At the Konoha Military Police Force headquarters, Fugaku Uchiha, patriarch of the Uchiha clan, sat behind his desk with a grave expression as he studied the document in his hands.
After reading through it, Fugaku frowned and looked at the clansman beside him.
“So…
the Uchiha clan’s expenses have grown too high?”
Setsuna Uchiha nodded solemnly.
“Yes.
For some reason, everyone has recently been buying a book called Taimanin.
It’s incredibly expensive, costing several thousand ryō per copy…”
“Most of our clansmen can’t afford it, so they’ve been asking whether their pay can be increased.”
Fugaku’s brow furrowed.
“Taimanin?
What kind of book is that?”
After considering the matter for a moment, Fugaku nodded.
“Don’t worry.
The Uchiha clan still has ample reserves.
We can increase the compensation for missions to an appropriate degree.”
…
In the Police Force lobby, Itachi led Sasuke inside, immediately drawing the attention of the Uchiha shinobi present.
“Isn’t that Itachi?”
“What’s wrong?
Are you here to accept a couple of missions?”
“Hahaha!
If you’re looking for a mission, I happen to have one that would give you some excellent experience…”
“Tch.
That mission is pretty dangerous.”
“It’ll be fine!
Itachi is the genius of our Uchiha clan.
His strength is already approaching the jōnin level.
He could easily handle it…”
The Uchiha shinobi called out enthusiastically.
As the Uchiha clan’s resident genius, Itachi was a source of great pride to them.
However, the more Itachi listened, the redder his face became.
He had just been completely crushed by a six-year-old boy…
“Ahem…”
Itachi coughed awkwardly to conceal his embarrassment before hurrying deeper into the headquarters.
The Uchiha clansmen froze.
“What’s wrong with him?”
They exchanged glances before moving toward the office door in perfect unison and pressing their ears against it.
…
Fugaku looked surprised when he saw Itachi enter.
“Itachi?
What brings you here?” Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
His son was unusually mature and had formed his own opinions at a very young age.
Unless something important happened, Itachi rarely came looking for him.
Had something happened this time?
Itachi lowered his head, his face bright red.
“Father, I’ve caused trouble.”
Fugaku became even more surprised.
What kind of trouble could his mature son possibly have caused?
Despite his confusion, Fugaku couldn’t help feeling gratified.
The fact that Itachi had come straight to him after causing trouble meant that Fugaku still commanded considerable respect in his son’s eyes.
“Tell me what happened.”
Flushing with embarrassment, Itachi recounted the entire incident.
By the time Fugaku heard that Sasuke had lost more than 80 million ryō and had even gambled away his own older brother, his expression had turned pitch-black.
Damn it!
You little brat!
Why didn’t you just gamble me away while you were at it?
Fugaku glared fiercely at Sasuke, frightening the boy into immediately hiding behind his older brother.
Fugaku exhaled and said solemnly, “It’s fine.
He’s only a child, after all.
Naruto Uzumaki enjoys gambling, doesn’t he?”
“Itachi, challenge him to another bet and see how much you can win back.”
“If he refuses to continue gambling, then as for the 80 million…
the Uchiha clan can pool its resources and pay it.”
Itachi’s face grew even redder.
Lowering his head, he murmured, “I-I already challenged Naruto Uzumaki to another bet…”
Fugaku paused.
Itachi continued, “And then…
I lost 160 million ryō…”
Fugaku was speechless.
The Uchiha clansmen outside were equally speechless.
Bang!
With a tremendous crash, the office door collapsed to the floor.
More than a dozen Uchiha shinobi who had been leaning against it tumbled into the room one after another.
None of them cared about their fall.
They immediately scrambled to their feet and stared at Itachi in disbelief.
“Itachi, y-you lost 160 million ryō?!”
“How did you lose that much gambling against a little kid?!”
“That’s more than the entire Uchiha clan earns in five years!
What in the world did you bet on?!”
“Did that damned Naruto Uzumaki use some kind of trick?!”
“Damn it!
How dare he scam the Uchiha clan?
Does he have a death wish?!”
Completely disregarding the presence of their clan leader, the Uchiha shinobi roared furiously.
Was this some kind of joke?!
One hundred sixty million ryō!
Even the combined bounties on ten elite jōnin might not amount to 160 million ryō!
How could Itachi possibly have lost that much?
It was practically 200 million!
Naruto Uzumaki must have used some kind of trick.
The Uchiha clansmen weren’t the only ones who thought so.
Fugaku shared their suspicions.
He tapped the desk and asked solemnly, “Itachi, what did you compete in?”
“Did that Naruto Uzumaki cheat?”
“Or did he use some method to deceive you?”
Itachi’s face had turned crimson, his skin burning with embarrassment.
Lowering his head, he whispered, “Naruto Uzumaki and I competed in…
in…
kunai throwing.”
“…”
The room instantly fell silent.
“…”
“Huh?!”
Fugaku blinked and instinctively asked, “What did you compete in?”
Had his ears stopped working?
How else could he have heard something so utterly ridiculous?
Itachi answered, “Kunai throwing…”
Fugaku fell silent.
The Uchiha clansmen fell silent.
Every Uchiha present stared blankly at him.
What?!
Kunai throwing?!
That was something an Uchiha could lose at?!
The Uchiha shinobi exchanged glances, each seeing the same shock reflected in the others’ eyes.
“Itachi, you’re joking, right?”
The clansmen stared at him in disbelief.
This was beyond ridiculous.
It was the kind of ridiculous that made the word itself feel inadequate.
Who in the entire shinobi world didn’t know that the Uchiha clan excelled at kunai throwing?
Fire Release, genjutsu, and kunai throwing could be considered the Uchiha clan’s three signature arts.
And yet…
Some little brat had utterly humiliated them at one of their own specialties.
This…
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