The World of Ninjas

"Hey, Karn, you've stood me up again these past few days. If you don't come help me beat that video game soon, you're going to lose one damn good trader!"

Carl Sheldon hooked an arm around Karn's neck and threatened him. Carl's father was a well-known stockbroker on Wall Street. Under her father's influence, Carl had started studying the United States stock market as a child, and she was quite good at trading.

After learning that Carl knew how to trade, Karn had entrusted her with some money and asked her to help him open an account. With her father's help, it had gone much faster than if Karn had done it himself. Once the account was open, Karn called the shots, and Carl followed his instructions.

Both of them had made quite a bit of money by now. Having grown up hearing her father talk about how terrifying the stock market could be, Carl never invested much at a time, so she hadn't earned as much as Karn. Karn now managed most of his funds himself, with only a little over a million dollars still entrusted to Carl.

"I wasn't standing you up, Carl. Compared to games, I think you need these more."

Karn took out several study guides. They were ones he had used himself, filled with his notes. He hadn't prepared them specifically for Carl; he had simply happened to bring them along today.

"Carl, read through these, and you should have enough to handle the school exams."

Carl took them and flipped through a few pages. The densely packed notes immediately made her feel as though her head would explode. If anything could get her to sit down and read seriously, it was a Wall Street financial statement.

"Karn, I'm not aiming for Columbia University. This stuff..."

"What? Are you saying you have no use for these? Carl, look at the notes, then look at me. How much time do you think I spent preparing these for you?!"

Karn spoke with righteous indignation, continuing to hammer away at Carl's conscience before she could realize something was off.

"Buddy, you know me. If I read all of these, I'll end up in the ICU." Carl sounded apologetic. Just that brief look had shown her how much effort Karn had put into those study guides, yet she had rejected his kindness. It left her feeling terribly guilty.

"Forget it. Maybe I didn't think this through. It's not your fault. But Carl, there's something I need your help with."

Karn seized the opportunity to make his request before Carl could catch on. Aside from her sensitivity to the stock market, she was so slow on the uptake that she might as well have had a processing delay. Only Carl could have made it to her final year of high school with her virginity still intact.

"No problem. If it's something I can do, I won't turn you down." Carl agreed without hesitation.

Her father had a wide network of contacts, certainly much better than that of the declining Penter family. Besides, Karn had plenty to keep him busy. Having Carl run a few errands was much better than letting her play video games all day.

"I need to rent a warehouse with good security. Also, help me find a reliable supermarket supplier. I might need one in a while."

Karn didn't know what sort of world he would be trading with, but the only worthwhile goods he currently had to offer were everyday supplies, medicine, and weapons. Even then, he couldn't supply weapons on a large scale yet. For now, he could only hope his first trading world would let him complete a deal smoothly.

Carl asked with a doubtful look, "Are you opening a supermarket, buddy? That's not a good choice. Don't tell me you're breaking up the Wall Street Inazuma Group."

"I need them for something else. Sorry for the trouble, Carl. I'll contact you when the time comes. And that Inazuma Combo you keep talking about never existed in the first place. I've never joined any group, especially one with such a weird name."

By the time he finished, class was about to start, so Karn ended his conversation with Carl.

Karn had more freedom during class than anyone else in the school. As long as he didn't disturb the other students or break United States law, nobody bothered him. That privilege came from his grades. Someone whose admission to Columbia University was practically guaranteed didn't need to keep studying things he already knew.

Karn even decided to ask a teacher for an extended leave of absence later. He wasn't going to waste his time at school for the foreseeable future.

Thinking about it now, he still knew far too little. But if he really had to spend another four or five years studying and wait until the prime of his life to use the Trading System, Karn couldn't bring himself to do it.

It was like asking a gaming fan to hone his skills before playing a newly launched game. That simply wasn't realistic. He wouldn't be able to resist.

A few days later, Karn arrived early at another house to make the deal. There were plenty of buildings in the area, but hardly anyone lived there. His parents had rarely stayed here after buying it, either.

It wasn't until evening that Karn saw a small truck stop outside his house. After its headlights flashed three times, Karn opened the garage door and let the gun shop owner drive inside.

"Everything you wanted is here. The ammunition is on the outside, and the guns and rocket launchers are farther in. Once I leave this place, I'll never admit to selling you any of it."

After saying that, the gun shop owner helped Karn unload the ammunition crates, then opened them one by one for him to inspect. Once Karn confirmed that the ammunition was correct, he climbed into the truck to check the firearms he was buying.

There were no problems with the pistols, rifles, or submachine guns. Their mechanisms clicked crisply, and after several years of handling guns, Karn could tell these were new. This was his first time seeing a rocket launcher, so he couldn't judge its condition, but he picked it up and examined it anyway.

"Everything looks good. Pleasure doing business with you."

Karn went back into the house, brought out the remaining payment, and handed it to the gun shop owner. "I'd like a good discount on our next deal. After all, I'm looking at doing business over the long term."

For his first few weapons purchases, Karn would have to buy from people like this. Once he had built up his own power, he might place orders directly with Stark Industries.

"Call me George. Next time, I'll definitely give you a fair price. I don't rip off returning customers."

After confirming that the payment was correct, George, the gun shop owner, drove away. With the profit from this deal in hand, he planned to take a month off. At the very least, he would make sure Karn hadn't gone crazy before reopening his shop.

Only after George left did Karn put all the sorted ammunition and firearms into the Trading System's Spatial Backpack. Before doing so, however, he had loaded every gun with a magazine and loaded the rockets into the rocket launchers as well.

"Pretty convenient."

Karn tried taking a firearm out of the Spatial Backpack and putting it back. It took only an instant. This would let him catch people off guard.

"Next, I'll use the system to search for my first trading plane."

Now that Karn had the guns, this house served no further purpose. He drove straight back to his own residence. Compared to the place he had just left, his villa was much safer.

"System, search for a trading world."

At Karn's command, a swirl of chaos appeared on the panel. Countless points of starlight flashed past, until finally one brilliantly shining star appeared. Karn hurriedly tapped it, and the system panel began displaying scenes from that world.

People in thick green vests with multiple pockets were fighting on a battlefield. Instead of guns and artillery, they used hand gestures to spit out water, fire, wind, and lightning. There were also four-pointed shuriken and sharp kunai with strips of cloth tied to them.

Besides the battlefield, Karn saw other places as well. Ordinary people went out into the streets to buy supplies, while merchants feasted and drank in an izakaya, laughing as they discussed business.

"This is the world of ninjas."