"What?! One hundred thousand ryō?!" The burly man looked shocked.
Obito said calmly, "Sir, a hundred thousand ryō isn't expensive for a Summoning Beast this size. It's already a very fair price."
A Summoning Beast this large would make an incredibly loyal partner on missions.
The burly man could see that, of course.
He sighed helplessly. "I know that, but I only brought twenty thousand ryō with me."
Obito pointed at the other passersby on the street. "Sir, you can see it too, right? Every one of them is eyeing this tiger. My Summoning Beast has no shortage of buyers. If you want to haggle, go somewhere else."
The burly man waved his hands repeatedly, looking apologetic. "Young man, don't get upset. Of course I know how valuable a tiger Summoning Beast is. I'm not trying to haggle with you."
"I just didn't bring enough money. I'd like to go back and get the rest before coming here again. Could you wait for me?"
"All right. I'll wait half an hour at most." Seeing how sincere the burly man was, Obito readily agreed.
The burly man's face lit up, and he nodded repeatedly. "Don't worry. I'll be back with the money within half an hour!"
With that, he dashed away.
Half an hour later, the burly man returned with a money pouch as promised.
In the meantime, quite a few people had come over to ask the price and tried to buy the giant tiger, but Obito had turned them all down.
The burly man got the giant tiger he wanted and formed a contract with it, making it his Summoning Beast.
Obito accepted the money pouch and left with the money as the burly man thanked him over and over.
One hundred thousand ryō was a considerable sum for Obito as he was now.
After all, his family was terribly poor. Grandmother would be delighted if he gave her half of it.
[Ding! A special mission has been issued to the host: find Kurenai Yuhi and further develop your relationship with her.] [Mission completion rewards: 1. One copying opportunity. 2. Make-Out Paradise, Volume Two.]
Suddenly, the system's notification rang out in Obito's mind.
"Make-Out Paradise, Volume Two?" Obito froze for a moment.
Had the system known that he had stayed up all night yesterday to finish the first volume?
Was that why it had immediately offered the second volume as a reward?
Obito was already eager to see what happened next. With the system being so thoughtful for once, how could he refuse a mission like this?
Still, come to think of it...
After spending so much time together over the past three months, Obito and Kurenai Yuhi...
Had already developed those inexplicable feelings that blossomed between a boy and a girl.
Now the system wanted them to take their relationship further. Was it trying to get Obito to win Kurenai over?
"System! How can you be so shameless? We're still kids! We shouldn't be dating so young, and we shouldn't be doing anything dirty."
The system said, "Host, just tell me whether you want to."
Obito said, "I want to... do I?"
After wrestling with himself for a while, Obito finally decided to complete the mission.
But he was certain he was only doing it for the mission rewards. He had no other intentions.
Soon, Obito met up with Minato and the other two again.
After Obito, their newly flush little benefactor, treated everyone to a lavish barbecue meal...
He said goodbye to them and headed toward Kurenai Yuhi's home.
Kurenai Yuhi lived in central Konoha, somewhere far more spacious and prosperous than Might Guy's home.
And although the Yūhi Clan's grounds weren't large, nearly all its members lived there together.
Obito had visited Kurenai Yuhi's home once before when he walked her back.
This time, he found his way there easily and arrived at her door.
Knock, knock, knock...
"Is anyone home?"
The front door stood wide open, but Obito still knocked politely.
"Yes! Who is it?"
A woman's voice came from inside, and soon a middle-aged woman emerged.
She was about thirty, dressed in a gray skirt with an apron tied over it.
She was Kurenai Yuhi's mother, Inako. Obito had met her on his last visit.
When she saw Obito, a smile spread across Inako's face.
"Oh, it's you, Obito. What brings you over today?"
Obito nodded politely and asked, "Ma'am, is Kurenai home? I came to ask her to train with me."
Inako smiled. "She is. She went out on a mission this morning and came back early."
Then Inako turned toward the interior and called, "Kurenai! Come out! Obito's here to see you!"
"Oh! I'm coming!" Kurenai Yuhi's voice rang out from upstairs, followed by a patter of footsteps on the stairs.
Kurenai Yuhi rushed out, slightly breathless, and looked especially happy to see Obito.
"Obito, what brings you here?"
Obito nodded. "Well, I haven't seen you for two days, so I thought I'd ask you to train with me. Are you free this afternoon?"
A blush spread across Kurenai's little face, as though she felt a little shy.
She instinctively turned to look at her mother. Only after her mother nodded in approval did she answer, "I am."
"Then let's go." Obito beckoned to her.
The two walked side by side out of the Yūhi Clan's grounds, heading toward the patch of woods where they usually trained.
Inside the house, Shinku Yuhi walked out slowly, stood beside Inako, and slipped an arm around his wife's shoulders.
Watching Obito and Kurenai walk away together, Shinku Yuhi smiled. "Looks like my judgment was right after all. Those two little ones might really end up together."
Inako rolled her eyes at Shinku Yuhi. "You only ever think about making the clan stronger. I don't think those two ending up together would necessarily be a good thing."
Shinku Yuhi looked puzzled. "Why?"
Inako said, "Don't forget, Obito belongs to the Uchiha Clan. The Uchiha aren't well liked in Konoha. I'm worried Kurenai might get dragged into something in the future."
Shinku Yuhi patted his wife's back reassuringly. "That's still a long way off. Whether it brings good fortune or misfortune will depend on Kurenai's own fate."
"Besides, I think she likes that little fellow Obito quite a bit."
Obito and Kurenai passed through several streets, soon arriving outside the training ground and entering the woods.
Further develop my relationship with Kurenai... I wonder how the system judges that. Would holding hands count?
Obito muttered inwardly.
Seeing that they were already in the woods and there was no one else around...
Obito swallowed and tentatively reached out to take Kurenai Yuhi's little hand.
"Obito, why have you been so quiet the whole way?"
Just as Obito began to move, Kurenai Yuhi suddenly spoke.
She blinked her large eyes and turned to look at him as she asked.
"Huh?... I was just about to say something..."
Obito quickly withdrew his hand, his nervousness giving way to a little embarrassment.
What's going on? How can I, the great Obito, be so timid around one little girl?
This isn't my style at all!
Before you continue