"Haa~~"
Morning sunlight filtered through the towering trees of the park, and Shiranui Itsuki exhaled a long breath. A faintly shimmering kunai peeked from the folds of his sleeve.
"Go!"
His wrist flicked lightly, and the sharp kunai shot out like a bolt from a crossbow.
Thud!
It sank into the tree trunk like a venomous snake, half of it buried deep in the wood. And that was a solid, unyielding trunk—imagine the damage it could do to a soft, living target…
Itsuki waved his hand, and the subluminous kunai vanished from the tree, reappearing in his grip. Even the lowest-tier treasure tools retained every ounce of their magical power.
Time had flowed like water. Three full years had passed since Itsuki arrived in this world…
He smiled, tucking the spatial kunai back into his sleeve, and turned toward Might Duy's home. "That's enough training for today. Might Duy should be back soon…"
Ten minutes later, Itsuki arrived at the modest house.
"Back so soon, Itsuki?"
Might Duy crouched on the floor, carefully sorting the herbs in his basket.
Itsuki nodded, but his mind wandered. Over the past few days, he had observed Might Duy's routine: every morning and evening, he left the village to gather herbs. Despite being a ninja, his poverty was rooted in this labor.
Aside from collecting herbs and training his body, he had no time for actual missions. Otherwise, even a low-ranking ninja's pay would've been more than enough to survive comfortably…
"Might Duy-uncle, what are these herbs for?" Itsuki squinted. If his guess was correct, these herbs were likely a key reason why the Might Duy family's taijutsu was so legendary.
"They're for soaking in!" Might Duy laughed openly, flexing his arms. "After training, your body's completely drained. This is when the herbs come in—they're essential for a proper bath!"
Itsuki nodded silently. As expected, the Might family's strength wasn't just raw effort; their secret formulas enhanced their recovery. Without them, even relentless training would only build castles in the air. The body couldn't sustain itself otherwise.
"Want to join me, Itsuki?"
Might Duy finished sorting the herbs and scooped Itsuki into his arms. "A little early, I know—but if you want to train taijutsu properly, you and little Dai can join me in the bath in the future."
Itsuki couldn't help but feel touched. The saying "rich in martial arts, poor in words" held true even in the Naruto world. Taijutsu demanded far more resources than ninjutsu. This was also why Might Duy was so poor.
Despite being unrelated, he allowed Itsuki to enjoy the expensive herb baths for free, even diluting their potency.
"I'll train in taijutsu!" Itsuki nodded eagerly. Then he shook his head. "But I'll handle the herbs myself."
It wasn't pride. One-person baths always had better effect than three-person ones. Perhaps this was why each generation of the Might family surpassed the last…
Might Duy scratched his head, puzzled. "Itsuki, you know these herbs are expensive, right?"
"How expensive?"
"Ten thousand ryo."
Itsuki nodded slightly. Not a trivial sum. A B-rank mission barely netted that much. But he only smiled and shook his head. "Don't worry. I've got this…"
Before he could even finish speaking, a line of text flashed in his mind:
Survival Mission: Make Money, Ninja!Objective: A hero cannot stand without a single coin. Earn ten million ryo as fast as possible.Reward: Unknown (changes over time).Time Limit: Unlimited.
A new mission appeared!
Itsuki grinned and shrugged. "The system really does have faith in me!"
Ten million ryo—this was no small sum…