Uchiha's Personal Opinion!

North?

The Land of Lightning? The Land of Earth?

Or some other small country?

Nara Kaikei considered it for a moment before deciding to ask, "Lady Cat, do you have any more detailed information?"

"If you mean the specific buyer, then I don't have any information on that either."

Lady Cat shook her head, then held out her fingers and lightly rubbed them together. The meaning was obvious.

"But if you're willing to pay a sufficient fee, I can help investigate and search for relevant information in the black market.

"Finding out exactly who the buyer was may be difficult, but I should be able to trace the general flow of the Chakra Crystal."

"Forget it."

Nara Kaikei declined Lady Cat's proposal.

Chakra Crystals were extremely valuable.

Leaving aside why the "people from the north" had bought the Chakra Crystal and what they intended to use it for.

Even if Nara Kaikei knew the Chakra Crystal's exact whereabouts, he would not be able to pay enough to buy it back from the "people from the north."

"Mm, there's one more thing."

Nara Kaikei placed the two D-rank genjutsu scrolls into his ninja tool pouch.

"This may be a little blunt, but I assume Lady Cat will keep the details of this transaction confidential?"

"Of course! I understand how much ninjas value intelligence."

Lady Cat showed no displeasure at all. Instead, she gave a solemn reply.

"Strictly keeping customers' information confidential is the foundation black market merchants rely on to survive.

"I'm an honest merchant, after all!"

Nara Kaikei nodded lightly, though he only believed a small part of Lady Cat's words.

Not to mention the Old Clan Head's earlier warning.

If black market merchants were really that principled, they would not be called "black market merchants"!

The only reason they kept information strictly confidential was that the customers buying it could not afford a sufficiently weighty price.

But after thinking it over, Nara Kaikei let go of his pointless worries.

The main reason was that the Uchiha Clan also commissioned ninja tools and purchased goods from Lady Cat and the Nekamura Clan.

If something really went wrong, the first ones to blow up would definitely be those red-eyed Uchiha lunatics.

Afterward, Nara Kaikei discussed the detailed requirements for forging a wakizashi with Lady Cat.

"I will arrange for a Ninja Cat to travel to the Land of Iron as soon as possible, find a swordsmith with an open schedule, and relay Nara-kun's requirements."

Lady Cat spoke with meticulous seriousness.

"Based on the usual process, once the swordsmith is confirmed, they will create an initial draft of the weapon according to Nara-kun's specific requirements. At that time, I will have a Ninja Cat bring the draft back to Konoha and ask for Nara-kun's opinions.

"Once both sides confirm there are no issues with the weapon design, the formal forging process will begin."

Nara Kaikei nodded. "Thank you for your hard work, Lady Cat."

"What hard work? It's just taking someone's money and handling their affairs."

Lady Cat covered her mouth and chuckled, her tone returning to its initial flirtatious ease.

"But the little brother from the Nara Clan is really thoughtful and polite~"

Nara Kaikei could not handle such a bewitching Lady Cat and could only bid her farewell.

Before he left, Lady Cat suddenly asked a question.

"Little brother from the Nara Clan, I noticed earlier that you seemed to have had a conflict with little Inaho?"

"It wasn't anything serious."

Nara Kaikei briefly explained what had happened.

"I didn't think much of it, but he apparently doesn't see it that way."

"So it was that day..."

Lady Cat sighed.

"Little Inaho normally isn't that aggressive. It was only because he lost a Summoning Beast companion that day that he neglected the Police Force's rules and overstepped his authority."

A Summoning Beast companion?

Nara Kaikei thought back for a moment.

Could she mean the cat corpse he had seen on the bed in the Beast Taming and Rehabilitation Class?

"As a fellow ninja clan, I understand the pressure and responsibilities the Uchiha Clan faces in commanding Konoha's police force."

Hearing the conciliatory intent hidden in Lady Cat's words, Nara Kaikei responded tactfully as well.

"But as long as everyone follows the rules, no normal person wants to clash with the Uchiha."

Lady Cat's beautiful eyes lit up as she looked at Nara Kaikei approvingly.

Talking to smart people really was pleasant.

Everyone was her customer. Couldn't they just conduct business peacefully, make deals, and earn big money together?

Why did they have to fight to the death?

After bidding Lady Cat farewell, Nara Kaikei left the terrain-complex Empty Zone under Taka's guidance.

"Little Kaikei, come visit again, meow!"

With that farewell, Taka turned and slipped into the ruins of the Empty Zone.

Nara Kaikei headed back toward Konoha alone.

He still had other matters to handle today...

Outside the ruins.

A familiar voice rang out.

"You from the Nara Clan, stop right there!"

Nara Kaikei stopped walking and glanced sideways at the newcomer.

"Uchiha Inaho, I don't like fighting, but that's only because I find it troublesome. Understand?"

"You—"

Uchiha Inaho leaped out from the shadow of a wall, stopping about five or six meters away from Nara Kaikei.

"Enough nonsense!

"Last Time, you won by ambushing me.

"This time, I definitely won't lose to you!"

If he did not crush this guy's desire to fight, he would keep causing endless trouble in the future...

Nara Kaikei casually glanced at Uchiha Inaho opposite him. With a thought, he directly used the genjutsu he had just acquired.

[D-Rank Jutsu: Demonic Illusion - Hell Viewing Technique]

[Jutsu Description: A basic genjutsu that manifests the fears hidden within the human heart.]

[Jutsu Effect: Consumes the user's Yin Release Chakra to disrupt the target's brain nerves, causing their feared scenes to reappear in their mind. The more tragic the image imagined in the target's heart, the greater the blow dealt to them.]

[Jutsu Evaluation: The best way to eliminate fear is to face it!]

In Uchiha Inaho's field of vision, countless pitch-black tentacles suddenly burst from Nara Kaikei's body.

Those black tentacles formed from shadows pierced the air like javelins, passing through his body as blood sprayed from the wounds...

Wait! My body!

Two black tomoe instantly appeared in Uchiha Inaho's eyes.

"You dare use genjutsu in front of the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan!"

"What?"

Nara Kaikei looked curiously at the furious Uchiha Inaho.

"Is genjutsu some exclusive ability of your Uchiha Clan?

"Do people need to submit an application to you before they can use genjutsu?"

The fury in Uchiha Inaho's heart burned even fiercer, and his face turned bright red.

"Then let me show you the power of the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan!"

The black tomoe spun ceaselessly in Uchiha Inaho's pupils. He stepped forward and fixed his gaze on Nara Kaikei's eyes, trying to make their lines of sight meet.

But his gaze only collided with a pair of sunglasses.

A single-lens tactical pair of sunglasses produced by Manten Hall.

"Is this the power of the Sharingan you're so proud of?"

Nara Kaikei adjusted his sunglasses, his expression calm.

"Impressive. So impressive."

If he were facing a Three Tomoe Sharingan, or even a higher-level Mangekyō Sharingan, Nara Kaikei would definitely have shut his eyes without a word.

But Two Tomoe?

To be safe, Nara Kaikei quietly closed his eyes anyway.

No matter what, the Uchiha Clan's genjutsu ability was still exceptionally formidable.

Even Two Tomoe could not be taken lightly.

Through the thick tactical sunglasses, Uchiha Inaho could not see the state of Nara Kaikei's eyes, but he knew very well that his genjutsu had failed.

Sharingan genjutsu could basically be considered "dojutsu-type genjutsu," requiring a meeting of lines of sight to take effect.

Against this type of genjutsu, blocking one's own vision was the best countermeasure.

The Uchiha Clan could naturally use non-dojutsu genjutsu.

But not only was that more troublesome and unnecessary, Uchiha Inaho did not yet know any other types of genjutsu.

At the end of the day, he was only a chūnin.

Hearing the undisguised mockery in Nara Kaikei's words, Uchiha Inaho instantly formed hand seals. He decisively abandoned genjutsu and switched to ninjutsu.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

Whoosh—

A blazing orange-red fireball erupted from before Uchiha Inaho, instantly scorching the air until it warped with heat.

The enormous fireball crashed toward Nara Kaikei, while also cutting off Line of Sight for a brief moment.

"Using such dangerous Fire Style Ninjutsu against a ninja from the same village."

Nara Kaikei's figure flickered, and his entire body slowly sank into the ground.

"I really underestimated you, Uchiha Inaho."

Earth Style: Earth Dragon Burrowing Technique!

"Did the Great Fireball hit?"

Uchiha Inaho withdrew his Fire Style and looked ahead expectantly, only to see empty air.

"That Nara Clan guy vanished!"

Uchiha Inaho's pupils narrowed slightly. Then, he keenly sensed an unusual disturbance coming from the ground beneath his feet.

He was just about to leap away and evade the anomaly below him.

Screech!

But at that moment, a shadow spike rose from underground and accurately pierced through Uchiha Inaho's shadow.

An incomparably powerful restraining force followed the shadow spike, firmly locking Uchiha Inaho in place and rendering him unable to move.

Shadow Binding Technique!

The shadow continuously expanded and warped. Nara Kaikei emerged from underground and lightly stepped on Uchiha Inaho's shadow.

He pulled out a kunai from his ninja tool pouch and held it against the latter's neck.

"The fight is over."

Feeling the icy touch against his neck, Uchiha Inaho caught sight of half a kunai from the corner of his eye, and boundless bitterness rose in his heart.

"Ninjutsu, genjutsu, strategy... there isn't a single thing you surpass me in."

Nara Kaikei put away the kunai and turned to leave cleanly.

"You're still far from being able to beat me."

"I lost."

Uchiha Inaho stood motionless, his hands clenched tightly.

"But the Uchiha Clan did not lose!"

"Are you still a child?"

Nara Kaikei's voice grew increasingly distant. Clearly, he had not taken the matter to heart.

"If you can't win, do you have to go find your parents..."