Eight million ryō?
After hearing Richard's answer, Uzuki Yugao frowned slightly.
On the surface, a 20% discount didn't seem particularly generous. But in reality, it was an extremely favorable offer—a full two million ryō off the original price!
Yugao knew that eight million ryō wasn't excessive for the vibranium katana she was holding. Yet for someone in her position, it remained dauntingly expensive.
As an Anbu member who primarily carried out classified missions, her financial situation was limited. Even if she weren't in Anbu and operated solely as a special jōnin, she could only accept A-rank missions at most.
While A-rank missions offered rewards between 150,000 and 1 million ryō, the average payout was merely 400,000 ryō. That meant she would need to complete twenty A-rank missions just to afford this sword.
After pondering for a moment, Yugao looked up at Richard. "Could I... pay in installments?"
For an ordinary katana, she would never consider such an arrangement. But the more she examined the vibranium blade in her hands, the more entranced she became.
Not only was its sharpness and durability far beyond conventional weapons, but it presented an irresistible opportunity for both her and Hayate Gekkō, practitioners of Konoha's swordsmanship style.
The weapon's exceptional qualities exceeded her wildest expectations. In her mind, she could already envision herself and Hayate passing the jōnin exams with this magnificent blade.
Neither she nor Hayate possessed extraordinary natural talent as shinobi. Without some exceptional advantage, special jōnin would likely remain their ceiling. But this vibranium katana offered them a genuine chance at promotion.
"Since you're the first customer to visit our shop, installment payments aren't out of the question," Richard replied, his expression thoughtful. "However..."
He didn't finish his sentence, instead studying Yugao with a slightly furrowed brow.
"What is it?" she asked.
"If you have any conditions, please state them directly. As long as it's within my capabilities, I won't refuse," Yugao responded hastily, not giving it much thought.
"I don't have any special requirements. But for installment purchases, I need some assurance you won't default on payments," Richard explained. "Our shop is a small business. A default would create significant problems for me."
"I understand completely. My name is Uzuki Yugao. I'm a special jōnin of the village. I live at..."
Without hesitation, Yugao provided her name, rank, address, and other identifying information. She omitted only her Anbu affiliation while sharing everything else about herself.
Richard could see that Yugao genuinely desired the vibranium katana. Otherwise, as an Anbu operative, she wouldn't appear so excited about a mere weapon.
When Yugao finished reciting her credentials, Richard retrieved a blank scroll and pen from his system space. He unrolled it before her and began writing swiftly.
"How many installments did you have in mind?" he asked.
"Sixty installments... No, thirty-six installments, would that work?"
Yugao's initial thought was to spread payments across sixty installments—five years. But she caught herself mid-sentence, realizing that five years was excessive.
Looking strictly at her age, she was only 22 with potentially decades of life ahead. The problem was that she wasn't an ordinary citizen but a shinobi. Early death was commonplace in her profession.
The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, exemplified this harsh reality. When he died, Minato was merely 24—only two years older than she was now.
More critically, as an Anbu operative, she faced death during missions at any moment.
"Thirty-six installments? No problem," Richard said as he drafted the agreement for Yugao's three-year installment plan for the vibranium katana.
"The interest rate for three years is 15%. The total with principal and interest comes to 9.2 million ryō. We'll disregard the decimal points. Your monthly payment will be 255,000 ryō."
"If everything seems acceptable, please sign here," Richard said, handing the scroll and pen to Yugao.
After briefly reviewing the agreement, she signed without hesitation. Once her signature was down, her expression suddenly shifted to embarrassment.
"Is something wrong?" Richard asked as he stowed away the scroll and pen.
"I... don't actually have that much money on me right now," Yugao admitted sheepishly.
"That's fine. You've signed the agreement, so you can deliver the first installment later," Richard replied. "By the way, I close the shop at 5 PM."
With other customers, he wouldn't be so accommodating. But Yugao was different. There weren't many adult female shinobi in Konoha who intrigued him, and Uzuki Yugao was undoubtedly one of them.
Even if she couldn't make the first payment immediately—or even if she missed future payments—he wouldn't be overly concerned.
"Thank you! I'll go home and get the money right away."
Reluctantly, Yugao placed the vibranium katana on the counter. She gave Richard a respectful bow before turning to leave, heading straight home.
At that moment, she'd completely forgotten her original mission, her mind consumed entirely by thoughts of the vibranium blade.
After Yugao's departure, Richard sat down again to continue developing new jutsu variants.
Although he had created the Flame Rasengan and Blizzard Rasengan yesterday, both techniques remained at a basic level. Perfectly integrating Firaga and Blizzaga with the Rasengan required further refinement.
Beyond combining Firaga, Blizzaga, Aeroga, and Thundaga with the Rasengan, he also planned to develop as many Rasengan variations as Naruto himself possessed.
He intended to master everything from the Wind Style: Rasenshuriken that incorporated wind nature chakra to the Big Ball Rasengan, Wind Style Rasengan, and more.
As for techniques requiring Sage Chakra—such as the Sage Art: Rasengan, Sage Art: Magnet Release Rasengan, and Sage Art: Lava Release Rasenshuriken that needed Tailed Beast Chakra—their development would depend on circumstances.
Though he hadn't yet mastered Sage Chakra or Sage Mode, Richard remained confident in his ability to acquire these skills if necessary.
While few shinobi in the Naruto world could utilize Sage Mode, Richard had absolute faith in his capabilities. With his enhanced learning ability, any technique obtainable through normal methods—rather than those requiring special bloodlines—was within his grasp.
Less than thirty minutes later, Uzuki Yugao returned with the money.
However, she didn't return alone—she brought Hayate Gekkō with her.
When Hayate first heard that Yugao had purchased a katana for 255,000 ryō per month over 36 installments, his immediate reaction was that she'd encountered a scammer.
But upon seeing her broken sword, he realized his suspicions were unfounded.
Out of curiosity, he accompanied Yugao back to Richard's Ninja Tool Shop.
After paying the first installment to Richard, Yugao happily retrieved the vibranium katana from the counter.
She then handed it to Hayate.
Like Yugao before him, the moment Hayate held the vibranium blade, he noticed it weighed less than half of a conventional katana.
Though unfamiliar with the material, after a few casual swings, he immediately understood why Yugao had committed to the installment plan.
Just as he was about to return the weapon to her, Yugao shook her head.
"This is for you," she said softly.
Both Richard and Hayate frowned simultaneously.
Richard's frown stemmed from surprise that Yugao and Hayate were displaying such affection in his store.
Hayate frowned because he hadn't expected Yugao to spend so much money on a vibranium katana only to give it to him.
As he was about to speak, Richard interjected, "You two, have some consideration for single people."
Upon hearing this, both Hayate and Yugao's faces flushed with embarrassment.
They gave Richard apologetic bows before leaving the shop.
Time passed steadily.
Before long, it was five o'clock in the afternoon.
"Is that kid not coming?" Richard wondered, just as Sasuke appeared in his line of sight.
Soon, Sasuke entered the store, pulled out a stack of banknotes from his backpack, and placed them before Richard.
"Here's the five million ryō you requested," Sasuke stated flatly.
"Let me correct you. This isn't money I 'requested.' It's payment for the sword," Richard clarified. "The blade in the display case now belongs to you."
Richard pointed toward the shop's sole display case.
Upon hearing this, Sasuke immediately turned to look at the indicated case.
"This sword costs five million ryō?" Sasuke's first thought was that Richard had invented an excuse to extract money from him.
After mentally criticizing Richard, he approached the display case.
"Ten million ryō? Is he insane?" Like Yugao before him, Sasuke thought Richard had lost his mind after seeing the price tag on the vibranium katana.
After opening the case, he casually removed one of the swords.
Upon grasping it, his brow furrowed immediately.
"The weight is wrong!"
Though Sasuke wasn't particularly skilled in swordsmanship yet, he knew how heavy a conventional katana should feel.
After swinging the vibranium blade a few times, he, like Yugao before him, immediately wanted to test its capabilities.
Without hesitation, he retrieved a kunai from his ninja tool pouch.
Raising his hand, he brought the vibranium katana down on the kunai.
Clang!
Predictably, the kunai shattered.
Hiss...
Witnessing this, Sasuke drew in a sharp breath.
While he hadn't handled many swords in his life, he knew with absolute certainty that he'd never encountered a blade with such extraordinary sharpness.
He finally understood that the 10 million tael price wasn't Richard's arbitrary figure—the vibranium katana genuinely warranted this valuation.
"What metal is this made from?" Sasuke asked after regaining his composure.
"Vibranium," Richard answered directly, not bothering to invent a new name.
"Vibranium? What kind of metal is that?" Sasuke looked at Richard, puzzled.
"You can think of vibranium as a special metal I've developed exclusively," Richard explained. "Don't ask how it's made—I won't tell you regardless."
Richard had no intention of explaining vibranium's true origins to anyone. If others discovered it came from another world, they might deduce that he himself wasn't from this reality.
Just as Sasuke prepared to inquire further, Richard announced, "I'm closing the shop now."
"Fine," Sasuke nodded, collecting the broken kunai from the floor and returning the fragments to his pouch.
He then left the store with his new vibranium katana.
Under Sasuke's watchful gaze, Richard, having completed two significant sales for the day, approached the display case and transferred all remaining vibranium kunai and katanas back into his system space.
Though Konoha boasted excellent security, he wouldn't leave such valuable items in the store overnight.
Who could predict whether thieves might pay a visit?
Even if stolen, he possessed methods to recover them. But situations that could be prevented in advance didn't require such complicated solutions.
After collecting all vibranium weapons from the counter, Richard closed the shop's door.
He turned to Sasuke. "Have you eaten? I'll treat you to ramen."
Sasuke nodded without hesitation.
If it were merely dinner, he wouldn't have shown much interest. But he was deeply curious about Richard's upcoming training.
Though unspoken, Sasuke understood implicitly that Richard would begin training him after their meal.
"Let's go to Ichiraku Ramen," Richard suggested.
At the mention of Ichiraku, Sasuke immediately thought of Naruto.
Following their mission in the Land of Waves, he'd developed a tentative bond with his teammate.
While their connection hadn't fully materialized yet, he no longer rejected Naruto as he once had, gradually coming to acknowledge him.
Shortly thereafter, Richard and Sasuke arrived at Ichiraku Ramen.
As expected, before even entering the establishment, they spotted Naruto dining inside.
Having completed his mission for the day, Naruto had visited Ichiraku as usual, planning to return home afterward.
"Three bowls of tonkotsu char siu ramen," Richard ordered from Ayame.
Hearing Richard's voice, Naruto, midway through slurping noodles, glanced up.
"Sasuke?" Upon noticing Sasuke seated beside Richard, Naruto's brow furrowed.
Without hesitation, he climbed down from his stool, approached Sasuke, and asked suspiciously, "Sasuke, why are you hanging around this weird uncle?"
"Weird uncle? Do I look that old?" Richard regarded Naruto with irritation.
Though considerably older than both Naruto and Sasuke, he hadn't reached the point where "uncle" seemed an appropriate form of address.