On this day, Dave realized a problem... He was flat broke.
His old man, Tobirama, had completely cut off Dave's allowance because he was afraid Dave would spend money on that "evil Uchiha girl"...
"Uncle Madara... I have no money... My stingy dad won't give me any." With no other choice, our Dave could only go to Uncle Madara and cry poverty...
"How much?" Uncle Madara asked calmly.
"Um... five hundred thousand ryō!" Dave scratched his head in embarrassment and said cautiously.
"No problem." Uncle Madara looked disdainful, as if Dave had asked for too little.
"Uncle Madara is the best! Mua!" Dave was thrilled, took the money from Madara, and jumped up to plant a kiss on him.
"Well, if he doesn't give you money in the future, come to me.
The Uchiha clan has plenty to spare."
Madara's words dripped with contempt for Tobirama.
He wouldn't even give Dave this pittance?
How could Tobirama, the second-in-command of the Senju clan, be so broke? Why not save the money for Dave? Was he hoarding it for New Year's?
"Hehe! Thanks, Uncle Madara! I'll give you a surprise in a couple of days!" Dave took the money and skipped away. Madara just watched Dave's retreating figure silently...
Of course, Dave wasn't taking the money to spend—he wanted to use it to make more money.
After all, in his previous life, he'd been a college student in the math department. In his view, Konoha felt a bit lifeless right now and needed some energy... Hehehe...
"Brother Snake! You home?" Dave headed to the civilian district, walked up to a house, knocked on the door, and asked.
This was a talent he'd met a couple of days ago: Orochi Roku. Dave had stumbled upon him by chance a few days back. He was sixteen, with no ninja skills, but he was a whiz at researching things.
A few days ago, Orochi Roku had gotten married to a civilian girl on his coming-of-age day.
He'd been running late for the wedding.
Dave had spotted him dashing down the road and, showing the Second Hokage's concern for the people, helped him get to the wedding venue on time. That's how they'd met.
As for how he delivered him... well... ahem, no need for details...
At the wedding, when Dave heard the guy's surname was Orochi, he perked up.
As far as he knew, the scientist Orochimaru from the original story had been a civilian as a kid.
Orochimaru was probably this guy's son.
Plus, after chatting with him a bit at the wedding, Dave found out the guy loved research.
That sealed it.
He was the father of Aunt Snake.
After all, that research talent had to come from somewhere strong in the genes.
"Dave? What brings you here?" Orochi Roku was a sixteen-year-old young man with messy hair and fair skin—though not as pale as Orochimaru in the original story.
"Hey, Mr. Dave is here—come on in." A brown-haired woman with two streaks of face paint behind Orochi Roku said with a smile.
"Hello, Sister Ryuzan Yu—no, I should call you Sister Orochi now," Dave chuckled and stepped inside.
This woman was Orochi Roku's wife, Ryuzan Yu... But when Dave saw her, she always felt a little familiar...
"Yeah, you two chat. I'll wash some fruit for you." Yu said with a shy smile, then left the two of them alone.
"Brother Snake, what've you been up to lately?" Dave asked first.
"Farming during the day, doing some research at night. It's not bad." Orochi Roku's resentful eyes kept flicking toward Dave.
Orochi Roku wasn't a ninja. His family had some land allocated by the village, and among civilians, their life was pretty decent.
"Ahem, Brother Snake, don't look at me like that... I just sent you with a Pea Shooter—you don't have to stare like that..." Dave coughed awkwardly twice.
"You've got some nerve saying that!! You know what you put me through that night..." Halfway through, Orochi Roku's fair face turned red, and he choked on his words...
"...Oh, oh, I get it, I get it!" Dave gave him a knowing look that any guy would understand.
"Asshole!!"
Orochi Roku pinned Dave down and gave him a playful beating—but it was all in good fun.
"Brother Snake, no more messing around.
I need you to help me research something! I know you like studying organisms, metals, and stuff like that.
You must know the properties of a lot of metals.
I've got strong calculation skills.
I can help you figure out a ton of things.
You don't have to worry about funding or anything—that's covered." The two chatted for a bit, and Dave said with a smile.
"But...
I still have fields to tend at home, and harvest time is coming soon."
Orochi Roku was tempted, but thinking about the acres of land waiting to be harvested, he said worriedly...
Otherwise, they'd have no income for the second half of the year and wouldn't make it.
"Oh, don't worry—there's still Sister Yu. Leave it to her. I heard Sister Yu was a real whiz in the fields before? How'd she end up falling for you, Brother Snake?" Dave had already thought of this and looked at Orochi Roku teasingly.
"You!" Orochi Roku glared at Dave fiercely. "What the hell do you mean?" What, am I not good enough?
"Hahaha, just kidding, Brother Snake. Your help isn't for free. As long as you can research these things, I promise you'll get 15% of the profits! Until it's done, how about 20,000 ryō a month?" Dave said seriously.
"Okay, deal," Orochi Roku agreed without a second thought.
Twenty thousand ryō a month—their family only made fifty or sixty thousand ryō from two harvests a year.
"Great! So, do you have any extra space here? I don't have a venue yet." Dave scratched his head awkwardly.
"...There are three granaries in the fields, and one goes unused every year—just use that one." Orochi Roku was silent for a moment, then said.
He had a feeling Dave was just using money to take advantage of him.
"Perfect! Then I'll leave the purchasing, research, transport, and all that to you! I'll handle the money, and you'll handle the work and the land! Sound good, buddy? Sister Yu! No need for the fruit! Bye, Brother Snake! I know I'm a good guy who doesn't exploit labor! Call me Lei Feng!"
Dave jumped up immediately and dashed out.
Orochi Roku's eyelid twitched as he watched...