Yu Makes a Name for Himself!

After settling matters with Nagato and Akatsuki, Riu did not sit idle. Before Orochimaru produced results, he decided to take care of a few unfinished matters...

Life could not do without clothing, food, shelter, and transportation. The Naruto World was no different.

Riu was not particular about clothes. The black robe Madara had left behind suited his tastes perfectly.

For travel, he had Kamui. Not even the lightning trains of the post-Hokage era could compare.

His living arrangements were passable. There was a bed in the underground base, and a group of White Zetsu to keep him company, so it was not boring. What he lacked was a woman—one with body heat, who could move on her own...

As for food, thanks to the First Hokage's cells, he could survive without eating.

But while eating was not necessary, that did not mean he did not want to eat...

For instance, he had always wanted to taste the legendary Ichiraku Ramen.

Unfortunately, he had no money. Madara's inheritance included the ninja tools and ninjutsu from his lifetime, even the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path—but not a single coin...

That was understandable. Madara had distanced himself from worldly affairs and devoted his entire life to the Moon's Eye Plan. He had long since lost interest in the pleasures of the world, so he had no need for money.

But Riu was different.

Some might ask, with Riu's abilities, what was wrong with eating without paying? If he saw something he wanted, he could just take it. Who could stop him? ...But bullying ordinary civilians was not Riu's style.

So he needed money. If he had none, then he would earn it.

Ninjas had many different ways of making money.

At the lowest level, they could become bandits or highwaymen, robbing civilians and merchants. Naturally, Riu would not consider that option.

A slightly more advanced option was working for an individual or organization, protecting certain people or assassinating designated targets. Riu did not like that either. Being employed by others meant having to cater to them, which did not fit the freedom he sought.

Then there was serving a ninja village and earning rewards through missions. Riu would not consider that for now either. He could officially return to Konoha as Uchiha Obito, but he did not want to form ties with Konoha that ran too deep. What he planned to pursue would inevitably bring friction, even war, with Konoha. Unnecessary ties would only make him hesitate when the time came to act.

He had once been indecisive, but in the Naruto World, he only wanted to move toward his goal with unwavering determination. In a sense, his Ninja Way happened to align with Naruto's...

Therefore, he decided to learn from Kakuzu's way of making money! Kakuzu's way of making money!

Hunt the ninjas on the bounty list and exchange them at the Bounty Exchange for hefty rewards!

At the Valley of the End, the waterfall poured down as Riu sat atop the First Hokage's statue.

Gurgle, gurgle... A White Zetsu emerged from a nearby rock.

"Did you find it?" Riu asked.

"Seriously, you have way too much free time, looking for something this strange..."

As White Zetsu grumbled, it placed a copy of the Bounty List beside Riu.

Riu picked it up and began flipping through it.

The list arranged bounty targets by the major ninja villages, then ranked them according to the size of their bounties...

Following the principle of proximity, Riu opened the bounty directory for Konoha ninjas.

Any ninja who made it onto the bounty list was bound to possess a certain degree of strength. Ordinary Genin and Chunin were not qualified.

At the very least, they had to be Special Jonin, or rogue ninjas considered dangerous...

Furthermore, most ninjas had bounties ranging from five million to ten million ryō.

Those whose bounties exceeded ten million were either quite powerful or highly dangerous...

Kabuto Yakushi, Konoha spy, rogue ninja. Bounty: ten million ryō.

Riu skipped past him and continued flipping.

Kakashi Hatake, son of the White Fang, Konoha Jōnin. Bounty: thirteen million ryō. However, the number thirteen million had been crossed out in red and revised to eleven million ryō.

"Oh? Why had Kakashi's bounty dropped by two million ryō..."

"That was thanks to you~"

"Oh."

Right. The first thing Riu had done after transmigrating was dig out Kakashi's eye. That had inevitably lowered Kakashi's value in the eyes of his employers.

But in the long run, Kakashi had greater potential without the Sharingan. He did not have much Chakra to begin with, yet acquiring the Sharingan midway had forcibly altered his path of development. That had undoubtedly severely limited his original prospects. Kakashi was the son of Konoha's White Fang. If he specialized in the secret techniques left behind by the White Fang, he might well reach Kage Level...

Riu flipped another page.

Asuma Sarutobi, Konoha Jōnin, son of the Third Hokage. Bounty: fifteen million ryō.

"I remember Asuma's bounty at his peak was thirty-five million ryō. Oh, that must have been after he became one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja..." Riu muttered, continuing to turn the pages.

There, he found the bounty listings of nearly everyone, including Konoha's Elite Jonin, the Konoha Sannin, and even the Third and Fourth Hokage...

Choza Akimichi, Inoichi Yamanaka, and Shikaku Nara—the Ino–Shika–Cho of Konoha. Their bounties were twenty million, twenty-five million, and twenty-eight million ryō respectively, roughly matching their strength.

Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru had roughly equal bounties: fifty million, fifty-two million, and fifty-five million ryō. Orochimaru's was slightly higher, likely because he conducted dangerous experiments and had earned an infamous reputation.

As for the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, their bounties were sixty-six million and seventy-seven million ryō respectively.

The Third Hokage at his peak had not been weaker than the young Minato. The reason for such a large difference was probably that the Third Hokage handled affairs more mildly and offended fewer people.

These people were regulars on the bounty list. Their bounties had remained there year after year, but no one could claim them, because they had to weigh their own strength first...

Riu flipped to the end of the Konoha section and abruptly discovered a newly added page.

"Hm???"

When he saw it, his expression turned strange.

Uchiha Yu. True identity unknown. Assisted a rogue ninja from Amegakure in escaping the pursuit of Amegakure's leader, Hanzō. His strength was acknowledged by Hanzō, who considered him a ninja on par with himself.

Bounty: eighty million ryō.

Photo: missing.

Abilities: unknown.

"News leaked out far too quickly..." Riu murmured.

Hanzō truly kept his word. He had said Riu's name would spread through the Five Great Nations, but Riu had not expected it to happen so soon.

"Quite a few ninjas are looking into you now, including the ANBU of the Five Great Nations..." White Zetsu said from beside him.

"Well, it does not matter. Any enemy who stands in my way has only one fate: death..." Riu said indifferently.

"So, who is today's unlucky bastard?" White Zetsu teased.

Riu thought for a moment, flipped several pages back, and tapped one entry with his finger. "Him."

Hokai. The ninja in the photograph had a particularly vicious-looking face. A Konoha rogue ninja, bounty: sixteen million ryō...

"Oh~ That guy. He was a Konoha Jōnin. A month ago, he failed to assassinate the daimyo of the Land of Fire and fled Konoha. Konoha's ANBU are hunting him down right now..." White Zetsu said.

"Where is he?" Riu asked.

"You are in luck. He is in a forest not far from here. You marked it last time~" Tobi said.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let us collect those sixteen million ryō..."

Whoosh! Riu vanished into Kamui's vortex.