[Host: Uchiha Yoru]
[Chakra Level: Chunin]
[Chakra Nature: Fire (LV3), Lightning (LV3)]
[Gold Coins: 30,000]
After parting ways with Shisui, Uchiha Yoru walked back to the village, feeling disappointed as he reflected on the images in his mind.
The "golden finger" was basically a pay-to-win system that only valued money. Yoru had worked hard for years to accumulate enough gold coins last month. He specifically waited for the night of the Nine-Tails attack to activate his Sharingan by paying. It wasn't something that could just be awakened randomly. The night of the Nine-Tails presented the perfect opportunity.
[One Tomoe Sharingan: 500,000 gold coins]
As Yoru looked at the tomoe he had acquired, he couldn't help but feel a pang of disappointment. His talent was too limited. Despite his experiences on the battlefield and facing life and death, his Sharingan wouldn't activate.
Fortunately, he was from the Uchiha clan, so he didn't need to acquire the Uchiha bloodline. That was a relief! To exchange for the bloodline, you needed to already possess it. One tomoe cost 500,000 gold coins, two tomoe doubled the price to 1 million, and three tomoe skyrocketed to 10 million. As for the Mangekyou Sharingan, it cost a billion!
Let's not even talk about the Mangekyou Sharingan; it's just too heartbreaking to think about.
Seeing the exchange prices, Yoru couldn't help but twitch at the corner of his eye. Considering the exchange rate of 10:1 in the ninja world, he would need to earn at least ten times the amount just to afford the Mangekyou Sharingan. For now, his goal was to earn a smaller amount.
[•]
In front of a small secluded courtyard, Kurenai Yuhi stood dressed in a black ninja outfit, her legs covered in fishnet leggings. Her deep crimson eyes held a complex expression as she saw Uchiha Yoru, who had been waiting for her.
"Yoru, I heard you awakened your Sharingan. Congratulations."
Awakening the Sharingan was a true mark of an elite Uchiha, setting them apart from those who hadn't awakened their eyes.
Seeing Yuhi's seemingly melancholic congratulations, Uchiha Yoru scratched his head awkwardly. "Yuhi, please accept my condolences."
One congratulated, the other offered condolences.
Yuhi's father had sacrificed himself, and even if Yoru had tried to change anything, it wouldn't have made a difference.
"By the way, Yuhi, here are the shuriken techniques you need."
He didn't hesitate to share some Uchiha clan techniques with others. After all, other major clans had their own techniques, and these weren't the Uchiha clan's top secrets.
The Uchiha shuriken techniques were top-notch in the ninja world, but they relied on the Sharingan. Without the Sharingan, they were only decent.
Yuhi was dumbfounded as she watched him audaciously present her with the scroll containing Uchiha clan's shuriken technique. She looked at her classmate, wore a somewhat shy smile, feeling a strange sensation rise within her.
However, his words quickly extinguished that peculiar feeling, leaving only frustration.
"Yuhi, you know, I took a risk in obtaining this scroll, risking punishment from the clan. You understand."
Uchiha Yoru made a gesture signifying money, indicating his demand, causing Yuhi to grit her teeth in annoyance.
"How much do you want this time?"
Greedy! That was the label everyone gave Uchiha Yoru, a person shamelessly obsessed with money.
As Yuhi brought up the matter at hand, Uchiha Yoru's interest was piqued. "Yuhi, even though we are classmates, blood is thicker than water. Back then, for you..., and also this time..."
As he rambled on, calculating his own accounts, Yuhi listened with extreme exasperation. She wore a furious expression, but somehow, this banter managed to dispel the somber atmosphere in the room.
"Shut up, Yoru!"
Yuhi felt her head spinning as she listened. The person in front of her, who was undeniably handsome, turned out to be someone shamelessly obsessed with money. When she was innocent in school, she had been deceived by him, resulting in him swindling a significant portion of her pocket money over the years, claiming it was for her own good.
Although she had been naive back then, she didn't need this opportunist in front of her. He had been taking advantage of her and her pocket money for all these years.
Annoyed, Yuhi got up and went back inside the house. When she returned, she threw a scroll directly at him.
With a snap, Uchiha Yoru looked at the scroll in his hand, showing a skeptical expression. The scroll had the word "sword" written on it.
"My father compiled this scroll with the experiences of Konoha-style swordsmanship. I think it should cover the cost."
With a disdainful snort, Yuhi glared at him, and Uchiha Yoru couldn't help but smile. He had truly struck a good deal.
Yuhi was an elite Jounin of Konoha, known for her mastery of genjutsu, but her skills in swordsmanship were also remarkable. Otherwise, she wouldn't be carrying a large Japanese-style sword on her back.
This time, he had definitely gained an advantage. Uchiha Yoru smiled as he stored the scroll in his weapon pouch, amusing Yuhi with his expression.
"Truly, you're a money-minded boyfriend." The two of them could be considered more than friends but not quite lovers, given the years they had spent together.
However, Uchiha Yoru's eyes flickered as he silently analyzed the situation. No one in the ninja world was a fool. After all, ninjas excelled in analysis, with some exceptions, such as overpowered main characters.
Female ninjas were particularly rare, and Yuhi, with her calm and collected demeanor, was not a simple individual. This time, it was clear that he had gained an advantage.
As he realized this, Uchiha Yoru put on a serious expression and said, "Yuhi, you're aware of the chaos caused by the Nine-Tails incident. The Uchiha clan is already under scrutiny. Although I can no longer be your scapegoat, you can use this incident to your advantage."
"If anyone investigates your connection with the Uchiha clan, then you..."
Before Uchiha Yoru could finish speaking, Yuhi interrupted with a cold sneer, "They can say that I was deceived by this scumbag, that he swindled my pocket money since our time at the ninja academy, and even took away my father's swordsmanship scroll. How about that?"
As she took charge of the conversation, Uchiha Yoru was momentarily taken aback. Then, he smiled and said, "Yuhi, it had to be you. But if I have to bear such a big blame, you'll have to pay me more."
With a bang, a throw pillow was fiercely thrown at Uchiha Yoru. He hurriedly caught it as Yuhi glared at him with her beautiful ruby eyes filled with outrage.
"Uchiha Yoru!"
With a loud shout from Yuhi, Uchiha Yoru awkwardly escaped from the room as if a deceitful boyfriend had been exposed.
"Yuhi, hey, let's talk."
As Uchiha Yoru escaped in a disheveled manner, he dodged Yuhi's angry pursuit. However, seeing that Yuhi was no longer in her lifeless state, his lips slowly curled into a smile.
And of course, Yuhi noticed the hint of a smile on his lips. It breathed life into her previously lifeless heart, and she couldn't help but glare at him with a hint of annoyance.
"Uchiha Yoru, I became a Chunin a year earlier than you did!"
The information about Yuhi in the original work was clear: she became a Genin at 9 years old, a Chunin at 13 years old, and while the timing of her promotion to Jounin was not specified, it could be inferred from the interactions between Chunin and Jounin during the Chunin exams in the original work.
Yuhi had recently become a Jounin before the start of the story, and now she was 14 years old. That meant she spent a whole twelve years to reach Jounin, becoming one around the age of 26.
After all, ninjas excelled in intelligence gathering and analysis. The two of them, having known each other for so many years, had an unspoken understanding as they played out a scene resembling a breakup with a deceitful boyfriend.
In this sensitive period, it was not good for them to have too much involvement with the Uchiha clan, especially since Yuhi, who had lost her father's protection, was just a middle-ranking ninja. Although it was just a minor trouble, it was clear that neither of them wanted to be entangled in this small problem.
As she watched his retreating figure, Yuhi couldn't help but sigh softly, "You really are a heartless money-minded boyfriend."
Returning to the room, she looked at a photo of her and her father, wearing a contented smile. She whispered, "Father, I won't let you down. I will become an elite Jounin of Konoha, the pride of your daughter."
In that moment, the sadness in Yuhi's eyes gradually transformed into determination. She couldn't let her father down. She had to become the Jounin daughter her father would be proud of.