I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 199: Food and drink won't bring true friends, but they can quickly bring strangers closer.

"Little friend! Little friend! Don't go!"

On the commercial street, Tatsuma, carrying three golden kunai, stopped when he heard the voice behind him. Looking at the stall owner who was covered in sweat, he asked, "Is there anything else?"

The stall owner wiped the sweat from his forehead—not from the heat or exhaustion, but from anxiety. With a broad smile, he said, "Little friend, can I buy back your kunai?"

Uncle bought each kunai for 10,000 taels, so that's 30,000 taels in total. You could buy dozens of kunai at the ninja tool shop with that money, how about it?

Upon hearing this, Tatsuma frowned, weighed the golden kunai in his hand—which was much heavier than a regular kunai—and said, "Uncle, do you think I'm stupid?"

"what?"

The stall owner sensed something was wrong, and Chenma continued, "An iron kunai weighs less than three and a half ounces, while a gold kunai weighs about five ounces, so three of them would weigh one and a half jin."

Even if I sold them for gold, these three kunai alone could fetch over 300,000 taels of gold at the current price. And you're only offering 30,000 taels?

Seeing that Chenma actually knew about gold prices, the stall owner's face turned ugly. He said, "But, little friend, you only spent three thousand taels and got thirty thousand taels. Isn't that a lot? At worst, I'll refund you the three thousand taels and consider it free for you?"

"Uncle, I can see you're not having an easy time running this stall. How about this, I'll round it down to 300,000 taels for you to buy back these three golden kunai, how about that?"

Chenma tossed the golden kunai in his hand, smiling as he looked at the stall owner. The stall owner's face darkened, and he said, "Little friend, don't be too greedy. Do you know how much 300,000 taels is?"

"So, uncle, what are your plans to do?"

Chenma sensed the threat in the stall owner's words, but he remained calm and composed, continuing to smile at the stall owner. The stall owner, with a stern face, said, "Fifty thousand taels. Take the money and leave."

As he spoke, several tall figures squeezed through the surrounding crowd. Chenma glanced at them, then looked away and asked, "Uncle, will you continue to run your stall?"

"Um?"

The stall owner was a little confused, but still nodded. Tatsuma continued, "I see. You know, not every student at the Konoha Ninja Academy is rich."

If you're willing to continue setting up your stall, I can introduce my classmates to come and help ease their financial burden.

Upon hearing this, the stall owner panicked. He understood what Chenma was talking about. Unlike the children playing ninja games in the Daimyo's mansion, this person in front of him was a ninja student from Konoha.

Tatsuma still didn't tell the truth. He wasn't a student at the Ninja Academy; he was a real ninja. However, telling the truth might give others something to talk about.

"Little friend, you see, you know that it's not easy for me to run this small business. If future ninja masters like you come here, then I'll really go bankrupt."

"Uncle, I'll buy it back at the price you asked for. Please don't tell the other ninjas, okay?"

Seeing the stall owner instantly become cautious, Chenma's smile remained unchanged as he said, "Alright, then it'll be 500,000 taels."

Upon hearing this, the stall owner's face instantly turned mournful, and he said, "Young man, 500,000 taels is more expensive than me ordering new gold kunai. These three kunai are worth at most 330,000 taels."

"Uncle, my kunai is only worth 300,000 taels, but my words are very valuable. They may not be worth a thousand pieces of gold per word, but as I continue, they will become more and more expensive."

Chenma's smile remained unchanged. The stall owner hesitated for a long time, but finally nodded and said, "Alright, then little friend, you won't invite your classmates?"

"Can."

Tatsuma nodded, then suddenly clenched his right fist, unleashing a burst of superhuman strength, as he weighed the golden kunai in his hand. He then handed the severely deformed kunai to the stall owner and asked, "Cash or deposit slip?"

"Gurgle~ Deposit. Deposit slip."

Looking at the golden kunai, the stall owner swallowed hard. Gold wasn't exactly hard, but it wasn't something a normal person could change shape with their bare hands. With that kind of strength, even if all his employees attacked together, they would probably all be lying on the ground.

Tatsuma didn't have a bank account with the Land of Fire yet. When he went to the bank with the stall owner to open a deposit account, Tatsuma opened one and deposited the deposit into his own account.

Despite the minor hiccups, Chenma was actually in a better mood. After all, earning 200,000 taels of silver with just a few words was much easier and more lucrative than working himself to death on missions.

Watching Chenma leave with a bright smile, the stall owner's face turned extremely ugly. Chenma's move had wiped out most of his income for the past six months. If he included the costs, stall fees, employee salaries, and other prizes, all the expenses would amount to nothing this year.

He regretted bullying Tatsuma; could someone who could hit three hundred balloons in a row be an ordinary child?!

"Snapped!"

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He slapped himself. It was all his fault for being greedy. Otherwise, he could have made a profit of 200,000 taels this year. Now, he's given it away for nothing!

Chenma was walking happily down the road when suddenly a middle-aged man appeared beside him, walking side by side with him. The man then said to Chenma, "Captain, we've made so much money, how about we treat everyone to a meal? After all, carrying out missions is very tiring."

Chenma frowned, then released his grip, looked at the middle-aged man, and said, "Xiao?"

The middle-aged man smiled and said, "Sarutobi Isuzu, a member of the Medical Department's Corpse Disposal Team."

Tatsuma knew that Sarutobi Shisuke was referring to his public identity, so he nodded and said, "Sakamoto Tatsuma, uh... an unemployed wandering ninja."

"Haha, it seems you're quite interesting when you're not doing anything."

Sarutobi Isuzu said with a smile, "Come to the disposal team sometime and learn how to dispose of corpses. Your skills are still a bit immature."

Tatsuma nodded. Yesterday, he felt that Sarutobi Shisuke's technique was very skilled. At first, he thought it was because he had experience from doing it a lot, but he didn't expect that he was a professional at this.

"Ishisuke-senpai, where are your teammates? Can I get to know them?"

"We're all out shopping. If you want to get to know us, treat us to a meal. After all, that's why I showed up here."

Upon hearing this, Tatsuma nodded and said, "No problem, I'd also like to get to know the seniors."

Seeing that Tatsuma agreed so readily, Sarutobi Shisuke nodded as well. After strolling around the streets for a while, their group of two became a group of five. They then went to a restaurant and booked a private room.

Tatsuma also got to know Sarutobi Sesuke's three members at the dinner table: one was from the Shimura clan, one was from the Yamanaka clan, and the last one was from the Aburame clan.

The five of them didn't spend much, since although it was free time, they were still on a mission and didn't drink alcohol, and the most expensive items in restaurants are usually various kinds of alcohol.

Without drinking alcohol, even in the Daimyo's mansion, where the cost of living is several times higher than in Konoha, a large meal would only cost less than 30,000 ryo, which is about the same as when Jiraiya first invited him and Minato to a barbecue restaurant, although Jiraiya ordered alcohol back then.

Of course, cheap is relative. If it were Chenma himself, 30,000 taels could last him a long time, and he would definitely not spend it on a single meal.

Sarutobi Shisuke didn't leave empty-handed with the meal; he shared with Tatsuma some rules and tips that ANBU training wouldn't teach, but that every ANBU member should learn.

For example, even if they know that the other is also an Anbu, if they do not reveal their identities to each other while on a mission or while acting as Anbu ninjas, they cannot talk about Anbu matters even if they meet.

These are unwritten rules, and there are also some tips, such as how to politely ask the target you are guarding for permission to use the restroom or for a shift change while on guard duty.

Sarutobi Shisuke had some techniques he wanted to share with Tatsuma, but some of them were really not suitable to talk about during a meal, so they agreed to share them when they had time.

After leaving the restaurant, the four parted ways. Tatsuma went to find a place to stay on his own, while Hiruzen Sarutobi was going to stay at the daimyo's residence for a whole day, or even longer, so he didn't need to go there tonight.

The next morning, Tatsuma arrived outside the daimyo's residence but did not see Hiruzen Sarutobi emerge. It wasn't until almost noon that the farewell procession began its duties.

With a forced smile, Hiruzen Sarutobi bid farewell to the officials of the Land of Fire.

Upon arriving at Tatsuma's side, Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a stern face, "Let's go."

Tatsuma nodded, asked no further questions, and began to lead the way. After traveling all day, when they set up camp to rest at night, Hiruzen Sarutobi said, "You must be very confused about my attitude, right?"

Upon hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's question, Tatsuma didn't hide anything and asked, "Hokage-sama, is there a problem with the funding?"

"No, the Daimyo is very generous in this regard. The funding application has been approved, and the money promised to Tsunade for establishing a medical ninja training system has also been approved by the Daimyo and will arrive in the account soon."

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head, his somber expression still lingering. Tatsuma grew increasingly puzzled. If the daimyo was so generous, then Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had come to the daimyo's mansion for money, shouldn't be troubled.

"Sigh~"

With a sigh, Hiruzen Sarutobi said, "The Daimyo is aware that the Jinchuriki will be replaced within five years."

Although this topic is confidential, Hiruzen Sarutobi will not hide it from Tatsuma. Mito Uzumaki had already told Hiruzen Sarutobi some things before.

Upon hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, Tatsuma quickly pondered and asked, "What is the Daimyo worried about?"

"He was worried that Konoha lacked the power to restrain the Nine-Tails' rampage, apart from sealing techniques."

After Hiruzen Sarutobi finished speaking, Tatsuma also fell silent. The daimyo was worried that the new Jinchūriki would not be able to control the Nine-Tails as stably as Mito Uzumaki. At the same time, perhaps the daimyo also knew who the candidate was.

The daimyo can trust Mito Uzumaki and her sealing techniques, but if Mito Uzumaki is gone, then the daimyo will not trust the new candidate and the sealing techniques the new candidate possesses.

Tatsuma clearly expressed his refusal to become a Jinchūriki to Mito Uzumaki, so the best candidate was Kushina Uzumaki. However, Kushina was probably always an outsider in the eyes of the Daimyo.

If Kushina becomes a Jinchūriki and something goes wrong with the seal, whether it's intentional or unintentional, it will be a major disaster for the Land of Fire.

However, the best way for Konoha to deal with the Nine-Tails now is through sealing techniques. If Kushina actively breaks the seal, or if her mind is manipulated by others, then other people's seals can also be easily broken by Kushina, thus making it impossible to restrain the Nine-Tails.

Besides sealing techniques, it can also restrain the power of the Nine-Tails.

Tatsuma looked up at the troubled Hiruzen Sarutobi and asked, "A Wood Release ninja?"

(End of this chapter)