Chapter 11: Going to the Grove

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On Konoha Street, Satoru Hyūga slapped a stack of ryo in his hand, frowning as he planned how to spend the money to its maximum potential.

Originally, the living allowance of 1,500 ryo had tripled to 4,500 ryo. It was probably about as much as what one could earn from a rank-one mission. It wasn't a huge amount, but it wasn't too little either.

Adding the savings he had left over from buying the Storage Scroll before, customizing some metal arrows shouldn't be too much of a problem.

The main thing was to find a suitable ninja tool shop. If it was too high-class, he couldn't afford to have many made. If it was too shabby, it wouldn't achieve the effects he expected.

Sigh, it's so hard being broke. If only he could be kept by a rich woman.

Satoru Hyūga couldn't help complaining. Why was he in debt in his past life, and still have to worry about money after transmigrating?

While looking for a ninja tool shop, Satoru Hyūga deliberately avoided the area where the previous shop was located. After all, Uchiha Rin said that the whole street belonged to her family, and he had injured her during the assessment. So it was better to avoid her if possible.

Unexpectedly, the moment he walked into that ninja tool shop, the clerk lady immediately rushed up to him enthusiastically.

"Is that Satoru Hyūga-kun? I've been waiting for you for a long time."

???

"Are you guys kidding me?"

The clerk lady said excitedly, "That's right, it's you. Our young miss said that whenever you come, we have to give you the best treatment!"

Young miss? Could it be Uchiha Rin once more?

The corner of Satoru Hyūga's mouth twitched faintly. He didn't expect that after deliberately going around half the village, it was still her shop.

"How many shops does your young miss's family really own?" Satoru Hyūga couldn't help asking.

"Not that many. Almost half of the ninja tool shops in Konoha are ours."

"..."

"What about outside of Konoha?"

"Um, there are also dozens of them."

Satoru Hyūga was speechless.

The clerk girl said, "Although our boss is from the Uchiha clan, she's not good at fighting but is very skilled in business. Thanks to her connection with Nekobaa, the business has naturally expanded."

"The young miss born into such an environment has had a strong competitive streak since childhood."

Alright... Satoru Hyūga pursed his lips. It seems that the rich woman and grind personas of Uchiha Rin are here to stay.

"Customize a kind of arrow for me. The material has to be metal. It'd be great if it's..."

Satoru Hyūga was too lazy to look for other shops, so he put forward his requirements one by one.

"How much?" he asked cautiously. After all, being short on money, he didn't have the confidence to speak loudly.

"1,000 ryo."

"1,000 ryo?" Satoru Hyūga exclaimed in surprise.

It wasn't that it was pricey, but it was much cheaper than he had anticipated. According to his previous estimate, the price should at least have been...

"Yes." The clerk lady smiled. "The young miss has instructed us to give you a discount."

"Is that so?" Satoru Hyūga stroked his chin. Since she was willing to let him take advantage, he couldn't just turn down her kindness.

"Make five more arrows according to the previous specifications, using chakra metal."

"Er... okay."

It would take a few days to have the arrows customized. The next day, when Satoru Hyūga arrived at school, he noticed that the way his classmates stared at him had changed.

Shock, envy, admiration, jealousy... All sorts of emotions were mingled in their stares and directed at Satoru Hyūga.

Satoru Hyūga saw Iruka looking at him with a complicated expression. When Iruka noticed Satoru Hyūga looking back, he immediately turned his head away, not wanting to make eye contact.

Just as he took his seat, he saw Anko beside him curiously lean over.

"Hey, Satoru, are you really the one with double Kekkei Genkai that they've been talking about?"

"Of course." Satoru Hyūga rolled his eyes at her. How could she be so slow-witted.

"I never thought there would be someone with two Kekkei Genkai at the same time. It's really incredible. I thought one was the limit."

"Have you eaten too much dessert and gone dumb? There have been double Kekkei Genkai ninjas in Kirigakure before. They're rare but not extinct. Read more books, okay?"

If it were before, Anko would have immediately retorted loudly when mocked like this by Satoru Hyūga, but now that she knew he was a double Kekkei Genkai genius, she just quietly nodded and said, "Oh".

Just then, Satoru Hyūga noticed someone walking towards them. Looking up, he saw it was Uchiha Rin.

"What's up?"

Satoru Hyūga's voice wasn't very loud. He had swindled the other person a bit when buying the arrows yesterday, and now he felt a bit guilty.

Uchiha Rin said calmly, "Let's have a fight after school."

Satoru Hyūga:???

No way? Just because of a few chakra metal arrows? Is it really worth it? I'll just pay the money back, in installments.

As if sensing the inappropriateness of her words, Uchiha Rin thought for a while and said, "I wasn't convinced of losing to you last time. I've learned some new ninjutsu. Let's have another match after school."

Satoru Hyūga heaved a sigh of relief and couldn't help but think to himself, Aniki, if you want to have a match, just say so. What do you mean by "have a fight"?

"Compared to Kakashi, you're a more suitable opponent for me."

Uchiha Rin paused and added, "If you agree, I'll cover all the costs of your ninja tools from now on."

This is promising indeed!

The corner of Satoru Hyūga's mouth twitched slightly. To develop the Electromagnetic Force ability, the consumption of ninja tools is essential. He couldn't rely on his clan. Since Uchiha Rin was willing to be a sucker, why not take advantage of it?

After confirming the time and place, Uchiha Rin returned to her seat.

Beside him, Anko curiously leaned over and whispered, "Satoru, what's your relationship with that Uchiha Rin?"

Satoru Hyūga thought for a while and said, "Supplier."

Anko:???

After school, Uchiha Rin followed Satoru Hyūga to the forest on the back mountain (the mountain behind the school). A stream meandered gently through the trees, and the Afterglow of the setting sun filtered through the gaps in the treetops onto the dead leaves on the ground. It was really cozy.

"Is this where you usually train? Why don't you train in the training ground of your clan?"

Uchiha Rin looked around and couldn't help but ask as she did so.

"There are too many stubborn people in the clan. Training there would be rather restrictive." Satoru Hyūga shrugged.

Hearing Satoru Hyūga's words, Uchiha Rin thought of some of the elders in the Uchiha clan. Her eyebrows furrowed involuntarily, and she nodded in agreement.

"Indeed, there are always many old fogeys in big clans."

Satoru Hyūga clicked his tongue. Looking at Uchiha Rin, he couldn't help but say, "To be honest, I didn't think you'd really come?"

Uchiha Rin raised an eyebrow and looked at Satoru Hyūga.

"Why do you say that?"

"Um..."

"Do you know that going to a grove with a male classmate has another meaning in some places..."

"What meaning?"

There was a hint of confusion in Uchiha Rin's pitch-black eyes as she stared directly at him.

Satoru Hyūga pursed his lips. It had to be said that Uchiha Rin had great looks. She was that kind of cold, long black-haired loli.

But at this moment, a voice kept echoing in his mind.

I'm not into child exploitation, nor am I into young girls in that way.

Although there were plenty of people in the ninja world who got married at the age of thirteen or so, Satoru Hyūga's views still carried over from his past life. He kept his distance from this young rich girl in front of him.

More importantly, he was worried that if they got too close, he'd be ground to death by her! After all, besides being a rich girl, she was also a grind.

"Forget it. I don't want to discuss such boring topics with you."

A hint of impatience appeared on Uchiha Rin's face.

"Let's just start fighting directly!"