But if their artistic skills could actually imbue their paintings with genjutsu, that would be even better.
A painting was supposed to make people feel as though they were actually standing inside the scene!
The more extraordinary something like that was, the more valuable it would be.
Perhaps they could even add a Supreme Edition to the daimyo-grade toothpicks and charge an even higher price!
As for whether the girl from the Kurama Clan would agree, Hatake Shibu hadn’t even considered that possibility.
Even if she refused, someone else from her clan would agree.
After all, it was money!
Maintaining a huge clan required an enormous amount of money, so all the major clans had more or less developed their own businesses.
The Nara Clan sold medicinal herbs, while the Akimichi Clan had ventures in the food industry, and so on.
All of this was done so that the clan’s shinobi could focus more wholeheartedly on improving their strength.
After all, in the shinobi world, strength was the most important thing.
Only strength could protect them!
“Obito! Take me to meet someone from the Kurama Clan!”
Hearing Shibu’s words, Uchiha Obito nodded.
“No problem!”
Cooperating with the Kurama Clan would certainly work too, but doing so would obviously mean giving up a larger share of the profits.
That didn’t fit Shibu’s strategy.
A private partnership would require giving up less.
After all, it was all about money!
Although dusk had already arrived, there was still plenty of time.
There was more than an hour before nightfall, so they could still make the trip and discuss things in person.
After taking countless twists and turns, Hatake Shibu was completely speechless.
Why would anyone build their home in a place this remote?
The entire area was surrounded by deep mountains and dense forests.
The road perfectly embodied Lu Xun’s famous saying:
There was no road in the world to begin with.
When enough people walk it, a road appears.
This wasn’t even really a road.
It was nothing more than a dirt path literally trampled into existence by people’s footsteps.
The surface was uneven, and every now and then they had to take a detour.
The house in the distance clearly looked as though it was already within reach.
Yet after walking for more than ten minutes, they still hadn’t arrived.
I’m only four years old!
Why do I have to suffer like this?
If he had known this would happen, he should have chosen a generous, wealthy father back then.
He shouldn’t have picked Hatake Sakumo, that stingy bastard!
“Obito, how much farther?”
Hatake Shibu stared at the house that seemed to be right in front of him and finally voiced his doubt to Uchiha Obito.
If Obito hadn’t been right beside him, Shibu would have thought he had fallen victim to some kind of genjutsu.
His natural resistance to genjutsu was considerably higher than that of ordinary people.
Obito scratched his head.
“We’re here! Isn’t it right up there?”
“We just need to walk over.”
“Seriously! You’re the one who wanted to come, yet you’re the one complaining!”
“Damn it! Before lecturing someone else, at least change the words you’re going to say!”
“This is the fifth time you’ve said that to me!”
Hatake Shibu was practically going crazy.
Normally, his patience and stamina were definitely better than Obito’s.
But anyone would lose their patience after being told we’re almost there five times in a row.
Uchiha Obito awkwardly rubbed his nose.
It had been the same when he came here before.
He had simply wanted to see Hatake Shibu suffer for once.
“Hehe, this time we’re really there.”
“Just go up this way and we’ll arrive.”
Hatake Shibu looked at the steep slope beside them, then glanced at the beautiful house above.
How exactly did these people build a house in a place like this?
Fortunately, this was the world of shinobi.
If this had been his previous life, nobody would have dared build something like this here.
Did they have a freaking mine in their backyard or something?
Fortunately, Hatake Shibu was a shinobi.
Although he wasn’t officially a shinobi yet, the students at the Ninja Academy could essentially already be considered reserve shinobi.
If necessary, Sarutobi Hiruzen could throw them onto the battlefield without hesitation.
Just thinking about that was enough for Hatake Shibu to conclude that Sarutobi Hiruzen had failed to inherit the will of the First Hokage.
After reaching the top, Uchiha Obito knocked on the door.
A girl’s voice soon came from inside.
Looking at the surrounding environment, Shibu couldn’t help wondering who had been cruel enough to leave a girl alone in the middle of these remote mountains.
“Who is it?”
“Is that you, Obito?”
The girl’s voice was soft, carrying a hint of childish innocence.
Clearly, she had never experienced the harshness of society.
Hatake Shibu rubbed his chin.
This place was so secluded that even if someone happened to discover it, they probably wouldn’t dare enter the house.
After all, stumbling across a luxurious mansion in the middle of a remote mountain forest wasn’t exactly an invitation to walk inside.
This was the shinobi world, after all.
Put simply, it was an ancient society with strange supernatural powers and surprisingly advanced technology.
Belief in and fear of ghosts and spirits was perfectly normal.
“It’s me, Big Sis Keiko!”
“Honestly! Didn’t I tell you not to come here anymore?”
The door soon opened.
Uchiha Obito was still wearing his silly grin as he introduced the girl in front of them.
“Big Sis Keiko, this is my classmate. His name is Hatake Shibu!”
Hatake Shibu looked at Kurama Keiko and nodded.
“Hello. Just call me Shibu.”
Kurama Keiko was clearly somewhat nervous.
“H-hello. My name is Kurama Keiko.”
Only then did she realize that she hadn’t invited them inside.
“Please, come in!”
Some time later, Hatake Shibu was sitting in the living room of the mansion, drinking tea.
From this alone, it was obvious that this girl’s status wasn’t ordinary.
After all, he had only ever seen this kind of tea inside his cheap father’s precious drawer.
As for how he knew that…
That was a sad story.
The story began with a tiny egg.
Back then, Hatake Sakumo’s birthday was approaching.
In order to give his beloved father an unforgettable birthday, Hatake Shibu had decided to cook something himself.
He wanted his cheap father to taste a traditional delicacy from the ancient Eastern country of his previous life.
Of course, the main reason was that he was craving it himself.
The food in the shinobi world was perfectly fine in every other respect.
It simply wasn’t tasty enough!
It wasn’t that their cooking skills were bad.
Their food simply didn’t suit his palate.
As someone who had grown up surrounded by the cuisine of an ancient culinary civilization, how could he possibly get used to this?
That evening, he took out his pocket money and went to the market.
After battling the egg-selling auntie for three hundred rounds, he finally bought more than a dozen eggs at twice the market price.
As for why he paid double?
Obviously, it was so he could get reimbursed later.
Otherwise, where would the profit be?
Although he hadn’t awakened his system at that time, he had spent his previous life struggling through society.
A seasoned old hand at life.
Yes, a seasoned old hand.
Naturally, he understood the importance of money.
Money wasn’t everything.
But without money, nothing could be done.
Whether it was getting married in the future or purchasing ninja tools, everything required money.
In this society, money represented access to resources.
Without money, life would truly become difficult at every turn.