After eating at Obito's house and listening to him talk about some things his dear Minato-sensei told him to pay attention to, Uchiha Ci said goodbye and left.
ci and Uchiha Obito got acquainted because Obito's grandmother lived next door. She often came over to say hello, and they became familiar with each other after a few visits.
Unlike other characters in the Naruto world, Uchiha Ci could maintain a relationship with Obito very safely.
After all, those who know, know.
No matter how deep your bond with him is, it won't stop him from stabbing you after he turns to the dark side.
After leaving Obito's house,
Uchiha Ci walked onto the streets of Konoha, carrying his wallet.
At this time, the clouds of war had not completely spread among the civilian population, and Konoha Village still presented a scene of surface-level peace.
However, some clues were already beginning to show.
Uchiha Ci opened the door curtain and walked into a ninja tool shop.
"Hey, Brother Ci, here to buy more explosive tags again?" The shop manager asked Uchiha Ci with a grin.
"No, this time I'm here to buy shuriken."
"Too bad. The prices of shuriken and kunai have increased by 20%, and special steel wire has increased by 30%. But I'd still advise you to stock up. According to news from Granny Cat, the price of these hard currencies will keep rising."
"Is that so? Give me six sets of ninja tools with wire holes and two large rolls of silk thread. Get me a storage scroll too. Let's calculate the cost. I still have 200,000 [ryō]. Exchange all of it for explosive tags." Uchiha Ci felt his wallet and grinned, not feeling distressed at all.
D-rank missions usually have rewards between 5,000 and 50,000 ryō (correction: typical D-rank is 5,000-50,000, not 5,000-10,000), though some pay just a few hundred. But Uchiha SCi didn't take those, and he completed missions solo, so no one shared the money.
This year's frenzy actually allowed Uchiha Shi to save up a seven-digit sum.
And the money he saved was precisely for this moment.
"Whoa, Brother Ci, that's a huge order!" The shop manager was slightly stunned. Uchiha Ci's spending power was even greater than some Special Jōnin.
Uchiha Ci smiled slightly. He didn't have a family to support; he only had to max out his own account.
Of course it was different from those ninjas scrambling to save money for retirement.
The price of ninja tools in the ninja world is polarized. Explosive tags are 2,000 ryō each. Shuriken are the cheapest, costing about 50 ryō. Kunai quality varies widely, costing between 200 and 30,000 ryō. The price difference between those used for throwing and those used for blocking/melee is huge.
A set of high-quality ninja tools, including throwing weapons, melee weapons, and protective gear, costs nearly 200,000 ryō.
The prices of katana and ninjatō are even more outrageous. The cheapest practice ninja sword starts at 3,000 ryō. Chakra metal ninja tools are even crazier; they're generally not for sale. If they must be sold, the price is often measured in units of "Asuma" (a joking reference to Asuma Sarutobi's expensive chakra blades).
So why did Uchiha Ci buy so many ninja tools and explosive tags?
The reason is simple,
Uchiha Ci wanted to die, but he couldn't deliberately die.
It sounds convoluted, but that's the truth.
If he deliberately committed suicide, he would be judged by the Will of Heaven (system) as insurance fraud. He wouldn't get anything out of it, and his death would be in vain.
But if,
A ninja, full of fighting spirit, risks all his wealth and dedicates his most outstanding skills to fight for a cause (or Konoha/Uchiha).
And dies in such a battle. Who can say that was not a worthy death?
Isn't this the ninja world's version of "the late emperor's enterprise half unfinished" (a historical reference to a noble failure)?
I'm going all out, leaving nothing behind!
Why wouldn't you honor my insurance claim?
Soon,
The ninja shop manager came out with a huge pile of things. The weight of the six sets of ninja tools even made him break a sweat.
With a thud, he placed the ninja tools on the counter.
Then, like fanning out cards, he stacked the piles of explosive tags into a fan shape for Uchiha Ci to count.
"Brother Ci, buying so many ninja tools at once... does that mean you're going on a very dangerous mission?"
At this point, the shop manager also realized Uchiha Shi wasn't buying these tools for fun.
Uchiha Ci raised his head and looked at the shop manager with a frown.
"Don't blame me for talking too much. I know the ninja confidentiality rules, but I'm in the ninja tool business under Grandma Cat, and I also handle some information business."
"The most dangerous missions within the clan are going to the battlefield in the Land of Rain and Hell Valley in the Land of Yu." The shop manager's expression became slightly serious.
"Whichever one it is, it shouldn't be something someone of your strength should participate in." The shop manager didn't beat around the bush and spoke very bluntly.
Then, he frowned and glanced at Uchiha Shi with some embarrassment.
"Since you've been taking care of the Ninja Tool Shop's business for so long, I'll provide you with an extra little gadget."
With that, the shop manager took out a piece of parchment and placed it in front of Uchiha Ci.
"This is a one-time contract with the Ninja Cat Clan. After signing it, you can use the Summoning Technique to summon a Ninja Cat User."
Ninkōji (Ninja Cat Users) are elite cat ninjas of the Ninja Cat Clan.
Most are active in chaotic areas, and their base is in a ruined city few people know about.
However, unlike traditional summoning beasts, ninja cats are very individualistic summoning creatures and are almost impossible to enslave by a ninja.
This clan runs the ninja tool business and has a very close cooperative relationship with the Uchiha, who are skilled at wielding ninja tools.
Uchiha Ci knew that Granny Neko, the leader of the Ninja Cat Clan, liked children very much.
Granny Neko wasn't shy about helping children when possible, especially Uchiha children.
Now, the shop manager took out this one-time summoning contract, explaining that based on the information he had—
It was very likely meant to help Uchiha Ci escape death on this mission.
The shop manager took out this contract, saying it was to help Uchiha Shi, but in reality, he wanted to persuade him to quit.
To make him abandon this mission.
"You understand what I mean, right?" The shop manager stared directly at Uchiha Shi, his pupils quietly shifting into a pair of vertical slits.
His tone also became very heavy.
Uchiha Ci smiled and took the one-time contract from the other's hand.
Ninja cats are neutral and will not interfere in ninja conflicts unless paid enough money.
Therefore, the biggest role of this contract is actually to replenish survival supplies and combat ninja tools on a chaotic battlefield. Likewise, it also costs money.
However, to Uchiha Ci, who had spent all his money tonight, this was just a piece of scrap paper and wouldn't be an obstacle to him legitimately using his "insurance."
Thinking this, he turned and walked out of the ninja tool shop.
Just leaving behind a sentence:
"Uncle, thank you."
"However, there's something I must do. I will not be afraid, even when facing life and death."
"This is my ninja way!"
After saying something suitably noble, Uchiha Ci walked out of the ninja shop, squeezed the wallet in his hand, and felt its (lack of) balance.
He turned and entered the red-light district of Konoha Village.
Tomorrow he would face the fear of death. Now that he was truly facing this matter, Uchiha Ci was filled with excitement and a hint of fear.
So, he decided to eliminate this trace of regret tonight.
Three minutes later——