Our Money Is All Gone

System, thank you!

A Luo turned over in the recliner. He looked like he was sleeping, but he was actually greeting the system and chatting with it.

[Please explain why, Host. A baseless expression of gratitude will make the system determine that an anomaly has occurred. There is a high probability that the Host has ulterior motives.]

Upon receiving A Luo's thanks, the system bluntly stated that if he could not explain himself, it would not accept them.

Thanking it and then asking for benefits was a stupid stunt its Host had pulled before. Even though it had not worked out in the end.

I really do want to thank you. You've been with me for so long. I haven't earned many points, but I've fallen into plenty of traps. System, do you think I'm too stupid, so you deliberately got me a treasure that can convert anything as long as it's energy...

It was not that A Luo had suddenly become sentimental. He had merely gotten the strange feeling that the system had given him a benefit because it wanted to abandon him.

That was just an illusion, right?

[That was a randomly appearing discounted item. As the bound Host of this salted-fish system, if you were too aggressive and hardworking, I would have dumped you centuries ago.]

Without the slightest hesitation, the system readily told A Luo not to overthink things.

As for this Host being a little stupid, a little unlucky, and occasionally prone to acting up and being irritating...

Paired with a salted-fish system like it, he was actually not so bad.

As long as you're not planning to split up with me. Look how weak I am—if you don't want me anymore, how am I supposed to live...

Once A Luo confirmed that the system was not planning to leave him, he immediately started showing off.

The tragic drama in his heart was performed with remarkable naturalness and vividness...

[The Host is advised to behave normally. Although the system will not withhold the Host's achievement rewards, the system is not omnipotent either. If I get stuck for ten days or half a month without responding, that would not count as violating the original binding contract.]

The system had long grown used to A Luo's occasional nonsense and cut him off before he could finish.

Sure enough, this Host could not be praised. Give him the slightest compliment, and he would stay smug for ages.

Training, training. Just wait until I can move freely around the ninja world...

A Luo occasionally bickered with the system, but whenever it did not play along, he could usually settle down right away.

However, this time, when the system saw him quietly cultivating, it replied.

[The Host is advised not to improve your body too much for now. Your frail state is what Konoha needs. If you recover your health too quickly, Konoha's higher-ups will put some effort into making you frail again.]

Based on the current situation, the system gave A Luo an analysis.

Although A Luo could now begin cultivating, he could only absorb a small amount of spiritual energy in the early stages, and he had planned to use all of it to strengthen his body.

After projecting the results of this approach, the system concluded that A Luo's body would be unable to remain healthy for a long time, because Konoha would sabotage it at any moment.

What a pain...

A Luo did not actually mind Konoha doing something to him, because whether it was ninjutsu, genjutsu, poison, or anything else, it all counted as energy.

Of course, if the amount converted was too great, he might not be able to handle it, but it would not cause him too much harm in the end.

But although he could convert it, he could not do so.

Especially not in a way that made Konoha believe his body had strong poison resistance or automatic recovery from injuries...

He liked energy and wanted to cultivate, but none of that could happen in Konoha's laboratory.

After the system's reminder, A Luo changed his cultivation method. He no longer continued strengthening his body, merely absorbing the limited spiritual energy bit by bit to reinforce his meridians and dantian.

As for everything else, it could wait.

Once he earned more achievement points and used them to buy some items, he would be able to cultivate without worry.

Relying on the system might not be a good thing, but A Luo knew what he was like. It was already not easy to keep the system from disliking him.

Fortunately, it was a salted-fish system. Otherwise, it would have abandoned him long ago.

During his morning "sleep," A Luo absorbed very little spiritual energy, but he truly rested well.

When Sasuke arrived at the office carrying two lunchboxes and woke A Luo up, the chilliness Sasuke had maintained all morning quietly melted away at the sight of his groggy younger brother.

"A Luo, let's go eat lunch by the training field. After we eat, you can watch your brother train nearby."

Sasuke reached out and pinched the face that looked so much like his own. Once he saw A Luo was awake, he took his younger brother's hand and led him outside.

"Sasuke, did you buy rice balls?"

A Luo let Sasuke lead him out of the teachers' office. By the time they reached the edge of the training field, he had finally woken up.

Sitting beneath a tree beside the training field, A Luo froze for a moment when he opened his lunchbox.

Rice balls!

Three plump white rice balls sat in the lunchbox before him.

"Yeah. We can't always eat ramen. Give them a try."

Sasuke answered cautiously, then picked up a rice ball and started eating first.

It was not that he did not want to buy something else. It was just that after classes ended at noon, the teacher had spoken to him privately about some things.

Their family's money was gone. From now on, they would have to live on the living allowance Konoha provided.

So for a while, they could no longer eat whatever they wanted. They would have to carefully budget their money.

Dividing one month's living expenses into thirty portions and spending one portion each day was something he could understand.

"Doesn't have much flavor, but it's not bad either..."

A Luo slowly ate his rice ball. After taking a bite, chewing, and swallowing, he gave a very fair assessment.

He was eating a plain rice ball with nothing added to it. Of course it had no other flavor!

Still, this was fine. Konoha would not let them starve, but it absolutely would not let the two brothers eat well either.

The moment Sasuke handed him the rice ball, the system had already given him an explanation. After deliberation by Konoha's higher-ups, all of the Uchiha clan's assets had been confiscated.

Now, the two brothers would receive living expenses according to the standard allotment for ordinary orphans. They might receive some care if something happened from time to time, but it had to be made clear to Uchiha Sasuke so that he understood how difficult life was.

Only then would he desire strength even more and be better able to serve Konoha in the future.

"Mm. This is how things are for now. When I'm on break, I'll go into the mountains to catch rabbits and wild chickens, and go to the river to catch fish..."

Sasuke lowered his head as he ate his rice ball, his voice somewhat muffled.

There was nothing he could do now. He could not argue or make a fuss. He could only accept those people's arrangements.

So if he wanted his younger brother to eat better, he had to work even harder.

He needed to learn not only the knowledge required to become a ninja, but also many things about daily life, such as cooking...