The Spirit of Craftsmanship (Happy New Year to Everyone)

Zhou Duan, who had been a menace to the entire village, was praised to the skies by this guy. And Nawaki, this idiot, had actually become a strong contender for the next Hokage. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Hyuga Hyakusho, whose worldview was still relatively normal, would never have believed it. However, before Hyakusho could even figure out what expression to put on to deal with the situation before him, an even more unbelievable scene unfolded!

"Sugimura Yamato, although I've helped you before, this is a battlefield, not a place for personal favors. You don't need to be biased towards me. While I did help you a lot, you really don't need to give me special treatment..."

Zhou Duan took out the scroll he was carrying, unsealed it, and immediately, a small pile of damaged ninja tools and Explosive Tags was placed on the desk of this person named Sugimura Yamato:

"There are a total of twelve Kunai, thirty-three Shuriken, and twenty-two Explosive Tags here, all with varying degrees of minor damage. Just exchange them for me according to regulations, you really don't need to worry about any personal favors, really. I promise, even if you don't give me special treatment, I won't hold it against you, and I'll continue your treatment!"

"Zhou Duan, you speak so well! As a member of the village, you should have this spirit of abiding by the rules!"

Hearing these words, which were so "understanding," Sugimura Yamato was deeply moved. He spoke with "righteous indignation":

"Since you've said so, I will conduct a strict review. Hmm, let me see. The ninja tools here are all lightly damaged and can be easily repaired. According to regulations, severely damaged ninja tools are exchanged at a four-to-one ratio, moderately damaged at three-to-one, and lightly damaged ones are judged on a case-by-case basis. I'll exchange yours for eight Kunai, thirty Shuriken, and twenty Explosive Tags!"

"Hey, hey, hey!"

Although after witnessing Sugimura Yamato's character, Hyakusho had some understanding of his integrity, such a shameless act completely overwhelmed Hyakusho, who didn't have much battlefield experience. He pulled Zhou Duan aside and whispered:

"Hey, Zhou Duan, is this okay with you? This exchange rate is too outrageous, isn't it? Lightly damaged, you say? Your ninja tools are basically shattered, and even the Explosive Tags are severely damaged, almost to the point of being worthless. They completely meet the standard for a four-to-one exchange! Such an obvious move should be easily discovered, right? It's not worth it for these ninja tools, is it?"

"Hyakusho, it seems your experience needs more accumulation!"

Zhou Duan gestured to Hyakusho and pointed to Sugimura Yamato behind the desk:

"Since Sugimura Yamato dares to exchange them with me like this, he must be confident that it won't be discovered. Look, this is the spirit of craftsmanship in the ninja world!"

"I feel like you've misunderstood something about the spirit of craftsmanship!"

Hyakusho followed Zhou Duan's gaze towards Sugimura Yamato. He saw that the man first took moderately damaged ninja tools from the basket of damaged ninja tools nearby, matching the quantity of Zhou Duan's tools, and replaced them. Then, he took lightly damaged ninja tools and replaced the previous batch again. Finally, he recorded these ninja tools under Zhou Duan's name!

"Is your so-called spirit of craftsmanship used for this? This is simply tarnishing the spirit of craftsmanship, isn't it?"

Of course, Hyakusho only thought this in his heart and didn't say it out loud. After all, it was something that benefited the entire team. However, Hyakusho hadn't forgotten about Zhou Duan treating Sugimura Yamato just now:

"Zhou Duan, what did you mean by treating Sugimura Yamato just now? Sugimura Yamato wouldn't normally act so enthusiastically towards just anyone. What exactly did you treat him for?"

"What kind of medicine could make a man bow and scrape to another man..."

Zhou Duan gave Hyakusho a knowing look that all men would understand:

"Of course, it's medicine to treat a damaged little treasure!"

Zhou Duan took out two bottles of medicine, walked up to Sugimura Yamato, and handed them to him:

"Sugimura Yamato, it's been a while since I started treating you. Here, these are the last two bottles of medicine. Drink these two bottles, and your treatment course will be completely finished. No more worries!"

"Zhou Duan, I will never forget your kindness!"

Sugimura Yamato was so moved he couldn't help himself:

"Zhou Duan, I will never forget your great kindness. If you ever need anything in the future, just tell me, and I will spare no effort!"

"Really?"

"Of course!"

Sugimura Yamato slapped his scrawny chest so hard that Zhou Duan suspected he might break a bone.

"What else do you need, just say it!"

"Since that's the case, I actually do have one thing I need from you. I hope you won't blame me!"

Zhou Duan gave Sugimura Yamato a kind look, then roared towards the door:

"Someone come! Someone here is accepting bribes and trying to exchange my pile of junk for the best ninja tools!"

Sugimura Yamato: "..."

Hyuga Hyakusho: "..."

Namikaze Minato: "..."

Senju Nawaki: "..."

"...Zhou Duan."

Minato looked bewildered:

"I don't quite understand what you're doing!"

"Not only do I not understand, this move is simply heaven-defying!"

Hyakusho looked completely baffled:

"Zhou Duan, do you know what you're doing?"

"Zhou Duan, have you gone mad?"

Nawaki, for once, showed a rare moment of intelligence:

"Couldn't you have reported him for corruption when he was taking bribes from someone else?"

"Zhou Duan, you're not even human!"

Sugimura Yamato's situation was like falling from heaven to hell. One second he was celebrating his complete restoration of his masculinity, and the next he was about to fall into the hands of Konoha's wartime enforcement team. Given that it was wartime, and harsh penalties were applied in troubled times, who knew what kind of punishment he might receive!

"You're just playing with someone and then running away, like zipping up your pants and denying everything! I wholeheartedly gave so much for you, and in the end, you're still playing with my feelings. Zhou Duan, are you even a man?!"

"Hey, hey, hey!"

Even the mentally strong Zhou Duan couldn't stop his face from twitching when facing Sugimura Yamato:

"Can you speak clearly? Your words are very easy to misunderstand!"

"What else is there to say?"

Sugimura Yamato wore an expression of abandonment:

"Why are you treating me like this?"

"You scoundrel! As a member of Konoha, instead of thinking about how to contribute to the village and fight bravely for it, you're using your position for these dealings. Am I wronging you?"

Zhou Duan shouted, pointing at the others among the supplies with disappointment, "Water Gate, Hundred Palms, Nawaki, you are all the cornerstones of Konoha, and the talents I believe can grow into pillars of Konoha. How can you see someone bribing me and think I won't report him? Don't be so narrow-minded!"

Zhou Duan reprimanded Sugimura Yamato and the naivety of Water Gate and the other two. His scolding words filled the room with shame. After a long while, Zhou Duan, whose throat was hoarse from shouting, finally stopped his tirade. He turned his head towards the empty doorway and said calmly:

"Lord Jiraiya, do you think I'm right?"

If you find this book good, remember to add it to your bookshelf to avoid losing it next time.