Chapter 290: Getting Rich
After all, he was a goblin now, so those goblins probably wouldn't attack him.
To Ichikawa Ao, the pitch-black cave looked like a faintly green-tinted daytime scene.
It was similar to normal vision, except that the colors were divided into varying shades of light green and dark green.
As he walked deeper into the cave, Ichikawa Ao suddenly smelled a strong burnt odor.
In fact, he had already noticed a faint scorched smell near the cave entrance but hadn't paid much attention to it.
After all, this was a goblin lair—how could goblins possibly be hygienic? A bad smell was normal.
However, once he reached the middle section of the cave, the burnt smell became overwhelmingly strong.
Ichikawa Ao searched for the source in confusion and soon discovered a pile of ashes.
Stepping closer, he poked at the ashes with the wooden stick in his hand and saw partially burned body parts.
They were clearly goblins.
Ichikawa Ao's heart jolted.
Adventurers…?
His first reaction was shock. He instinctively glanced deeper into the cave, ready to flee.
But soon he realized that the ashes were completely cold—there was no residual warmth at all.
This meant the burning had happened quite some time ago.
Most likely, it had occurred shortly after he escaped last night.
Adventurers must have stormed in, slaughtered the goblins, then piled up and burned their bodies.
Ichikawa Ao let out a long breath.
Fortunately, he had chosen to flee decisively.
If he had escaped even a little later, he would probably be lying in that pile of ashes now.
He knew his potential was actually very high.
As long as he could acquire magic or combat skills, his strength would increase rapidly.
He absolutely did not want to be killed before he even had the chance to grow.
The biggest problem was his current identity.
A goblin.
He could already imagine how harsh his future would be.
If he were human—even a farmer—he might still have a chance to study at an academy.
But for a goblin, that was almost impossible.
Even goblin priests who could use magic would never teach such abilities to an ordinary goblin like him.
Earlier, when he had looked into the lake, he'd seen his reflection.
His appearance was extremely ordinary—the kind of goblin you'd lose instantly in a crowd.
His gaze shifted forward.
As expected, weapons were scattered all over the ground ahead—swords, axes, bows, everything.
Large patches of dried blood stained the cave floor.
Ichikawa Ao felt both relieved and unsettled.
Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself.
Then joy surged up from the depths of his heart.
Good.
The goblins were dead.
That just made things easier for him.
He could take whatever he wanted now.
He was rich.
He was rich!
Ichikawa Ao grinned, no longer sparing the ash pile a glance, and rushed forward to select intact weapons.
He picked up a knife first, but it was badly damaged, covered in nicks and chips.
He casually tossed it aside and chose a better one.
After some careful selection, he quickly gathered a usable knife along with a bow and several arrows.
Ichikawa Ao felt a hint of regret for not choosing a storage-type ability earlier.
Otherwise, he could have taken everything.
But on second thought, why would he need so much?
All he really needed were the essentials—a knife, a bow, and arrows.
While storage space was convenient, it offered no direct boost to combat strength.
Between being an ordinary nobody and becoming someone powerful enough to control his own fate, Ichikawa Ao would choose the latter without hesitation.
That was precisely why he had selected the Rapid Mastery talent back then.
After securing his equipment, he didn't leave immediately.
Instead, he ventured deeper into the cave.
He wanted to check whether those women had been rescued.
Last night, he had wanted to take them with him, but they had been completely unresponsive, leaving him no choice but to escape alone.
When he reached the spot where they had been lying, Ichikawa Ao carefully examined the area.
There were no signs of struggle.
No fresh bloodstains.
He finally relaxed.
It seemed the adventurers who arrived last night had rescued them.
Continuing forward, he soon reached the deepest part of the cave.
Another pile of ashes lay there.
There was no need to guess—these must have been the goblin younglings like himself.
Ichikawa Ao searched the surroundings thoroughly, even checking the puddles.
Finding nothing of value, he turned back.
What a pity.
There was no goblin priest in this lair, nor did he find any magic staffs or similar items.
The adventurers had probably taken them all.
If only he could have picked up a magic scroll or two…
Then he could truly take off.
Ichikawa Ao sighed.
As expected, there was no such thing as a free lunch.
Grabbing the knife and bow, he wrapped the arrows in his clothes and secured them around his waist before heading toward the exit.
As the cave entrance came into view, his vigilance gradually lowered.
After all, nothing had attacked him so far.
In his mind, the adventurers who destroyed this goblin nest had already left.
But the moment he stepped out of the cave—
His scalp tingled.
A bone-chilling sensation raced down his spine.
Ichikawa Ao instinctively rolled forward.
When he looked back, someone was standing where he had just been.
A man with deep tear troughs beneath his eyes.
A Konoha forehead protector rested on his brow.
Ichikawa Ao's expression changed instantly.
Uchiha Itachi?!
For a moment, his mind went completely blank.
Wasn't this supposed to be some magical other world?
How did Uchiha Itachi appear here?
"So there was still one that slipped through the net."
Uchiha Itachi's Shadow Clone spoke calmly.
Unfortunately, this clone had very little chakra remaining.
It could no longer use ninjutsu and didn't even carry a kunai.
Otherwise, the goblin in front of him would already be dead.
He had attempted a sneak attack just now, hoping to capture it alive.
But he hadn't expected this goblin to be so sensitive—and actually dodge it.
Hearing those words, Ichikawa Ao's heart skipped.
So it really was Uchiha Itachi who had wiped out the goblin lair last night?
Confusion flooded his mind.
Could it be that this wasn't another world at all?
But the Naruto world?
He had watched Naruto before.
The tear troughs.
The Konoha headband.
Anyone who had seen Naruto would immediately recognize this man.
But if this was the Naruto world…
Then where did the goblins come from?
I don't remember goblins existing in Naruto…
Ichikawa Ao's thoughts spiraled.
Did I watch a fake Naruto?
None of this made sense.
But there was no time to think.
Uchiha Itachi had just tried to ambush him.
Cold sweat broke out across Ichikawa Ao's forehead.
This was Uchiha Itachi.
A man who possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan.
To him, Ichikawa Ao was no different from an ant—just one that happened to be holding a knife.
Wouldn't Itachi kill him instantly?
Yet after waiting for a while…
Uchiha Itachi did not make another move.
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