Shennong (Part 1)

Ye Wuji stood stunned for a moment before heading back. Since Fu had already left, he wouldn't be coming here to train anymore; he planned to continue his training at home.

Looking at his own hands, Ye Wuji felt he was still too young, making many things difficult to accomplish. Once back in his room, he began to examine the items Fu had given him.

There were quite a few things: nearly twenty Explosive Tags, more than what Sister Konan had given him, along with about a dozen steel wires. These were made from a special metal used by ninjas; they didn't reflect light easily and were perfect for setting traps. There were also a few Kunai, several Shuriken, and finally, over twenty Senbon.

Everyone knew that a Kunai was much like a dagger, while a Shuriken was that cross-shaped throwing star—though, of course, they came in four-pointed and five-pointed varieties. A Senbon was simply a long, thin needle, thicker at one end and tapering to a point at the other.

During his time in Takigakure, Ye Wuji had learned some common knowledge about the Naruto World. In slightly larger ninja villages, there were specialty shops that sold these ninja tools, and the same went for Explosive Tags. You didn't necessarily have to be a ninja to buy them; it was much like on Earth—if you had the money, you could buy anything, whether you were a ninja, a samurai, or a commoner.

If a commoner had money, they could buy Explosive Tags to keep at home, though they couldn't use them since they weren't ninjas. Explosive Tags were created using a common sealing formula and had to be crafted by ninjas with Fire Style chakra. These were made by artisan ninjas, and to detonate them, one usually had to understand the formula and trigger it with chakra.

While ordinary samurai also used chakra, they didn't perform hand seals, so they generally couldn't use Explosive Tags. These were essentially exclusive to ninjas. Most importantly, Explosive Tags were not cheap; they were quite expensive, with a single tag usually costing between five thousand and ten thousand ryo, depending on the quality.

A standard Shuriken or Kunai generally cost over a thousand ryo. Therefore, ordinary people wouldn't buy these tools, and if one wanted a sword made of the same quality metal for a samurai, it would be even more expensive.

In this Naruto World, five hundred ryo was enough to post a D-rank mission and hire low-level ninjas to do menial tasks, so ninja tools were typically purchased only by ninjas.

There were also ordinary weapon shops here that sold common blades and swords, which samurai or bandits preferred, and these shops also carried farming tools.

As for the difference in quality between ninja tools and ordinary weapons, one would only know once they used them.

Thinking back to the first time he heard the price of an Explosive Tag, Ye Wuji's first thought was probably something no one could guess. In that instant, he thought of the time Sister Konan used six hundred billion Explosive Tags to create a sea of fire against Masked Obito. If those tags had been sold, how much money would that have been? Even with Ye Wuji's experience in the internet age on Earth, having seen all sorts of data, his brain had momentarily short-circuited. Sister Konan was arguably the richest woman in the Naruto World; with that many Explosive Tags, why would Kakuzu even need to collect money?

Indeed, no matter the world, the wealthy were powerful. If you couldn't win, you could just bury your opponent in money. If the Mangekyo Sharingan hadn't been so overpowered, Masked Obito really might have been buried by Konan's wealth. However, that move was something only Konan could pull off; others, even if they had that many tags, couldn't control them all simultaneously. Only Konan's Paper Style could achieve that.

Ye Wuji put the items away. He didn't need them for now, so he went back to his training.

Three days later, while Ye Wuji was exercising, he suddenly heard someone calling him. He was a bit curious who would be calling him at this hour. When he went out to look, he discovered it was Rei.

"Sister Rei, you're back," Ye Wuji said, looking at Rei, Yuta, Uncle Ken, Aunt Kei, and finally, a middle-aged man who looked to be in his forties or fifties, his hair draped over his shoulders and wearing a brown hat.

"Where have you been running off to? Why aren't you staying put?" Rei said, reaching out to flick Ye Wuji on the forehead.

"This little friend must have been training just now," the middle-aged man at the back spoke up.

Huh, how did he know? Ye Wuji looked at the middle-aged man with a questioning gaze. It wasn't just Ye Wuji; the others were looking at him as well.

"It's quite simple," the middle-aged man explained. "Although this little friend's breathing has already steadied and the sweat on his face has been wiped away, there are still faint marks on his hands—traces left by gripping something for a long time. And although this little friend is young, his gait is very steady, which suggests he wasn't just playing around. Putting it all together, he must have been practicing with something like a sword hilt. Am I right, little friend?"

Before Ye Wuji could speak, Rei and Yuta exclaimed, "That's amazing! You saw all that in just a moment?"

Even Aunt Kei chimed in, "As expected of Doctor Shennong, your powers of observation are truly sharp. Please, come inside and sit." She gestured for the man named Shennong to enter, then turned to Uncle Ken. "Uncle Ken, Doctor Shennong will be staying with us for a while. Go prepare a room, and while you're at it, call Tomomi back. We'll have a larger dinner tonight."

"Understood, Young Mistress," Uncle Ken replied.

"Hey, Ye, was the old man Shennong right? Were you secretly practicing?" Rei grabbed Ye Wuji and asked.

Hearing Rei's question, the others were also curious if Shennong was correct.

"Yeah, I'm the only one at home, and I didn't have anything to do, so I went to the courtyard over there to practice a bit," Ye Wuji replied with a smile.

"I didn't realize Ye was so diligent! You'd better work hard, too. Your brother Yuta has already become quite strong," Rei said, looking from Ye Wuji to Yuta.

Then Rei turned to Yuta and added, "Yuta, you need to work hard as well. It would be embarrassing if you let Ye surpass you."

Yuta laughed at Rei's words and glanced at Ye Wuji. A competitive atmosphere between the children began to spread. Ye Wuji thought to himself, I don't have the time to compete with him, but this works out well. It serves as a good cover.

By then, Uncle Ken had already left to make arrangements, and Aunt Kei had led the doctor named Shennong into the main hall. After Yuta gave Ye Wuji one more look, he grabbed his sword and disappeared; judging by the direction, he was heading to the training courtyard.

"Sister Rei, who was that man just now?" Ye Wuji asked, though he had heard everyone call him by name, he wanted to confirm it.

"Him? That's Uncle Shennong. He's a very skilled doctor. This time, when the Daimyo was poisoned, no one here could cure him, but after Uncle Shennong arrived, he cured the poison in three days. The Daimyo is safe now, but to ensure all the residual toxins are cleared, Uncle Shennong will be staying for a while. You know, Uncle Shennong travels everywhere to treat the poor, and he even goes to the battlefield to help injured civilians. He's truly amazing," Rei said with a tone of admiration.

"I see," Ye Wuji nodded, saying, "That's impressive, he really is remarkable. By the way, Sister Rei, now that you're all back, why don't I see Uncle Ukyo?"

"Father has to stay at the Daimyo Mansion for a few more days, but he'll be back soon. Besides, Yuta and the others have reached a plateau in their training and need to rest for a few days before moving on to the next stage. Don't worry, when Father returns, I'll ask him to teach you a few moves, too. I guarantee you won't lose to Yuta."

"Anyway, I've been gone for so long, I need to go check on my room," Rei said, running off toward her quarters.

"Your room is fine; Sister Tomomi cleans these rooms every day," Ye Wuji called out to her retreating back.

Once everyone had left and Ye Wuji was alone, he thought, Now that everyone is back, some things will be harder to practice. But then again, I had intended to just drift through these next two years, and I never expected that Shennong would actually come here. This is great. A smile appeared on his face as he pondered this.

This Shennong must be the one from the movie. Although he looks a bit younger, his face matches my memories. That's him—the guy who wants to create the artificial Tailed Beast, the Zero-Tails.

I don't need the Zero-Tails. A monster that uses human dark emotions as fuel to create dark chakra is far too unstable. What if a person has no dark emotions? Then it's useless. Perhaps everyone has dark emotions in their heart, and if guided properly, they can be drawn out. Unfortunately for Shennong, he happened to run into Naruto, and Naruto just happens to have no dark emotions. I have to say, Shennong is truly unlucky. He could have gone after anyone else, but he shouldn't have targeted Naruto.

Usually, this Shennong acts like a benevolent savior, but in reality, he's a hypocrite. Even if he were a truly good doctor, I wouldn't let him live. Perhaps to others, the name Shennong is common, but to Ye Wuji, it's not a name just anyone can bear. As a descendant of China, I won't let anyone tarnish that name.

Furthermore, this Shennong is a remnant of the Land of Sky. Judging by the fact that even Orochimaru had to beg him for the Reanimation Technique, he must be a high-level medical ninja. Regardless, since he's walked right in front of me, it would be a disservice to myself not to seize this opportunity. The people of Konoha should thank me; I'll be clearing a future threat for them. Sorry, Orochimaru, but I'm afraid you won't be getting your hands on that Reanimation Technique so easily.

These things aren't much, but I do feel bad for my future nephew Naruto. Sorry for robbing you of a chance to play the hero and losing you a potential love interest. As your uncle, I truly apologize. Well, given my relationship with the Fourth, calling Naruto 'nephew' should be fine, right?

I was just thinking about finding a base, and now one has been delivered right to my doorstep—and a mobile one at that. The Sky City of the Land of Sky, the Angkor Fortress, will be mine. A strange light flashed in Ye Wuji's eyes, then vanished as quickly as it appeared, and he returned to being the adorable six-year-old Ye Wuji once more.