Little Blue Pill Appears

"Kakashi, you don't need to think about such things. The First Generation Hokage founded the village to protect the future, not to make you children worry about politics."

Seeing six- or seven-year-old Kakashi already considering matters on his behalf, Hatake Sakumo did not know whether to feel pleased or amused in exasperation.

If the atmosphere in the village had made even six- or seven-year-old children start thinking about politics, then it had truly failed.

"Everyone living in the village is a companion. You can associate with whoever you want. You don't need to worry so much about me. If you think Uchiha Yoichi is a friend you can confide in, then just interact with him in your own way."

"Don't overthink it, Kakashi. This mission may take me a little longer. I'll give you some money—"

Halfway through, Hatake Sakumo suddenly remembered that Kakashi was far wealthier than he was now. He had earned over thirty million ryo from only two missions, and that was all gained during the missions themselves, so no one else could say anything about it.

That money was still in Kakashi's possession. Hatake Sakumo had not taken it because he trusted Kakashi to stay away from the Three Forbidden Jutsu.

"I'll take good care of myself. Don't worry, Father."

Kakashi did not say anything like wishing him success, because as far as he remembered, his father had never failed a mission. This time would be no exception.

After Hatake Sakumo left, Kakashi tidied up and prepared to go find Uchiha Yoichi.

The village now had regulations on the number of people in a Mission Squad. Though he was a little young, he was still a Chunin. Without a squad, he could not even accept C-rank missions, while D-rank missions were of no real use to him beyond making his record look better.

After returning, Kakashi had also been inserted into a Mission Squad, but he withdrew after completing a single mission.

Their work styles had differed somewhat, and the teammates in the new squad had not been very friendly toward Kakashi, a prodigy his age.

Compared to the twelve- or thirteen-year-old Genin, having a six-year-old Chunin on the team made them seem especially useless. Moreover, they did not want to listen to Kakashi, yet had no choice but to obey because of ninja rank. A team atmosphere like that could naturally never last.

Most importantly, Uchiha Yoichi did not treat him like a child. That alone made Kakashi feel that teaming up with Uchiha Yoichi was far better than joining any other Mission Squad in the village.

"Jonin Ikemoto, are these the three medicines I wanted?"

When Uchiha Yoichi entered Ikemoto's office, he saw three small pills on the desk.

"Yoichi-san, these are them. These two are health supplements, and this one is the Health Pill you mentioned."

Ikemoto recalled the name and found it rather strange to say aloud. Still, he had not come up with it, so he did not dwell on it.

"Since we cut a lot of costs, these two health supplements need to be taken over a long period before they show results. As for this one, hehe, it basically takes effect within ten minutes of being swallowed."

As he said the last part, a peculiar smile appeared on Ikemoto's face, as though he had already tried it himself.

Uchiha Yoichi picked up the medicine beside him and examined it carefully. It listed the proportions of the herbs used, the production process, and the cost of the ingredients.

According to Ikemoto's recorded ingredient lists, the first two health supplements cost only thirty ryo to make. Each pill weighed just four grams, so the amount was small—not even the price of a bowl of ramen.

The final medicine, however, cost more, at roughly ninety ryo per pill.

Still, it was already very cheap. With large-scale purchasing, they could save a great deal more money. The health supplements cost less than half a bowl of ramen to produce.

When the time came, he would multiply the price of the health supplement medicines by five, selling them for one hundred and fifty ryo each. The Health Pills would be priced at four times the cost, rounded off to four hundred ryo each.

That might be a little expensive for Ordinary People, but these things had been intended for wealthy people from the start.

There would also be a commoner version. The cost of the health supplements could be reduced to ten ryo per pill and sold for thirty ryo each. For the price of half a bowl of ramen, anyone could afford them. Taking them every day would provide at least some benefit to the body over time.

Uchiha Yoichi quickly worked out the pricing for the Uchiha Health Medicine Merchant Association's products in his heart. However, there was still one difficulty: promoting the medicines.

"Jonin Ikemoto, I'm very satisfied with these three medicines. Here is your payment. Please accept it."

After taking out the payment from a sealing scroll, Uchiha Yoichi pushed the Money Chest over.

As for warning Ikemoto not to reveal the formulas, Uchiha Yoichi did not even mention it. Unless they had gone mad, why would an ordinary ninja want to offend the Uchiha?

As for whether others would imitate them, aside from the major ninja villages, Uchiha Yoichi truly was not afraid of imitation.

The original purpose of establishing the medicine business, besides earning money for himself, was to build the Uchiha welfare system. If anyone truly wanted to ruin that, the Uchiha clan members benefiting from it would take the initiative to eliminate that person without needing Uchiha Yoichi to say a word.

"Thank you, Yoichi-san. If you need anything in the future, you can come find me again."

After putting away the Money Chest, Ikemoto smiled at Uchiha Yoichi. He was not someone who loved money, but if he could make a large sum during his spare time and improve his family's life, what was wrong with that?

"There will definitely be opportunities for us to work together in the future."

Uchiha Yoichi suddenly thought of One Thing and asked, "Jonin Ikemoto, does Tsunade have a good reputation among Ordinary People?"

"Lady Tsunade?"

Jonin Ikemoto froze briefly before replying, "I'm not too sure about Ordinary People, but many Nobles in the Land of Fire often send people to seek out Lady Tsunade. No matter how difficult a disease is to treat, once it reaches Lady Tsunade's hands, she will absolutely restore the patient to health."

"However, Lady Tsunade seems to have stopped taking surgeries in recent years. Occasionally, she still treats some noble merchants."

Uchiha Yoichi nodded, indicating that he understood. By Ordinary People, he meant those wealthy nobles. It seemed that Tsunade, the Medical Saint, had quite a reputation among the nobles and merchants of the Land of Fire.

Jonin Ikemoto added, "Oh, right. Lady Tsunade also received a noble who rushed over from the Land of Hot Water today. She should still be at the hospital now. Recently, Lady Tsunade seems to have been seeing more patients again. I wonder if I'll get the chance to see Lady Tsunade perform surgery. You can learn a great deal of useful medical knowledge by staying at her side."

"I see. Thank you for telling me, Jonin Ikemoto."

With that, Uchiha Yoichi took the medicine documents and left. Following the location Ikemoto had given him, he headed all the way to the top floor of Konoha Hospital.

When he arrived at the office where Tsunade usually stayed, Uchiha Yoichi knocked on the door. There was no response at first, so he knocked again with more force. Only then did a voice come from inside, sounding as though it had been suddenly startled awake.

"Who—who is it? Come in!"