Dirty money

Hatake Sakumo spoke up then, too. "I was also at fault this time. I underestimated Qianye Lan's strength. Next time, I'll find a stronger opponent." There was some regret in his voice.

The corner of Qianye Lan's mouth twitched when he heard that. From what Hatake Sakumo was saying, there would be a next time?

Hatake Sakumo noticed Qianye Lan's expression.

Hatake Sakumo smiled slightly. "Don't worry. Any opponents I arrange for you will definitely be within my ability to handle."

Qianye Lan gave a bitter smile. "Uncle Sakumo, do you really have to go this far?"

They traded a few more teasing remarks.

Qianye Lan and the others were about to leave when Hatake Sakumo called them back.

Under their three puzzled gazes, Hatake Sakumo motioned for them to follow.

Hatake Sakumo felt along the wall with practiced movements, searching for something, but found nothing even after quite a while.

He scratched his head in puzzlement, then turned his attention to the table. He moved it aside and stamped on the floor.

Sure enough, a hollow sound came from below.

Hatake Sakumo stamped lightly, applying some force, and a passage opened beneath him.

Curious, Qianye Lan and the others wanted to go over and look, but he stopped them.

By now, they seemed to have figured out what Hatake Sakumo was going to do.

Hatake Sakumo deftly used a Shadow Clone and sent him down to scout the way.

But in less than ten seconds, the Shadow Clone triggered a trap and vanished.

Only after seeing the Shadow Clone disappear did Qianye Lan and the others exchange frightened glances.

If Hatake Sakumo hadn't stopped them just now, they would probably have been riddled with holes already.

Hatake Sakumo used another Shadow Clone before bringing out everything inside.

This time, they had learned their lesson and didn't crowd around to look.

Seeing the three of them act this way, Hatake Sakumo couldn't help laughing.

He motioned the three over and explained, "These are the bandits' stolen goods. Let's deal with them."

After hearing his explanation, Kushina asked innocently, "Are we handing them over to the village?"

At her words, Qianye Lan and Uchiha Mikoto, who had already caught on, exchanged a glance and couldn't help laughing.

Qianye Lan reached out and stroked her red hair as he explained, "Of course not. This is our extra income."

Only then did Kushina catch on. With a money-grubbing look, she asked, "How much of this do we get?"

Hatake Sakumo replied, "We'll split it equally four ways."

At the words "split it equally," Kushina's eyes immediately lit up.

She poked her little head forward to look at the stolen goods in Hatake Sakumo's hands and began calculating how much money she could get.

Seeing Kushina's money-grubbing look, the others couldn't help laughing.

Qianye Lan seemed to think of something and asked a crucial question. "Uncle Sakumo, how should we dispose of these stolen goods?"

Hatake Sakumo gave a mysterious smile. "Follow me."

Hatake Sakumo brought the three, now in disguise, to a public restroom.

Seeing this familiar public restroom, Qianye Lan was now completely certain how Hatake Sakumo intended to dispose of the stolen goods.

Hatake Sakumo looked back at them. "You don't need to say anything. Just follow me from here."

They nodded.

They then entered the public restroom, and Hatake Sakumo pushed open a hidden door with practiced ease.

Only then did the three discover another world inside.

Hatake Sakumo led them to a service window and deliberately lowered his voice. "I'd like to sell these things."

The attendant at the window nodded, then began taking stock of the stolen goods.

Half an hour later, the count was finally finished.

The attendant said, "That's 160,000 ryo in total. Would you like cash, or..."

"Cash," Hatake Sakumo said.

A bundle of cash was soon passed over. Hatake Sakumo took it and gave it a quick count.

Then he hurried away with the three, pretending to be nervous.

Several people in the black market exchanged glances and soon followed.

The staff turned a blind eye, as though they were long accustomed to it.

The black market did have its rules, but once you left it, no one would concern themselves with you.

Hatake Sakumo led the others along in a hurry, glancing back from time to time.

Several people were now standing ahead of them.

Hatake Sakumo tried to go around, but they still blocked his way.

By then, the other three had realized that Hatake Sakumo was baiting them.

They could only lower their heads, their shoulders shaking as they struggled not to laugh.

But to those facing them, they were clearly trembling in fear.

Their leader said arrogantly, "Hand over the money, and we'll let you live."

Hatake Sakumo stammered, "Gentlemen, earning money isn't easy. Could you leave us a little..."

"Leave you a little?" The leader gave a savage grin. "I've changed my mind. You can stay here, too."

At those words, Hatake Sakumo sighed softly.

"I was going to let you live. It seems there's no need now."

With that, Hatake Sakumo removed his disguise, revealing his true face, and looked at them coldly.

They instantly felt enveloped in killing intent. They wanted to turn and run, but their instincts told them they would certainly die if they did.

One of them recognized Hatake Sakumo and asked shakily, "Are you White Fang?"

The others instantly turned deathly pale upon hearing that name.

They took a careful look to confirm it, and their hearts sank completely.

Having spent so many years in the black market, they were naturally all too familiar with these names.

Hatake Sakumo in particular-it was said that someone had already raised his bounty to a hundred million.

But no one had been stupid enough to take it.

This time, however, they seemed to have become those idiots themselves.

At that thought, despair appeared on their faces. Clinging to their last hope, they dropped to their knees and begged for mercy through tears and snot.

But all that greeted them was the white flash of a blade.

The three stared dumbfounded at Hatake Sakumo's sting operation.

Qianye Lan, in particular, looked utterly incredulous. He was already wondering whether someone had possessed the Hatake Sakumo before him.

Out of nowhere, he said, "Odd changes, even stays the same?"

Hatake Sakumo and the other two looked at him as though he were an idiot.

Kushina went straight over to him, reached out her little hand to feel his forehead, and muttered to herself, "He doesn't have a fever, either."

The corner of Qianye Lan's mouth twitched. Even this could come back to bite me?

He hurriedly tried to explain it away. "Just now, I was only..."

After checking repeatedly and finding that there really was nothing wrong, Kushina finally relaxed.

While the two of them were talking, Hatake Sakumo had already finished counting the dirty money.

He cleared his throat softly. "There's 220,000 ryo in total. Let's split it equally."

With that, he divided it into four shares, kept one for himself, and handed the remaining three to them.

Kushina counted the banknotes with a money-grubbing look on her face.

Seeing this, Qianye Lan went over to her and asked in puzzlement, "I've never seen you this excited when you collect mission pay."

With a look that said he didn't understand, Kushina replied, "This is basically free money. Of course I'm happy."