"An exchange point for supplies?"
The recording ninja took the scroll Zhou Duan handed back and put it in a drawer. As the sealing runes on the drawer flashed, the recording ninja relaxed and spoke in a hoarse voice:
"Turn right when you leave. It's the building with two crossed kunai on the door. Oh, right—if I'm not mistaken, there should still be a line there."
"Got it. Thanks!"
Zhou Duan turned around and led the way to the door:
"Come on, everyone. We've got a pile of damaged spoils to exchange!"
"Huh? Wait a second, Zhou Duan!"
After Zhou Duan had taken only a few steps, Nawaki stopped him:
"I don't remember finding many spoils that I couldn't search. Most of them were usable. Where did you find another pile of damaged ones?"
"Tsk! This is why I keep telling you to pay more attention to what I say and watch what I do!"
Zhou Duan gave Nawaki a helpless look, then pulled a long object wrapped in several layers of gray cloth from his ninja tool pouch:
"This is the scroll belonging to our last chunin opponent, the guy who used a forbidden jutsu. You didn't see it because you were keeping your distance, afraid I'd make you search for more spoils. Here—although the scroll's damaged, so we can't get some of the ninja tools inside, there are still plenty we can take out. They're damaged too, but we can still exchange them for some good stuff!"
"Really?"
Nawaki excitedly snatched the scroll and peeled away the gray cloth. Sure enough, a red scroll appeared beneath it. A large part of it was damaged, greatly reducing its actual value, but Nawaki was still thrilled. He planted a kiss right on it!
"Uh, Nawaki!"
Seeing what Nawaki had done, Zhou Duan's mouth twitched, and an odd expression crossed his face:
"We've been teammates for a while now, so let me give you some advice: whatever the circumstances, don't go kissing the enemy's ninja tools. They might have put something on them!"
"Hm? No way!"
Noticing Zhou Duan's expression, Nawaki instinctively sensed something was wrong and immediately grew worried:
"Is the scroll poisoned?"
"Uh!"
Zhou Duan shook his head:
"The scroll itself isn't."
"Then is there some kind of special Explosive Tag that'll blow up when I kiss it?"
"That's not it either!"
"So then it's fine, right?"
Nawaki relaxed and gave Zhou Duan a displeased look:
"What else could be wrong with the scroll?"
"It's where I found it..."
Zhou Duan looked at Nawaki with pity and calmly explained:
"I found it in the rectum of that chunin who used the forbidden jutsu!"
"Bastard! Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
Nawaki gave Zhou Duan a desperate look. Then he could hold it in no longer. He dropped to his knees and started retching!
"Even I can't stand Nawaki's thoughtless behavior..."
Hundred Palms watched Zhou Duan, his eyebrows twitching:
"But wasn't that punishment too harsh? You saw him about to kiss the scroll. Why didn't you just stop him and tell him the reason?"
"Usually, a warning like yours would be enough..."
Zhou Duan curled his lip in disdain and pointed at Nawaki, who was still retching on the ground:
"Do you think a warning would teach this idiot a lesson?"
"..."
Hundred Palms fell silent. A second later, he grabbed Nawaki by the back of his collar and led the way out!
The Konoha supply exchange was a long, narrow building made up of more than a dozen rooms side by side. Each room had a small entrance, offering exchange services to the ninjas in Steel Rock Valley. Even so, every entrance had a sizable line. Zhou Duan didn't hurry to join one. Instead, he spent some time at each line before finally choosing the shortest one, where almost everyone waiting was a lower-rank ninja!
"Hey, Zhou Duan, why are we lining up here?"
As soon as they stopped, Hundred Palms asked:
"The other lines may take longer, but that just proves the exchanges are fair. Look at this one—we're practically surrounded by freshly graduated lower-rank ninjas, and there are hardly any chunin. That means the people handling the spoils exchange inside are totally unreliable, right?"
"Hm?"
Nawaki, standing nearby, widened his eyes in surprise:
"You can do that?"
"Of course you can!"
Zhou Duan glared at Nawaki as though he'd never learn, then answered Hundred Palms:
"Ordinary people do get ripped off badly. But don't forget, I'm Kakashi Sakumo's adopted son, and Nawaki is the First Hokage's grandson. One of us is the son of a high-ranking official, and the other is the grandson of one. Who'd dare rip us off? They won't just avoid cheating us—they'll give us extra perks. Other people who strictly follow the rules can take it or leave it, but to the ones used to ripping off ordinary ninjas, we're people they need to suck up to!"
"I'd almost forgotten you two's backgrounds!"
Hundred Palms thought about the village's other privileged kids. Every one of them looked cold and serious, doing everything they could to uphold their clan's dignity and become clan head. They restrained themselves to the point where they hardly dared to act arrogant or embezzle funds. They all looked like emotionless statues!
Then there were Zhou Duan and Nawaki. Zhou Duan had turned the whole village upside down in pursuit of his potion research, and he'd do anything to win—using unconventional poisons and even bursting people's anuses with Senbon. As for Nawaki, he was simply an idiot. If no one told you, you'd never guess these two jokers were the son and grandson of high-ranking officials!
"No wonder I saw Uchiha Fugaku from the Uchiha Clan and Akimichi Choza from the Akimichi Clan here. Now I get it!"
Hundred Palms nodded, agreeing with Zhou Duan. Before long, it was the four of them's turn. Without wasting any time, Zhou Duan led the group inside.
"Name, squad, and what do you want to exchange?"
In the middle of the room stood an earthen table raised with Earth Release. Behind it sat a narrow-faced ninja with shifty eyes. He didn't even look at Zhou Duan and the others as they entered, staring straight up at the ceiling as he spoke in an extremely impatient tone:
"I hope you've got something worth exchanging. If all you've got is one or two busted kunai and broken Senbon, don't waste my time!"
"Look at me when you're talking!"
Facing the ninja in charge of exchanging spoils, Zhou Duan immediately put on a serious expression:
"I'm Hatake Shudan..."
Zhou Duan grabbed Nawaki beside him:
"And this is Senju Nawaki. You've heard our names, haven't you?"
"Oh my god!"
Hearing Zhou Duan, the exchange ninja immediately turned to look at them and cried out with the excitement of someone who'd just seen his own father:
"So it's the two of you, sirs!"
The exchange ninja didn't care in the slightest that he was a chunin addressing two lower-rank ninjas with such respect. In the strictly hierarchical ninja world, few people were as shameless as this guy:
"I'm Sugimura Yamato. I've heard all about you two, sirs. Hatake Shudan, you're Konoha's genius pharmacist, and you earned your Lower-rank Medical Ninja qualification at such a young age. And Senju Nawaki—you're practically Konoha's next Hokage!
"You can't imagine how much I admire you two. Don't worry—I'll do everything I can to make sure you get a good exchange!"
"I had a feeling this might happen before we came in!"
Standing by the door, Hundred Palms watched Water Gate on the other side, his face twitching:
"But I've never seen a ninja this shameless!"
Before you continue