Chapter 132: The Ninja World's Unit of Monetary Measurement!
Tsunade squatted on the spot, watching Uchiha Itachi's small figure gradually recede into the distance. This kid is only seven this year, right? Not the least bit afraid of the curse of death…
So young, and already has the resolve to die for it?
The still-delicate face hidden by the blonde hair slowly revealed a complex, bitter smile. The fire extinguished, the candle turned to ash, all for that sliver of light?
"Lady Tsunade, why did you give the First Hokage's necklace to Itachi?" Shizune stepped forward and asked curiously, "Itachi... doesn't seem to have much desire to become Hokage, does he?"
Tsunade shook her head, "Last time when Konoha and the Hidden Cloud almost went to war, I went to the camp and learned about the recent events in the village from Jiraiya…"
Tsunade explained the changes in Konoha Village bit by bit, including how the village was trying to handle the relationship between the Uchiha and Konoha's leadership, and Uchiha Itachi's role in it.
"That little brat hasn't said anything, and he probably hasn't even seriously thought about it himself, but he's already the most suitable Hokage candidate for Konoha. Intelligent and wise, exceptionally talented, powerful. Even Kakashi Hatake, whom Jiraiya thinks highly of, is much inferior to him…"
Tsunade pondered, "The only thing to be criticized is the Uchiha's stance. After all, they have been isolated from the village for too long."
"So that's why Lady Tsunade..."
"Yeah! As the son of the Uchiha clan head, yet he's been running around for so long for an old woman of Senju blood like me without any complaint…" Tsunade nodded, recalling the people who had taken care of her like this.
People who could unconditionally tolerate her like Itachi... thinking back, if she remembered correctly, there were probably only two. One was Hashirama Senju, and the other should be Orochimaru.
A drop of cold sweat suddenly appeared on Tsunade's nose, "..."
Thinking again, she really hadn't misremembered…
Orochimaru had indeed taken good care of her, and even took care of Jiraiya in the same way.
Although that guy was cold and heartless, no matter what unreasonable request a comrade made, even if it went against the will of the Third Hokage, no matter how difficult, Orochimaru would find a way to solve it.
Those days, she still missed them a little…
On the other side.
Itachi still didn't know Tsunade's evaluation of him. He and Kitahara were planning to buy specialties in the Land of Hot Water to bring back as souvenirs.
The Land of Hot Water had returned to a lazy peace. After the confrontation between Konoha and the Hidden Cloud Village ended, the Rose Commercial Street became lively again.
"Is the village opening a new hot spring resort?"
"Yeah, I heard a large lake inexplicably appeared in the border forest…"
"Who knows how long it will be until it officially opens! The volcano there is still spewing lava everywhere, and the mist is so thick you can't see anything!"
"This is a gift from the gods to our village!"
Uchiha Itachi listened to the latest news from the Land of Hot Water and subconsciously pressed down on his Konoha headband. The crow on his shoulder, however, listened with great interest.
"Caw!"
Kitahara nodded in admiration. Nature is truly wonderful!
Uchiha Itachi helplessly rubbed its wings, "Kitahara, help me see what gifts I should bring back for my family!"
The young ninja wandered through the commercial street of the Land of Hot Water, muttering to himself, "Dad and Mom don't get out much, I should prepare something they'll like…"
As they walked, Itachi's gaze suddenly stopped, staring at a small stall. The stall's sign had a string of giant dango painted on it.
"They have Three-Color Dango here too?"
Uchiha Itachi pondered for a moment, "Forget it, let's eat first…"
Kitahara: "..."
After raising him for several years, how is he still so unpromising!
"Little brother, our Three-Color Dango is a specialty dessert of the Land of Hot Water, you know! We have six flavors, want to try a bag?"
"Hmm, two bags!"
The greedy youth nodded vigorously, holding up two fingers.
Itachi casually took out his wallet, scratching his head in confusion. It seemed that when he went out with Shizune the other night to buy wine for Tsunade, he didn't have enough money and had used his own hidden savings to pay.
Kitahara craned its neck to look at the empty wallet, then slowly retracted its head, shamelessly extending a wing to comfort the youth.
"Looks like I'll have to use the old method to get money…"
Uchiha Itachi took out the small notebook given by the bounty station and flipped through it casually. Right now, let alone bringing back gifts, he didn't even have money to buy a skewer of dango…
The problem was, without Tsunade's intelligence, where could he find someone with a bounty on their head!
"Little brother, excuse me!"
A sloppily dressed young man suddenly appeared, pushed Itachi's shoulder to move him aside, and said cheerfully to the owner, "Two bags of dango, one of each flavor. It's been a long time since I've had the sweets from the Land of Hot Water!"
"..."
Uchiha Itachi raised his head, glanced at the suddenly appearing sloppy youth, and felt he looked a bit familiar.
Uchiha Itachi lowered his head. The black book in his hand happened to have a record of a recently listed big shot. The moment he appeared on the bounty station's list, he had a bounty as high as ten million ryo!
"Oh? A ninja from the village? Just graduated at such a young age?" The youth noticed Itachi's headband, his gaze falling on the black book in the youth's hand.
On it, his face was clearly drawn.
Asuma Sarutobi.
Second son of Konoha's Third Hokage.
One of the "Twelve Guardian Ninja" of the Land of Fire.
Bounty: Ten million ryo.
Redeemable with head or corpse.
Kitahara's eyes instantly lit up, then dimmed. Although Asuma was a unit of currency in the ninja world and his price was not low, he was someone they couldn't touch.
"...Ninjas from the same village are forbidden from fighting each other."
For some reason, Asuma Sarutobi subconsciously blurted out this sentence, then added, "I don't think I've been designated as a rogue ninja by the old man yet!"
Uchiha Itachi nodded and turned to the next page.
Even if they weren't familiar, Uchiha Itachi had no intention of doing anything to Asuma. The targets he chose were mainly to find people who had committed evil deeds.
A bald monk walked over, "Asuma, I guessed you'd be here. We can go to the temple lodging tonight. The vegetarian cuisine at the Fire Temple is also very delicious!"
Uchiha Itachi glanced at the monk, then looked down at the black book in his hand. On it was a drawing of a young monk.
Chiriku.
A ninja monk from the Fire Temple.
One of the "Twelve Guardian Ninja" of the Land of Fire.
Bounty: Five million ryo.
Redeemable with head or corpse.
Chiriku didn't feel awkward at all. Instead, he said curiously, "How come a Konoha ninja is out doing bounty station missions..."
"Senior Asuma, what's your relationship with him?" Uchiha Itachi ignored Chiriku and looked at Konoha's number one rebellious youth.
Asuma Sarutobi said strangely, "We're on good terms..."
"Oh."
Uchiha Itachi continued flipping through the black book. On it was another of the Twelve Guardian Ninja. Asuma Sarutobi quickly covered it with his hand, "How about you stop flipping..."
"Tell me what's going on? I don't think the old man would be willing to put Konoha's most talented ninja out for a bounty." Asuma casually put a cigarette in his mouth, "Speak up, what's going on?"
The youth looked at the Three-Color Dango at the stall.
"Your thinking is very dangerous!" Asuma took a bag of Three-Color Dango from the stall owner and handed it to the youth, saying softly, "Even if we are ninjas, we can't just kill people casually!"
"Thank you, Senior Asuma!"
Uchiha Itachi took it with pleasant surprise and replied softly, "I didn't, but without Lady Tsunade's intelligence today, I had no choice... Phew, so hot!"
"Kid, eat slowly!"
Asuma Sarutobi handed him another bag of dango and said softly, "How come you're here? Didn't you say the Hidden Cloud and Konoha have already signed a peace treaty?"
Uchiha Itachi thought for a moment and handed a bag of Three-Color Dango back to the youth, "...Hmm, the mission can't be disclosed."
"Forget it, forget it. Consider it the price for my and Chiriku's lives!"
Asuma Sarutobi chuckled lightly and didn't take it back. He roughly guessed it was probably his old man wanting to find Tsunade or something.
The youth blinked and suddenly said, "...It's not enough."
"I give up. Tell me, how much money are you short?"
Asuma Sarutobi didn't mind. He couldn't ignore a fellow village ninja in trouble, especially a junior of Uchiha Itachi's age.
The young smoker, with a cigarette in his mouth, took out his wallet and haggled, "Let's be clear first, my salary is barely enough for cigarettes."
"Hmm."
Uchiha Itachi looked at a specialty stall not far away and pondered, "About ten thousand ryo, I just want to bring back some souvenirs."
"So promising, going after bounty station missions for just ten thousand ryo."
Asuma Sarutobi shook his head helplessly, took out a stack of banknotes from his wallet, and handed it to the youth, "The prices in the Land of Hot Water are not cheap. Take it, it should be enough."
"Thank you, Senior!"
"Wait!"
Chiriku suddenly spoke up, patting his friend's shoulder, "Asuma, aren't you going to introduce this little benefactor?"
(End of this chapter)
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