"Mr. Kudo Shinichi, please verify the key."
"Mm." Hyuga Yuto's voice was cold. He performed a series of hand seals. Although simple, the varying speed and order created thousands of different combinations.
The keys to entering the underground world were diverse: physical objects, passwords, hand seals... There were many means of identity verification, but they all shared a common characteristic—they were not completely bound to a person.
In other words, after killing someone, one could replace their position in the underground world. As long as the entry code was correct, no one would pursue the matter. Violent seizure was in line with the rules here.
The Exchange Office was such a chaotic yet orderly underground world.
When Hyuga Yuto read the manga in his previous life, the name "Exchange Office" was only mentioned in passing. The only related memory he had was "Kakuzu carrying Asuma Sarutobi's body to the Exchange Office to redeem a large bounty."
But after entering the world of Naruto, Hyuga Yuto learned that the Exchange Office was a colossal entity spanning the entire land. It not only possessed numerous strongholds and branches but also controlled the world's largest black and gray market networks.
Assassinations, mercenary wars, forbidden experiments, trafficking of prohibited goods...
The mission boards of major ninja villages always had a veil of morality. At least on the surface, they couldn't do anything too dishonorable.
The world needed a loose interest group like the Exchange Office to accommodate the filth and distortion hidden beneath the sunlight.
The Exchange Office was the hidden "Sixth Great Ninja Village!"
After verifying the identity code, the woman with the rat mask bowed slightly:
"Mr. Kudo Shinichi, the Land of Frost's second branch of the Exchange Office welcomes your arrival."
"I have some items I want to dispose of."
"Alright, please follow me." The woman replied respectfully, her hand stroking the wall, pressing a mechanism, and opening a narrow door.
She walked into the passage first, exposing her back defenselessly to Hyuga Yuto. Her fair neck and waist swayed like a water snake.
"Not a ninja, huh..." Hyuga Yuto made this judgment and followed the woman into the secret passage.
Anyone who had received ninja training and successfully refined chakra would find it difficult to adopt a completely non-aggressive posture. Even if they had to turn their back on others, their toes would subtly shift to an angle, ready to explode at any moment. This was a lingering effect of long-term training, something that couldn't be changed.
Of course, the receptionist not being a ninja didn't mean that the Exchange Office's defenses were weak. Even without activating his Byakugan, Hyuga Yuto could vaguely feel the tension in his spine. There were clearly genuine ninjas stationed here, both in number and quality.
"Mr. Kudo Shinichi, we will complete the exchange here."
The rat-masked woman led him to a more secluded chamber and skillfully retreated a few steps.
With a puff, smoke billowed as Hyuga Yuto activated the scroll in his hand. The gold, silver, and treasures sealed inside poured out, all dumped on the ground.
"Please wait a moment."
The rat-masked woman crouched down, took out various tools, and carefully confirmed the value of the pile of items.
"Mr. Kudo Shinichi, the treasures here are worth a total of 47 million Ryo. If you want to exchange them for the common currency of the Five Great Nations, the Exchange Office will deduct a 45% handling fee. We guarantee with our reputation that this money is clean..."
"No need." Damn, that's dark, Hyuga Yuto rolled his eyes inwardly and continued:
"I'll spend it all here... Buy some things."
"Alright, Mr. Kudo Shinichi." The rat-masked woman's voice carried a hint of cheerfulness.
It seemed that no matter the world, salespeople and guides always favored big spenders who emptied their pockets.
"I'll say, you write. Twelve sets of nano-scale filtration nets and related equipment, six 1m x 2m large medical breeding tanks, twenty tons of formalin, scalpels/mosquito forceps/toothed forceps, these must be produced in the Land of Iron..."
The receptionists of the Exchange Office were all carefully selected and trained talents. Although they weren't ninjas, they were all very intelligent. Hyuga Yuto rattled off a long list of items, some of which were quite complicated medical instruments, but the rat-masked woman was able to memorize them all and quickly correlate them with the warehouse inventory and required funds.
"...The lids of the petri dishes must be opaque... Mm... Alright, that's all." Hyuga Yuto told the rat-masked woman everything he needed, even specifying the model and manufacturer of certain tools.
Having studied medical ninjutsu under Tsunade for over three months, Hyuga Yuto was fully aware of the intricacies of the medical field in this world.
The woman silently wrote these items on a scroll and then slipped it into a small chute.
"Mr. Kudo Shinichi, the Land of Frost branch has all these items in stock. Please wait patiently, and everything will be delivered within half an hour."
"How much is left?"
"Seven million Ryo."
"Exchange it all for timber. I want the kind from the red forest in the southern part of the Land of Fire, cut into blocks."
"Are there any specific requirements for the size of the timber, sir?"
"Standard one cubic meter."
"Alright, sir, the timber will be delivered here along with the medical tools."
As a receptionist at the Exchange Office, the rat-masked woman was well-informed. She realized from the beginning that the guest before her probably wanted to build his own secret laboratory.
A 1m x 2m large medical breeding tank... It was clearly meant for imprisoning humans. As for the twenty tons of formalin...
The rat-masked woman dared not imagine how many people the guest in front of her was going to kill.
Kudo Shinichi... Truly a man who brings death.
The rat-masked woman sighed inwardly, daring neither to ask nor to speak out of turn.
The receptionists at the Exchange Office were all non-ninjas. This implied the meaning of "Kill if you want, they are non-core peripheral personnel anyway, as long as you compensate afterwards."
In such a filthy and corrupt underground world, it was difficult to have the "naive" belief of protecting one's companions.
"Oh... right..." Hyuga Yuto, bored while waiting, suddenly spoke:
"Bring the bounty list, I'll take a look."
"Yes, Mr. Kudo Shinichi."
This was easy. The rat-masked woman had a copy in her sleeve. Hyuga Yuto took it and flipped through it, pondering how many more days he could operate outside while searching for suitable prey.
He still needed a lot of money.
Hyuga Yuto's eyes scanned through the names, eventually returning the assassination list to the rat-masked woman.
Silence fell upon the chamber again until a large scroll emerged from the chute.
"Sir, everything you purchased is inside. You can inspect the goods here. According to the rules of the Exchange Office, once you leave this door, we will deny this transaction."
Hyuga Yuto nodded indifferently, checked a few key medical instruments, and after confirming there were no problems, he carried the scroll on his back and walked out of the Exchange Office.