Yashui reacted quickly, grabbing the club in the shopkeeper's hand. "Don't underestimate her. She's a ninja. I'm stopping you not to protect her, but to protect you."
The shopkeeper saw that the two in front of him were just children. At first, he hadn't taken them seriously. But after Yashui grabbed the club from his hand, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't pull it free.
Only then did the shopkeeper remember that although the two children were young, they were already Genin of Konoha. Even if they were only Genin, they were still ninjas! To ordinary people, the strength of ninjas was beyond their reach.
"Hmph, do whatever you want. Don't show up in my shop again!" The shopkeeper let go. He picked up the rag on the counter and wiped the club he'd just grabbed in a hurry, as if he were unhappy that Yashui had touched his ninja tool with dirty hands.
Yashui and Hachiko exchanged smiles and ran out of the ninja tool shop together.
This was Yashui and Hachiko's first encounter. Before, Yashui had only thought she was a girl who wasn't good with words. Now he realized that Hachiko was actually quite helpful. If Hachiko hadn't stepped in today, the unscrupulous merchant would certainly have swindled Yashui out of a lot of money.
"You rich people really don't know how to save money. You'll end up a beggar sooner or later." Hachiko said proudly. She'd "saved" Yashui just now, so she had every reason to be proud.
"Thanks." Yashui smiled and nodded at Hachiko. "What would you like to eat? I'll treat you to something."
Yashui felt a little embarrassed about Hachiko helping him so much. He wanted to show his gratitude with a gesture, but treating her was the only thing he could think of.
"Hmm..." Hachiko paused, letting out an incredibly cute little sound. She turned to look at Yashui with a speed even an elite ninja would struggle to match. Her eyes had already turned into stars.
Following Hachiko, Yashui went to a place he'd never visited before. It was just as bustling as central Konoha, but the surroundings were a complete mess.
Trash and filthy water covered the ground. Garbage piles were everywhere, and stray cats and dogs rummaged through them for food. Some children played nearby, too.
Despite its slumlike surroundings, the area was full of food stalls. There were takoyaki, tonkotsu ramen, and even Chinese food. But the nauseating stench of wastewater along the street ruined his appetite, no matter what was on offer.
"This place is..." Yashui had never heard of an area like this in Konoha.
"This is Konoha's illegal district~" Hachiko pointed at a sign and told Yashui what the place was called.
"Ogicho." Yashui read the name of the street.
The street was called Ogicho, and Hachiko's surname seemed to be Ogicho as well. It was only a few hundred meters long, on the outskirts of Konoha. It seemed you didn't even have to go through Konoha's gate to leave. You could simply slip through a gap in the wall and walk straight out.
A place like this should, in theory, have been under the tight control of the ninjas. But there wasn't a single ninja to be seen on the street. Once in a while, Yashui spotted people with obvious ninja features who had tucked their Forehead Protectors into their pockets.
For example, members of the ninja clans, such as the Aburame clan and the Inuzuka clan. These unmistakably ninja visitors to Ogicho had put away their Konoha Headbands and were enjoying the delicious snacks just like ordinary people.
"Hachiko... your surname..." Yashui asked hesitantly.
"Ogicho is one of Konoha's slums." Hachiko was much more straightforward than he'd expected. She readily admitted that Ogicho was a slum.
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