

Hearing the sounds of battle and the big orange cat's roar, Mikoto hurried over.

By the time she arrived, Chiyue had already knocked the big orange cat unconscious and tied it up with rope.

"Nothing serious."

Standing beside the big orange cat, which was taller than him even while lying down, Chiyue patted its back and said,

"This guy should be the culprit behind the attacks on the ranch's livestock. We can get a higher reward for our mission, and it should fetch quite a bit of money if we take it back and sell it."

That was it?

After learning how the battle had gone, Mikoto did not know whether to laugh or cry.

She had wanted to sharpen her combat awareness and gain some experience.

Instead, Chiyue had settled it in just a few moves.

The fight had been simple and brutal. One kick to the chin, then while the big orange cat was in so much pain it was questioning its life, he knocked it out.

Then he tied it up, and the job was done. She had not helped at all and had practically coasted through it.

"Sister Mikoto, it seems you don't have a suitable Summoned Beast yet. How about contracting this guy?"

The big orange cat was fairly strong, and Mikoto happened to have no contracted Summoned Beast.

If she wanted, making a summoning contract with the big orange cat would not be a bad choice.

"Forget it."

Looking at the big orange cat, which was as large as a small house, Mikoto shook her head slightly.

"I'll pass. People from the Uchiha Clan are better suited to making summoning contracts with the Ninja Cat Clan. It'll also be much more convenient to buy weapons and ninja tools from them in the future."

Making summoning contracts with the Ninja Cat Clan was a tradition of the Uchiha Clan.

Most capable Uchiha ninja made contracts with the Ninja Cat Clan.

The Ninja Cat Clan also supplied the Uchiha Clan with all kinds of ninja tools and scrolls.

As long as you had money, you could buy whatever you wanted from them, and their prices were much cheaper than the village weapon shops.

"Then we'll take it back to Konoha and sell it."

A D-Rank Mission, even one with an increased reward, would pay at most a few tens of thousands of ryo.

But if they dragged this big fellow back to Konoha and sold it, it would fetch at least 300,000 ryo.

Summoned Beasts and quality Chakra weapons had always commanded high prices.

Chiyue and Mikoto dragged the tightly bound big orange cat back toward Konoha. Along the way, many people who saw Chiyue pulling the cat hurriedly moved to the side of the road in fright.

"That tiger is huge."

"Those two kids are ninja from the village, right? They're amazing to have caught such a huge tiger."

"Are they taking it back to butcher and eat?"

"Idiot. A creature like that can be sold as a Summoned Beast for a fortune. Other than eating, what else do you know?"

The passersby's chatter made Mikoto feel somewhat embarrassed.

The fight had ended before she could even arrive, and now dragging the orange cat back to Konoha had become Chiyue's job too.

It made Mikoto feel useless. She had barely been able to help at all.

"Hello, my name is Sanying Luo. Are you planning to bring this Summoned Beast to Konoha to sell?"

Summoned Beasts were even more sought-after than Chiyue had imagined.

Sure enough, before they even reached the village, a ninja returning from a mission spotted the big orange cat, his eyes lit up, and he hurried over to ask.

"300,000 ryo, and it's yours."

Though he had never looked into the market, even if he had never eaten pork, he had seen pigs run.

So, in Chiyue's mind, the big orange cat was worth 300,000 ryo. If the offer was any lower, there was nothing to discuss.

"300,000?"

Sanying Luo froze for a moment before giving a bitter smile.

"Um... could you make it a little cheaper? I recently bought some ninja tools, so..."

"I'm sorry, but that's the price. If you can't accept it, I can only drag it to the village and sell it there."

Good Summoned Beasts never lacked buyers. Most ninja who particularly loved Summoned Beasts were civilian ninja with average talent and limited potential.

For them, having a reasonably strong Summoned Beast could greatly increase their combat strength.

It could even save their lives at a critical moment.

Quite a few ninja liked to send their Summoned Beasts to their deaths while they escaped.

"I'll buy it!"

Seeing Chiyue start dragging the big orange cat away without any intention of haggling, Sanying Luo hurriedly called out to stop him.

"I'll buy it for 300,000 ryo, but you'll need to give me some time. I just got back from a mission and need time to gather the money."

"To make up for delaying you, I can help transport this guy back to the village."

Ninja were in a high-risk profession, but it was also a profession that made money quickly.

As long as they were not lazy and kept their expenses modest, they generally would not live too poorly.

After all, even an ordinary C-Rank Mission could pay several thousand, or even tens of thousands, of ryo.

However, being a ninja was also an expensive profession.

As a result, many ninja earned a lot but spent just as much, often unable to save much money.

Under normal circumstances, the balance in a ninja's bankbook was tied to their strength. The stronger the ninja, the more money they could earn.

Tsunade, that big spender, was an exception.

Chiyue felt that in the entire ninja world, there were probably few jonin who could earn more than Tsunade yet be poorer than her.

"That would be great."

Since someone was willing to help, Chiyue gladly accepted.

He had dragged the big orange cat all the way from the ranch and had exhausted himself.

"Take a rest, little brother. Leave the rest to me."

Sanying Luo was not one to fuss around. He grabbed the rope and started walking.

Though he really wanted to immediately make a summoning contract with the big orange cat, he had not paid yet, so Chiyue would not allow it.

Otherwise, they could have saved themselves the effort of taking the big orange cat back to Konoha.

The closer they got to Konoha, the more people traveled along the road. Quite a few ninja came up to inquire after seeing the big orange cat, but Sanying Luo sent every one of them away.

I've got my eye on this Summoned Beast, and we've already agreed on the price. Go cool off somewhere else and stop getting ideas about it.

Once they returned to Konoha, they exchanged the money and the goods.

While the other students were still waiting for the village's arrangements, Chiyue and Mikoto had each already earned over 100,000 ryo in spending money.