Uzuki Yugao

"Double?..."

The shopkeeper muttered to himself, then turned to look at Sasuke.

But Sasuke merely glanced at him before turning away and pretending to admire the scenery.

A man of the world, he immediately weighed the pros and cons.

Compared to a potential big spender like Sasuke, who had plenty of promise, double the price was nothing. He wasn't about to throw away a watermelon for a sesame seed.

Turning around, he bowed and gave the beautiful ninja who had suddenly barged in an ingratiating smile.

"Sorry, that ninja sword has already been given to this handsome young man as a free gift. How about..."

The female ninja was named Uzuki Yugao. Though she wore an ordinary-looking flak jacket, her true identity was that of an elite Jonin in Konoha Anbu.

Seeing this, she cut the shopkeeper off with a wave of her hand.

"Five times!..."

"Five times?..."

The shopkeeper hesitated. Five times meant ten thousand. Even a potential big spender would probably need years of purchases to earn him that much, while the profit right in front of him was guaranteed!

With that thought, the shopkeeper turned back to Sasuke and put on another ingratiating smile.

"Handsome young man, could you choose a different free gift? You can use anything to start a fire, right? Heh..."

He'd thought he could persuade Sasuke. After all, Sasuke looked young, and he spent money freely—a typical fool with more money than sense.

He'd seen plenty of people like that.

Usually, all it took was a little flattery to make them lose their heads. They could even tolerate taking a loss just to save face.

But this time, the shopkeeper had miscalculated.

Sasuke turned around again, glared at him, and snorted.

"I told you, money isn't an issue for me. But the one thing I can't stand is people taking me for an idiot, like you are right now. You're making me angry!..."

His expression was calm, but there was a hint of displeasure in his voice.

"Th-this..."

Confronted by Sasuke's sudden assertiveness, the shopkeeper froze.

A few seconds later, after finally making up his mind, he gritted his teeth and turned to Uzuki Yugao.

"I'm sorry, I..."

"Ten times..."

"Ten times!..."

The shopkeeper felt his heart leap into his throat when he heard that price. He couldn't help swallowing.

"Ten times. If you can't make the decision, I'll make the deal with this kid..."

Uzuki Yugao's expression remained calm, but Sasuke clearly detected the anxiety hidden in her tone.

Ten times the price?

Heh...

Forget twenty thousand—even if the beautiful woman in front of him came with the deal, Sasuke still wouldn't give up the ninja sword easily.

Think about it: if the system had specifically identified this ninja sword, could it really be ordinary?

A man couldn't get rich without unexpected windfalls, and a horse couldn't grow fat without extra feed at night.

Truth be told, the shopkeeper had been sorely tempted the moment Uzuki Yugao offered five times the price.

But at the time, he'd held back his greed because of Sasuke, a young kid with money to burn.

Now, with ten times the price suddenly on the table, he immediately forgot all about Sasuke!

What did shame matter? What did customers matter? Once this deal was done, he could just change his appearance and open another shop!

This kind of huge opportunity was too good to pass up.

If he pulled it off, he could lounge around for half a year. How could he let it slip away?

With that thought, he turned for the third time and looked at Sasuke, who still wore a calm expression. His voice turned cold.

"We haven't completed our transaction. Put down the ninja sword in your hand. I'm not doing business with you anymore."

His tone was icy. Even the words "handsome young man" had disappeared.

Just as expected...

Sasuke didn't lose his temper outright. He glanced at the anxious Uzuki Yugao beside him, then looked at the fat shopkeeper, whose expression had turned cold.

"You took my money and now you're going back on your word?"

"Is this how you do business?"

Without a word, the shopkeeper took out the two thousand he'd just accepted and tossed it onto the counter in front of Sasuke.

"Here's your money. Put down the ninja sword, then leave..."

At that point, Su Jian could clearly hear the impatience in the shopkeeper's voice.

"Heh... You could've just robbed me, you know? I'm crying..."

With a mocking laugh, Sasuke stood up, his gaze turning cold.

"You can just take back something you've already sold?"

"I've never seen anything like this in my life. I'm not giving it to you. What are you going to do about it?..."

Sasuke slapped the table, his temper flaring too. If they couldn't settle this with reason, then they'd settle it with force!

"Heh..."

The shopkeeper sneered and clapped his hands.

Several burly men immediately rushed out, cracking their knuckles with grins on their faces.

"Take the money on the counter and throw this troublemaking kid out!"

"This is my turf. I won't let some brat throw his weight around here!..."

"Wait..."

Just as the men were about to move in, Uzuki Yugao frowned and stopped them.

"Don't you think that's going too far?"

The shopkeeper paused, then smiled and waved his hand.

"Beautiful lady, you saw our dispute for yourself. I haven't even handed over the goods, so the deal isn't complete. Now I've returned his money, too. That's perfectly reasonable, isn't it?..."

"But..."

Uzuki Yugao was left speechless.

Something about it felt wrong, but she spent nearly all her time at home training. For the moment, she couldn't put her finger on what it was.

"Ah, leave this to me. Don't worry, I won't go too far. He's just a kid, after all. Once I've dealt with this, we'll make the deal right away..."

With that, the shopkeeper could hardly wait any longer.

He waved a hand behind him, and the burly men charged straight at Sasuke!

Seeing this, Sasuke sneered inwardly.

He wondered just how strong he was compared to ordinary people now that half a year of Taijutsu training had brought him to the level of a high-level Genin.

And now, some convenient targets had come right to him. How could he pass up the chance?

The corner of his mouth lifted, and Sasuke's figure blurred.

In the next instant, like a bolt of lightning, he charged straight into the group of men surrounding him!

"Careful! Don't hurt him!..."

Seeing things go awry, Uzuki Yugao shouted a warning, but she didn't step in herself.

First, though these men were all big and burly, they were still just ordinary people.

Second, their boss had given the order. At worst, they'd restrain the kid and throw him out.

Beating up a child like this was certainly a little cruel.

But for the sake of the ninja sword, she could only go against her conscience and turn a blind eye.

The shopkeeper sneered. Uzuki Yugao lowered her head and said nothing. But in the next second, both of them froze!

Smack! Smack! Smack!

Sasuke was small, but he moved like a butterfly among flowers, weaving through the men.

In just a few quick moves, he sent them sprawling and howling in pain. Not one of them could get back up!

"What? How is that possible?..."

"That chakra... Could this kid already be a Genin?..."

Uzuki Yugao and the shopkeeper both wore expressions of shock.

At the same time, Sasuke had already dashed out of the shop. He turned around and shouted angrily back inside.

"Remember! You were the one who attacked first."

"So this shop doesn't need to exist anymore!..."