Chapter 57: Sensei, I'm Planning Something Big (2/2)

Orochimaru sensitively picked up on the term "principal," which reminded him of a certain woman and her favorite pastime. However, he felt he might be overthinking it, so he cautiously asked, "Wakika-kun, did you mean to say 'deposit' instead?"

"No, not a deposit. I meant principal."

Wakika corrected seriously, "I'm planning to use this principal as leverage to pull off something big."

"..." Orochimaru had a growing sense of foreboding.

And that sense of foreboding was quite strong.

Wakika's Sharingan glowed with the three-tomoe pattern as he spoke with a serious expression, "Sensei, I've learned about a way to make a lot of money from the textbooks."

"In the ninja world, there's a special group of people who follow a simple yet unique rule. Within this rule, all investments have the potential for huge returns, but they could also become worthless."

Wakika lowered his voice, speaking mysteriously, "I've already mastered that rule. It's very simple, and my Sharingan can handle it easily."

"With just a few million ryo, I'm confident I can multiply that money rapidly in no time, enough to buy the land I want."

"Sensei... do you think my mission rewards will be enough?"

"..."

Orochimaru's expression stiffened.

Good news: he finally caught up with his disciple's train of thought and accurately predicted what he was thinking.

Bad news: his prediction was right...

"Wakika-kun..."

Orochimaru rubbed his temples slightly, feeling like he was missing something important, and his sense of foreboding grew stronger.

"What you read about in that textbook, it should be related to the 'Three Prohibitions' for ninja, right?"

A simple yet unique rule, with potential for great returns or total loss...

Wasn't that just gambling?

Wait a minute...

Orochimaru felt his thoughts were lagging again.

Since it was about the "Three Prohibitions," shouldn't someone as upright as Wakika be dismissive of such a thing?

"That's right," Wakika confirmed. "The Three Prohibitions say that this rule is called gambling, and that ninjas should stay away from it."

So you do know!

Orochimaru cautiously asked, "Then, Wakika-kun..."

"But the Uchiha aren't just ordinary ninjas," Wakika replied confidently.

"The Uchiha are guardians of the rules. Since the village allows the operation of casinos, it means that the village acknowledges gambling as a legitimate activity."

Wakika continued, as if it were obvious, "Gambling is not within the jurisdiction of the Konoha Military Police Force, so it's in line with the rules..."

"And I've already consulted Clan Leader Fugaku about it. He said my idea was great and offered to support me fully."

Orochimaru was stunned. "Clan Leader Fugaku also..."

Suddenly, Orochimaru realized something, and his heart skipped a beat. He asked, a bit nervously, "Wakika-kun, did you say... you already consulted with Clan Leader Fugaku?"

"Yes," Wakika nodded.

"When... did you do this?"

"Just now," Wakika blinked.

"Just now!?" Orochimaru thought to himself, this is bad.

"I had my shadow clone go back to the clan grounds earlier. I asked it to report to my grandmother that I'm safe and to ask her to save some dinner for me tonight. While there, I also had the clone show off my new companion to Clan Leader Fugaku and discuss my plan with him."

Ignoring Orochimaru's increasingly stiff expression, Wakika continued:

"My shadow clone also tried to borrow some money from Clan Leader Fugaku. Although we're rivals, he still agreed and said he wanted to see Kokuo himself."

"Judging by the time... we should be seeing them both very soon."

"..."

Orochimaru fell silent.

He looked at Wakika deeply, then stood up and turned to look in the direction of the village.

Wakika did the same.

In the distance, faintly visible figures could be seen.

It seemed like two groups were rapidly heading towards them from different directions...