Chapter 20. You Are Not Penniless
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"Yuto, you're back?" Minato watched as Uchiha Yuto was helped down from the carriage by his guards, slowly making his way out. Minato couldn't help but feel a bit emotional, thinking to himself, Yuto really is drifting further away from being a ninja.
Of course, everyone has their own path, just like ninjas with their unique ways of the ninja. It was a bit of a shame, but there wasn't much he could say about it.
That being said, he was still quite happy that Yuto had returned.
"It's really chaotic outside right now, so after handling my affairs, I came back," Uchiha Yuto said with a gentle smile, looking over at Minato's team. "Are you heading out on a mission?"
"Yes! They've been trained, so it's time for them to start doing missions outside the village."
"Is that so?" Uchiha Yuto sighed in nostalgia, then reached out with a fatherly smile, ruffling Obito's hair. "It's really dangerous out there! Take care, son! Don't make your dad worry."
"Who's your son!" Obito shouted immediately.
Of all the people in the village, he disliked this guy the most, even more than Kakashi. First, Yuto tricked him, and now he wanted to act like his dad—absolutely intolerable.
"You're only a few years older than me!"
"Age is not the issue!"
"That's not the point! You jerk!"
However, no matter how much Obito protested, Uchiha Yuto remained unfazed, speaking earnestly, "Remember, you're not penniless. Even if you can't be a ninja, you can still inherit your dad's billions. So don't worry about finishing your mission—if you're in danger, just run!"
Even though I'm only a few years older than you, and even though you might die before I do, that doesn't stop me from adopting you and giving you a chance to inherit my wealth.
"You idiot! I'm going to be Hokage!" Obito was so angry that he even pulled out a kunai, but as a ninja, he couldn't harm a village civilian for no reason.
That would violate the ninja code!
If I become Hokage, I'll ban milk tea shops in Konoha and see how he deals with that!
"Yuto, you..." Minato chuckled helplessly, shaking his head. "Stop teasing Obito."
"I'm serious about adopting him!"
"..."
Is that really the point?
Minato was speechless, shaking his head in disbelief. He then turned to Obito and the others, saying, "Still, you should all remember what Yuto said—always prioritize your own safety in dangerous situations."
The two of them nodded, acknowledging they understood, while Kakashi remained silent, arms crossed.
'How ironic', Yuto thought.
If someone told Kakashi that bonds were the most important thing, who would believe it?
In his early years, he lost his father. Later, he lost his best friend, his female…friend, his teacher, and his teacher's wife. Without Icha Icha Paradise to help him release some stress, Kakashi probably would have gone dark.
Obito, on the other hand, was different.
He only had a helpful heart, with no other hobbies. Without an outlet, he bottled up his emotions. Losing his first love made him completely despair of the world.
So yes, bottling up emotions is bad!
Having a hobby is incredibly important!
For the sake of peace in the ninja world and business opportunities, Yuto patted Obito on the shoulder. "If you ever need to, take up a hobby. If things get too tough, just come to me, and I'll take you out for some fun!"
"..."
All four of them had lines of exasperation on their foreheads.
But Uchiha Yuto didn't seem to care. He simply pulled out a huge stack of explosive tags from his robe—probably over a thousand—and handed them to Obito. "Here, take these! If you encounter any enemies, don't worry—just throw these at them! Don't be foolish and charge in headfirst!"
"Who would even want these! And stop trying to claim me as your son, you idiot!"
Minato and Kakashi's faces both twitched.
What kind of ninja would use so many explosive tags on a mission?
Normally, four or five would do, or maybe a dozen to set a trap. Using this many... isn't it impossible to recover the cost?
"Don't be shy!" Yuto shoved the tags into Obito's hands, then turned to Minato and gave a quick nod. "I won't hold you up any longer. There's still a lot of work to be done in the village."
With that, he waved goodbye to the group and left with his guards, heading toward the shop.
Minato watched Uchiha Yuto's retreating figure and smiled helplessly, shaking his head again. He then looked at the stack of explosive tags in Obito's hands and sighed. "Your father's pretty good to you."
"Minato-sensei!"
"Hahaha, just kidding!" Minato laughed, then said more seriously, "Keep those explosive tags safe. Lately, someone's been buying them in bulk, and their price has gone up several times!"
One tag now costs almost as much as a bowl of ramen with extra pork.
Looking down at the pile of tags, Minato thought, Could Yuto be behind this?
…
After his daily routine of "adopting sons," Yuto found himself on the streets of Konoha once again.
Honestly, if it weren't for Fugaku being his brother, he would've wanted to adopt Itachi as well—adopt all those with "issues" and make them heirs to his fortune. Turning them into prodigals was his dream.
Although...
They might die before he did!
But that didn't stop him from being their dad!
Unfortunately, adopting Itachi and raising him to be a prodigal would probably drive his brother insane, possibly enough to hit him with a Great Fireball Jutsu.
Arriving at Yuto BBQ, he glanced at the shopfront, three times the size of the milk tea shop next door, and nodded in satisfaction before heading over to Yuto Bubble Tea.
The moment he stepped inside, he spotted Uncle Sato busy at work.
"The boss is back?" Uncle Sato exclaimed happily.
"Yes, I'm back." Yuto smiled slightly, looking at Sato. "Seems like it's busy today!"
"It's been quite hectic. With the war escalating, tensions outside are getting worse, and a lot of ninjas come in for a cup of milk tea to relax after returning," Uncle Sato said with a sigh. "A while ago, a batch of ninjas rotated back to the village, so we've been getting a lot more orders these past few days."
Of course, the average daily orders had also dropped a little.
"Ah, war~" Uchiha Yuto sighed wistfully. "It's really bad for business, isn't it?"
Just as he finished speaking—
"Yuto!" A familiar voice rang out. Suzune came running up, full of joy, her arms full of paperwork and wearing the proud demeanor typical of the Hyuga clan. "You're back?"
"Just got back." Yuto nodded, acknowledging her presence. "Nothing's happened lately, has it?"
"Nope!" Suzune smiled. "Everything's been going according to your instructions, and the Yuto BBQ is finished as well. Just waiting for you to come back."
"Is that so? Then let's open it in a week!"
With his current status, at the very least, there needed to be a ribbon-cutting ceremony, right?
If it weren't for the ongoing war, he would have even wanted the Third Hokage to attend and cut the ribbon, to show off his status as a businessman with the Will of Fire. If that didn't work out, he could settle for inviting Lady Sarutobi Biwako, the Hokage's wife.
Although they didn't meet often and weren't very familiar, back when he was still a student, he wrote an essay titled "On the Nobility of the Third Hokage and the Elegance of the Hokage's Wife," and according to Kushina, Lady Biwako had taken quite a liking to him since then.
Of course.
He would still need to plan the grand opening event.
Yuto pondered for a moment, then suddenly noticed a suspicious figure at the entrance, wrapped up tightly and moving sneakily. Surprised, he furrowed his brow. "Jiraiya-sensei, you—mmph mmph mmph—"
Before he could finish speaking, a flash of light streaked by, and...
His mouth was swiftly covered.