Chapter 135: Chapter 135: Uchiha's Rewards and Attention
"I'm back," Obito exclaimed cheerfully as he entered the house and changed his shoes, informing his grandmother of his return.
"Hmm, is Grandma out for a walk?" Obito wondered when he received no response.
Normally, whenever he announced his return, Grandma would either come to the door to greet him or respond with her voice.
As Obito entered further, he realized it wasn't that Grandma wasn't there, but rather they had visitors. Grandma was entertaining guests, hence the delayed response.
"Obito, welcome home," Grandma said kindly with a gentle smile.
Curiously, Obito glanced at the guest sitting in the living room—a middle-aged man with brown hair dressed in deep blue attire.
Though unsure of the man's identity, Obito was certain he was from their Uchiha Clan, as indicated by the Ninja headband he wore and the Uchiha fan pattern on the back of his clothes.
"Obito, you've arrived just in time. Say hello to Uncle Yashiro," Grandma reminded.
"Hello, Uncle Yashiro," Obito obediently greeted the guest as instructed by his grandmother.
Uchiha Yashiro smiled and praised, "Ah, Obito, you're quite impressive. Among the Uchiha around your age, you're one of the best."
"Hehe, not too bad," Obito scratched his head and chuckled, not feeling particularly moved. Since he didn't even know the present Uchiha Yashiro, he wouldn't have much emotion from the praise of a stranger, unlike from his grandmother, Rin, or Mutsuki.
"Oh, by the way, Grandma, I got first place in the practical exam!" Obito eagerly shared the good news with his grandmother.
"Well, our Obito is truly amazing. I'm sure you'll become an excellent ninja after you graduate," Grandma said with a smile, patting Obito's head and praising him.
Uchiha Yashiro nodded inwardly upon hearing Obito's words, believing that Obito indeed deserved his visit. Although being first in the grade doesn't guarantee future strength, it does prove excellence at the current stage. He remembered an Uchiha named Tekka who was the same age as Obito; Tekka's strength was considered good for his age, but he had never taken first place in the grade.
"Keep up the good work and strive to become a ninja worthy of inheriting the glory of the Uchiha," Uchiha Yashiro said.
After speaking, Uchiha Yashiro placed some nutritional supplements he brought on the table, then counted out fifty thousand ryo and placed it on the table as well.
"We Uchiha are never stingy with our outstanding clan members. This is a reward for your achievements," Uchiha Yashiro said.
He didn't come here to chat with Obito's grandmother; although Uchiha tend to have many relatives, aside from immediate family, normal Uchiha wouldn't waste time chatting with the elderly. He came to Obito's house specifically to reward him.
This was a policy within the Uchiha clan; if a clan member's strength far surpassed others of the same age, they would be rewarded.
Obito should have received this reward during the final exams. However, the Uchiha Elders didn't assign anyone to specifically monitor the ninja school's results. Obito only had his grandmother, and among peers, he was only close to another Uchiha, Shisui. He had very little presence within the Uchiha clan. So, it wasn't until recently that the Uchiha realized Obito, this Uchiha child with little presence, had emerged as a Uchiha genius.
"Keep practicing well. After you graduate, you can join the clan's police force. I'll personally guide you when the time comes," Uchiha Yashiro continued.
In large clans, ninjas often enjoy certain privileges. The Hyuga Clan's privilege is that members of the main family can receive education within the clan and become genin without attending the Academy before participating in the Chunin exams. On the other hand, the Uchiha Clan's privilege is the Konoha police force.
The Konoha police force is fully controlled by the Uchiha, and all members are Uchiha clan ninjas. Uchiha can assign their clan members to any position within the force. If Obito can maintain his excellent strength, Uchiha Yashiro wouldn't mind becoming a sensei for Obito on his ninja path.
Maintaining this level of excellence is essential. Otherwise, what he said about guiding Obito would only involve initial familiarization with the work. The ancestral motto of the Uchiha Clan has always been "might makes right." There has never been sympathy for the weak. With strength, one can possess everything; without it, no matter how difficult your circumstances, no one will care.
"Thank you so much. I'll practice diligently," Obito said gratefully, selectively ignoring Uchiha Yashiro's suggestion to join the police force.
Seeing Obito's grateful expression, Uchiha Yashiro nodded inwardly.
"Make sure to interact more with your peers and senpais from the Uchiha clan. Only clan members are the most reliable strength."
"After you graduate as a Genin, you can apply to learn new Fire Release Ninjutsu within the clan." With that, Uchiha Yashiro left Obito's home.
"Our Obito is really making something of himself. Your father was never rewarded by the clan before. You're already surpassing your father's accomplishments," grandmother said cheerfully.
"Father..." Obito recalled in his mind, but couldn't find any trace associated with the word "father." His parents died before he had any memories.
However, precisely because he had no memories, Obito's childhood was relatively happy. With his grandmother by his side, he didn't lack love from elders.
"Grandma, please put the money away quickly, lest it blows away in the wind," Obito tidied up the money on the table and handed it to his grandmother.
"Obito, you keep it for yourself to buy something to eat. This is your own earnings, Grandma doesn't need it," grandmother said with a kindly smile.
"In that case, I'll leave the money with you, Grandma. I'm afraid I might lose it," Obito thought for a moment, took out one hundred ryo, and handed the rest to his grandmother.
In the end, grandmother accepted the money with a gratified expression.
"Obito, you're really thoughtful," grandmother sighed, "I just wonder when I'll get to hold my great-grandchild."
Upon hearing his grandmother mention holding a grandchild, Obito's face quickly turned red, and he reminded her, saying:
"Grandma, I'm still in school!"
Obito's grandmother smiled and replied, "Even in school, you can still develop relationships. Your father was your mother's classmate, you know."
"I think Rin-chan is a very nice girl. She seems caring. How have you been getting along lately?"
"I have to go study!" Obito, with a red face, ran upstairs.
...
"Turn, turn, turn... Looks like this is the place." Mutsuki looked up at the shop's name and walked in.
He felt the shop's name was rather abstract. If it weren't for the word "Ninjutsu" written next to it, most people probably wouldn't understand what the shop was selling.
If it weren't for Minato's recommendation, Mutsuki would probably have gone to a ninja tool shop with a more conventional name.
Inside the shop, Mutsuki glanced around. The counters and walls were filled with various ninja tools, including kunai and shuriken of various styles.
The arrangement inside the shop was no different from a typical ninja tool shop compared to its name.
"Customer, do you need any ninja tools?" a young man with a warm smile approached and asked.
"Can I borrow your equipment to craft ninja tools myself? I may need some assistance from you during the process," Mutsuki asked directly.
"Borrow equipment to craft yourself?" The young man was a bit puzzled. He had been running the ninja tool shop for several years and it was the first time he encountered such a request.
"If you're looking to craft specific ninja tools, our shop offers customization services," the young boss replied after giving it some thought.
Mutsuki felt the boss misunderstood him, so he explained, "I'm planning to personally craft a ninja tool to gift someone, emphasizing the sentimentality of handmade rather than practicality."
"Is that so? Well, that's quite thoughtful," the young boss said, suddenly realizing.
"Whether it's using equipment or needing assistance, I'll offer corresponding compensation. If any mishaps occur during the crafting process, I'll take full responsibility," Mutsuki stated.
Mutsuki didn't spend the salary and bonuses from the end of last semester, plus the earnings from the summer special training and one month's salary for the new semester. He left some expenses for emergencies. He had no problem budgeting within 700,000 ryo.
Mutsuki felt it shouldn't be that exaggerated. He didn't need anything like pure chakra metal or meteorite iron for construction. A normal quality kunai usually costs around 200 ryo, so even if multiplied by a thousand, it would only be 200,000 ryo.
"It must be for someone important, right? Luckily, you came to me. Nowadays, most of the ninja tool shops in Konoha basically purchase goods from elsewhere to sell. There are very few tools for forging ninja tools," the young boss thought for a moment and said.
Originally, he wanted to refuse, but when he thought about Mutsuki's thoughtful gesture and the promise of compensation, he decided to agree.
"Follow me." The young boss called over a young woman who seemed to be around his age to watch the shop, while he led Mutsuki out of the ninja tool shop.
Mutsuki followed the young boss to the backyard warehouse of their home.
"I occasionally craft some high-quality ninja tools to sell, but I use them less now. Selling ordinary ninja tools is more profitable," the young boss pointed to the forging equipment in the warehouse and said.
"Nowadays, it's all about mass production in factories. Times have changed," the young boss sighed.
When he was a child, he used to learn how to forge various ninja tools with his father. But over ten years later, times had changed. Handcrafting ninja tools was not only more exhausting but also inefficient.
Then the two discussed the prices. Mutsuki needed to pay for all the materials used during the process, and also provide a fee for the guidance from the boss.
Mutsuki planned to practice initially with ordinary materials. After becoming proficient, he would use better materials to start the formal crafting.
The birthdays of his three disciples were Shisui on October 19th, Guy on January 1st, and Obito on February 10th. The closest one was Shisui, with only eight days left. Considering the relevant books he had read before, Mutsuki felt that he could just about catch up by accelerating his learning with Shadow Clones.
Using Shadow Clones to practice Ninjutsu consumes a lot of Chakra because each Shadow Clone needs enough Chakra to use Ninjutsu. However, it's different when forging iron. Just be careful not to divide too much and accumulate too much fatigue.
Moreover, in the end, I can ask the boss for full assistance during the forging process, which should be enough to make up for many things.
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