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Once Qianyu was gone, Raiga Kurosuki immediately suggested, "Shindai, the food we've been eating sucks. We're about to get two million ryo. Let's get a proper meal!"
Shindai agreed wholeheartedly. "You're right! Let's go!"
Back in Konoha, Qianyu retrieved two million ryo from his private stash. He wrote a note and had a summoning animal deliver the money to the trio in Tanzaku Quarters.
Three days later.
Three vaguely human-shaped lumps were sprawled on a bench in Tanzaku Quarters.
These lumps were Shindai, Pakura, and Raiga.
Three days ago…
After Qianyu's departure, the trio had celebrated their impending organizational wealth at a high-end sushi place.
They feasted. They partied. The bill? A clean ten thousand ryo.
Qianyu's advance plus Shindai's own funds totaled eleven thousand. One meal devoured ten thousand of it.
They were left with a measly thousand.
They stumbled out of the restaurant in a daze.
Tanzaku to Konoha took two days normally. A round trip was four. Pushing it hard? Three days.
They had to survive at least three days on one thousand ryo.
A single bowl of the cheapest ramen here cost a hundred. Three meals a day for three people? Nine hundred ryo daily. Their thousand would last… a day. Followed by two days of starvation.
Technically, with extreme frugality—like sharing one bowl—they could have stretched it.
But Tanzaku Quarters was overflowing with gambling dens.
So they thought… go big or go home. They headed to a casino. All in.
The result, as evident by their current state, was predictable.
If not for waiting on Qianyu's summon, they'd have resorted to hunting.
Pakura rubbed her growling stomach. "Hey, Shindai… When is the boss getting that money here?"
Shindai's voice was weak. "Dunnoooo~"
Raiga moaned. "Shindai, hurry him up."
Shindai sighed. "I already asked. The summon's on the way. Can't push it. He seemed… to know. I'm worried I'll get scolded."
Raiga's voice was thick with misery. "To think… I was once an elite Jonin of Kirigakure. One of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. And now this? The fall from grace is too cruel."
Shindai and Pakura sighed in unison.
A sly, hissing voice cut through their despair. "You three look like utter trash. You're Lord Qianyu's… companions?"
Shindai, Pakura, and Raiga shot up from the bench. Their eyes gleamed with a feral, hungry green light, locked onto a small green snake on the ground.
The snake recoiled under their intense stare.
"Why are you wastes looking at me like that?!"
Shindai snatched up the snake. "You're Qianyu's summon, right? Give us the money!"
The little snake writhed in his grip. "Let go of me, you blond waste!"
Pakura's voice was low, thoughtful. "Snakes… are edible, right?"
Raiga swallowed hard. "They are. I've had some. Tastes good."
The little snake blinked. Blinked again. A huge question mark seemed to hover over its head.
It understood. These were madmen. They wanted to eat it.
But snakes… snakes are survivors. "Wait! I'm here to deliver the money! Eat me, and it's gone!"
The trio snapped back to reality. They placed the snake down gently, treating it like royalty. "We'd never think of eating you! A misunderstanding! The money! Hand it over!"
"Hold on!"
The snake's belly convulsed. "Hurk—!"
It coughed up a slimy scroll. "The money's in here, you snake-eating morons!"
Before they could react, the snake vanished in a puff of smoke.
The three stood frozen.
"Did we… just get insulted by a snake?" "Not just now. I think it called us 'trash' from the start." "That's way out of line!"
They fumed. But what could they do? The little snake had cursed them and fled back to Ryūchi Cave. No outlet for their rage.
However…
Their eyes fell on the slimy scroll on the ground.
Shindai ignored the mucus, unrolled the scroll, and broke the seal.
Money. Piles of it. Overflowing.
Shindai, Pakura, and Raiga giggled. Giggled like fools.
But they were in the middle of the street. The sudden appearance of wealth drew every eye.
Tanzaku was a mixed bag, full of thugs. Seeing that much cash was like blood in the water for sharks. A crowd began to inch closer.
One man reached for a stray bill. Raiga drew his Kiba blades. Lightning crackled around him as he swung.
He held back—barely. Otherwise, the man's hand would be gone.
Raiga's killing intent washed over the street. "Touch one coin, and I'll plan your funeral!"
The crowd backed off. Not worth the trouble.
By then, Shindai and Pakura had already gathered every last ryo.
Money in hand, their postures straightened. Their steps had purpose.
"Come on!" Shindai declared, chest puffed out. "We're eating! The good stuff!"
…
Konoha.
Kushina Uzumaki looked at Qianyu, who was frowning at nothing. "Qianyu? What's wrong? You look troubled."
He forced a smile. "Just… a bad feeling."
Kushina sat beside him, lowering her voice. "Is it about that Owl Organization of yours? You said all three were strong. Shouldn't be a worry, right?"
He'd kept his promise of no more secrets and told her everything, including his recent trip to Tanzaku.
Qianyu shook his head. "It's not their strength I worry about. It's their spending. Not long after I left, Shindai contacted me via the ring, asking when the money would arrive. But I'd just given them over eight thousand ryo. Told them it should last three or four days. He shouldn't have been that desperate to contact me so soon."
He sighed. "My guess? They blew through it all. That's why he was asking."
Kushina chuckled. "Relax! You're probably just overthinking it."
Qianyu nodded. "Yeah. Maybe. Besides Shindai, both Pakura and Raiga seemed pretty reliable."
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