Market Research

"Jonin Orochimaru really was a good person. No wonder he was one of the Three Legendary Sannin, beloved by so many villagers." After leaving, Sanyō's mind was still filled with Orochimaru's image.

Snake Uncle also had another nickname: Cold Lord.

As everyone knew, Japanese people were very reserved when it came to expressing emotions. Instead of saying "I love you," they would say, "The moon is beautiful tonight."

And when expanded, Cold Lord meant a cool and aloof handsome man.

There was no questioning his charm.

Although Sanyō had attended the lecture with him, she forgot everything she heard at the beginning by the time it ended. When they left, all she remembered was Orochimaru's gentleness.

"Of course. That was Snake Uncle, after all!" Kamiya Keiyun said proudly.

That was the advantage of knowing the plot.

It was somewhat like stories about Chongzhen. Many transmigrators did not know which ministers were capable, but most officials had historical evaluations left behind. Promoting Yan Yingyuan and Lu Xiangsheng could not possibly go wrong.

Unfortunately, he remembered few characters—only Madara-sama, Snake Uncle, Black Zetsu, and a handful of others. It would have been nice if he knew a few more.

He had no leads on Madara-sama yet. Black Zetsu was suspected to be Obito, but he was not familiar with Obito and did not know his family situation. For now, the only one he could make use of was Snake Uncle.

But after meeting Snake Uncle today, it really was true that names could be wrong, but nicknames never were. Snake Uncle was indeed gentle and fond of supporting newcomers.

Kamiya Keiyun thought back to their conversation. Snake Uncle's attitude had been somewhat indifferent at first, and the change came after he mentioned the so-called Productive Ninjutsu.

So Snake Uncle liked new ideas!

Thinking further about that storyline of Gundams fighting aliens, perhaps there had been no concept of Gundams before the protagonist either. The protagonist had proposed the concept and received the support of Snake Uncle, who liked new ideas.

"Hey, Keiyun, since Snake Uncle is part of Konoha's upper ranks and thinks highly of you, do you think we could..." Sanyō suddenly began hesitantly.

"No!" Kamiya Keiyun shook his head. "I know what you want to say, but we can't drag Snake Uncle into this!"

"Ah, why?" Sanyō asked.

"This is politics!" Kamiya Keiyun shook his head. "The Shimura Clan is no small force. They're also among Konoha's upper ranks! We don't know Snake Uncle's relationship with the Shimura Clan. If this causes the two sides to clash, then we'd be screwing Snake Uncle over."

"Th-that..." Sanyō nodded. That was true.

"Even if they were already rivals, using Snake Uncle like this would leave a very bad impression on him!" Kamiya Keiyun continued. "Then we'd offend both the Shimura Clan and Snake Uncle at once."

"R-right, sorry. I won't do that again..." Sanyō hurriedly apologized.

"This isn't your fault. You're still young, so it's normal that you can't see through these things!" Kamiya Keiyun said.

"But you can see through them..." Sanyō said aggrievedly.

"People are naturally different. But you don't need to be discouraged. Even if you lack experience now, you can grow through study and practice!" As Kamiya Keiyun spoke, the two had already arrived at a barbecue restaurant.

"I understand. So are we buying barbecue?" Sanyō asked.

"I'll take a look first!" Kamiya Keiyun glanced at the sign: Akimichi BBQ Shop.

It was still early in the morning, not yet mealtime, and there were barely any customers in the restaurant.

Kamiya Keiyun looked at the sign hanging nearby. The restaurant's signature grilled meats were pork, beef, and lamb. Pork was the cheapest at 1,500 ryo per catty, lamb cost 1,600 ryo per catty, and beef cost 2,000 ryo per catty.

There were also special meats, priced at 5,000 and above.

The chef wore a red uniform. He was plump, with a big head and thick neck, looking every bit like a butcher. He was currently wielding two cleavers, chopping away on the cutting board with loud thunks.

"Uncle, what are these special meats?" Kamiya Keiyun asked.

"Oh, those are Ninja Beast meats that come in from time to time. You know Ninja Beasts, right? Wild animals that produce Chakra in their bodies!" the chef said. "They're harder to catch, so naturally they're more expensive!"

"Uh!" Kamiya Keiyun froze. Ninja Beasts could be eaten too?

I thought they could only be used as battle companions.

"Do Ninja Beasts taste better? Or are they more nutritious?" Kamiya Keiyun asked again.

"Not really. But Ninja Beasts are rare, and rarity makes things expensive!" The chef glanced at Kamiya Keiyun. "Kid, is this your first time here? Where are your parents?"

"Oh, I'm just looking around!" Kamiya Keiyun said as he silently began calculating.

If he began training Cooking Gold, Serving Jade, then with himself, his sister, Ruri, and Ni Yuan, two catties of barbecue a day for the four of them should be about right.

If they chose pork, it would be 1,500 per catty, 4,500 per day, and 135,000 a month!

That was a little ridiculous. Was the currency value this low?

When I left, pork in Huaxia cost twenty yuan per catty. Barbecue has value added, taxes, rent, water, and electricity factored in, so even if it was fifty yuan per catty...

The exchange rate was actually thirty to one?

"Uncle, I have a banknote here. I'd like five catties of barbecue. Can you give me the rest in ryo?" Kamiya Keiyun handed over a banknote.

"No problem, but you'll have to wait a while. I'm still preparing it!" the uncle said.

"No problem!" Kamiya Keiyun took the money the uncle gave him as change.

They were actually paper bills about the same size as those from his previous life: twelve 200-denomination notes and one 100-denomination note.

"Uh, so ryo was just a currency unit!" Kamiya Keiyun sighed. He had thought ryo referred to weight. Wouldn't that have meant he was holding one million taels of silver?

He picked up a bill and held it toward the sky for a look, immediately upsetting the uncle.

"What's the matter, kid? You think I'd give you counterfeit money?"

"Ah, no, no. I just learned how to authenticate currency, so I'm practicing!" Kamiya Keiyun hurriedly explained.

The uncle was broad-shouldered and thick-waisted. Never mind who would win in a fight—Kamiya Keiyun did not want to get that body covered in grease on him.

So the Land of Fire's currency consisted of banknotes and merchant bank drafts. The bills in his hand came in denominations of 100 and 200. Kamiya Keiyun had spent 50-denomination bills when he was younger. Below that, there were no paper notes, only copper coins worth one ryo each.

As for merchant bank drafts, their denominations were unrestricted. The one in Kamiya Keiyun's pocket was worth ten thousand, and there might be larger ones, though he had not seen any.

"Uncle, do you offer delivery?" Kamiya Keiyun asked again.

"Delivery? What do you mean?" the uncle asked.

"I mean, I don't eat at your restaurant. You send it to my house!" Kamiya Keiyun said.

"Oh, you mean distribution. Distribution is distribution—why call it delivery? Of course we deliver!" the uncle said. "You can deposit some money here first, then write down the delivery time. We'll bring it over when the time comes. All right, your meat is ready. Taking it with you?"

"Yes, taking it with us!" Kamiya Keiyun nodded. "Then we'll be going first!"

"Come again!" the uncle called after them.

"Are we ordering delivery?" Sanyō asked, carrying the barbecue in her hands. "Wouldn't that be too extravagant?"

After all, a bowl of ramen at the shop next door cost only 50 ryo, while one catty of barbecue cost 1,500 ryo. Was that something an ordinary family could afford to eat?

"I'm not sure either. First, I need to determine whether food has anything to do with the amount of Chakra!" Kamiya Keiyun said. "If it does, then it'll be worth it no matter how much money it costs. Besides, would extraordinary people ever lack money?"

"Uh..." Sanyō looked lost. Lack money? He had not even graduated yet!

"We're not going home?" Sanyō noticed that they were not heading back home.

"Let's look around some more!" Kamiya Keiyun walked through the streets for a while and found quite a few vacant storefronts. Yet none had signs saying they were for rent, so there was naturally no way to contact the owners.

"If we want to rent those shops, who do we ask?" Kamiya Keiyun pointed at an empty storefront.

"Ah, we need to go to the Hokage's Office Building!" Sanyō asked, "Are we renting a shop?"

"Of course!" Kamiya Keiyun nodded. "With this one million ryo, even if we ate as much as we wanted, we couldn't spend it all in a year. We can't keep asking Snake Uncle for support! I still have four years to spend at the academy. What about those four years?"

Besides, he needed to buy chemical supplies and laboratory equipment. He had no idea how much that would cost.

"All right, then what are we going to sell?" Sanyō asked.

"I haven't decided yet. For now, let's ask about shop prices. No matter what we want to do, we can't officially start until a month from now. If that matter fails, then everything will be over," Kamiya Keiyun said.

"Mm!" Kamiya Sanyō silently nodded, her feelings exceedingly complicated.

Obviously, I'm the older sister. Obviously, I should be the one taking care of my little brother. But now, he has become the one I rely on.

What should I do?