Finding the shop was easy. JARVIS had it mapped out in like two seconds.
Higurashi Weapon Shop. Small storefront on the main strip. Weapons in the window, kunai, shuriken, a few swords that looked like they'd been there for years.
I stood across the street, leaning against a wall, watching the door.
«The owner's name is Higurashi, he is Tenten's father. In the original timeline, his shop was never mentioned. Here, it exists.»
Alternate reality perks I guess.
«Indeed. Now transform. We have business.»
I ducked into an alley. Closed my eyes. Focused.
Poof.
When I opened them, I was someone else. Twenty years old looking maybe. Red hair. Casual outfit, black pants, dark green jacket. A face that no one would remember five minutes after looking at it.
«Transformation integrity: 100%. Chakra suppression: active. You look like a very forgettable young man.»
Yep That's the goal.
I walked across the street. Pushed open the door.
Ding.
A bell announced my arrival.
The shop was small. Weapons on the walls. A glass counter with ninja wire and smoke pellets. Behind the counter, a man.
Black hair with white streaks. Bushy eyebrows. He was sitting on a stool, doing absolutely nothing. Just staring at the ceiling like he was waiting for something interesting to happen.
He looked up when I walked in.
"Welcome," he said. His voice was tired. The voice of a man who'd said "welcome" ten thousand times and meant it zero times.
I walked to the counter. Leaned on it. Casual.
"What are you looking for?" he asked.
"What's the price on an explosive tag?" I asked
He raised an eyebrow. "Two thousand five hundred ryo. For one."
I nodded like I was thinking about it. "hmm, How much profit you make on that?"
He tilted his head. "Five hundred. Why you asking?"
"Just curious." I paused. Let the silence hang. "What if I told you you could make a thousand profit instead?"
He sat up straighter. "A thousand?"
"Yeah. I sell you tags for fifteen hundred. You sell them for twenty-five hundred. Material cost is what, five hundred? So you make a thousand. I make a thousand. We both eat."
He stared at me for a second. I could see him doing the math in his head.
"You're selling explosive tags?."
"yeah Good quality ones."
"At fifteen hundred a piece?"
"Yep."
He leaned back. Crossed his arms. "Let me see your work."
I reached into my pocket. Pulled out five tags. Laid them on the counter.
He picked one up. Held it to the light. Examined the kanji. The brush strokes. The paper quality.
His eyebrows went up.
"These are... clean."
"I take pride in my work."
He looked at me. Then at the tags. Then back at me.
"Where'd you learn to make these?"
"Self-taught."
He snorted. "Sure."
"I'm serious. Lot of late nights. and Lot of burned fingers."
He stared at me for another second. Then he shrugged.
"Alright. I'll bite. How many you got?"
"I can get you a hundred by tomorrow."
"A hundred? Alright I'll buy them, To start. If they sell, I can buy from you more."
"Sure" I said.
"Hundred tags... fifteen hundred each... that's..." He was doing the math.
"A hundred and fifty nine thousand ryo," I said.
He looked at me. "You're good at numbers."
"I'm good at a lot of things."
He laughed. Actually laughed. First time the guy had shown any emotion.
"Alright, kid" He stopped. "You're not a kid. Sorry. Force of habit."
He doesn't even know.
"Alright," he said again. "A hundred tags. Tomorrow. If they're as good as these five, we got a deal."
I nodded. Held out my hand.
He shook it.
I turned. Walked to the door.
"Oh," I said, looking back. "Name's Takumi, by the way."
"Higurashi."
"I know. Your shop's got your name on the sign."
He snorted. "Smartass."
I left.
Ding.
---
= At The Alley =
I ducked into the same alley. Looked around. No one.
Poof.
Back to being a seven-year-old.
«Transaction successful. You have established a business relationship with a legitimate merchant.»
I'm a businessman now.
«You are a child who sells explosives to a weapons dealer. That is not a 'businessman.' That is a 'person of interest.'»
Tomato, tomato.
«Those are the same word.»
Shut up, JARVIS.
---
= Around4:00 AM =
I woke up before the sun. Created twenty shadow clones. They filled the room like a tiny army.
"Here's the deal," I whispered. "Materials are under the floorboard. You're gonna make explosive tags. As many as you can. I'm going back to sleep."
One of the clones raised his hand.
"Yes?"
"Why only we have make them ourselves and you sleep?"
"Because I'm tired and I don't wanna."
"That's not a good reason."
"I'm seven. I don't need good reasons."
"plus I am not asking you to pick cotton or something..." ( A/N: sorry if this joke offended some people.)
The clones looked at each other. Then they got to work.
I went back to sleep.
---
= At 6:03 AM =
I woke up to a clone standing over my bed, holding a stack of paper.
"We made a hundred and six," he said.
I blinked. Rubbed my eyes. "A hundred and six?"
"Materials ran out. Would've made more if we had more paper."
I took the stack. Flipped through it. The tags were clean. Consistent. The kanji were sharp.
«Quality assessment: 94% success rate. 6 tags showed minor imperfections but remain functional.»
I guess That's good enough.
The clone nodded. Then he poofed out of existence. Memory hit me. Hours of brush strokes. Ink on fingers. The satisfaction of a clean line.
JARVIS. handle This shi.
«You will adapt, but I'll still handle the memory feedback of you say so»
What do you mean by adapt? A ain't big Raga.
«Hmm.»
I hid the tags in my bag. Got dressed. Ate breakfast. Went to the Academy like nothing happened.
---
= After Class =
I transformed back into Takumi. Walked to the shop.
Ding.
Higurashi was behind the counter again. With the. Same tired expression.
"You're early," he said.
"well yeah I'm efficient."
I pulled out the stack of tags. Laid them on the counter.
He picked one up. Examined it. Set it down. Picked up another. Examined it. Set it down.
"These are good," he said. "Really good."
"I told you."
He counted them. One by one. Slow. Deliberate.
"A hundred and six," he said.
"Gave you a few extra. For goodwill."
He looked at me. Then he laughed again.
"Goodwill. Right." He reached under the counter. Pulled out a pouch. Counted out the ryo. Stacked them on the counter.
One hundred fifty-nine thousand ryo.
I stared at it.
«You are now a wealthy kid.»
I'm a wealthy kid... Hell yeahhh.
«Do not spend it all on ramen.»
Bruh I'm not Naruto.
I scooped the money into my bag. Tied it tight.
"Pleasure doing business," I said.
"Same. Come back when you have more."
I nodded. Walked to the door.
"Hey," Higurashi called out.
I looked back.
"You ever need a job, come see me. Legit job. Not just selling me stuff. I could use someone with your... skills."
I thought about it. A job. At a weapon shop. Selling things to shinobi.
"Maybe," I said. "I'll think about it."
Ding.
---
= Outside the Shop =
I walked to the alley. Transformed back. Stood there for a second, holding my bag full of money.
One hundred fifty-nine thousand ryo, I just made Bag.
«You have achieved financial independence. Congratulations.»
Don't say it like that.
«Like what?»
Like you're congratulating a dog for learning a trick.
«You are my user. Not my dog.»
That's not comforting.
«It was not meant to be.»
I started walking home. The bag was heavy. but it was nothing for me.
Then I stopped.
JARVIS...
«Yes?»
What if The IRS of this world comes after my ass?
«You found it.»
That's not believable.
«You inherited it.»
From who?
«A distant relative who died tragically.»
That's dark.
«It is plausible.»
What if they check?
«Then you are a seven-year-old with a lot of money and a lot of questions you cannot answer. I recommend not drawing attention.»
How do I spend 150k ryo without drawing attention?
«Slowly. Carefully. In small amounts.»
Nah That's boring.
«Financial freedom is boring. Poverty is exciting and terrible. Choose wisely.»
I sighed. Shifted the bag to my other shoulder.
This is gonna be a pain, but a good one at least
«Welcome to wealth.»
I walked home. The sun was setting.
But for the first time in my life, in either life, I wasn't broke.
---
END CHAPTER 21
A/N: gonna do some time skips later so get your popcorn's ready y'all.