Ninja Tools

After leaving the Contribution Office, Yichen headed excitedly toward the Exchange Office.

Yichen had been to the Exchange Office once before. After buying a sheet of Chakra test paper, he had gone right back to being broke.

But back then, he had been dirt poor. Now he was a wealthy man carrying 1,100 points. This time, he was definitely going to take a good look around.

There were not many staff members at the Exchange Office. Perhaps because it was wartime, every department was short-handed. But there were truly plenty of goods. Yichen had originally worried that he might not be able to buy ninja tools during the war.

Only after entering did he realize he had overthought it. There were all kinds of ninja tools here—things Yichen had seen, things he had never seen, things he had heard of, and things he had never heard of.

The prices were probably a little higher than they had been in peacetime.

In truth, there was no way supplies of ninja tools would be lacking during wartime. Otherwise, the war would have become impossible to sustain long ago.

Besides, the Contribution Office was a shop specifically established for Ninjas who had contributed to the village. How could it possibly run out of stock?

Ninja tools bought with silver outside might be out of stock, but there was no way that would happen here when exchanging Contribution Points.

Yichen was not in a hurry to choose his ninja tools. Instead, he first looked through everything, planning to broaden his horizons before making his picks.

After making a round, Yichen realized there was not much he could actually choose from. He was too young, and the items at the Contribution Office were prepared for official Ninjas, so many were not the right size for him.

Take the Wind Shuriken, for instance. Yichen compared it against himself and found that it was not much smaller than he was. It might even have weighed more than him.

In the end, after looking around, the only things suitable for Yichen were some small bladed tools. He chose some Senbon and Shuriken, but did not even buy any Kunai.

It turned out that the wooden Kunai used for practice at the Ninja Academy were not made at a one-to-one scale with real Kunai. They were much smaller than normal Kunai, tools specially designed for children.

Shuriken, on the other hand, were much smaller than Kunai to begin with. They felt awkward in Yichen's hands, but he could get used to them.

Then Yichen chose a short sword. It was only called a short sword from an adult's perspective. To Yichen, it would have been more appropriate to call it a longsword.

He had not yet figured out how to use it, though. The Ninja Academy did teach swordsmanship, but it was all basic instruction. Yichen currently had no way to pursue further sword training.

More importantly, his physique was not suited for becoming a Taijutsu-type ninja who used a blade.

Finally, Yichen bought three Exploding Tags and five Soldier Pills. He had also wanted to buy some protective gear, but the staff told him they did not have anything in his size, so he had no choice but to give up.

Besides these combat items, the Exchange Office also had all sorts of miscellaneous goods, such as Weighted Training Gear for Taijutsu practice.

This kind of Weighted Training Gear was not to be underestimated. Ninjas could not just wear weights however they pleased during training, as that could have harmful effects on the body. Weighted Training Gear had to be properly designed before it could be used.

There were quite a few sets suitable for children. Perhaps Ninjas often bought them as gifts for their own children.

Yichen selected the lightest set, which weighed only five kilograms in total. He decided to slowly get used to that weight first, then gradually increase it.

The Senbon and Shuriken cost Yichen only fifty points. The Exploding Tags were one hundred points each, costing him three hundred points outright. The short sword was the most expensive as a weapon, costing five hundred points. Soldier Pills were ten points each, while the Weighted Training Gear was the cheapest because it was the lightest type, costing only thirty points.

Altogether, he spent nine hundred and thirty points.

Yichen used the remaining one hundred and seventy points, along with what he had left over from copying books before, to buy medicinal herbs. The medicinal herbs at the Exchange Office were better than those sold outside. Yichen decided that as long as he had enough Contribution Points, he would buy them from the Exchange Office from now on.

Even after spending all his Contribution Points, Yichen did not feel bad about it. It had been an unexpected windfall to begin with.

Besides, he still had a one-hundred-thousand-ryo banknote on him. He was not in a hurry. Not worried at all.

Yichen carried the short sword in one hand and a huge pile of things on his back as he headed straight home.

He had originally wanted to buy a Ninja Tool Bag, but those things were absurdly expensive.

A Ninja Tool Bag with only half a cubic meter of space cost more than three thousand Contribution Points.

There were smaller ones too, but they could only hold a few Kunai, Senbon, Shuriken, Soldier Pills, Exploding Tags, and similar items. They could not even fit a normal-sized scroll, let alone the short sword in Yichen's hand.

This kind of bladed tool bag was the most common in the Ninja World, but even it cost five hundred points each.

Yichen decisively pretended he had not seen them. He was in that line of work now. He believed that sooner or later, he would learn how to make Ninja Tool Bags. When that time came, he would secretly make one for himself.

After returning home, Yichen first put on the Weighted Training Gear. From that moment onward, unless he encountered a real battle, he would not take it off again.

He then modified several sets of clothes, adding places to store Senbon, Shuriken, Exploding Tags, and Soldier Pills.

Once he had finished tidying up, he returned to school. Yichen had only come out after receiving the notice and asking Teacher Ishikawa for half a day off. It was almost noon now, so he needed to hurry back.

When Yichen returned to school, his classmates immediately surrounded him. Everyone was curious about the short sword in his hand.

Some of the students practiced at home with unsharpened short swords, but Yichen was the first to bring one directly to school.

Yichen had not expected this and did not know what to do for a moment. He did not want to leave the short sword at home. His experience that night had been too unpleasant; without some kind of weapon in hand, he did not feel secure.

Fortunately, there were well-informed students in the class. One of them had an elder working at the Contribution Office, and he had heard about a Ninja Academy student who had killed an enemy Chunin.

Before, he had not realized that the person his elder had mentioned was Yichen. But after seeing Yichen now, a shocking thought appeared in his mind.

He had heard from his elder that the person would go to the Contribution Office today to collect his Contribution Points. Looking at Yichen's getup now, he had clearly collected his rewards in the morning and then exchanged them for a set of equipment.

So the student blurted out, "Yichen, that Ninja Academy student who killed an enemy Chunin... it wasn't you, was it?"

The moment those words came out, the entire place fell silent. Even Ikura, who had been just as confused as everyone else about why Yichen had brought a short sword to school, looked at the speaker in shock.

He truly was the strongest person in the class, and his overall strength had already reached Genin standards. But killing a Chunin head-on was still far beyond him.

After a moment of silence, the classroom immediately erupted. Several people instantly began questioning the student who had spoken, asking what exactly had happened.

That student directly told them everything he knew. In truth, he did not know much. First, although the matter had not been classified, no one had deliberately publicized it. Second, when his elders had discussed it, he had assumed it involved an upperclassman and had not been interested in the first place.

After hearing his account, the classmates who still did not fully understand what had happened looked at Yichen expectantly one after another. It was supposed to be lunch break, but no one seemed to have any intention of resting.

Yichen thought for a moment and said, "How about we go talk on the training field? Let's not disturb the other classes while they're resting."

Upon hearing that, the students hurriedly agreed. They gathered their things and headed to the training field. There was not much lunch break left anyway, and they would soon have practical combat class there.

Once they reached the training field, Yichen said, "Actually, the main reason I was able to kill that Chunin was because he underestimated me, along with a bit of luck."

As he spoke, Yichen carefully described the details of what had happened. He also hoped that these classmates, with whom he had already formed some bonds, could grow stronger sooner. He hoped his experience could provide them with some lessons.

After Yichen finished, everyone began discussing it at once—what they would have done if they had encountered that situation themselves, and what they should have done.

Yichen liked this atmosphere very much. He felt that recounting his experience had truly been helpful to everyone.

At that moment, Ikura walked over and said to Yichen, "Can you tell me what it felt like to fight a Chunin?"

Yichen nodded, then thought for a moment before saying, "Strong. Very strong. The biggest reason I survived this time was that he did not take me seriously. Otherwise, the instant he released the Transformation Jutsu, he could have killed me."

Yichen then began describing what he had felt at the time, mainly the fear in his heart, the desperate recklessness of being driven into a corner, and the urge to survive that had forced him to remain calm amid that madness, analyze the situation, and search for a chance at life.

Everyone listened intently. They had been enrolled for nearly three years now, and they had all learned many ninja skills.

Students two grades above Yichen's class had entered the academy one or two years older than them. Although they had only studied for nearly four years, they were about to graduate and soon face the battles of Ninjas.

After listening to Yichen, Ikura pondered for a while before saying, "I understand now. I understand what I still lack compared to a real ninja."

Yichen froze, then realized that what Ikura meant was not precisely the kind of will he had comprehended that night?

"You mean..."

"That's right. Will. My strength has already reached Genin standards, but every time I fought an official ninja, I lost, even when many of their qualities were inferior to mine."

With a serious expression, Ikura said, "Now I understand. I also know how I should surpass myself. Thank you, Yichen. Once I truly find the will that a ninja possesses, I will challenge you."

"Before, I was always the one walking ahead of our classmates. Now you have taken my place and walked ahead of everyone."

"But it will not be long before I catch up again."

After saying that, Ikura did not wait for Yichen's reaction and turned to walk off the training field.

Yichen guessed that Ikura was probably going to ask Teacher Ishikawa for leave. He was likely going off to undergo practical combat training.

Yichen hoped it would go smoothly for him. As for sparring with Ikura, Yichen had no such intention for the time being.

He had a clear understanding of his own standing. Although a combination of factors had allowed him to successfully kill a Chunin, his true strength was actually only around the middle of the class.

Take Shinohara, for example. If he had been put in Yichen's position that day, he might not have had any chance of surviving no matter what he did.

But if Yichen fought Shinohara, Yichen would still end in complete defeat.

The reason was that Ninjas focused on different things. Yichen specialized in Ninjutsu, so his methods were ever-changing.

To put it simply, he was flashy and fancy. When facing stronger opponents, he could pull off a few tricks.

Someone like Shinohara, who specialized in Taijutsu, was helpless when facing stronger opponents, but against Yichen, his advantage was decisive.