147. The Power of Capital (Huge Mistake)

A giant python, conservatively estimated to be over twenty meters long, would undoubtedly crush a group of teenagers under fifteen if it were to use its weight. So, upon seeing the Grass ninja summon this giant snake, Shikamaru decisively made a decision: "Run!! We are absolutely no match for that thing!"

"Itachi!! How do you know that person?!"

However, Sasuke's emotions had undoubtedly been completely captivated by the Grass ninja's previous words. The hatred surging from his heart even overcame his inner fear, and he furiously roared at the Grass ninja standing atop the giant snake.

"Ah... that is naturally... Eh?!"

Before the Grass ninja could finish her smug words, she instinctively froze for a moment. Although Sasuke before her was indeed filled with rage, his footsteps faithfully followed Shikamaru's, and he quickly fled towards the other end of the campsite.

"Damn it~! Let go of me! Shikamaru!"

This contradictory behavior clearly had a reason: it was Shikamaru's Shadow Imitation Jutsu that forcibly dragged Sasuke along in their escape.

"No time for you to question this guy now. Can't you see we're no match for her? Tch! What a pain!"

In the original story, Shikamaru naturally wouldn't have bothered to excessively interfere with Sasuke's choices. But now, he clearly couldn't just stand by and watch the other party provoke a Grass ninja they clearly couldn't defeat. The reason, of course, was simple...

Although Hinata hadn't given any specific instructions, Shikamaru, as the group's accountant and strategist, naturally understood that ensuring the safety of the team members and the male lead of the film crew was quite necessary. Otherwise, if they returned to Hinata and she asked: Why didn't you rescue Sasuke when he was so close? Shikamaru felt that Hinata, with her petty nature, would absolutely not let it go.

"Hmph! Trying to escape? Interesting. Let's see if you can run faster than it can!"

Forced to interrupt mid-sentence, the Grass ninja's expression was clearly not good. The giant snake beneath her feet also seemed to sense a hint of its master's anger, and it let out a hiss, rapidly sliding down the tree trunk. Its massive body traversed the former campsite like an armored vehicle, aiming to chase the genin who had already fled beyond the camp's edge.

"Tch! Unfortunately, I wasn't planning on racing that giant worm~ Activate it!"

Pulling a steel wire at his feet, Shikamaru gritted his teeth and snapped it. As this simple tripwire trap was activated, a loud bang suddenly echoed from beneath the campsite. The formerly solid ground instantly turned into a muddy mire, trapping the enormous python directly in the mud!

"What?! This is... Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld?! But how could a brat like you—"

The Grass ninja standing atop the giant snake was shocked. Judging by the range of this swamp, its diameter even reached nearly thirty meters. To perform such a giant swamp would require a chakra amount of jounin level, but Shikamaru was only a genin. How could he possibly perform it?

"Of course I can't... but, ten thousand Ryo can..."

Even as lazy as Shikamaru was, he gritted his teeth, visibly pained. His words immediately made Sakura gasp, "What's going on, Shikamaru, stop keeping us in suspense! What does ten thousand Ryo have to do with that jutsu?!"

"Isn't that what I'm about to tell you? This is called a 'Ninjutsu Scroll,' a weapon made by powerful ninjas sealing their ninjutsu into special scrolls. After unrolling the scroll, the sealed ninjutsu can be released."

Reaching into his ninja tool pouch behind his waist, Shikamaru reluctantly pulled out the remaining four scrolls. "Ten thousand Ryo each, and if you buy four at once, you get an extra one... I spent fifty thousand Ryo on these five scrolls in one go. That's basically ten times what I've spent in all these years combined!"

Undoubtedly, these were Ninjutsu Scrolls, similar in principle to explosive tags. Unlike ordinary scrolls, these scrolls were essentially small sealing formulas themselves. They didn't store other things but rather various ninjutsu sealed within by their creators.

The principle of explosive tags was basically sealing a small fire-attribute explosion ninjutsu inside, resulting in a single effect but allowing for mass production.

Ninjutsu scrolls were much more troublesome. Because ninjutsu had different attributes, different sealing formulas were required for sealing. However, sealing jutsu itself was an extremely obscure and difficult-to-learn advanced ninjutsu, and very few people could learn it.

In such circumstances, even fewer people were willing to expend their chakra to create ninjutsu scrolls. And under the principle of rarity, the price of ninjutsu scrolls generally started at double the price of explosive tags and went up from there.

For example, the scrolls Shikamaru used in the original story when fighting Kakuzu and Hidan, which could summon water streams and shields, were genuine Ninjutsu Scrolls. These scrolls generally had no usage requirements; as long as they could be opened, the sealed ninjutsu could be successfully released. The only limitation was the price.

In the original story, Shikamaru would absolutely not have had enough money to buy Ninjutsu Scrolls. But now... Shikamaru, with a monthly salary in the hundreds of thousands, indicated that this amount of money was manageable.

Watching the giant snake struggling in the muddy swamp gradually sink, the fleeing Shikamaru and others couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Shino on the side also nodded slightly: "I see... We had already set up enough traps outside the base beforehand. If something of this magnitude could still invade the camp, it must be a large and unusually tough enemy. At this point, the Earth Release trap ninjutsu scroll placed beneath the camp comes in handy, right?"

"Ah~ But, speaking of which, I really didn't expect such an exaggeratedly huge monster."

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Shikamaru also released his shadow control on Sasuke. Sasuke, now calmer, gritted his teeth and glanced back, but ultimately didn't do anything to separate from the group.

"Eh? The scrolls you mentioned, ten thousand Ryo each, buy four get one free, aren't they like this too?"

At this moment, Sakura, who was escaping on the side, seemed to remember something and pulled out a red-backed scroll from her ninja tool pouch behind her waist. On the surface of the scroll, a frog-shaped ink stamp could be seen, seemingly a special commercial mark.

"Ah~! That's it! I met an old man with white hair who called himself a 'Toad Sage' selling these ten days ago when I was doing a mission outside the village. You too?"

Shikamaru, surprised, quickly compared the scroll in his hand. Indeed, except for the different background color of the scroll, the frog-shaped ink stamp was completely identical.

"No mistake... I met that guy eight days ago while on a mission outside the village... I originally didn't want to buy them, but the old man said he hadn't eaten for half a month and seemed truly pitiful, so I softened and bought them. I was worried I had been tricked, but now it seems they actually work."

Sakura also looked at the scroll in her hand in surprise. She had originally bought it with a kind heart and because she genuinely wasn't short on money. She never expected it to be so useful!

"Actually... I think Ino and I also bought some..."

Looking at the scrolls in Sakura's and Shikamaru's hands, Choji, who was following behind, also suddenly realized and took out five scrolls from his backpack.

Ino on the side was already a bit fed up: "Enough! I ask you! Was he a perverted old man with a fake mustache, white hair, and eyes that always lecherously scanned girls?"

"Huh? Ino, you know too? I thought you were operating separately from me that day?"

Shikamaru was also surprised. Could it be that he and Ino didn't encounter the same person? But Ino's description matched perfectly.

"Did he also say he hadn't eaten for half a month, and if he didn't sell any more scrolls, he would starve to death?!"

Ino, already at her boiling point, roared as she pulled out five ninjutsu scrolls with identical stamps from her ninja tool pouch behind her waist. Undoubtedly, she had bought these five scrolls at the time, probably driven by a feeling of self-absorbed (being touched by her own kindness), but now that she thought about it, it was all just sweet talk concocted by that old swindler who called himself the "Toad Sage"!

In other words, the precious and pure heart of a maiden was once again defiled by harsh and dirty reality.

"...Actually... on my side, and Kiba's side too..."

Shino also silently reached into his ninja tool pouch behind his waist and likewise took out five ninjutsu scrolls. Combined with his words, it was clear that Kiba on the other side had also fallen into this compassion trap.

"...That guy who calls himself the 'Toad Sage'... it seems he's been committing crimes by wandering around the towns in the Land of Fire near Konoha Village recently... that's why he managed to deceive so many people..."

Sasuke no longer felt his previous anger and fear. Instead, he felt a mixture of amusement and exasperation, unsure what to say. Undoubtedly, these ten-thousand-Ryo scrolls would likely be unaffordable for others, even if they wanted them. Only Hinata's group, who weren't short on money and were all quite "easy to fool," could have fallen for such a trick. However...

"Wait a moment, he didn't really lie to us, did he?... Didn't we just see? These scrolls are indeed very powerful..."

Pressing his temples, Shikamaru finally caught on and instinctively began to calculate: "I just used one, so I have four left. Plus the twenty ninjutsu scrolls from Shino, Sakura, Ino, and Choji, that means we still have a total of twenty-four powerful ninjutsu scrolls... So..."

Blinking, Shikamaru tilted his head subtly.

"Perhaps, we don't need to keep running anymore, huh?"

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(PS1: Hmm~ o(￣▽￣)o~ So, capital and money, that's power~!)

(PS2: Someone previously asked about Jiraiya's fate as a struggling writer, so~ I guess you know now~~)

(PS3: Alright, what do you think of this encounter where they overwhelm Orochimaru with money? So, as usual, please vote~~~(≧▽≦)/~cheers)

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