The Troubles of Money

The original Mud to Stone Technique could only form the mud into the shape it was compressed into, merely reducing its volume.

Kamiya Keiyun wanted to modify it to compress from the center outwards, eventually turning a cylindrical mass of mud into a circular stone pipe.

This not only solved the problem of stacking bricks but also gave the pipe load-bearing capacity and could isolate it from the invasion of groundwater, insects, and other things.

He originally thought it would be difficult, but after only two or three attempts, he succeeded!

Changing the shape of the compressed mud was almost effortless; all it took was a thought in his mind, and it was immediately successful!

"The Mud to Stone Technique requires a full 12 hand seals, much more than the Three Body Technique, but in terms of difficulty, there doesn't seem to be much difference?" Kamiya Keiyun thought he had created a rather difficult technique, but based on his own experience, it didn't seem hard at all.

Unfortunately, this technique consumed quite a bit of chakra. Even with his high affinity for earth, it still required this much.

He estimated that his chakra could only be used four times for this technique, and each use could dig 5 meters deep. This meant he could dig a 20-meter deep tunnel in just a few minutes!

His chakra required 8 hours to recover, so in total, he could use it 8 or 12 times a day.

Then, Kamiya Keiyun passed on the advanced variations of this technique to Hei Bei and watched him perform the hand seals with his claws.

"Did you learn it?" Kamiya Keiyun asked.

"I'm getting a feel for it, but I haven't found that feeling of becoming one with the earth that you mentioned!" Hei Bei replied. "Also, the chakra consumption is very high. My entire chakra reserve can only be used once, and I can only dig one meter deep! And after using too much chakra, I get dizzy and feel like my body has been hollowed out."

"There's such a thing??" Kamiya Keiyun was a bit curious. He had never depleted his chakra before, mainly because he didn't have many means to consume it. He couldn't just keep using the Transformation Technique!

As for not being able to become one with the earth, that was probably due to the lack of Earth Style.

"Chakra is the fusion of physical and spiritual energy. When chakra is consumed, it means physical and spiritual energy are consumed. Perhaps this situation really occurs," Kamiya Keiyun thought for a moment and said, "Then control your chakra output. Don't dig so deep. Digging 60 centimeters at a time is enough. When your brother and sister arrive, the whole family of six can dig 3.6 meters at once! Recover your chakra, and advancing 30 meters in one night shouldn't be a problem."

"How can chakra recover so quickly? The chakra I consumed last night only recovered after sleeping for half a day!" Hei Bei said.

"So, when you don't use ninjutsu, you can dig 2.5 meters in one night, but when you use ninjutsu, you can only dig 0.6 meters?" Kamiya Keiyun asked.

Hei Bei was silent for a moment. Although he didn't want to admit it, it seemed to be the case.

"Did I... did I fail to help you?" Hei Bei asked softly.

"No, it's not your fault!" Kamiya Keiyun shook his head. "After all, you're just a mouse. Your chakra capacity is definitely not as large as mine, and you don't have Earth Style chakra, so the consumption for manipulating mud must be higher."

Therefore, it was better for him to dig than to have Hei Bei do it. His chakra recovered faster, allowing him to use it twice a night and dig 40 meters. He could dig 100 meters deep in three days!

Konohagakure wasn't large, with a diameter of only 900 meters (calculated by Bilibili UP Zui Shang Chuan Xia Shan). Kamiya Keiyun's residence was only 300 meters away from the village wall. To be safe, digging 400 meters would only take 10 days.

Adding the time to dig upwards, it would take a total of 14 days to dig out!

Subtracting these 14 days, there were still 15 days until October 5th!

It was enough!

"That's settled!" Kamiya Keiyun said. "There's no time to lose, we'll start tonight!"

~~~~~

That night, after Kamiya Koromo and Kamiya Hiromi had fallen asleep, Hei Bei was sent out first to carry a wooden stake infused with Kamiya Keiyun's chakra into the pit. Then, Kamiya Keiyun used the Substitution Technique!

Kamiya Keiyun instantly moved through the floor and appeared in the deep pit!

"It's a bit dark," Kamiya Keiyun observed his surroundings. The entire space was quite cramped, only large enough for one person. He could turn around, but sitting down would be uncomfortable.

However, it was good that he couldn't see his surroundings, so he didn't feel claustrophobic. Kamiya Keiyun immediately formed hand seals, placed his hands on the ground, and infused chakra into the mud.

"Earth Style: Mud to Stone Technique!"

BOOM!

Under the effect of the chakra, the mud beneath Kamiya Keiyun's feet instantly transformed into a smooth pipe 5 meters long with an inner diameter of 40 centimeters. Kamiya Keiyun's feet slipped, and he fell directly down.

But it wasn't a big problem, just five meters.

Kamiya Keiyun continued to form hand seals.

BOOM!

"Huh? This time it seems further, and the inner wall is wider?" Kamiya Keiyun's senses were very sharp, though he didn't know the exact length. Fortunately, Hei Bei had sent down a tape measure.

After measuring, he found that the pipe created this time was actually 5.05 meters long, and the inner wall width had reached 42 centimeters.

The further reach of his chakra and the stronger compression of the mud indicated the ninjutsu had become stronger.

If he continued to practice like this, it was possible that in a few days, one use of the technique could create a 10-meter long passage!

"I have the Heaven Rewards Diligence talent. My proficiency in ninjutsu also increases with use, so it might not even take 14 days!" Kamiya Keiyun was a little excited. Then he thought again, chakra is the product of the fusion of physical and spiritual energy. Humans are active every day and consume a little, which is fine, but if a large amount is consumed, it might harm the body.

Since the ninjutsu could evolve, he wouldn't push himself to the limit with chakra. The original plan was to use it eight times a day, but now, six times a day would suffice!

He used the Mud to Stone Technique one more time, and his work for the night was finished.

Including what Hei Bei had dug earlier, the total depth was 17.7 meters!

"Should I keep digging tonight?" Hei Bei asked nervously when he saw Kamiya Keiyun climb up.

"Do you want to dig?" Kamiya Keiyun asked.

"Of course, I don't want to!" Hei Bei said. After all, no one likes to work, and besides, the feeling of depleting all your chakra is too unpleasant!

"Then we won't dig!" Kamiya Keiyun thought for a moment and said, "Oh, right, call Ruri to my room. It's only 9 o'clock, what are you sleeping for? Let's have two hours of lessons before sleeping!"

"Okay," Hei Bei got up and, with a whoosh, went upstairs.

Kamiya Keiyun also got up and went to the training room.

Soon, Ruri and Hei Bei came in, followed by Kamiya Sanyō.

"I... I can't sleep either," Kamiya Sanyō said.

In fact, seeing the one person, one cat, and one mouse all busy with their own affairs, Kamiya Sanyō couldn't sleep at all!

"Alright, then you sit here and review the Three Body Technique you learned before. I'll teach them to recognize characters!" Kamiya Keiyun took out a roll of white paper and began to read softly, word by word.

The cat and the mouse sat upright by the small table, listening attentively. Their attitude was much more serious than that of the students in the Ninja Academy.

They also knew that Kamiya Keiyun's teaching was very effective, and his time was very precious. He had classes during the day, practiced leg techniques after school, and cultivated Ninjutsu. There was only a little bit of time between classes each day.

Kamiya Keiyun's teaching curriculum was very traditional, starting with the Three Character Classic and then Tang poetry and Song lyrics.

Was the Thousand Character Classic missing in between?

That was because Kamiya Keiyun hadn't memorized it.

The curriculum also included some political ideology courses.

He didn't have any means to control people like the Life and Death Talisman or the Three Corpses God Pill in his hands. Even if he did, he wouldn't trust their effectiveness.

To keep secrets and strengthen willpower, and to make subordinates withstand torture, having the same ideology was much more useful than any method.

At the same time, to protect the two Ninja Beasts, Kamiya Keiyun would not assign them tasks that were too difficult when their strength was insufficient. For example, he wouldn't send Hei Bei to monitor Shimura Ken.

Even though he was a mouse, Kamiya Keiyun was unwilling to take that risk.

After some thought, Kamiya Keiyun decided not to let Hei Bei's older brothers and sisters join either. Firstly, he might not be able to afford to feed them.

His family knew about Ruri's existence, so Kamiya Koromo could just make an extra portion of cat food.

Hei Bei ate little, and Kamiya Keiyun could share his food daily.

But how could he share food for six mice?

Secondly, too many mice would be difficult to control. With only two now, the cat and the mouse could supervise each other.

If six mice appeared, could Ruri keep an eye on them all?

Thirdly, he didn't need so many workers now; he could dig holes himself.

After teaching them a piece called "Ode to the Goose" and letting the two Ninja Beasts practice writing on their own, Kamiya Keiyun returned to Sanyō.

"Sister, do you have any way to make money?"

That's right. Since the problem of leaving the village had been solved, another problem presented itself to Kamiya Keiyun.

He had no money!

Without money, how could he buy materials when he left the village?