I stood in front of a ninja tool shop. It was afternoon and traffic was slow. The shopkeeper was talking to another Shinobi and haggling. I looked around the shop. I saw various tags, weapons, and bottles, trying to identify what I had. Which was quite successful. 2 bottles were antiseptics, one was poison, and one was a general antidote for basic poisons. I also saw swords exactly like mine hanging on a shelf. I breathed a sigh of relief. 'Common'.
I picked up a sheath and walked over to the shopkeeper. "How much for this, boss?" The keeper looked over and replied, "300 Ryo." "Oh, C'mon, boss, that's too much and you know it!" "As I was telling this lord here, this place is fixed price. Take it or leave it, kid."
I didn't really know if it was expensive or not, but not haggling even once seemed out of character. I took out the money and pushed it over. The man smiled, "Pleasure doing business, sir." Well, it appears I was promoted from kid to sir. That's when the transaction with the second shinobi caught my eye.
The 5 Explosion tags for 750 Ryo each. But the seller wasn't the shopkeeper. It was the shinobi. I saw the bundle of 50 chakra papers on sale for 2500 Ryo and the explosion tag for 900 Ryo. As the guy left, I casually remarked. They go for that much?
The shopkeeper looked back. "Not everyone has the talent to make them, sir. Why? Do you know anyone who knows how to?" The man's eyes glinted a bit. I guess these guys were pretty rare. "No, but seeing the profits, I feel like switching to this." The shopkeeper just laughed. "If you start making some, come to me. I'll give you a good deal. 600 Ryo, even though you're a newbie."
I just smiled and left. Now the first order of business was to go have a real meal. I was full from the pill, but food is food. Although I had thrown the headband away. Without being a real Konoha Shinobi, carrying the band around seemed incredibly stupid in hindsight. I don't know what I was thinking. I walked over slowly to a small ramen joint near the alley where I had killed the fuinjutsu user. I assumed he was one because of the supplies he carried. I sat down on a seat and ordered a big bowl with extra eggs. As I ate, I asked. "I heard there was a murder around the bend."
Places like this were gossip centers. "Yes! Yes! Terrible business. They say it was a drug deal gone wrong. The Uchiha policeman thinks that some junkie might have killed the two over a bit of snort. One of them was a known dealer, you know. Fucking bastards, I say. Don't we have enough problems here already?" Murmurs of assent rose from the other patrons, and a full-on political debate started regarding all of this.
I ignored the rest of the chatter and savored my meal with relief. No real leads, huh. Makes sense. The slums aren't really the most law-abiding part. Especially with the refugee influx and the war having just ended. Finding bodies and disappearances were a common story. The only reason this was gaining traction was because they were genin who died.
I stood up and slowly started making my way towards the Central of Knonoha. I avoided the area where I used to sleep for the past 7 days and made my way to the administrative building. Refugees could apply for partial citizenship by paying 200 Ryo. Which was an astronomical amount, as you can see that I paid only 2 Ryo for my hearty meal. It was usually for merchants. But that was not why I was here.
I waited for one particular counter to open up. When the fat man opened it up and asked for my identity proofs and stuff. I pushed him 1000 Ryo. He looked at the money. Counted it and told me to come with him. We marched into a back office.
"I can get you only get you one right now, civilian war orphan. You good with that?" I
"Yes," He nodded and got to work. You see, the streets to get your intel. If you push enough money for the bribe in, you could get a Konoha citizen ID. Now my records will state that I, Kurosawa Ren, was a citizen of Konoha from the start, just that my parents were civilians who had died in the war.
You would ask what's the point of paying 5 times that money? Well, In order to function properly, I needed a Konoha Shinobi ID. I had thought about selling the Shinobi stuff and leading a civilian life, but I realised that I will have to fight during the coming disasters anyway. So the best use of my time will be to get stronger cautiously.
With my papers done and a copy sent to the central Konoha database. I walked out of the building. Now for the hard part. The Shinobi Registration.
"I'm sorry I can't find your academy enrollment number." The lady at the desk politely remarks after going through my documents. "I never attended it. My family isn't of Shinobis. We just make tags." The woman sighed. It was a common story. Not everyone had the heart to fight. But in order to sell the tags, a Shinobi Registration was needed, as tag making was technically Fuinjutsu. Which makes me a logistics shinobi. Seeing my age and my documents, she just began the process.
The process was laxer as the village was trying to recover, plus the fact that I was applying for a rare profession helped. Over the next few days, I gave anti-spy questionnaires and Interviews. The interviewers asked basic questions regarding my identity and loyalty. I had a feeling the interview was more of verifying the truth by monitoring my heartbeat, reactions, and breathing rather than anything else. Finally, they gave me a test date which made my eyes go wide as saucers. I had applied for this as I only had the resources to do this, and it was an easier process than anything else.
But I was yet to know the first thing about making explosive tags.