Chakra Metal

It's easy to see that nothing good would come of mercenaries becoming national leaders.

Giving them power is a waste of resources. Ninjas are already high-income earners; even the trashiest D-rank missions pay five thousand ryo, and they are so simple that even ordinary people could do them, like finding cats or cleaning up trash.

If they aren't given power, the Daimyo and those nobles would live in constant fear. If a Tailed Beast Bomb were to land while they were sleeping, they wouldn't even know how they died.

When Uchiha Madara and Hashirama Senju fought, it's estimated that the ground shook violently for hundreds of kilometers around. It would be strange if ordinary people weren't terrified.

Since Uchiha Yoichi arrived in the ninja world, he has never had to worry about money. With his strength, he could get money anywhere. He wandered around the Land of Fire for a while, and it's fair to say that law and order in most parts of the country are quite good.

Some of the guards for nobles and merchants are just samurai who cannot use Chakra. If Uchiha Yoichi wanted to "borrow" some money from them, it would be effortless.

How many evil deeds has Danzo committed? Has anyone ever punished him? It's only because he occupies a high position; those who might want to report him have likely already been dealt with.

"Old man, hasn't that Uchiha brat returned yet?"

With a bang, the door to the Hokage's Office was kicked open. Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't even have time to put away his Crystal Ball, so he could only quickly cover it with a cloth.

Hiruzen Sarutobi then looked at Tsunade with a sour expression and said, "Tsunade, could you please knock before entering next time? I'm getting on in years, and if you keep startling me like this, my heart won't be able to take it."

"Forget about those trivial matters. How is that investigation I asked you to look into coming along?"

Tsunade said dismissively. Her Hokage teacher could live much longer than others; at the very least, he could live into his sixties or seventies.

"Two Anbu squads are currently investigating, but the Barrier Team hasn't recorded any anomalies. There aren't many spies capable of infiltrating Konoha to begin with, and after the Anbu and the Security Force cleared out two of them recently, there haven't been any others."

Hiruzen Sarutobi calmly put away the cloth-covered Crystal Ball, then picked up his pipe, lit it, took a puff, and continued.

"As for Uchiha Yoichi, he hasn't returned yet, but he has already completed the B-rank mission assigned to him. He should be wandering outside the village right now."

"Tch!"

Upon hearing this, Tsunade clicked her tongue in annoyance.

Hiruzen Sarutobi continued, "Tsunade, you said he uses the Lightning Release Chakra Mode, but I haven't found any intelligence on that yet. The only thing that can be confirmed is that five months ago, during a mission, every member of Uchiha Yoichi's squad was killed by Cloud ninjas, except for him."

"That should have been his only opportunity to have contact with Cloud ninjas, but later, based on information provided by Uchiha Yoichi, the Anbu discovered an important movement of the Cloud ninjas. Where did you get your information from?"

Tsunade turned her head and said, "Don't worry about that. Regardless, my information is absolutely accurate; I wouldn't lie to you."

Could she really tell him that she saw it when she transformed into a wild boar and was almost killed by Uchiha Yoichi?

Setting aside whether Hiruzen Sarutobi would believe such a thing, it was far too embarrassing for her to say out loud—she would rather die than admit it.

"However, the Anbu carefully questioned all his surviving teammates, and none of them have ever seen him use Lightning Release ninjutsu. The leading Jonin from when he graduated from the Ninja Academy also said that Uchiha Yoichi only possessed the Fire affinity."

Hiruzen Sarutobi had tried his best to have the Anbu investigate, but the information they found indicated that Uchiha Yoichi was completely normal, with no signs of being a spy. His One Tomoe Sharingan also confirmed that he was a standard member of the Uchiha clan.

Allowing the rumors to spread and advising against teaming up with him was already the limit of what the Uchiha Clan could accept.

If they were to investigate any further, it would likely cause dissatisfaction within the Uchiha Clan.

"Tsunade, have you thought about taking on students? There are many talented students at the Ninja Academy, like Sakumo's son, who already has the strength of a Chunin."

"Don't even think about it, Old Man. I won't be staying in Konoha for much longer."

Tsunade interrupted Hiruzen Sarutobi before he could finish his sentence.

Ever since she witnessed the death of Dan Katō, Tsunade had discovered that she had developed a phobia of blood. She couldn't even perform surgeries anymore, so how could she possibly teach students?

If she took on students, she wouldn't be able to take them on missions, and it would be difficult to teach them Medical Ninjutsu. What would be the point of her taking on students in such a state?

"If the Anbu has spare personnel, lend them to me so they can investigate what I asked. That matter is very important."

After saying this, Tsunade turned and left immediately. If she stayed any longer, the old man would start nagging her about taking on students again.

"Why can't anyone ever learn to close the door?"

Seeing Tsunade leave, Hiruzen Sarutobi hurriedly set down his pipe to close the door. He then took out his crystal ball and once again performed the Telescope Technique.

However, when he looked at the image displayed on the crystal ball again, he let out a sigh: "Sigh, why is she already finished bathing?"

"Well done. Here is your payment."

The person in charge of the Underground Money Exchange in Kawatake County, Land of Fire, took out a stack of money and handed it to Uchiha Yoichi. He then continued to ask, "Do you want to take more bounties? There have been quite a few assassination and sabotage missions lately. If you dare to take on missions targeting the Land of Fire or Konoha, the reward will be ten times higher!"

"Forget it. Is Konoha really that easy to provoke? Aren't you afraid this place will get raided?"

"What do I have to fear? This is just a forward base. If someone takes a mission, regardless of whether they succeed or fail, I'll just head back to the Land of Grass. If they succeed, they can just come to the Land of Grass to collect their reward. Do you really think Konoha ninjas would dare to launch a full-scale invasion of the Land of Grass?"

The Bounty Office manager said dismissively. How much could one base possibly cost? Completing a single bounty mission would earn back all the commission.

"The employer really went all out this time. Any one of those ministers in the Land of Fire is worth at least tens of millions of ryo. How about it? Want to give it a try?"

Uchiha Yoichi shook his head and said, "Stop joking. With my level of strength, getting involved in that would be suicide. You'd better find those more famous bounty hunters. Besides, I've done enough missions. What about the Chakra Metal you promised me last time?"

"Someone who can complete three A-rank bounties in a row can't be weak. You can't fool me."

Seeing that Uchiha Yoichi remained unmoved, the Bounty Office manager sighed and said, "Fine, since you're not interested, let's proceed with the trade. Have you gathered the money?"

Uchiha Yoichi took out a scroll and released the seal, revealing several million ryo.

This was the money he had saved up from his last three bounties. Of course, the bulk of it wasn't from the rewards themselves, but from the extra income gained during the missions.

After all, the targets of his assassinations were all people capable of hiring ninjas for protection. If they could afford to hire ninjas, their personal wealth went without saying.

"You're getting a bargain. Remember to come back to me if you want to take on more bounties; I take better care of you than the others do."

The Bounty Office manager glanced at the money on the floor, confirmed it was correct, and handed the box he had retrieved from the safe to Uchiha Yoichi.

Chakra Metal is useless to others, but for a ninja, it is essentially like adding wings to a tiger.

It can be forged into sharper ninja tools that are highly receptive to the flow of chakra. In an online game, this would be considered gear that allows you to fight above your level. In close-quarters combat, a Chakra Metal weapon is definitely ten times stronger than a standard Kunai.

However, because it is so rare and every ninja village is actively collecting it, very little Chakra Metal circulates in the market.

Uchiha Yoichi had only helped this man complete several A-rank bounties after hearing that he was in possession of Chakra Metal.

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