The Money Exchange Beneath the Casino

"It's not about spending a lot of money on food, that's just pocket change. It's also not related to the expensive ninja tools I buy on the black market. Even the explosive tags aren't particularly expensive."

"The medicine you drink every day, and the medicated hot spring baths you take, those are the biggest expenses. And it's unbelievable that Hiashi never spent money on that for you before."

The spacious, luxurious carriage compartment was like a small room. Uchiha Jie leaned back against a soft cushion, while Hinata still habitually knelt.

"Father?" Hinata recalled, "I don't think I ever drank any medicine at home, nor did I take hot spring baths."

"Does the Nara clan not sell herbs to your family? That can't be right," Uchiha Jie said, puzzled. "Do your two families have a feud? I never noticed anything."

A feud between her family and the Nara clan? No matter how Hinata thought about it, that wasn't possible.

"No, no!" she replied softly. "Father sometimes visits Lord Shikaku, and Lord Shikaku visits the Hyuga residence too."

"Oh, right. This is something Luyu and I came up with. She actually didn't tell the clan about this!" Uchiha Jie slapped his forehead, suddenly remembering that the medicated baths were something he and Shikaru Nara had created together.

The Nara clan controlled the entire herb industry in Konoha and was the economic pillar of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio. Although Luyu wasn't from the main lineage of the clan head, her family managed a considerable business.

Compared to Uchiha Jie or Hyuga Yue, she was the wealthiest.

Not just in Konohagakure, but hospitals, clinics, small dispensaries, and even barefoot doctors all over the Land of Fire had to purchase herbs from the Nara clan. Soldier pills and various other medicines used by ninjas also came from their family.

Naturally, when Uchiha Jie wanted to buy herbs, he went through Shikaru Nara's friendly pricing. Although it was cheaper than wholesale, he always bought a significant amount.

This led Luyu to have a question.

Uchiha Jie couldn't possibly use such a large quantity himself. Was he buying for the entire Uchiha clan? But these herbs were too little for the entire Uchiha clan, and too varied.

There were all sorts of different herbs, and Shikaru Nara couldn't even figure out what kind of pills he was making.

With a question, she naturally sought an answer.

She went directly to the Uchiha clan's compound and knocked on Uchiha Jie's door. The one who opened it was a pitch-black ninja cat, and Uchiha Jie was tending a fire in the small courtyard.

Above the flames was a large cauldron, emanating the fragrance of herbs. Uchiha Jie was about to take off his clothes and jump in, as if he were going to cook himself along with the herbs, offering a Sharingan medicinal meal to the visiting Luyu.

Luyu initially wanted to curse Uchiha Jie for being crazy and wasteful, but after thinking carefully, and then considering the herbs she had sold him, and his recently skyrocketing strength—he had almost defeated Hyuga Yue in their last spar.

It seemed like this actually worked?

So, they began to research the formulas together and improve the effects of the medicated baths. And Luyu had never told her family about this.

"Your rapid increase in strength owes a lot to the hot springs. The herbs have gone up in price recently, and Luyu doesn't even give me free shipping anymore," Uchiha Jie sighed, leaning against the carriage, recalling the past.

"So why aren't you hurrying up and training properly? The rest of the journey could be dangerous at any moment. You might encounter not just Genin, but Chunin, or even Jonin."

He looked at Hinata, who was still preoccupied with money, and said:

"Don't worry about the money. We'll be earning a large sum very soon."

He didn't tell Hinata how they would earn money, only watched her cultivate in the carriage. The luxurious carriage they were riding in had shock absorbers, making the journey exceptionally smooth.

Furthermore, the bandits and robbers in the vicinity had been thoroughly cleared out by Hinata during this period. They traveled eastward, only reaching the next town by evening.

This town was much larger than Lishan Village, where they had lived previously. As the moon just hung on the treetops, the streets were still bustling with crowds.

The place they entered the village was a night market, with all sorts of local delicacies that made Hinata's eyes widen. However, Uchiha Jie ignored her expectant gaze. After parking the carriage at an inn, he took her to a magnificent, golden building.

Standing guard at the entrance were not security guards, but two young women. Hyuga Hinata tightly gripped Uchiha Jie's hand, wondering if this was that kind of place and if her master had finally revealed his true nature.

Uchiha Jie, however, picked her up and slung her onto his back, whispering in her ear, "This is the place I told you about, where money is made quickly."

"Please come in," the doorkeeper's voice was exceptionally sweet as she opened the large door for Uchiha Jie.

Upon entering the building, Hinata discovered it was a massive casino. Playing cards, dice, roulette wheels, and slot machines were everywhere, surrounded by crowds of people.

Some shouted excitedly, but more voices were filled with regret and anger.

Uchiha Jie walked directly to the counter for exchanging chips and produced a stack of bills.

He handed the bills to the beautiful girl at the counter to exchange for chips, then leaned his head closer and whispered, "Give me a special chip."

The girl nodded, accepted the money, took a small tray, and piled up some chips of different types and denominations.

"Thank you."

Uchiha Jie nodded, took the tray, found a worn-out small chip among the others, and held it in his hand, then put the rest of the chips into his clothes.

He carried Hinata through the casino, which allowed him to speak softly to her in such a noisy environment.

"Don't casually activate your Byakugan. There might be sensitive individuals here who can detect chakra. And our target isn't gambling money."

As they went deeper into the gambling house, the crowd thinned. Private rooms with locked doors began to appear around them. Uchiha Jie reached out and turned the handle of an unlocked door, then gently set Hinata down from his back. He handed her an orange-yellow fox mask.

"The private rooms truly for customers in this casino are all on the second floor. This, however, is an entrance to another place."

Uchiha Jie also put on his mask, which was the same as Hinata's—a fox, but red.

He took out the worn-out chip and inserted it into a similarly worn-out machine in the corner of the room. Soon, a sound came from beneath the floor, and an opening large enough for several people to pass side-by-side appeared in the room.

"Welcome to the underground Money Exchange. This is the home of Rogue Ninjas, and the fastest place to make money—even faster than the casino upstairs, which is a losing proposition."

Uchiha Jie pulled Hinata's hand and stepped into the darkness.