Money Release Secret Technique

"So, being a Konoha Chunin isn't too bad."

Considering his current status and income, if he were to compare it to his previous life, he'd be a Senior Workhorse at a major corporation in one of the Five Great Rogue Nations.

The kind of Senior Workhorse who wouldn't be easily laid off by the corporation, someone who'd work until they died.

The only downside, like those workhorses, was the risk of sudden death, and the risk was outrageously high.

"But I don't want to die young."

No, he had to work hard to master a few Advanced Ninjutsu. The ninja world was simply too dangerous.

Only knowing the Three Basic Jutsu and a C-rank Water Release: Water Prison Technique gave him no sense of security at all.

This body's innate Chakra was only Water Release. Relying on his strong Mental Strength, his Chakra control was decent. If he could develop a second Chakra nature, it should solve the problem of severely insufficient Chakra reserves.

But the problem was, how could he develop other Chakra natures?

He had no idea, damn Ninjutsu Monopoly.

No matter where he went, he couldn't escape the monopoly of upward mobility channels and class solidification.

Going in circles, it all came back to risking his life for Konoha, working hard to complete various advanced missions, and obtaining enough Mission Merit Points to exchange for ninjutsu.

This was no good. It was like desperately bleeding himself dry, then seizing a sliver of opportunity to Pass the Civil Service Exam. What was even more frustrating was that so many people didn't even have this chance.

Damn ninja world, damn Hiruzen Sarutobi, for such a tightly woven top-level design for Civilian Ninjas, even implementing a monopoly. Why didn't you include those Ninja Clans in your design? Civilian Ninjas are just easier to manipulate, right?

He was all too familiar with the various overt and covert preferential policies for Konoha Ninja Clan Disciples.

In his own squad, there was a young master from a collateral branch of the Inuzuka Clan, Inuzuka Ryo.

Although the Inuzuka Clan wasn't a Konoha Magnate like the Uchiha or Senju, nor even a second-tier ninja magnate, they were a Konoha Second-Rate Ninja Clan.

Even though a second-rate clan wasn't as large as the top ones, it wasn't small either, and they had all the benefits a ninja clan should have.

Not to mention anything else, just the most crucial channel for obtaining ninjutsu. Inuzuka Ryo had no worries in this regard and could easily learn various Clan Secret Jutsu that perfectly suited him from his own clan.

He didn't need to risk his life for Konoha to earn Mission Merit Points to exchange for ninjutsu.

Moreover, the Inuzuka Clan's secret jutsu, besides having good combat power, also possessed extremely strong Sensory Ability.

Ninjas were often glass cannons with high offense and low defense, with a large number of mutual counters and unexpected situations. Even Kage-Level Experts could be killed by a kunai. In regular ninja battles, intelligence was naturally highly valued.

Grasping the opponent's intelligence basically meant grasping their lifeline.

Let alone ordinary ninja battles, even large-scale ninja wars were often won decisively because of the acquisition of core intelligence.

Being from the Inuzuka Clan, Inuzuka Ryo naturally possessed good Sensory Ability and was a top-notch hand in intelligence reconnaissance.

With the existence of Inuzuka Ryo, his cannon fodder squad, and his cannon fodder bloodline, it no longer seemed so pure.

Logically speaking, someone like Inuzuka Ryo, who came from a ninja clan and was an extremely sought-after Sensor Ninja, shouldn't have appeared in his squad.

He had to admit, the wisdom and philosophy of dealing with people from his ancestors in his previous life were practical everywhere.

This Inuzuka Ryo was obtained by him after spending a Land of Wind Tanto and having a friendly exchange with Shikaku Nara.

This Land of Wind Tanto wasn't a particularly valuable item, nor was it a high-quality product for a Konoha Jonin. However, Sunagakure was poor. Despite the Land of Wind mining so many minerals, the blades and swords issued to Sand Shinobi were the most meager among the Five Great Ninja Powers.

When Konoha cannon fodder went to the battlefield and bled, even if they died, there was at least compensation. As long as the war orphans at home weren't targeted, they could live relatively well.

But when those Sand Shinobi went to the battlefield, they bled and shed tears. Even Sunagakure treated its people like a stepmother. The situation of the lower-level ninjas was even worse; it was enough to make anyone who heard it sad and anyone who listened to it weep.

Being able to capture a custom ninja sword from Sunagakure was already rare, let alone the value of honor it contained.

Even if it were traded on the black market, it could fetch a significant premium, especially with the small notch he had deliberately added to the blade.

It was the finishing touch, adding a lot to its honor value.

Of course, a single Land of Wind Tanto wouldn't be enough to leverage Shikaku Nara's connections; that would be underestimating the value of a Konoha noble clan Jonin.

Even if an ordinary cannon fodder Chunin actively tried to curry favor, these Konoha noble clan Jonin might not even spare them a glance.

Although the ninjas of the Nara Clan were amiable to everyone, they were actually extremely realistic with very high political acumen.

If it weren't for his background in the Sarutobi Faction, which naturally brought him closer to the Ino-Shika-Cho clans, how could an ordinary civilian Chunin like him have established a connection with Shikaku Nara?

The Nara Clan, as one of the few Konoha ninja clans with extremely high political wisdom in the ninja world, secretly looked after the ninjas of the Third Hokage's faction.

Their care was ubiquitous.

And it was as subtle as moisturizing dew.

The fact that he was assigned to the Land of Rivers battlefield and given a reconnaissance patrol mission, instead of being sent to fight in the Land of Rain, was somewhat due to the political considerations of his background as a subordinate of the Sarutobi Clan. Believing it was mere luck was less credible than believing Shikaku Nara found him handsome.

It couldn't be because his subordinates had already been replaced twice and he hadn't gone blind or lost a limb, demonstrating good survival skills, that he was given special consideration, right?

For Shikaku Nara, temporarily assigning Inuzuka Ryo, a Sensor Ninja, to his squad was just a matter of convenience.

It was merely a strategic move.

But for the Umino Patrol Squad, it was a matter of changing their destiny.

To permanently keep this somewhat naive young master of a ninja clan, Inuzuka Ryo, in his squad, he had put in a lot of effort. Unfortunately, although Inuzuka Ryo wasn't as arrogant as most ninja clan disciples, he still possessed some of the rigid and conventional bad habits of ninja clan disciples.

His actions were very ninja-like, obeying the arrangements of his clan and superiors in everything.

The advantage was that he, as the captain, didn't need to establish any authority; he could simply issue commands, and they would be followed obediently and effectively.

The downside is that once the Inuzuka Family or superior officers summon him, he can be transferred at any time.

Unable to recruit him, he thought Inuzuka Ryo would be transferred away soon, but he didn't expect that the most inconspicuous new member of the team, Xiao Xiao, could easily capture this Inuzuka Young Master and keep him in the team.

Xiao Xiao is not a great beauty. On the contrary, she is a plump girl of twelve years old, one meter thirty tall, but weighing nearly two hundred jin. She has good innate Chakra affinity, being the rare Lightning Release. Besides the Three Basic Jutsu, she has also mastered a D-Rank Lightning Style.

The little girl's ninja talent is good, but it's also quite average. A standard Konoha Civilian Ninja, she doesn't even have a surname. It's likely her ancestors didn't leave any hidden bloodline.

The little girl is optimistic and kind, with a very strong and approachable inner self. She can even turn her physical flaws directly into personality advantages. Within half a day of joining the team, she successfully captured Inuzuka Ryo's good brother, the Ninja Hound Akitaru.

Perhaps the Inuzuka Young Master is used to rich food and truly prefers simple meals. Within a week, he fell for Xiao Xiao, and another week later, he completely turned into a simp.

He has quite a bit of Akitaru's demeanor.

If it weren't for believing that the strong and kind-hearted Xiao Xiao's charm was truly that great, he would have thought that becoming a simp was an Aftermath of the Inuzuka Family's Beast Mimicry Secret Jutsu.

Unfortunately, one party is willing, but the other is not.

What Xiao Xiao likes is another member of the team, Tejudo, who is even a circle larger than her in size and weight.

Tejudo is also one of his old subordinates. He was carefully selected as a capable general after the Sand Puppeteer wiped out another batch of his subordinates.

Of course.

He doesn't get to choose those from ninja clans or talented ninjas.

Tejudo's ninja talent can only be said to be average. His Chakra affinity is Fire and Earth Release, dual attributes. His innate attributes are quite good. In terms of elemental ninjutsu, he only knows the Three Basic Jutsu.

The reason he was noticed and chosen was entirely because Tejudo mastered a powerful secret technique: Money Release.