…He appeared just like that?
Tsunade stared at Shen Mo, who materialized abruptly, then glanced at the badge in her hand, as if piecing it together.
"This badge has a tracking function, but it only works when activated," Shen Mo explained, striving to maintain the elegant smile of a mysterious merchant.
Then, Haimaru, cradled in his hands, began to squirm. She leapt down, vigorously shaking water from her fur, and meowed indignantly at Shen Mo.
How dare he sneak her into a bath!
Her master was too much, meow!
"Don't get dirty again, Haimaru," Shen Mo said helplessly, waving his hand lightly.
A spell from Harry Potter—Scourgify.
In an instant, Haimaru's fur was fluffy and adorable once more.
Satisfied, she climbed up Shen Mo's pant leg to his shoulder, licked his neck, as if forgiving him.
"Is this cat named Haimaru?" Tsunade's attention briefly shifted to Haimaru.
She was, after all, criminally cute.
"Yep, Haimaru. A bit naughty," Shen Mo said, fondly rubbing her tiny head, earning cozy meows.
Tsunade observed Shen Mo's unmasked demeanor.
It gave her a new perspective on him.
A mysterious merchant from another world, yet unexpectedly tender with small animals.
"Alright, Miss Tsunade," Shen Mo said, casting Scourgify on himself and smiling at her. "How many sets of tier-two cans would you like this time?"
"Only tier-two cans?" Tsunade crossed her arms, slightly displeased.
"You're already a junior member. You can't purchase tier-one cans anymore. And you must purchase fifty sets of tier-two cans before you can move on to tier-three," Shen Mo explained.
These were his crafted rules.
Once spoken, they had to be followed.
As always…
He couldn't let anyone know he was the boss.
"So troublesome?" Tsunade's brow furrowed, but as expected, she didn't argue with Shen Mo, the mere "employee."
"So, how many sets, Miss Tsunade?" Shen Mo asked again.
Then he saw Tsunade hold up an open hand.
"Five sets?" Shen Mo said, a touch disappointed.
He'd been closing big deals lately—five sets was a bit meager.
"Five cans," Tsunade corrected quietly.
"…" Shen Mo's face froze in shock.
How many?
Five?
I Apparated to Konoha, spending thousands of Trade Points, for a measly five-can deal?
"What's that look?" Tsunade said, unabashed. "Your cans are ridiculously expensive."
"But our cans are worth every penny," Shen Mo retorted, unsure what expression to muster. Still so broke after returning to Konoha—what was the point of coming back?
He decided to give Tsunade a little stir.
"Miss Tsunade, if you don't reach a certain transaction volume within a set time, your membership might be revoked. You'd have to start over with tier-one cans… and, more importantly, you might not be able to contact me again."
At those words, Tsunade's eyes turned dangerous.
"I mean, I might be in another world," Shen Mo said, spreading his hands, feigning helplessness.
"Hmph, hand over the cans!" Tsunade growled through gritted teeth.
If Shen Mo were the one making these lousy rules, she'd have punched him already.
Shen Mo, seemingly oblivious to the danger…
Lightly waved his staff.
Five tier-two cans appeared before them.
Of course, he took the money too.
A five-can deal wasn't a loss, but compared to Shen Mo's recent hauls, it was practically negligible.
Twenty-one million Trade Points—that was his current balance.
In that town alone, four ruling families and some mid-to-small merchants had netted him over twenty million in profit. The twenty-one million Trade Points remained after purchasing the Anywhere Door and Haimaru.
Now, compare that to the Legendary Sannin, the Senju Princess, standing before him.
Shen Mo realized…
His initial assumptions might have been off.
Ninjas generally weren't poor, that much was true. But ninjas pursued personal strength, not wealth. Their desire for money was often lukewarm. The truly rich were the nobles and merchants among ordinary people.
Still, that didn't mean ninjas lacked trading value.
Beyond money…
Ninjutsu, knowledge, experience, even life force—these held significant value too.
And…
A faint, sly smile curled Shen Mo's lips.
Once those brilliant ninjas realized the importance of money, what methods would they use to amass trading capital?
He was a bit eager to find out.
At that moment…
Tsunade stared at the five cans, a hint of tension on her face.
They were only tier-two cans.
But they could still yield something great.
She reached out…
But just before touching them, she pulled back.
"Shizune, you open them."
"Eh?" Shizune jumped, startled.
"Quit dawdling. Your luck's gotta be better than mine," Tsunade said, stepping aside, rare in admitting her rotten gambling luck.
"But last time, didn't you open…" Shizune started, then saw Tsunade's expression and shut up, now visibly nervous herself.
Shen Mo just chuckled quietly from the side.
The tension and anticipation of opening cans—that was part of their charm.
Finally, Shizune closed her eyes and opened the first can.
Inside was a vial filled with bright red potion.
"Another healing potion?" Tsunade recognized it instantly.
"Isn't this from tier-one cans?" Shizune's eyes widened, glaring at Shen Mo indignantly. "A can worth five hundred thousand, and it gives tier-one items?"
Healing potions were good, sure.
But this was a terrible deal.
Even someone as mild as Shizune felt a pang of loss so sharp it nearly brought tears.
"Of course it's not the same," Shen Mo said with a slight smile. "Since these are Medical Series cans, potions are common. But the potions from tier-two cans are ten times more potent than those from tier-one. In other words, you made a profit—we're not some black-hearted merchants!"
That last line, Shen Mo delivered with conviction.
No choice—the System's restrictions.
For a trade to convert to Trade Points, the traded item's value had to be at least one-fifth of the buyer's payment.
A five-hundred-thousand-yen tier-two can equaled thirty thousand Trade Points.
The item inside had to be worth at least six thousand Trade Points.
"Shizune, your luck's pretty good," Tsunade said cheerfully, clutching the healing potion, her face beaming with a poor person's smile. "This should fetch a nice sum from the old man."
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