38. You Might Make a Little, but I'll Never Lose! (Please Vote for Me!)

Chapter 38: You Might Make a Little, but I'll Never Lose! (Please Vote for Me!)

Does a formula really matter?

You could say it matters, or you could say it doesn't!

It matters because it pierces that layer of window paper, representing creativity.

If I don't tell you, you'll never know!

But it doesn't matter because having only the formula is useless!

What truly has value is the thing produced from the formula!

And to produce that thing, you need not only the formula, but also every single thing involved in it!

Neither can be missing!

Take the medicinal bath formula Aoba discovered in the [Navy Body Tempering Method - Foundation], for example. If he had no money to buy the medicinal ingredients, it would just be a sheet of wastepaper!

If he had plenty of money, he could certainly keep it all to himself.

But the problem was, he was poor!

If he hadn't risked his life to fight the Uchiha and obtained compensation of one hundred thousand ryo, he couldn't even afford a single set of medicinal ingredients, let alone use them!

Therefore, bringing it out in exchange for every resource he could use right now was the most correct—and smartest—choice.

He suffered no losses, obtained many useful things he needed at present, won the goodwill of the Hokage and many others, increased his own importance and weight, and could even take the opportunity to get close to powerful people, making the Uchiha hesitate to cause him trouble...

There were simply too many benefits to count!

So he got a little carried away. It wasn't until he heard Jonin Mikawa clear his throat that he noticed Minato's expression had gradually darkened.

"Uh, did I ask for a little too much...?"

The requests were indeed all quite small, but there were simply too many of them—more than a dozen, perhaps even twenty. It was enough to give anyone a headache!

So Minato cleared his throat and decided not to let Aoba continue.

"I understand all the requests you made. However, the only thing I can agree to is providing you with a certain amount of cultivation resources every month. Too much is out of the question! As for supplying the medicinal baths, that request is reasonable and can be fulfilled, but you can only receive one packet per day. You said yourself that prolonged use of this thing would cause a certain degree of drug resistance, and that using it once a day was recommended. You haven't forgotten your own words, have you?"

What else could Aoba say? He could only blame himself for running his mouth and nod gloomily.

Although Minato had casually cut away the vast majority of his conditions with a single sentence, the basic bottom line had still been preserved.

The monthly allocation of cultivation resources alone would save him tens of thousands of ryo, and as time went on, he would only save more!

The medicinal bath supply went without saying. It not only solved his immediate urgent need, but also saved him one hundred and fifty thousand ryo every month. To him, that was an astronomical sum!

One had to know that even Jonin Mikawa, after working his fingers to the bone for an entire year, only earned three to four million ryo—money obtained by undertaking missions at tremendous risk.

And what about him?

He didn't have to do anything, yet he would receive cultivation resources worth more than two million ryo every year for free, including the medicinal baths.

It was simply wonderful~

Of course, the money this business could earn was far more than that.

But so what?

He was just a little kid. He couldn't swallow such a huge slice of cake. It was better to share it, eat his fill comfortably, and avoid choking to death.

Besides, he wouldn't have to bear any pressure. If the sky fell, the Hokage and the others would hold it up.

Greed was the root of all evil!

Still, after starting with an outrageous price and negotiating downward, Aoba continued trying to bargain. "Actually, the extra portion I asked for was meant for Jonin Mikawa. Jonin Mikawa has helped me a lot, and I've always wanted to repay him..."

Mikawa had been standing silently to one side like a wooden statue. Upon hearing this, his body trembled, but he still spoke coolly without any expression. "I don't need it..."

But after saying that, he seemed to feel that his icy tone might make Aoba misunderstand, so he immediately added an unnecessary explanation. "My taijutsu is quite ordinary, and I usually have no use for these medicinal ingredients, so there's no need for the village to waste resources on me."

He was telling the truth. He was almost forty years old, and his physical condition had long since settled. Moreover, he wasn't a ninja known for taijutsu. His daily training only went as far as necessary, so naturally he didn't need medicinal baths to strengthen himself.

Ultimately, the medicinal bath Aoba provided was best suited for children who were building their foundations, followed by taijutsu specialists like Might Guy. It didn't help other people much, though it wasn't completely useless to them either.

A stalwart pillar like Jonin Mikawa, who worked diligently and had devoted his entire life to the village, naturally wouldn't waste the village's resources over such a tiny benefit. This had nothing to do with whose goodwill it was; it was purely a matter of principles!

Minato, however, began to consider the matter seriously...

Clearly, Aoba's desire to repay Jonin Mikawa suited him very well, and it gave him an even better impression of Aoba.

This was a good child who knew how to repay kindness!

Although he was a little too gifted at getting into trouble, and somewhat vindictive...

But he was a good child!

Besides, he greatly admired Jonin Mikawa as well. He was one of their own...

Thus, he made a decision.

"Hmm. Jonin Mikawa rendered meritorious service by reporting this matter. Since you don't need this, then let's exchange it for another reward. In my name as Hokage, I permit you to choose one ninjutsu from among those recorded by the village and learn it. How about it? Are you satisfied with this reward?"

This wasn't really setting a precedent. Many ninja in the village were allowed to learn corresponding ninjutsu as payment or rewards after rendering great service.

After all, once they reached the jonin level, money and material wealth were no longer their primary pursuits.

The many ninjutsu collected by the great ninja villages naturally came in handy at times like this.

Of course, dangerous forbidden techniques and the secret arts of the various clans were definitely excluded. There were hardly even any S-rank ninjutsu included. But with so many techniques available, even those ranked A and below were more than enough.

Jonin Mikawa was somewhat stunned when he heard this.

It wasn't that he had never selected ninjutsu before, but those rewards had only come after he completed difficult missions through tremendous hardship.

This time, however, he had merely shown someone the way, moved his lips, and said a couple of sentences before receiving such a reward. It left him feeling somewhat dazed.

Although Jonin Mikawa was rather rigid by nature, he wasn't a fool.

No one would ever think they had too many ninjutsu, and they could also improve his strength. So after hesitating for a moment, he still couldn't bring himself to reject the temptation.

Moreover, he knew that he had Aoba beside him to thank for receiving such a reward this time.

The feeling was very strange...

It was as if you had helped a down-and-out vagrant without asking for anything in return, only for that vagrant to show up at your door the next day and give you a box of gold bars. Then, while you stood there dumbfounded, he shyly said, "Thanks!"

P.S. Please give me your recommendation votes, as well as your collections, investments, and tips! It's a new week, and the recommendation position is pretty good. Old Faceless begs everyone to lend a hand!