Early morning, just as the sky began to lighten.
Inside a ninja tools shop in Konoha Village.
Jiang Chen rubbed his eyes as he lifted the shop's curtain, preparing to start his day of street vending.
The name of his shop was: [Zanpakutō Specialty Store]!
Yes.
He was a transmigrator. He had crossed over into the Naruto world three days ago and taken over this ninja tool shop.
As a transmigrator, of course, he had a golden finger (cheat ability).
But this cheat was kind of a scam.
It required him to sell Zanpakutōs in the Naruto world.
He couldn't use the Zanpakutōs himself, but for every one he sold, the system would randomly reward him with something.
It was essentially a form of mission.
It sounded simple.
But Jiang Chen quickly ran into a problem.
It was a time of peace. The consumption of ninja tools had long since declined.
And to make matters worse, almost all ninja tool business in Konoha was monopolized by Tenten's family.
The village's ninjas preferred to shop there.
His little shop, located in a corner of the commercial street, was completely deserted.
It had already been three days, and not a single customer had come.
This made Jiang Chen extremely anxious.
After all, the current timeline was close to the Chūnin Exams.
Forget about the rice merchant who would slaughter the village in a few years...
Even Orochimaru's upcoming Konoha Crush Plan might get him killed.
Wait... wasn't the Chūnin Exams starting in a month?
Damn, what a headache!
"Boss, do you sell kunai here? Preferably some cheap ones..."
Just as Jiang Chen was fretting, a messy, dirt-covered blond-haired boy suddenly lifted the curtain and walked in.
"Uzumaki Naruto?"
Jiang Chen's eyes widened.
Had this guy already returned from the Land of Waves?
"Huh? Boss, do you know me?"
Naruto pointed at his nose, his face full of confusion.
"Haha~ You're a celebrity in the Hokage series—how could I not know you?"
Jiang Chen teased with a laugh.
"Naruto from Hokage?"
Naruto was stunned at first, then suddenly grabbed Jiang Chen's hand like he'd found a kindred spirit.
"Boss, are you serious? You really think I'll become Hokage one day?"
Jiang Chen was speechless.
Clearly, this guy misunderstood what he meant.
But Jiang Chen couldn't be bothered to explain.
After all, his shop finally had its first customer.
And it was a reckless youngster—business was finally picking up!
Thinking this, Jiang Chen quickly changed tone and smiled at Naruto, "Naruto, are you here to buy something?"
"Yeah, my kunai broke during a mission. I want to buy a new one."
"Well, I only sell Zanpakutōs here, no kunai."
"Zanpakutō? What kind of ninja tool is that?"
"Simply put, it's a very special sword. Look over there…"
Jiang Chen pointed at the Asauchi (unreleased Zanpakutō) displayed in the cabinet.
Naruto scratched his head. "A katana? But I don't know how to use this kind of weapon. I just want a kunai."
"Lame."
Jiang Chen sighed and scolded, "Have you ever seen a Hokage who uses kunai?
The First Hokage used a giant sword, the Second used the Raijin Sword, the Third used the Adamantine Staff, and the Fourth Hokage... uh…"
"Anyway, ninja who use kunai never become Hokage. If you want to be Hokage, you need a unique, personal weapon. Got it?"
After being talked into it, Naruto's once-confused eyes suddenly lit up.
He felt like what the boss said made a lot of sense.
All past Hokage had their own exclusive weapons.
And he wanted to be Hokage one day.
If he kept using kunai, wouldn't that make him seem low-class?
Seeing that Naruto was almost convinced, Jiang Chen quickly added more fuel to the fire:
"Listen to me, Naruto. If you buy a Zanpakutō now, you're guaranteed to become Hokage one day.
And if you don't, come back and find me—I'll refund you in full!"
"Really?"
"Of course. I'm an honest guy—have I ever lied to you?"
"But… this is the first time we've met."
"Ahem~ Don't worry about those details. So, are you buying or not?"
"..."
Naruto didn't answer immediately. Instead, he looked up at the price tags.
20,000 ryo per sword.
It wasn't too bad.
But it would wipe out the bonus he got from the Land of Waves mission.
Oh well...
If he wanted to become Hokage, so be it. The bonus could go.
He could just work harder next time and do more missions.
After mulling it over, Naruto took a deep breath and said, "Boss, I'll buy one."
"Great. Cash first, sword second."
Jiang Chen casually picked a Zanpakutō from the cabinet and handed it to Naruto.
Naruto took out his toad-shaped wallet and counted out 20,000 ryo.
The price was fixed by the system—Jiang Chen couldn't change it.
Also, the Zanpakutōs he sold all looked the same before release—they were just basic Asauchi.
Every sword looked identical.
Whatever Naruto's sword would eventually turn into depended on luck—just like pulling a blind box.
But the moment Jiang Chen sold his first Zanpakutō—
A voice suddenly echoed in his mind:
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"Ding~! Congratulations, host, on selling your first Zanpakutō. You've earned your first sale reward!"
"Congratulations, host, you have received: Kage-level Chakra!"
"Congratulations, host, you have received the talent: Incantation Abandonment!"
"Congratulations, host, you have received Kidō skills from numbers 1 to 99!"
"Congratulations, host, you have received a 10x ability return from the sold Zanpakutō!"
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"Friendly reminder: Once the buyer successfully awakens their Zanpakutō, the host will receive 10x the ability return and gain permission to use that Zanpakutō!"
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