Obito Stares Blankly

"Click"

As the gale subsided, Taiichi looked at the broken sword in his hand, now only half intact, and was rather speechless. He thought about how this sword had been with him for over two years, and he had taken good care of it. But in the end, it was just a slightly better weapon; even the Chakra Metal had only been added in small amounts.

Thinking about the increasingly intense battles to come, the idea of changing his sword had already taken root in Taiichi's mind. However, before he could put his idea into practice, his sword wouldn't last until then.

Taiichi bent down and picked up the broken half of the sword that had fallen to the ground, inserting it into the scabbard along with the half in his hand. At this moment, he had lost all interest in continuing his training. This was a good opportunity to go to the weapon shop and see if there were any suitable Short Sword he could buy.

Taiichi headed straight for the weapon shop and saw people arguing at the shop entrance from afar. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was Obito Uchiha and Rin Nohara.

"Say that again!" Obito was now almost hysterical, clearly they had been arguing for quite some time. "This box of Kunai costs 10,000 ryo, but two boxes of these Kunai cost 50,000 ryo, are you sure that's correct?"

"Yes, sir, we wouldn't joke with our customers no matter what." The clerk was also quite innocent; the price was set by the manager, and he couldn't understand it either. He had asked the manager the reason before, but the manager didn't answer, only giving a meaningful smile.

Hearing the shop assistant confirm repeatedly, Obito up, and an idea came to him. "Here, this is twenty thousand taels." With that, he slapped the money on the counter and casually grabbed a box of Kunai, handing it to Rin who was standing next to him.

After doing all that, he didn't forget to add, "That's right, isn't it?"

"Yes, sir, payment is due." the clerk said politely.

"Hey, here's another 20,000 taels." Then, doing the same thing, Obito took another box of Kunai and turned to leave.

He even added, "Payment and goods settled!"

"Welcome to visit us again." The staff member remained polite.

Turning around, Obito smiled and said to Rin, "Haha, I bought Kunai 50,000 ryo. Rin, don't you think I'm smart?"

"He's quite clever, Obito," Taiichi interjected from behind them, nodding to Rin, who looked delighted at him.

"Haha, Taiichi, you've come at the right time! Let me tell you something." Seeing that it was Taiichi, Obito couldn't hide his excitement and rattled off a whole bunch of his great achievements to Taiichi.

Taiichi listened patiently to his story, but after Obito finished speaking, Taiichi couldn't bear to tell him the truth. What a pitiful child.

"Taiichi, what's with that look on your face? Did I buy the wrong thing?" Seeing Taiichi's hesitant expression, Obito, though a bit slow on the Obito, knew he might have bought the wrong thing.

Taiichi looked at Obito speechlessly. "How many Kunai were you originally going to buy?"

"One box, that'll be enough for training," Obito said without hesitation.

"If he hadn't said that, would you have been able to buy two boxes of Kunai?" Taiichi pointed out the key point.

"Crack!" It sounded like a dislocated jaw, Obito stared blankly.

Rin Nohara, who had also figured it out, wore a wry smile.

"Take it easy, you didn't lose anything. It's just that you bought an extra box of Kunai, you can still use them later," Taiichi comforted him, patting Obito on the shoulder as he spoke.

"Ta, are you here to buy Ninja Tool too?" Rin Nohara asked Ta as she came to her senses.

"Hmm, my sword broke during training, so I thought I'd buy a better one." With that, Taiichi walked past the two men into the shop.

Rin tugged at Obito and followed, clearly still having something to say. Obito, at this moment, also came to his senses. Although he had bought an extra box of Kunai, just as Taiichi had said, he hadn't lost out. Obito consoled himself.

The shop assistant at the entrance had naturally overheard Taiichi's analysis. Seeing Taiichi approach, he looked at him with admiration and enthusiasm. "Sir, would you like to see a knife? Please come this way." With a smile, he led Taiichi into the shop.

"What kind of knife does the customer need? Short Sword, long knife, or any special type of knife? We have them all here."

Of course, special requirements would necessitate custom-made orders.

"Oh, do you offer custom-made weapons here?" Taiichi asked curiously.

"Yes, sir, our shop will do its best to meet all your needs," the clerk replied affirmatively.

"Such arrogance." Obito, carrying a box of Kunai, was clearly still angry and muttered to himself after hearing the shop assistant's words.

The group arrived at the knife display area and found that the knife collection was indeed complete, with different shapes and sizes of knives displayed throughout the showcases, giving one the feeling of being in a forest of knives.

Taiichi casually picked up a Short Sword and swung it a few times. Overall, it felt alright; the sword's center of gravity and length were good, but it just didn't feel right in his hand.

He then tried several more swords, and the feeling was the same. At this point, Taiichi realized that the swords here could only be described as standard-issue weapons, not particularly good ones.

"Bring me your best knife," Taiichi said to the shop assistant.

"Okay, please wait a moment." Actually, the shop assistant knew from seeing Taiichi try out several knives that he was a picky customer, but he might also be a big spender. With that, he dashed into the back room.

"Taiichi, are you back from a mission?" Lin asked after the shop assistant left.

"Yes, I came back yesterday. I need to rest for a few days. Is there a problem with my Medical Ninjutsu, Rin?" Taiichi could tell from Rin's hesitant expression that she had a question.

"Yes, there are still many parts I don't quite understand." Seeing that Taiichi had seen through her, Lin readily admitted it.

"Since you all have tomorrow off, why don't you come to Training Ground 3 tomorrow morning?" Taiichi readily agreed; he wouldn't hesitate to help his friends.

"Me too, me too." Obito watched the two talking, and regardless of whether he knew the answer or not, he was determined to join in.

"Of course, of course, you come too." Taiichi saw Obito's anxious look and didn't tease him, agreeing immediately.

At this moment, a well-off middle-aged man came out from the inner room, followed by the previous shop assistant, who was carrying three boxes in his arms, which looked like the shop's good knives.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, sir. I am the owner of this shop, Togo Akira." The owner began with a polite self-introduction, then carefully took the three boxes from the clerk behind him and gently placed them on the counter.

"Look, these are the three best knives in our shop. If you're still not satisfied, we can also customize them according to your requirements," the owner said, opening three boxes.

Taiichi by one, and judging from their appearance alone, these three swords were clearly more distinctive than the swords that had been displayed before.

Taiichi carefully picked up one of the swords, weighed it in his hand for a few moments, then twirled it and made a few feints in the air before putting it back in the box.

"This knife is good, but it's too light."

He reached for the second sword, the most ornate of the three, but Taiichi gave up as soon as he grasped the hilt.

"What's wrong, Taiichi? Isn't this sword good?" Obito asked, puzzled, seeing Taiichi put the sword down without even picking it up.

"The feel isn't right, it's not for me." Taiichi's answer was rather enigmatic.

Taiichi looked at the last short Short Sword. It was completely black, without a trace of luster, giving it a simple and unadorned feel. Taiichi carefully picked it up and felt a sense of comfort in his hand; it was a perfect size for Taiichi palm.

Then he slashed at the air again, and Taiichi found that the center of gravity and weight were just right for him. Delighted, Taiichi tried to channel Chakra into the sword, but his expression immediately changed. An unprecedented sense of resistance made it extremely difficult for Taiichi's Chakra to flow within the sword.

"Boss, isn't this sword made of Chakra Metal?" Taiichi asked the boss.

"Yes, sir, this is the only one of these three swords that wasn't forged without adding Chakra Metal." The shopkeeper also looked regretful; he could tell that Taiichi particularly fond of this black sword.

"That's such a pity!" Taiichi said with a look of regret.

But then he thought, "Boss, you can customize these, right? Can you have the blacksmith of this sword make one just for me, one with Chakra Metal added to it?" Taiichi asked again.

The boss, who had initially thought the business was doomed, perked up immediately upon hearing Taiichi's request. "No problem, we can make the contact, but the cost won't be cheap."

"Price is not a problem, as long as your product satisfies me." Taiichi said generously. He had saved a lot of money in the past two years and believed that he could afford to buy a knife.

"You're a very generous customer. Please come inside for measurements so we can forge a better knife for you. You can also pay the deposit while you're at it." The shopkeeper, all smiles, led Taiichi into the inner room.

"Then Taiichi, you go in and take the measurements. Obito and I will head back first." Seeing that Taiichi was still busy, Rin pulled Obito away.

"Okay, Lin, don't forget about Training Ground number three tomorrow."

"Um!"