Chapter 75 Price Increase? Doubled! (First Subscription Requested)

It had been some time since they last met, and Kahn suddenly felt that Kushina had grown a lot. She was only thirteen, yet her style already made her stand out—a cascade of fiery red hair down to her waist, sleek, inky-black thigh-high stockings against pale legs, and a radiant smile that blossomed whenever she saw Kahn.

“You’re smiling so brightly. Looks like you’ve saved quite a bit. Hand over your little orange wallet,” Kahn said gently, though his words sounded no different from a highway robber’s.

Kushina’s smile vanished as if she were a goose strangled by the neck. She nearly choked on her own saliva at Kahn’s remark. How could such cold words come from such lovely lips? No, why did she suddenly think her boss’s lips were beautiful?

“Wallet?” Kahn prompted, holding out his hand before her.

“You’ve wasted my heartfelt gratitude, boss!” Kushina’s face twisted into the sourness of a lime as she reluctantly took the orange wallet out of her ninja tool pouch. She spent most of her time practicing sealing techniques, rarely taking on missions, so she hadn’t managed to save much at all.

What made Kushina most indignant was that Kahn actually counted the money right in front of her. Afterward, he cheerfully returned the wallet and said, “It’s only enough for half a month’s interest. Keep working hard, Kushina.”

With a pitiful expression, Kushina pleaded, “...Leave me a little, I still need to buy food.”

“Stop snacking so much. From now on, you can keep ten percent for treats,” Kahn replied. Feeling he might be bullying her a bit too much, he thought for a moment and produced a chocolate frog, placing it in her hand. “Try this—a jumping chocolate frog. But be careful, or it might really get away.”

“Get away? Boss, what are you talking about...” Puzzled, Kushina opened the wrapper and found a frog-shaped chocolate inside. But to her amazement, the chocolate really jumped—springing out of the box and away from her hand.

Kushina’s reflexes were quick; she caught the frog mid-leap, though it wriggled in her grasp for a while before finally settling down.

“Boss, is this a frog or chocolate?”

“It’s a chocolate frog. It only jumps for a bit—now you can eat it.” Kahn had bought this magical treat straight from the sweets shop in Diagon Alley; there was no magical card or English instructions, just the simplest packaging.

Kushina took a tentative bite and discovered it really was chocolate, and quite delicious at that. Her eyes narrowed in delight as she finished the rest.

Once she’d finished, she sidled up to Kahn with a smile, “Boss, about earlier...”

“My shoulders are a bit sore...” Kushina, ever perceptive, began to massage Kahn’s shoulders with her delicate hands. As she worked, she noticed some chocolate smeared on his collar—likely left from eating the chocolate frog. After a moment’s thought, she continued the massage, pretending not to have noticed.

Just then, a blond-haired boy with a forehead protector dashed past outside.

Minato Namikaze had been summoned by his teacher to the third training ground, but as he passed by, he caught sight of a familiar figure. He took two steps back and saw Kushina diligently massaging Kahn, a pleased and fawning smile on her face.

But Minato could see that Kushina was genuinely happy—not coerced at all.

“Kushina...” He felt a tightness in his chest and took a deep breath. He wanted to be Hokage, to become even more exceptional—only then could he win back the girl he liked!

Having made up his mind, Minato hurried off toward the third training ground, determined to double his training today.

...

“That guy is back?” Tsunade set the finished meal on the table, and both Nawaki and Kushina’s faces fell. With three people—or now two—sharing mission rewards, they could order takeout every day and eat well.

But Tsunade insisted on cooking herself, claiming that ninja should save money, which meant she and Nawaki ended up eating Tsunade’s cooking every day...

“He comes back without a word—how annoying!” Kushina immediately put up her guard. “Tsunade, what do you need the boss for?”

“Of course, it’s about buying medicines. Nawaki, I’ll be checking your recent training progress soon. If you’re as careless as last time, you’d better prepare to lie in Konoha Hospital...” Tsunade trailed off, remembering Nawaki had been injected with the new Despair Virus—no matter how serious the injury, he’d recover on the spot unless he ran out of chakra. She changed her tone, “You know what the consequences are!”

Nawaki nodded quickly. He’d experienced death and loss, and with Orochimaru often setting enemies to ambush him, he’d learned his lesson.

Kushina suddenly asked, “Tsunade, can I take on missions outside the village?”

At this, Tsunade fell silent. After a moment’s thought, she replied, “Kushina, you should slow down on missions for now. Wait until you can control the Nine-Tails’ power like Grandma Mito did...”

Kushina fell silent. Just getting used to the Nine-Tails’ chakra had taken her two months; being able to wield it freely like Grandma Mito—she had no idea when that might happen.

Though Grandma Mito told her to fill the void with love, Kushina felt she’d found love, but had no idea how to fill that emptiness—Grandma Mito hadn’t explained in detail...

When it came to the Jinchuriki, Tsunade’s power was limited. Allowing Kushina daily freedom to train and take missions was already the best she could do; no one in Konoha would approve her leaving the village.

Kushina wanted to master the Nine-Tails’ power quickly, but with no one to teach her, she could only fumble her way forward on her own.

The next morning, Tsunade went straight to where Kahn lived.

“You came back and didn’t even tell me? Do you not consider me a friend?” Kahn shot Tsunade an annoyed look, then served her breakfast. “What brings you here in such a hurry?”

“How did you know?” Tsunade was surprised, but quickly started eating. The bread was good, although she didn’t much care for milk. Still, since Kahn had served it, she quickly finished it in a few bites and got to the point. “Konoha wants to buy another batch of medicines and medical supplies—same amount as before. When can you...”

“Hold on, Tsunade, don’t rush.” Kahn set down his cup and smiled. “Let’s talk about the price first.”

Tsunade looked puzzled. “What’s wrong with the price? Isn’t it the same as before...” She didn’t finish, for Kahn raised two fingers.

“Production has been troublesome lately, and your village’s conduct last time was truly out of line, so I need to raise the price appropriately,” Kahn said with a smile.

“Twenty percent more? That’s...” Tsunade began.

“Double,” Kahn interrupted.

Tsunade’s bright brown eyes widened in disbelief. “Double? That’s outrageous! At such a high price, Konoha can’t afford it.”

“Tsunade, some in Konoha know what they did. Double is only because it’s you—otherwise, they wouldn’t get it at four times the price.”

Kahn’s tone was decisive. Given the actions of the ANBU last time, he would be justified in refusing to sell to Konoha at all. But considering his investments there—Nonoyu the pharmacist and the other ninja academy students—a mere doubling was hardly excessive.

“Just tell them as much. Don’t let this affect our friendship,” he added.

Seeing she couldn’t persuade him, Tsunade left in a huff to inform Konoha’s higher-ups. Still, she didn’t come away empty-handed: she got two chocolate frogs, which she thought would have quite an effect if eaten in front of Jiraiya.

She’d wanted more, but Kahn cut her off with, “I didn’t bring many this time; the rest are for Kushina,” deftly redirecting her.

After seeing Tsunade off, Kahn read the letter Nonoyu had left for him. At first glance, it seemed a simple greeting, but she’d begun using codes to communicate with him.

Kahn had put Nonoyu in charge of supporting the orphanage’s students at the ninja academy, connecting all those children. For ninja tools, daily expenses, and so on, Nonoyu provided for them all.

Nonoyu had little affection for Konoha; her greatest gratitude was to the orphanage and to Kahn, who funded it. In her eyes, repaying Kahn was the very reason she sought strength.

“Four in fifth year, six in fourth, two in third, seven in second, four in first... some have been recruited by ANBU. Nonoyu’s done well, and her suggestion—that those with high evaluations be granted appropriate jutsu support—is no problem.”

After reading Nonoyu’s report, Kahn felt he’d truly gained by supporting her. As Tsunade’s student, Nonoyu had done remarkably well in Konoha, almost building an underground network.

A freshly graduated genin only knew shuriken and the three basic techniques, but even a single C-rank jutsu could greatly improve their survival on the battlefield. And Kahn had no shortage of low-level jutsu, in all five elements.

He wrote a reply to Nonoyu—since her graduation, they’d seldom met, and to outsiders, their relationship seemed to have faded.

...

Third Training Ground

Jiraiya watched his student with pride. The training regimen yesterday would have exhausted a grown man, but it didn’t seem to be Minato Namikaze’s limit. The other two students were already down for the count, but Minato kept going.

“Minato, I’ve seen your determination to become stronger. After spending time with you, I know you have the character and talent to be my pupil. So today, I, Jiraiya the Toad Sage, officially take you as my student!”

Jiraiya struck a rather awkward pose. Minato, after a moment’s pause, politely applauded and said, “It’s an honor to be your student, Master Jiraiya. I look forward to your guidance.”

“Good. As a gift, I’ll teach you a powerful technique today—the Summoning Jutsu.”

Jiraiya had observed Minato for several days; the boy’s fundamentals were solid, and he already knew a C-rank wind release. What he needed now was a trump card to turn the tide in battle.

“Remember the hand signs—Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Ram: Summoning Jutsu!”

Jiraiya formed the seals, and with a puff of smoke, a two-meter-tall toad appeared at his feet, a massive scroll in its mouth.

“This is Mount Myoboku’s summoning contract. Minato, after signing it, you’ll be able to summon toads to fight for you...” Jiraiya was still explaining when the toad suddenly spoke.

“Jiraiya, Fukasaku-sama asked me to call you over—boss needs you. When I summon you in a moment, don’t resist.”

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Chapter 75: A Price Increase? Double the Cost! (Free to read)