After settling matters with Nagato and the Akatsuki, Obito didn't waste any time. While waiting for Orochimaru's experiments to yield results, he decided to take care of some personal affairs.
Life, even in the shinobi world, revolved around food, clothing, shelter, and transportation.
Obito didn't care much about what he wore, but the black cloak Madara had left behind matched his tastes perfectly.
His divine teleportation ability rendered even the most advanced shinobi transport obsolete. Not even the raid vehicles from the post-Hokage era could compare.
As for shelter, it was adequate. The underground base had beds, and the group of White Zetsu clones provided some entertainment. It wasn't boring—just lacking one thing: a living, breathing woman with a pulse...
When it came to food, Obito didn't need to eat thanks to the cells of the First Hokage within him, which sustained his body. But just because he didn't need to eat didn't mean he didn't want to.
One dish in particular had always intrigued him—the legendary Ichiraku Ramen.
The only problem was… he had no money.
Madara's inheritance included his ninja tools, jutsu, and even demonic relics—but not a single coin.
Which made sense. Madara had renounced worldly pleasures and focused entirely on the Eye of the Moon plan. He had no need for currency.
But Obito was different.
Sure, some might ask—why not just eat and walk out without paying? Who would dare stop him?
But that wasn't Obito's style. He didn't bully civilians.
So if he needed money and didn't have any, he would earn it.
There were many ways for a ninja to make money.
At the bottom tier, there was robbery—waylaying merchants and travelers. But Obito wouldn't stoop to that.
A level up was working as a mercenary—hired muscle for protection or assassination. But that still meant taking orders. Obito craved freedom too much for that.
Then there was working officially for a ninja village—taking missions and earning pay. Though Obito could technically return to Konoha as Uchiha Obito, he had no desire to entangle himself with the village's people again.
His plans would inevitably lead to conflict with Konoha, possibly even war. Emotional attachments would only hold him back.
In his past life as Yamato Arata, he had often wavered. But in this world, as Obito, he would press forward with unwavering conviction. In that sense, his ninja path mirrored Naruto's own—determined, absolute.
So, he decided to make money the same way Kakuzu once did:
By hunting down wanted criminals and cashing in their bounties.
At the Valley of the End, water thundered over the cliffs as Obito sat cross-legged on the statue of the First Hokage.
Gululu... A rustling sound came from the stone nearby, and White Zetsu emerged.
"Found it?" Obito asked.
"You're really wasting your time on something so petty..." Zetsu grumbled, but still handed him a scroll—an updated bounty list.
Obito opened it.
The scroll was organized by the major ninja villages, listing their respective bounty targets in descending order of value.
He flipped to the Konoha section first.
To even appear on a bounty list, a ninja had to pose a significant threat. Ordinary genin or chuunin didn't qualify. At the very least, a target had to be a special jounin or a dangerous rogue.
Most bounties ranged between five and ten million ryo. Anything above that was either extremely powerful—or extremely problematic.
Kabuto Yakushi, former Konoha spy, rogue ninja—bounty: 10 million.
Obito skipped over him.
Kakashi Hatake, the White Fang's son and a jounin of Konoha—bounty: 13 million... no, wait. A red line crossed out "13 million" and corrected it to 11 million.
"Oh? Kakashi's bounty dropped by two million?"
"That's your doing," Zetsu replied.
"Oh."
Indeed, one of the first things Obito had done after transmigrating was gouge out Kakashi's Sharingan. That would definitely lower Kakashi's value to potential employers or enemies.
Ironically, in the long run, Kakashi might benefit. He'd always had low chakra reserves, and having the Sharingan had skewed his growth path. Without it, he could finally develop in his father's footsteps—perhaps even achieve Kage-level strength.
Obito flipped through the list again.
Asuma Sarutobi, jounin of Konoha, Third Hokage's son—bounty: 15 million.
"I remember Asuma's bounty peaked at 35 million. Oh, right—that was after he joined the Twelve Guardian Ninja," Obito murmured as he kept scanning.
He found almost every prominent name on the list—Konoha's elite jounin, the Sannin, even the Third and Fourth Hokage.
Choza Akimichi, Inoichi Yamanaka, Shikaku Nara—bounties at 20, 25, and 28 million respectively. Reasonable given their strengths.
The Sannin—Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru—all hovered around 50 million, with Orochimaru slightly higher at 55 million, likely due to his notorious human experiments.
As for the former Hokage:
Hiruzen Sarutobi (Third): 66 million.
Minato Namikaze (Fourth): 77 million.
Despite their comparable strengths at their peaks, Minato had made far more enemies during the war, which likely explained the difference.
These names were long-standing fixtures on the list. Their bounties remained untouched—not because no one wanted them, but because no one could manage to claim them.
Obito flipped to the last page of Konoha's entries—and froze.
There was a fresh entry:
Name: Uchiha Ha (true identity unknown)Affiliation: Allied with rogue ninjas from AmegakureCriminal Record: Escaped from an encounter with Hanzo of the Salamander, whose final evaluation confirmed him as an equal in powerBounty: 80 millionPhoto: Not availableAbilities: Unknown
Obito raised an eyebrow. "So the news got out faster than expected..."
Hanzo had said Obito's name would soon spread through all five great nations. Apparently, he wasn't exaggerating.
"Word's already out. Ninja and ANBU from all five villages are looking into you," Zetsu said.
"It doesn't matter. Anyone who blocks my path… will die," Obito replied calmly.
"So... who's the unlucky target today?" Zetsu smirked.
Obito thought for a moment, flipped back a few pages, and pointed to one.
Beisuke — a jounin from Konoha, defected after failing to assassinate the Fire Daimyō.Bounty: 16 millionStatus: Currently being hunted by ANBU
"Oh, that guy," Zetsu said. "He was last spotted in a forest not far from here."
Obito nodded. "Then what are we waiting for?"
Fwip! With a whirl of Kamui's vortex, Obito vanished into thin air.