The Days of Being the Richest Man in the Ninja World

Bonus chapters are available at [patreon.com/kurato6180].

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Chapter 7. Square Dance Diplomacy

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"Thanks a lot, Yuto!" 

"No problem, Minato. They're all Konoha's hope." Yuto smiled faintly, looking at Minato. "But being too naive or too extreme is never good. You've had a tough time too, haven't you, Minato?" 

"Yeah. Obito is too naive and far too emotional. If he encounters an unexpected situation, he'll be devastated." Minato sighed and nodded. "Kakashi, on the other hand, thinks that missions are the most important because of what happened to Lord Sakumo. That's also why the Third Hokage brought him back now." 

Minato recalled that the day Kakashi returned, the Third Hokage met with him and discussed Kakashi, hoping Minato could guide him onto the right path and strengthen his bond with his teammates. 

That's probably why Obito and Kakashi were assigned to work together. 

Obito. 

He's also a ninja with the Will of Fire. 

Thinking of this, Minato glanced again at Uchiha Yuto. 

The Uchiha clan had both Uchiha Obito and Uchiha Yuto, two ninjas with the Will of Fire. Surely, they would reintegrate into Konoha. 

At that moment... 

"Minato!" A female ninja with red hair skipped over, excited to see Minato. 

"Kushina." 

"Sister Kushina." Uchiha Yuto smiled faintly, greeted her, then turned to Minato, saying, "I'll leave you two alone!" 

Back when he was still a student, he was quite familiar with both Kushina and Minato. 

"Aren't you coming with us? I'll treat you to some ramen!" 

"No thanks! Your students in the store will take care of it. Don't be fooled by how Uncle Sato looks now—he was quite an excellent chunin back in the day! I won't intrude on your date." He winked playfully. 

"Thanks!" Minato blushed slightly and scratched his cheek, embarrassed. 

"Let's go, Minato! Hurry!" Kushina didn't seem to care and pulled Minato along casually. Then, she looked at Yuto and said, "Well done, Yuto! You haven't come to see your sister in so long, you little brat! But I won't bother you two!" She winked playfully. "And..." 

"Are you having strawberries today? I'll make sure the shop arranges it." Yuto smiled helplessly as he watched Kushina wave goodbye, with Minato looking apologetic. 

Was he lucky? Or unlucky? 

"Senior Kushina and Senior Minato are really a perfect match!" said a voice next to him. 

Yuto turned and saw Hyuga Suzune beside him, smiling softly as she watched Minato and Kushina leave. He nodded in agreement. "It's still early. Shall we take a walk?" 

"Sure, Yuto!" Suzune's white eyes seemed to brighten a bit as she nodded and walked beside Yuto. 

The two of them walked quietly. 

It was the time of the Third Shinobi World War, so Konoha's commercial activity wasn't very prosperous. Or rather, the economy of the entire ninja world was still developing. One could say... it was full of both opportunities and risks. 

As a result, there wasn't much to do in the village, just a simple walk. Minato and Kushina would probably find a secluded spot in the woods to enjoy some quiet time together. Of course, nothing in Konoha escaped the Third Hokage's Jutsu. 

As the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails, Kushina naturally attracted more attention than most. 

"By the way, the Uchiha clan's activities for the elderly have caught a lot of attention, and the elders of the Hyuga clan are hoping to join. My brother asked me to discuss it with you." Suzune looked a little embarrassed, sticking her tongue out playfully. "The elders in the family are quite stingy. They don't want to spend their own money and are hesitant to approach the Uchiha clan leader, so they asked me to talk to you. Should I turn them down?" 

"No need, this is great!" Yuto's lips curled slightly. He didn't mind others taking advantage of his generosity. A little bit of money was nothing—a few more shops could be built to cover it. What he feared was that others would distance themselves from him. But, given that it was still wartime, they had to be cautious. 

"Any clan is welcome. If they want to join, they can. There will be professionals to guide them. It's good for the elderly to get more exercise. By the way, what does the Hokage think? After all, we're still in the middle of a war." 

A while ago, Sakumo Hatake had taken his own life due to the weight of his guilt. Although he was later honored as a Hero of Konoha, the atmosphere in the village was still somewhat tense. 

Would having too much fun now make the Hokage think they lacked awareness of the bigger picture? 

"The Third Hokage is very supportive. He thinks the atmosphere in the village is too tense. Even though we're still in a time of war, he hopes the village can relax a bit." Suzune smiled. "That way, the village will be more vibrant!"

She glanced at Yuto's handsome profile, recalling how she once envied his talent and felt insecure. She had always been alone back then. But Yuto, still a child at the time, had comforted and encouraged her, training alongside her.

She had never expected... 

That Yuto would end up not becoming a ninja.

With determination in her voice, she said, "No matter what you choose to do, Yuto, I will support you!"

"???" Yuto looked at Suzune, confused by her sudden statement, then smiled and nodded. "Thank you!"

He owed much of his current success to Suzune's help. He remembered how, when everyone else mocked him, only Suzune had stayed by his side. They had chosen store locations together, built the shops, and even worked as servers together. They had survived the difficult early days of his business.

"By the way, your older brother, Clan Leader Hiashi, should be getting married soon, right?" Uchiha Yuto seemed to remember something, frowning in thought. "I don't think I'll be able to attend his wedding. Suzune, make sure to give my gift to Clan Leader Hiashi on my behalf!"

Hyuga Suzune was the younger sister of Hyuga Hiashi and Hyuga Hizashi. However, due to her lack of talent, after her eldest brother became the head of the main family and her second brother the leader of the branch family, she could only become an ordinary ninja in the branch family.

Being part of the branch family with ordinary blood... the death rate was quite high in their duty to protect the main family.

Yuto remembered when she was still a shy, insecure girl with no friends, no strength, and often ridiculed. Who would've thought that she'd become such an outstanding professional woman today?

Yuto admired the quiet pride typical of the Hyuga women. Impressive indeed!

However…

After a brief silence, Suzune smiled slightly and said, "I'll remember that. When do you plan to leave, Yuto? Do you need to request an escort mission?"

"The day after tomorrow! The ninja world hasn't been very peaceful lately. The sooner I leave, the sooner I can return. As for an escort… that won't be necessary. The guards in the trade caravan will suffice." Yuto sighed, glancing at the sunset. "The sun's almost set. Let me walk you home."

"Alright!"

…

Meanwhile...

After being taught some basic ninja knowledge by Uncle Sato and completing a few deliveries, a tired Obito dragged himself home.

"I'm home."

However...

Once again, there was no response.

It had been like this for several days. Every day when he returned home, his grandma wasn't there. It seemed that every morning and evening, she would go out with her friends to dance or something.

Although he hadn't eaten with his grandma in a while, Uchiha Obito was still quite happy to see her in such good spirits. His grandma staying home all the time wasn't good either.

Looking at the dinner already prepared in the pot, he sighed helplessly, "Looks like I'll be eating alone again tonight."

He couldn't figure out what exactly his grandma had found so interesting.

…

At the same time...

In the Uchiha clan compound.

An elderly Uchiha, leaning on a cane, looked at Uchiha Fugaku and said calmly, "Clan Leader, I've heard that the clan has been wasting a lot of money on those useless old people recently."

"It's not wasting the clan's money, Elder."

"Uchiha Yuto..."

"He has already been expelled from the Uchiha clan. He is a disgrace to the Uchiha!"

"And the money?"

"It's just his way of showing gratitude for the Uchiha clan raising him. I don't have the authority to interfere. He will handle things on his own." Fugaku crossed his arms, speaking indifferently.

"Foolishness! If we had that much money, we could improve the benefits for our Uchiha ninjas, yet it's being spent on such useless things." The old man, known as the Great Elder, had a glint in his eye. "I will personally go and have a talk with that boy, Yuto!"

He recalled... back then, he had been very considerate of Yuto, who had been quite a genius and very devoted to the Uchiha clan.