Kakashi Resolves to Open Chests

Trash talk was one thing.

Either

you had to possess the kind of charisma the protagonist had, the kind that moved people's hearts.

Or

you had to have enough status and power to inspire confidence.

Shen Mo belonged to the latter category at this moment.

Though he had not acted many times, every single time had left a deep impression. Combined with these miraculous chests and all kinds of seemingly impossible items,

the image of a mysterious and powerful Jar Merchant who traveled through countless worlds and had witnessed countless legends had already been established in everyone's minds.

After what he had just said, the one who reacted most strongly was undoubtedly Tsunade.

The corners of her lightly made-up eyes rose, and she revealed a joyful expression, as though she had received immense support.

"I told you so long ago."

One hand rested on her slender waist while the other clenched into a fist and pointed at Hiruzen Sarutobi. Her voice trembled slightly, yet it was incomparably resolute. "I don't care whether Nawaki died pursuing his own dream. I will revive him, then shoulder everything for him. I absolutely won't let the same thing happen a second time!"

At that moment, Tsunade seemed to radiate an entirely different aura.

Her back was straight, her skin flushed with health, and a faint, confident smile rested on her lips.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Tsunade's youthful face, unchanged in the slightest.

It was as though he had once again seen the girl at her peak, still full of youthful spirit.

Had he lost the right to bear the burden?

"Hah..." Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly sighed softly.

When he was young, he had believed that he could protect everyone. But the First Hokage had died, the Second Hokage had died, and even his son had died.

He had come to realize that sacrifice was unavoidable.

So when Hatake Sakumo was slandered, he had not intervened. He believed it was necessary. When Nawaki went to the battlefield, he had not intervened either. He believed there was no other choice.

At the very least, Shen Mo had been right about one thing.

He had already become numb to sacrifice.

"Kakashi." Tsunade looked at Kakashi again, her gaze burning. "If there's someone you want to revive too, why not work hard together? I've already opened quite a few chests. If we pool our money, it won't take long at all."

Kakashi's heart gradually began to stir again.

At the very least, Rin.

That girl who had died by his hand in order to protect the village—if it was him now, he should be able to protect a girl like her, shouldn't he?

"Actually, you don't need to worry so much." Shen Mo saw Kakashi's resolve wavering and decided to add more fuel to the fire. "If you open enough chests and reach Level 3 Chest, or even Level 4 Chest, you'll discover that reviving one or two people who aren't particularly strong isn't difficult at all. And I've said it before: chests are hope, they are destiny. As long as I remain in this world, no matter the circumstances, there is no such word as 'impossible.'"

If someone could be revived once, then naturally they could be revived twice.

The weaker the person, the smaller the price of reviving them.

Shen Mo's words undoubtedly became the final weight that tipped the scales.

Kakashi's gaze hardened as he looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi. "Lord Hokage, I still want to revive them."

Hiruzen Sarutobi knew that he could no longer change Kakashi's mind.

Kakashi had a gentle personality.

But he did not lack a ninja's resolve. Once he had made up his mind to do something, he was difficult to stop.

Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly thought of something. Looking at Shen Mo, he asked, "How exactly is the value of Ninjutsu calculated when exchanged? Can the same Ninjutsu be traded repeatedly?"

Konoha had quite a lot of Ninjutsu.

That was right.

Although Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to stop Kakashi from opening chests to revive people, that was because he wanted to open things that held greater value for Konoha.

Having witnessed the chests' wonders, the Hokage understood clearly that unless he was confident he could restrain the Jar Merchant before him,

he had to stay ahead of the other villages.

The imposing aura Shen Mo had displayed earlier had vanished without a trace. He understood that a big deal was coming.

"As for Ninjutsu, it can roughly be divided into two parts: knowledge and power," Shen Mo explained. "The value of knowledge lies in its rarity. In other words, the first trade of the same Ninjutsu has the highest value. The second will drop sharply, and the third even more so. Exclusive knowledge is far more valuable than widely spread knowledge. If you make it into a scroll, there is also the labor value of producing that scroll..."

The system's evaluation of an item's trade value was actually quite comprehensive.

For example,

a one-of-a-kind wood carving made by a master carpenter would have the highest value.

A wood carving mass-produced on an automated assembly line, on the other hand, would have the lowest value.

Even if the latter might be more exquisite.

It took into account an item's rarity, its inherent quality, and the labor value involved in its production...

Shen Mo did not fully understand the specifics either.

In any case,

he had not yet found a loophole for making money quickly.

After Shen Mo's explanation, everyone had a general understanding, including Sasuke. He realized that if he developed new sword techniques, he could trade those as well.

"So it's basically just developing techniques, right? I'm super good at that." Naruto was full of enthusiasm, then seemed to think of something. "Um, can my Sexy Jutsu be traded?"

Sexy Jutsu.

It was probably the strongest Ninjutsu Naruto had developed on his own so far.

Shen Mo's eyes lit up, and he nodded.

"It can, of course it can. And if you keep developing it, its value won't be low either."

This technique looked like a joke, but its actual power was not low. The stronger the target, the more effective it became. Even Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, the ancestor of Chakra, had fallen for it.

And it was a fairly rare Ninjutsu.

For now, Naruto seemed to be the only one who had mastered it.

It had another rare attribute added to it.

"Even a Ninjutsu like that can be traded?" Sasuke seemed unable to believe it.

But Hiruzen Sarutobi subconsciously rubbed his nose and said nothing.

That technique really was quite powerful.

"Haha." Shen Mo chuckled a few times, looking quite pleased. "All right, Naruto, keep opening chests. You haven't even finished opening ten yet."

"Oh, right!" Naruto became cheerful again, humming a tune he had just made up. "Opening chests~~ Opening chests~~ Everyone, let's open chests together—"

Mm, the lyrics suited Shen Mo's tastes perfectly.

But there was nothing particularly good afterward.

Naruto's luck was simply too good. Shen Mo had only prepared two or three Grand Prizes in total, yet Naruto had opened the best two within just ten chests.

The remaining slightly better item

was merely a Body-Tempering Pill.

"It can temper the body's internal organs and remove some impurities. The effect is quite good. If taken for a long time, even an ordinary person can become a taijutsu expert," Shen Mo explained with a smile. "It's quite difficult for one to appear in a Level 1 Chest."

"Good stuff!"

Naruto did not understand any of that, but good stuff was good stuff.

He opened his mouth and swallowed it immediately.

Sasuke beside him wore an envious expression.

He had only opened something like that from a Level 2 Chest, and though he had gotten ten of them, Naruto was undoubtedly a True Emperor.

"All right, the transaction is complete." Shen Mo smiled as Naruto opened his final chest. "Now, I'll collect the price."

Promoting a book: "Three Thousand Immortal Rank." A hardcore soft-rice story, but you still have to give me recommendation votes! ⊙⊙!