Mist Technique

On the front lines, without connections and status, it's not easy to obtain these experimental equipment and materials.

You can only get them from the underground Black Market.

But the underground Black Market is a mixed bag, with extremely high danger levels. It's best to avoid it if you don't have Jonin-level strength.

"Thank you for your generosity, sir."

Kūen-zō quickly bowed in apology and offered more flattery. Under Umino Sasuke's urging, he went to the warehouse to personally retrieve a sealing scroll about the size of a bowl.

According to Kūen-zō's explanation, this sealing scroll contained a set of experimental equipment for a small team to research summoning beasts, along with related materials. Although the equipment wasn't brand new, being second-hand, it was complete and could fully meet most of a small team's needs.

If it weren't for the Ninja Wars, many businesses would be facing bankruptcy, and such sought-after equipment wouldn't easily appear on the market.

After a careful inspection, the equipment was fine, the price was reasonable, and it even came with a good amount of culture medium. While the summoning beast research materials were basic, they had their merits and were barely valuable.

Thus, Umino Sasuke made the purchase on the spot and also settled for Water Bat No. 7, which was part of this transaction.

"Sir, after deducting the cost of the experimental equipment, there's a balance of 160,000 ryo. Would you like to buy some secret medicine or tools?"

"Oh?" Umino Sasuke was a bit surprised. He expected a few tens of thousands of ryo to be left over, but there was this much?

Then he thought about it and realized that the three puppets and Water Bat No. 7 must have been sold at a premium.

"Let me see the material list, and bring the Ninjutsu list as well."

As soon as Umino Sasuke finished speaking, he realized that buying low-level Ninjutsu with his current identity was inappropriate and risked exposing his true identity. So, he added, "I have a subordinate whose birthday is in a few days. I want to give him a Water Release Ninjutsu as a birthday gift."

"Yes, sir."

Kūen-zō didn't think much of it and quickly brought out the lists.

Umino Sasuke picked up the list and flipped through it quickly. Then, feigning anger, he said with dissatisfaction, "Why are they all E and D-rank Ninjutsu? Aren't there any higher-level ones?"

"Sir, there really aren't any. How would we dare to violate Konohagakure's regulations and sell intermediate or advanced Ninjutsu privately?"

Upon hearing this, Kūen-zō immediately panicked, almost falling to his knees.

"Alright, alright, if there aren't any, then there aren't any."

Umino Sasuke waved his hand, but inwardly he grumbled. To obtain intermediate or advanced Ninjutsu, besides serving Konohagakure, it seemed the only way was through the underground Black Market.

Behind these traveling merchants must be the involvement of Konoha Ninja Clans, otherwise, they wouldn't be so stingy even with C-rank Ninjutsu.

Moreover, even among these D-rank Ninjutsu, there were only common elemental Ninjutsu, and not a single genjutsu. This showed how much effort the Konoha Ninja Clans put into monopolizing Ninjutsu.

If those clans couldn't control the underground Black Market, perhaps even Ninjutsu wouldn't be available for purchase there.

The reason low-level Ninjutsu could be bought from these traveling merchants was likely a change made due to the pressure from the underground Black Market business. Otherwise, they probably wouldn't even sell low-level Ninjutsu.

The various powers that held sway didn't want Ninjutsu to become widespread; they all wanted to use Ninjutsu monopolies to achieve their desired outcomes.

"Hmm?" As Umino Sasuke scanned the Ninjutsu list, he discovered two particularly special Ninjutsu.

D-rank Water Release: Mist Technique, 80,000 ryo. Remarks: Basic Water Release of Kirigakure, strong tactical concealment, but requires sustained Chakra to maintain.

D-rank Water Release: Mist Body Flicker, 120,000 ryo. Remarks: Basic Water Release of Kirigakure, a combination technique of Mist Technique + Body Flicker, but requires a certain level of taijutsu foundation.

Umino Sasuke's eyes sharpened, and his heart trembled. These two Ninjutsu were not high-ranked, but they were extremely practical. Otherwise, Kirigakure wouldn't have popularized them so widely.

Didn't these practical Ninjutsu perfectly fit his tactical needs?

Once the Water Release: Mist Technique was activated, it could obstruct the vision of ninjas and also block a certain amount of sensory abilities. Combined with his Sonic Radar Perception Technique, which was essentially a knock-off Byakugan, wouldn't it be possible to replicate Zabuza Momochi's silent killing technique?

Coupled with the Water Release: Mist Body Flicker, it was a perfect match.

"I'll take these two Ninjutsu."

Umino Sasuke picked out the Mist Technique and Mist Body Flicker. He had intended to reluctantly use his hard-earned savings to cover the additional 40,000 ryo.

Kūen-zō, however, was very understanding. Knowing he could use public funds to curry favor, he said with a fawning smile, "Sir, Mist Technique plus Mist Body Flicker at an 80% discount comes to exactly 160,000 ryo."

Umino Sasuke nodded arrogantly and spoke to reassure him, "Kūen-zō, you're doing very well. You can come to me if you need anything in the future. I have some connections in Konoha, and I can help you sort out most things. Of course, the reward you deserve—"

"I understand, I understand."

Kūen-zō was overjoyed and immediately acted like a sycophant. He had finally latched onto a big shot, and a comeback was just around the corner.

Then, Kūen-zō very thoughtfully brought out a large gift box and placed the two Water Release Ninjutsu scrolls inside, so that his benefactor wouldn't have to go through any trouble when giving the birthday gift to his subordinate.

As he was leaving, Kūen-zō even gave him three Explosive Tags, saying they were a small birthday gift for the benefactor's young subordinate. His fawning posture was extremely considerate, truly befitting an old hand at business; even his gift-giving was so refreshing and unconventional.

Umino Sasuke, with his haul from this trip, didn't linger and left the traveling merchant encampment exchange immediately.

On his way back, he encountered several Konoha ninjas out for leisure. He sensed them in advance with his Sonic Radar Technique and avoided them.

Being alone and carrying such a large sealing scroll was still dangerous. While "black-on-black" situations were rare, they weren't unheard of. If he ran into disciples of a ninja clan demanding an inspection, he'd likely be completely wiped out, leaving nothing but bones. If he got lucky, he might leave with his life; if not, a single Great Fireball Jutsu would leave no trace of his remains.

Taking many turns and twists, it took a considerable amount of time before he finally returned to the underground cave laboratory.

"Hoo..."

Umino Sasuke took a deep breath.

"No, I must solve the problem of insufficient Chakra as soon as possible. The Ninja World is simply too dangerous. Without Jonin-level strength, there's truly no sense of security at all."

Umino Sasuke felt a pang of regret and resolved to quickly address the severe lack of Chakra.

Chakra was the foundation of everything. If his Chakra reserves were insufficient, even if he obtained advanced Ninjutsu, he could only look at it and not use it.

However, he already had a plan. If developing a second Chakra nature didn't go smoothly, he would follow Orochimaru's example and focus on science and mutation.

As for cultivating Sage Mode or becoming a Jinchuriki, while these methods of increasing Chakra were appealing, they were too far off and not practical in the short term.