"Duy, how did you get new scars on your face again? Are cats that fierce? Can even a mighty Ninja get scratched?"
As soon as Duy stepped into the Tri-Color Dango Shop, laughter erupted inside. Ignoring it, Duy simply wiped away the scratches and specks of dirt left by the cat on his face and said to the counter:
"I'll have two skewers of tri-color dango, one serving of plum daifuku, please pack them."
The girl at the counter nodded and started packing food for Duy. However, the other customers around seemed somewhat displeased. Someone jeered:
"As a Ninja, you're only ordering this little? are your pockets running out of money? Even us ordinary folks aren't as poor as you, right?"
Someone else chimed in from the side, "Exactly! Duy's poverty isn't because he's a Ninja, but because of his refusal to abandon his Genin's pride and unwillingness to solve his own problems through labor."
"As I see it, he should take off his Ninja headband and work honestly, doing meaningful work every day instead of useless training, it's better than delivering goods by cart."
Listening to the discussions around him, Duy buried his head deeply, a forced smile on his face, not daring to show any displeasure to those around him.
"Brother Duy, don't mind them. I've added some extra plum sauce for you to take back to sister Shoko"
Although the girl at the counter looked angry, as an employee, she couldn't show her temper to the customers, so she could only pick larger dango for Duy and give him more sauce.
Outside the Tri-Color Dango Shop, Uchiha Tenko, who had finished his training and brought two "enemies" to buy his favorite food, was furious when he saw the situation inside the shop. He even wanted to rush in and teach the others a lesson.
But Tatsuma and Minato each held one of Tenko's shoulders, and Tatsuma whispered in Tenko's ear, "Once you cause trouble, they won't dare to pursue you, being an Uchiha, but they'll hold a grudge against Brother Duy."
"What should we do?! Just stand by and watch them insult Brother Duy?"
Tenko looked resentful, and Tatsuma, seeing Duy already holding his takeaway box, was about to turn around. He pulled Tenko, and with a Body Flicker, they disappeared.
Duy felt like there were a few familiar figures outside the door, but when he snapped out of it, he realized they were just passersby. For some reason, he felt relieved.
'Thankfully, no acquaintances saw me in this embarrassing situation, or else they would surely question if I haven't fulfilled enough of my youth's ideals, right?'
Duy thought as he walked towards home, planning to spend quality time with his wife tonight. Tomorrow being the last day of the Academy vacation, he planned to visit the training ground and see those spirited young ninjas.
After Duy had left the street, Tatsuma and the others emerged from an alley. Tatsuma pondered for a moment and said, "The mindset of these villagers can't be changed solely by us."
"What should we do?"
The anger on Uchiha Tenko's face hadn't subsided, and even Minato furrowed his brows, showing that, gentle as he was, he couldn't help but feel indignant about Duy's situation.
"We may not be able to change how Brother Duy is perceived by everyone now, but we can change his circumstances."
After Tatsuma finished speaking, Minato curiously asked, "How do we change it?"
Uchiha Tenko, now also staring with his wide eyes at Tatsuma, although their interaction had only been for a short month, Tenko had developed some respect for Duy, the Genin who had been teaching them Taijutsu.
Although Brother Duy seemed strange and had a peculiar personality, he was incredibly dedicated when teaching them. In their training camp, Duy's name had become synonymous with their school's sensei.
"Let's discuss it when we get back."
Tatsuma shook his head, not immediately revealing his thoughts, and instead returned to the Third Training Ground. Although the scheduled training time for today had already ended, those wrapped up in their training wouldn't leave on time.
Upon seeing the group return, Inuzuka Tsume grumbled, "Didn't I ask you to bring back some dango for me too? Why did you come back empty-handed?!"
"Woof woof~"
Beside her, the Nin-Dog Kuromaru also expressed dissatisfaction with a bark, just like Inuzuka Tsume, many of the classmates had asked Tatsuma to bring them back some, and at this moment, they all looked at the group with reproachful eyes.
Tatsuma smiled and said, "Sorry, there was a little mishap, and we didn't get any tri-color dango."
At his words, the complaints on everyone's faces dissipated. People are not troubled by scarcity, but by unfairness. If Tatsuma and the others had eaten without bringing back any for them, they would naturally be unhappy. But if Tatsuma and the others didn't get any either, they would feel balanced in their hearts and wouldn't be angry.
"Tatsuma, tell us about your thoughts just now."
Uchiha Tenko, or rather, the Uchiha Clan, was naturally not one to beat around the bush. He urged Tatsuma anxiously, and Tatsuma nodded, waving his hand to summon over a dozen classmates from the group.
As the classmates gathered around, Tatsuma began, "During this time, myself, Minato, Tenko, Sento, and Kushina have taught everyone how to make Explosive Tags and sealing scrolls."
Upon hearing this, everyone nodded, but their eyes also grew more puzzled, not understanding why Tatsuma was mentioning this now. Tenko slapped his forehead, his face showing a sudden understanding, and he said, "Are we collecting tuition fees from everyone and giving them to Brother Duy?"
"Tsk~" Tatsuma didn't hold back and gave Tenko a light slap on the head. Uchiha Tenko was so angry he wanted to spar with Tatsuma another three hundred rounds, but Tatsuma didn't want to deal with him. He reached out and pushed Tenko's face away, saying to everyone, "The day after tomorrow, school starts, and we won't have as much time for extracurricular learning and sharing like we do now. But I don't want everyone to become unfamiliar with these skills, so I suggest that in your spare time, you practice making more Explosive Tags and sealing scrolls."
"But scrolls are expensive."
One student from the Sarutobi Clan raised his hand, mentioning that he had already spent almost all his pocket money during the summer break on buying blank scrolls. Scrolls capable of storing Chakra were not made of ordinary paper and were quite expensive.
"I understand. So, during our practice, we should sell the scrolls we successfully make to earn more money to buy more scrolls for practice," Tatsuma continued to explain. Minato, catching on, played the role of an excellent straight man, wearing a puzzled expression on his face, saying, "But Tatsuma, school is starting soon, and even if we have Explosive Tags and sealing scrolls, who would buy them? Ninja supply shops have their own sources for purchasing goods and may not be interested in buying our Explosive Tags and sealing scrolls."
"You're right, Minato!" Tatsuma looked at Minato with admiration, genuinely impressed. He clapped his hands to gather everyone's attention and said,
"Indeed, none of us have time to sell them, and the ninja supply shops won't buy them either. So, we need someone trustworthy to help us sell Explosive Tags and sealing scrolls to individual buyers."
Seeing the two working together, Kushina, who was standing beside them, also understood their intentions and said, "Then why not let Brother Duy help us sell them? I heard that the number of D-rank missions in the village has decreased recently, so he must have some free time. I've saved up over two hundred sealing scrolls. If I could exchange them for money... hehe~"
Tatsuma continued nodding, saying, "It's not just Explosive Tags and sealing scrolls. We can also entrust Brother Duy to sell other items for us and give him a percentage of the profit."
"I've been learning to make dog food for Nin-Dogs recently. Besides our Inuzuka Clan, there are many people in the village who raise Nin-Dogs, and they must need it too!" Inuzuka Tsume pounded her left palm with her right fist, her eyes shining. She hadn't learned how to make Explosive Tags and sealing scrolls, thinking she couldn't earn money like everyone else, but now it seemed she might be able to after all!
Uchiha Tenko also stepped forward again, saying, "And we have the Uchiha Clan's cat food! No ninja cat can resist our Uchiha Clan's raw meat cat food."
"We Aburame family also breed some harmless insects, which are useful for Ninja who own Nin-Hawks or Nin-Doves."
As one of the insect users spoke, they realized no one was paying attention to them, so they simply closed their mouth. After they stopped talking, no one noticed anything amiss.
Shikaku, for once, had a hint of enthusiasm on his face. He glanced at Inoichi and Choza, saying, "Our three clans can also cooperate to produce some insect repellents."
Who wouldn't love pocket money, after all?
"This is great! Whether it's Nin-Dogs or ninja cats, they all need regular deworming."
Shikaku's proposal received everyone's approval, except for Aburame Shibi, who became even more withdrawn. He felt like he was the bug being repelled.
As members of the legendary elite class, most of Tatsuma's classmates were descendants of ninja clans, with their families possessing some "specialties". Even the few non-ninja clan members were descendants of elite ninja in the village. They all had some understanding of the production of essential ninja items like Explosive Tags, sealing scrolls, smoke bombs, flash bombs, Military Rations Pills, etc., and could all contribute to this business.
Only Aburame Shibi, who was ignored by everyone, and Nawaki, who neither knew how to make Explosive Tags and sealing scrolls nor understood how to produce other "specialties," were left out.
But Aburame Shibi was used to it. As for Nawaki, he heard that his sister was about to go on a mission. But even without his sister by his side, he wouldn't be short of money.
If worse comes to worst, Nawaki could sell the blank scrolls that his grandparents, uncles, and parents had left unused. There were always options.
Guided by Tatsuma and Minato, the dozen or so youngsters quickly reached a consensus. They even divided the cake, such as ensuring that Kushina wouldn't maliciously sell her sealing scrolls and would give other classmates a chance.
Tatsuma even led them in calculating the comprehensive costs. After all, whether it was making Explosive Tags, sealing scrolls, dog food, or cat food, they were all still apprentices and couldn't guarantee 100% success.
Therefore, when calculating the costs, they had to take the success rate into account. At the same time, their final pricing had to be lower than similar products in the ninja supply shops. Shikaku was a great help in this regard, as he was familiar with the market pricing of almost all ninja supplies.
In the end, they also had to set aside a portion of the profits for Duy. Fortunately, they were all students from the ninja school and could accept the lowest level of profitability as long as they broke even. This allowed Tatsuma to set a competitive price that ensured nobody would lose out.
The next day, which was also the last day of summer vacation, when Tatsuma, representing the students, handed over a sales commission contract and the first batch of goods to Duy, Duy cried out for youth all afternoon.
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