The Money Exchange was much quieter than the casino. Everyone wore a mask, and everyone tried to keep their distance from one another.
The only people who came to a place like this were rogue ninja and shinobi from hidden villages gathering intelligence. Every one of them had a bounty on their head, to one degree or another, and everyone tried to keep their distance from everyone else.
No one here was willing to start a fight.
"Because the moment someone does, everyone else will gang up on them."
"The Money Exchange isn't controlled by any one person, hidden village, or clan. It arose naturally alongside the development of the Shinobi World."
"Rogue ninja need a place where they can trade freely, exchange things for money or Ninjutsu, and live comfortably even while being hunted by their villages."
"And the Five Great Nations and their hidden villages also need something like this, hidden in the shadows, to take care of the things they can't do out in the open."
"Of course, the Money Exchanges in each region are run by locals. The owner here simply built this one together with the casino."
Uchiha Jie walked along with Hinata as he spoke. Before long, they reached the Money Exchange's main hall.
The owner had excellent taste. Even underground, the place was lavishly decorated, and the staff serving the masked shinobi were beautiful young women with flirtatious smiles, just like the girls in the gambling hall above.
Uchiha Jie led Hinata straight to a window marked "Intelligence."
"Hello. Are you here to sell intelligence or purchase it?" The attendant's voice was exceptionally sweet, as though she'd eaten several pounds of sugar.
"I have some to sell, and I'd like to buy some, too. I hope you have enough money to buy my information, and enough intelligence for me to purchase."
Uchiha Jie's voice was nothing like its usual relaxed tone. It had turned low and hoarse, with a faint, resonant quality.
"In that case, please wait a moment, honored guest." The young woman bowed slightly, turned, and opened the door behind her. Before long, she came through another door and reappeared in front of Uchiha Jie.
"Please, this way." She bowed again and gestured for Uchiha Jie to follow her into a private VIP room.
The room was small, but still luxuriously furnished. The sofa was leather, and the table was made of fine, solid-colored marble. Black runes had been carved into the walls to block the effects of any Ninjutsu and prevent eavesdropping.
Uchiha Jie leaned back on the sofa and patted the seat beside him, inviting Hinata to sit down as well.
"How has Boss An been lately?" he asked.
"Thank you for your concern, honored guest. Boss An is doing well, just as his name suggests." The attendant walked over to the other sofa and sat down gracefully.
"That's good. I wondered if what happened to the Uchiha Clan might have affected him." Uchiha Jie nodded.
The attendant smiled gently and replied, "Ah, there was some impact at first, but we've never worked exclusively with the Uchiha Clan."
"But the information I've brought concerns the Uchiha Clan. I wonder if you'd be interested."
"You're joking. The Uchiha Clan is finished. Their only surviving orphan has become a caged songbird in Konoha. Everyone knows that. It hardly counts as intelligence," the attendant said softly.
"I'm not talking about Sasuke Uchiha. I mean someone else—the man responsible for this tragedy: Uchiha Itachi." A hint of amusement entered Uchiha Jie's voice.
"I have information on Uchiha Itachi—where he went after slaughtering the Uchiha Clan."
He clasped his hands, leaned back, and settled into the sofa almost as if he were lying down. Then he said:
"With information about him, you should be going to fetch Mr. An right about now."
"If you really do have information on Uchiha Itachi, then I suppose I should go fetch Mr. An."
The attendant didn't move. She simply smiled at Uchiha Jie's fox mask and said:
"But if I bring Mr. An here and you don't have the information he wants, that will put me in a difficult position."
A red light flashed through the eyeholes of the fox mask. Uchiha Jie smiled and said, "I don't think you'll be in a difficult position. You'll even get his reward."
"Yes, honored guest. Please wait a moment while I fetch Mr. An." The attendant bowed slightly and left the VIP room.
"What was that just now?"
Hinata clutched Uchiha Jie's hand. The attendant clearly hadn't wanted to go fetch her boss, but Hinata had felt a surge of chakra, and then the woman had left strangely.
"Hinata." Uchiha Jie's voice returned to normal. "Always remember: don't do anything here that might reveal your identity. Wear a mask, and change your voice."
"Even though the runes here block chakra, don't use any Ninjutsu or Genjutsu, either."
"But you just—" Hinata had only just opened her mouth when the VIP room door opened again.
A bald man in a white double-breasted jacket walked in, accompanied by the beautiful attendant from before. Her expression was no longer composed; it was filled with anger.
Her boss, however, was remarkably calm. He gripped his cane, and his voice seemed to come from deep within his sturdy, bulging belly.
"You used Genjutsu to control my employee in my Money Exchange. Don't you think that's a bit out of line? Perhaps you'd like to find out what happens to people who break the rules here."
He advanced slowly, his powerful presence making even Hinata feel afraid. She gripped Uchiha Jie's clothes, wanting to hide behind her master.
But her master stood up and walked straight toward him. He opened his arms and said:
"Those low-level Genjutsu would get you caught and pounded into a meat patty. But Sharingan Genjutsu is different."
As he spoke, Uchiha Jie laughed and wrapped his arms around Mr. An's muscular frame.
"Haha, An! It's been a long time."
Mr. An hugged Uchiha Jie tightly in return, his large hand repeatedly patting the other man's back. Even his steady voice began to tremble. Behind him, the attendant's expression shifted from anger to shock, then to disbelief.
"Haha! I knew you were all right. I was getting ready to hire rogue ninja to take out Uchiha Itachi."
He laughed heartily, his grin nearly reaching his ears.
"But then I thought about it. You dying would be the most unbelievable thing in the world."
At last, he let go of Uchiha Jie, turned to the attendant behind him, and patted her shoulder as he instructed her:
"Go down to the wine cellar and bring me those few bottles of good wine that are locked away. The key's in the third empty barrel on the right."
"I'm going to have a good drink with my old friend."