In under three days, Tsunade and Kitazawa's Heart of the Ocean jewelry shop had become the talk of the Land of Fire's capital.
They were staying in the daimyo's residence, and noblewomen were visiting at all hours for one reason: they wanted the same necklace the daimyo's wife wore. If not identical, then at least something close.
Kitazawa gave them all the same reply—join the necklace auction on Saturday, and they'd talk afterward.
Saturday arrived.
The daimyo's wife generously lent them the residence's back garden as the venue—no surprise, since she'd been basking in nonstop praise. Every noblewoman who saw her complimented her necklace, eyes full of envy. The daimyo's wife felt the thrill of standing just beneath one and above thousands.
Truth is, what high-end brands sell is that very aura of status. As the saying goes, if you don't flaunt your wealth where people know you, it's like wearing brocade in the dead of night—no one sees it.
"They really are going crazy," Tsunade said, shaking her head as she looked over the packed courtyard.
"They've got money and time, so of course they'll show up," Kitazawa said, unsurprised.
The daimyo's wife also made a huge difference. Aside from shinobi, the ninja world is basically a feudal society with rigid hierarchy. If the daimyo's wife leads the way, everyone follows—especially when the venue is the daimyo's own residence. Skipping it would be an insult.
The daimyo himself even showed, thanks to Tsunade's connections.
"After this auction, our shop's going to be flooded with orders," Tsunade said, smiling at the thought of heaps of money.
"Scarcity drives value," Kitazawa answered casually. "We shouldn't accept too many bespoke pieces—and the Hyuga clan can't keep up with that pace anyway."
"What a pity," Tsunade sighed. Passing up that much money pained her. But Kitazawa had a point: once something becomes common, it loses its premium.
Custom high-end pieces make money; standard designs do too.
"When we get back, we'll open a branch here in the capital," Kitazawa said after a beat. "Do you have anyone suitable to run it?"
"Rina's already swamped—otherwise I'd send her," Tsunade mused. "Let the Hyuga clan handle it."
"Works for me." A thought struck Kitazawa: there was still a surviving Uzumaki kunoichi. Her name was Uzumaki Honoka, currently a researcher on Summoning Island in the Land of Sea, trying to develop an ultimate summoning beast. In the original story, she had long red hair and excelled at sealing—but died when the project went berserk. That likely hadn't happened yet. He figured he could bring Karin there after the next monthly exam.
Nine a.m. The auction began.
The necklace up for bid wasn't the daimyo's wife's, but it was just as luxurious. Bids rose and fell in waves, slowing only after 50 million ryō.
"I wonder how high it'll go in the end," Tsunade said, barely hiding her excitement.
"Maybe a hundred million," Kitazawa said with a grin.
"A hundred million? No way." Tsunade shook her head on reflex. For shinobi, that's astronomical. Asuma Sarutobi's bounty had only been 35 million ryō. Take Jiraiya—his lifetime of missions totaled roughly 600 million ryō. He spent years on the road and took plenty of jobs, top-tier among jōnin, and most were high-ranked: 614 A-rank missions and 138 S-ranks. An ordinary jōnin wouldn't reach even a third of that in a lifetime.
Half an hour later, only three bidders remained—the most prestigious noblewomen after the daimyo's wife, rivals who refused to concede. Tsunade bit her lip; she felt more nervous than on her first S-rank mission.
As she'd guessed, it didn't hit 100 million, but it still closed at 80 million ryō.
"So much money!" Tsunade's eyes sparkled like gemstones.
"You're the Hokage—try to have some decorum," Kitazawa teased.
Tsunade was in too good a mood to care. She'd get a ten-percent cut—8 million ryō—enough to keep her in the casinos for a long while. And this was only the beginning.
"Don't get carried away," she said quickly. "If I think about that much money, being a ninja starts to feel pointless."
"How is it pointless?" Kitazawa glanced up at the sky. "This world still bows to strength. When Akatsuki launches the Eye of the Moon Plan and Ōtsutsuki Kaguya descends, even a fortune won't save you. With overwhelming power, you don't need auctions—people bring you money on their own."
For now, he'd play by shinobi rules.
"How are you more clear-headed than me?" Tsunade frowned. By rights, someone Kitazawa's age should be easiest to tempt—yet even 80 million couldn't rattle him.
"I just prefer pursuing strength," Kitazawa said lightly. (He couldn't exactly tell her he'd met aliens.)
"Hmph. And you still say you'll 'hold my money' for me," Tsunade pouted. "Why not just give it to me?"
"Not happening," Kitazawa replied evenly, meeting her eyes.
"Ugh! I'm your teacher!" Tsunade protested.
"The auction's over; it's our turn," Kitazawa said, switching gears. "Make a list of the ladies who want custom pieces."
Tsunade felt like she'd punched into cotton. Her student wasn't the least bit afraid of her, which did nothing for her teacherly dignity. Worse, Kitazawa was too capable for her to keep down.
They worked straight through to evening before they finally saw the last noblewoman off. Kitazawa glanced at the balance in the passbook and nodded, satisfied. The ninja world may revere strength, but money still matters—not everyone becomes invincible. For him, that 80 million had been easy and nearly costless. All the raw materials had come from the sea; at most he'd pay wages to the Hyuga clan and Gato Shipping.
He was curious how Hyuga Hiashi would react to that much money. Perfect moment to ask for more manpower.
"Let me see!" Tsunade leaned in, voice bright. Any time she had money she ran to the casino; she never saved a coin—just IOUs. Eighty million would be the biggest sum she'd ever had within arm's reach.
Kitazawa opened the passbook to show her—then tucked it away when she reached for it.
"Am I that kind of person to you?" Tsunade asked, exasperated.
"We've been in the capital a week. When are we heading back?" Kitazawa asked, changing the subject.
"Tomorrow." She paused, then perked up. "You're coming to the casino with me tonight!"
"Earn 8 million and immediately send it back out?" Kitazawa shook his head.
"What are you talking about?" Tsunade punched him, confident. "I'm going to turn 8 million into 80 million!"
In reality, there were no surprises where gambling was concerned.
Crunch.
After a night of losses, Tsunade crushed a pebble underfoot as they walked. Kitazawa's eyelid twitched. Those heeled sandals would be lethal if they came down on a person.
He kept his mouth shut and followed, not wanting to get dragged into it.
Back at the daimyo's residence—
"Wake me up tomorrow!" Tsunade snapped, still fuming, and slammed her door.
The next morning, after breakfast, they said their goodbyes to the daimyo's family and left the capital. Since Tsunade had been playing for a week, they traveled back at normal speed and reached Konoha by nightfall.
"When are you going to Sound?" Tsunade asked at her doorstep.
"Give me a week," Kitazawa said after thinking a moment.
"Alright." She hesitated, then added, "Your safety comes first. If we miss Orochimaru this time, we'll get him next time." She went inside and shut the door before he could reply.
"I'm back!" Kitazawa called as he opened his own door.
A breath of perfume swept in. Kurenai flashed in front of him and hugged him tight. A week alone had felt all wrong.
Kitazawa lowered his head and kissed her without a word. They stayed locked together for several minutes before finally coming up for air.
"Why were you gone so long?" Kurenai asked, breathless.
"Promotion took time," Kitazawa said as he led her into the living room. "Guess how much our first necklace sold for?"
"At least 30 million ryō," Kurenai said after thinking. She'd seen the auction piece—studded with gems and diamonds; it screamed expensive.
"Eighty million," Kitazawa said, dropping onto the sofa and pulling her into his arms.
"That much?" Kurenai's eyes went wide, and she instinctively settled onto his lap.
"They're all loaded noblewomen," Kitazawa said, kneading her thigh with a smile. "Face and status matter most in that world."
"We struck gold!" Kurenai planted a quick kiss on his cheek, exhilarated. Eighty million ryō—that was eighty S-rank missions. She'd done fewer than twenty so far; she'd only recently become a jōnin. Normally you don't touch S-ranks until then.
"It's not like we keep the whole 80 million," Kitazawa said. "And money's external. Power's what matters."
"Mm." Kurenai calmed quickly.
"Then let me check how your sealing practice went this week," Kitazawa said, scooping her up and heading for the bathroom.
Kurenai rolled her eyes, but soon she was busy. They took a very long shower—by the end she was completely spent, and he carried her back to the bedroom.
A new day—Monday, the second week of summer break.
Kitazawa got up, ate breakfast, and went to the academy. Kurenai wouldn't be waking up anytime soon.
"Kitazawa-sensei!" Hinata beamed the moment she saw him.
"Kitazawa-sensei, we missed you!" Naruto waved, thrilled.
"Totally!" Ino ran up. "Sensei, were you on a mission this past week?"
Shikamaru, Chōji, Kurama Yakumo, and Aburame Shino gathered around too. Only Sasuke and Sakura were absent—they were at Kakashi and Maruboshi Kosuke's summer special training.
"I did take a mission," Kitazawa said, ruffling Ino's hair. "Keep training. I'll watch and see what needs fixing."
"Yes, Sensei!" Naruto, Ino, and the others split up and got to work.
Just then, three lines of text appeared before Kitazawa's eyes:
[Current Mission: Have five medical-nin master Limb Regeneration.]
[Reward: Master-level Yang Release nature transformation.]
[Mission Completed. Reward Granted.]
Shizune finally mastered Limb Regeneration?
Kitazawa clenched his fist unconsciously. With master-level Yang Release, he could learn Creation Rebirth: Strength of a Hundred much faster. His modified medical forbidden art, Body Activation, would also come along more quickly.
And now that Shizune had Limb Regeneration down, he could stop supervising the hospital's training program and focus entirely on his own jutsu.
He refocused on the students. Most didn't need his input; his gaze fell on Naruto. Wind Release: Shuriken was already solid—time for the next step. He'd taught Naruto Gale Palm, Great Breakthrough, and Wind Shuriken to bolster his ranged game; to go higher, Naruto needed better Wind-nature control. But he was still young and his chakra control was only so-so—too time-consuming right now.
Up close, Naruto had two tools: the taijutsu Might Guy taught him, and the greatsword Samehada that Kitazawa had given him. Naruto was already solid on Guy's taijutsu; the Eight Gates would have to wait. Samehada, though—there was room to grow.
"Naruto," Kitazawa called.
"Sensei!" Naruto sprinted over, with Samehada hopping after him.
"Pause Wind Release for now. Switch to swordsmanship," Kitazawa said, drawing Zangetsu. "Pick up Samehada. I'll teach you Konoha-ryū sword style."
Samehada practically bounced with excitement to Naruto's side. Since Naruto didn't really use swordsmanship, the blade rarely saw its full potential. With Konoha-ryū, it could finally shine—and wouldn't be abandoned.
Kitazawa didn't do anything extra that day—he simply trained with them.
The next day, he headed to Konoha's flower district—not to the Yamanaka Flower Shop, but to the new Heart of the Ocean store. When he'd had the Hyuga craft the pieces, he'd also ordered Konoha's first jewelry shop opened. Uzumaki Rina was managing it, since the shop belonged to the village.
"We can open tomorrow," Kitazawa said after a moment's thought. "Just let Tsunade-sensei know."
Konoha's Heart of the Ocean was a side project. The real money was in the capital, so Kitazawa didn't plan to micromanage or attend the opening. Today, he intended to swing by Sound. Even though he already knew the lay of the land, going in person would make his report to Tsunade proper.
"Got it," Rina said with a nod.
Kitazawa then headed to the Hyuga compound.
"Kitazawa!" Hyuga Hiashi greeted him warmly—he'd already heard about the capital. The necklace crafted by Hyuga Homon's team had fetched a sky-high 80 million ryō. The Hyuga would get only ten percent, but the follow-on orders together would be a terrifying sum.
"I'd like you to assign more people," Kitazawa said, reading his expression and getting straight to the point.
"No problem!" Hiashi agreed immediately. "How many do you need? The Hyuga can supply them!"
"I'm planning to open a Heart of the Ocean shop in the capital," Kitazawa said after thinking. "Send twelve more to staff it."
"Done," Hiashi said with a broad smile. "I'll have them depart today."
"For the details, have them report to the head of Finance," Kitazawa said, and took his leave.
Hokage Building.
Konan stepped into the Anbu office. She hadn't followed Kitazawa to the capital—Tsunade would have sensed her. She wasn't trailing him to Sound today either. She was here to learn what Gato Shipping and the seafloor survey teams had been up to. Last time she'd asked the Land of Rain to prospect for minerals; they'd found a silver mine. Kakuzu had already gone to work it.
Konan picked up a file from the desk—Anbu had clearance to read it. It happened to be the report on what Kitazawa and Tsunade had done in the capital.
She skimmed it and her mouth fell open. Noblewomen had spent 80 million ryō on a single necklace?
Money was coming too easily to Kitazawa.
An idea flickered—could the Land of Rain copy this model?
She quickly shook her head. The Land of Rain and Amegakure were too poor; sometimes they even needed Akatsuki's funding. And the key was the necklace itself.
What did that necklace look like?
Konan decided to seize the chance to pay the Land of Fire's capital a visit.
~~~
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