"Little girl! Don't get too cocky!"
They were all ninja who had survived by living on the edge of a blade. How could they tolerate Lucy's provocation, especially when she was directly after their lives?
They immediately rushed at Lucy together.
The people behind the counter hurriedly pulled down the window. There was a defensive barrier on it; it seemed this sort of thing had happened quite a few times.
"None of you will leave alive!"
Mikoto Uchiha stepped in front of Lucy and activated her three-tomoe Sharingan.
In an instant, their movements came to a halt. It seemed they had fallen under the Sharingan's genjutsu.
Wind Release: Finger Bullet Barrage!
Pellets compressed from Wind Release Chakra continuously shot from the tips of all ten fingers, harvesting the ninja like lambs awaiting slaughter.
"Hmph! The rogue ninja in this place aren't much."
Lucy knocked on the counter.
"It's over. Come out and settle their bounties!"
"It's over?!"
The person behind the counter cautiously pulled open a narrow crack. Seeing corpses sprawled haphazardly across the floor, he stared at Lucy and the other two in shock.
Just who were these three?
They had killed them so easily. The weakest people here were at least Chunin-level!
Unfortunately, they had encountered Mikoto Uchiha of the Uchiha Clan.
The Sharingan's genjutsu had turned them into lambs ready for slaughter. They died in their dreams without the slightest resistance, falling into eternal sleep.
The combined bounties of these people turned Lucy's group from paupers with only fifty thousand ryo into wealthy people with more than three million ryo.
With her pockets now bulging, Naruto happily bought all the food she wanted as she walked down the street. No matter how much she ate, her stomach did not bulge in the slightest.
Mikoto Uchiha and Yakushi Nonō could only look on enviously.
Money Grubber Gets Punished (1/2)
Having washed away the smell of blood, Naruto ran out of the bathroom with dripping hair, her face flushed as she wrapped herself in a bath towel. She looked toward Yakushi Nonō, who was organizing a ninja tool pouch.
Naruto recalled the bounty list they had brought back from the black market. It recorded every bounty, from tens of thousands to hundreds of millions; all of them could be found on that thick list.
"Nonō, let me see the bounty list."
"Mm."
Yakushi Nonō nodded, took out the bounty list, and handed it to Naruto. She noticed Naruto's wet hair.
"Naruto, come sit over here. I'll dry your hair for you."
"Mm, thanks."
"It's not troublesome at all."
Yakushi Nonō smiled gently. Naruto shrugged at the way Nonō treated her like a child, then squeezed into her arms.
She flipped through the bounty list in her hands, enjoying the gentle way Nonō dried her hair.
The tenderness was like that reserved for a fragile porcelain doll.
Unfortunately, Naruto was not a fragile porcelain doll, but a hedgehog covered in sharp spines. Anyone who wished to harm her would be wounded by those sharp spines, while she never hesitated to show her soft side to those who treated her well.
Yakushi Nonō gently rubbed Naruto's golden hair with the towel in her hands. Fresh from her bath, Naruto carried a faint fruity scent.
"Hahaha! There's actually a bounty on that old Third Hokage! Let's see how much it is... Mm..." Naruto's pale fingers slid over the bounty list. "Three hundred and fifty million. That's a huge bounty. I wonder who put out a bounty on that old Third Hokage. Could it have been another ninja village?"
"Mm..."
Yakushi Nonō leaned over to take a look, then nodded. "Very likely. Unable to act themselves, they wanted to use desperadoes unaffiliated with any ninja village to kill the Hokage. That way, even if someone investigated, they would never find out who had paid for the Third Hokage's life."
"We don't lack money now, so why are you looking through the bounty list, Naruto?"
Steam rose from Mikoto Uchiha's body as she entered, wrapped in a bath towel. A faint peachy flush colored her fair skin.
"I was checking to see if there was anyone I knew on it, and I actually found quite a few." Naruto flipped through the bounty list and found Haruki Hyuga's bounty. "Ten million. Haruki Hyuga is so weak, yet he's worth this much? Could the Hyuga Clan have put out a bounty for his life? It even specifically says that his eyes must be brought back."
Looking at Haruki Hyuga's bounty, Naruto thought of the Main Family and Branch Family of the Hyuga Clan. A mocking smile appeared on her face. She could be certain that the Hyuga Clan had paid for Haruki Hyuga's life. As a rogue ninja, he had gone directly from being a genius of the Hyuga Clan to its disgrace.
"To keep the Byakugan from falling into outsiders' hands... As expected of the Hyuga Clan, which developed the Caged Bird Seal to control the Branch Family. They're ruthless indeed!"
"The Branch Family of the Hyuga Clan exists to protect the Main Family. That is also for the survival of the Hyuga Clan... right?"
Yakushi Nonō recited the information she knew about the Hyuga Clan. But when she saw Naruto's eyes, which seemed to smile without actually smiling, her certain tone turned doubtful.
"In my view, the Caged Bird Seal is nothing more than a secret technique created by the cowardly old fossils of the Hyuga Clan to turn the Branch Family into obedient meat shields for their protection."
"Once someone from the Branch Family disobeys the Main Family, it's easy to imagine what kind of pain and torment he will suffer... That's why only a prestigious clan like the Hyuga Clan could do something so utterly insane!"
Naruto lay in Yakushi Nonō's arms and set down the bounty list. When she was little, she had understood nothing and simply viewed the Hokage as a passionate anime. But through an adult's eyes, beneath that passionate exterior lay a dark core.
"Luckily, the Uchiha Clan has no distinction between a Branch Family and a Main Family," Mikoto Uchiha said thankfully.
Thinking of the Uchiha Clan inevitably made her think of her husband and two children. Mikoto Uchiha let out a faint sigh.
"What, are you thinking about your family? Do you know where they're going? How about I take you to them?"
Naruto saw Mikoto Uchiha's sorrowful expression, as though she were thinking of her family.
"Though they probably think you're already dead, so you'll definitely have to explain everything clearly when you go back~!"
Naruto silently calculated how much money the Uchiha Clan would give her. After all, she had saved Mikoto Uchiha's life. No matter what, they should at least offer several tens of millions of ryo as a token of gratitude, right?
"No, I don't want to go back yet."
"Huh?! Why? Isn't going back good? Itachi Uchiha and Sasuke must really miss you!" Blinded by profit, Naruto continued trying to persuade Mikoto Uchiha.
"What? You look awfully eager for me to go back."
"Of course! If you go back, they'll definitely give me lots of money!"
Naruto's eyes turned into money symbols as she accidentally blurted out what she truly thought.
"Naruto, you're such a money grubber!"
Mikoto Uchiha pretended to be angry as she pinched Naruto's soft cheeks. It was not that she had never considered returning, but she was a little worried about Naruto. Besides, Naruto was her lifesaver, and Naruto's blood still flowed within her. How could she return without repaying such kindness?
Besides,
Before you continue