Chapter 176: A Glimpse
Masahiko's fun had been snatched away by his Shadow Clone, and he thought he would be bored forever. But suddenly, his shop became popular.
He didn't know if someone had advertised for him or if word of the exquisite craftsmanship had spread, but there were quite a few people who ignored the exorbitant prices.
A few days later, Masahiko actually earned more than thirty million ryo—the price of one Asuma head... no, wait, the price of twenty thousand bowls of Ichiraku Ramen.
"As expected, the new generation replaces the old. There are actually fewer people buying Hashirama than Hiruzen. Fortunately, I didn't carve myself, or I might not have sold a single one..."
"Boss Hagoromo, I'm here again!" While Masahiko was pondering, a familiar voice came, and Jiraiya visited once more.
Masahiko sighed helplessly. "Give it up. I won't sell it to you."
Jiraiya's purpose was clear: he wanted a figure of Tsunade.
"Old stubborn fool," Jiraiya muttered, pulling the person behind him forward. "This time I'm here accompanying my disciple."
Masahiko was stunned. For so many days, Minato seemed to have been busy with bitter training and doing those C-rank missions; he hadn't seen him for a long time.
Minato, with a sunny smile on his face, took out a photo from his chest pocket.
Masahiko paused and took it. It was a photo of a group of children. Masahiko only recognized Minato and Kushina; it must be their graduation photo.
"Old stubborn fool, see that red-haired girl? No problem carving one of her for my disciple, right? Even a little girl is not allowed?"
Masahiko hesitated, looking at the expectant Minato. He suddenly regretted his proposal to bring Kushina back to the Land of Whirlpools for two years just to exact a small revenge on Hiruzen.
"Fine, I'll carve one for you!"
"Thank you, Grandpa!" Compared to Jiraiya, Minato was much more polite.
Masahiko pretended to observe the photo for a long time before starting to carve bit by bit. It took about an hour to finally complete.
"That will be one million ryo, please!"
Minato naturally didn't have that much money, so Jiraiya took it out with a pained expression.
"Old stubborn fool, carving a child saves so much wood, yet you don't even know to give a discount," Jiraiya probed tentatively.
Masahiko rolled his eyes, ignoring him completely, and took the banknotes directly.
Watching the two walk away, Jiraiya's voice could still be faintly heard. "Happy now? Your sensei's savings have been emptied by you. If you ask me, just train hard. When you are strong enough, who cares about the Land of Whirlpools? If that Old Monster dares to stop you, just beat him up..."
Masahiko had the urge to rush over and beat him up.
Fortunately, a new customer saved Jiraiya's life and left Masahiko frozen in place.
"Boss, may I look around freely?"
Masahiko nodded, responding formulaically, "Look freely, but don't touch."
"Understood."
Masahiko looked at the person, his mind in disarray.
"This guy actually didn't die? I always thought he had kicked the bucket..."
The visitor was named Dan Kato, Tsunade's lover in the original story, who later died in the Second Great Ninja War, becoming one of the direct causes of Tsunade's haemophobia. Because the course of the war had changed, Masahiko had never seen him before and assumed he had died quietly on the battlefield. Unexpectedly, he was still alive.
Hesitating for a moment, Masahiko smiled and spoke.
"Customer, you look very unfamiliar. I've been in Konoha for so long, yet I've never seen you."
Dan Kato paused, then responded gently, "I was on a long-term mission outside before, and I don't seem to have seen you either."
Masahiko nodded and said no more, forming some guesses in his heart.
"Long-term mission, the Twelve Guardian Ninja Because of me, there are six more members than in the original story, so was he sent there too?"
"Boss, I heard that everything here costs one million ryo each, but custom orders are possible, right?"
Masahiko nodded, and Dan Kato also took out a photo from his chest pocket.
"What the hell? Is photography technology so advanced in the Naruto world? Photos are everywhere..." Masahiko took it. The person in the photo looked somewhat familiar and bore a strong resemblance to the Dan Kato in front of him.
"This is my father." Seeing Masahiko compare the photo with him back and forth, Dan Kato spoke up.
"Dan Kato's father..." Masahiko thought thoughtfully; he seemed to have some impression.
"He sacrificed himself in the previous war. I hope you can help me make a larger wood carving. It would be even better if it could be life-sized." Dan Kato looked sad.
"Dead?" Masahiko fell silent for a moment.
He just remembered that he had an encounter with Dan Kato's father. It was during the rank assessment when Konoha was first established; his father had been assessed as a Special Jonin by Masahiko.
"I remember kicking him in the Spiritual Space back then."
"Boss, is it possible?" Dan Kato pressed. "As for the price..."
Masahiko waved his hand and smiled. "No problem. Regardless of the size of the statue, it's one million ryo. However, this one will take longer. You can come to pick it up in two days."
Dan Kato looked delighted. "I'm so grateful to you, Boss!"
Watching Dan Kato walk away, Masahiko silently mourned for Jiraiya in his heart. Since Dan Kato didn't kick the bucket, Masahiko felt that Tsunade would definitely not end up with Jiraiya. After all, Jiraiya had no advantage in either personality or looks.
"Not necessarily. The plot direction is different now. Heaven knows if Dan Kato will fall for Tsunade!"
Masahiko muttered and started working.
...
The above is a glimpse of Masahiko's life after opening the Taobao Shop. For so many years, Masahiko had been revolving around the Senju and Uzumaki clans. Unknowingly, many plot characters had been born, but Masahiko had never crossed paths with them.
In a year and a half, Masahiko made no progress in observing Ichiraku Ramen, but as a figure shop owner, he met all kinds of people.
For example, the fathers of the original Ino-Shika-Cho trio asked him to carve the three of them out of a single piece of wood, showing their deep bond. However, because Choza took up too much wood, Masahiko charged an extra five hundred thousand ryo. There were also the parents of the Konoha 12, like Shibi Aburame, Tsume Inuzuka, and so on. Although not all of them patronized Masahiko's small shop, their figures could be found at Ichiraku Ramen... Masahiko saw most of them at Ichiraku Ramen.
Although Masahiko's main goal wasn't to open a popular shop, being left far behind by Ichiraku Ramen still made him sad.
"When I have time in the future, I must come up with something that everyone can't refuse, no matter how expensive."
But there was no time now. A year and a half passed in a flash, and preparations for Nawaki and Mikoto's wedding had already begun. The marriage alliance between the Senju and Uchiha was a major event for Konoha.
"This year and a half has been quite peaceful. Hiruzen and Danzo didn't cause trouble, and the Akatsuki didn't react to losing a member."
"I'll keep this shop owner identity for now. It counts as double insurance with the Shadow Clone..."
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