In Shimura Danzo's eyes, Uchiha Itachi—who killed his own clan for the sake of the village—was never truly one of them.
And the Akatsuki? Even less so.
Using one enemy to fight another was Danzo's specialty.
He'd already wiped out plenty of powerful people that way.
…
Takuya had no clue how Konoha was reacting, but even if he did—he wouldn't care.
He only had two goals:
Make himself powerful. Show off his power.
Only then would he have the right to talk about making money in peace.
Right now, his biggest curiosity was—how much money did Sasuke really have?
He followed Sasuke all the way to the Uchiha clan grounds. The place was quiet, abandoned. Weeds overran the paths, the houses were falling apart, and dark stains on the wooden walls told the story of the clan's fall in silence.
Looking at Sasuke's thin figure—
Takuya suddenly felt a sliver of empathy, something he'd never had just watching the anime.
Expecting this kid to be cheerful and optimistic like Naruto was just cruel.
"This way."
Sasuke cleared out the cobwebs at the door and pushed it open. Clearly, he hadn't been back here in a long time.
No idea where he'd hidden the money so it hadn't been looted.
But Takuya quickly found out.
A hidden chamber.
Not from inside the house, but through the courtyard—via a sealed entrance that led dozens of meters underground.
Takuya even spotted some weapons.
Looked like this place had been one of the Uchiha clan's stockpiles—maybe even a backup base for rebellion against the village.
Well, that was a nice surprise.
He'd thought the village would've cleaned everything out already.
"We're here. Everything's in here." Sasuke turned around, showing it all to Takuya. "How much is it worth?"
Takuya scanned the goods.
Two crates of precious metals and gemstones. A pile of jutsu scrolls. Two more crates of weapons. And some leftover cash.
Altogether—12 million transaction points!
No wonder they were the Uchiha. Just this leftover stash was nearly equal to the full fortune of a top clan in a major town!
"Roughly 200 million ryo," Takuya told him after doing the math.
Sasuke's eyes lit up instantly.
He figured it'd be a lot—but this much?
"The scrolls are the most valuable," Takuya said, pointing at the pile. "Some were written by your clan's top shinobi. A few you probably haven't even read. That alone boosts their worth."
Ninjas might not be as rich as merchants—
But with Takuya's system, their assets weren't worthless.
Why? Skills.
Money values could fluctuate depending on the world's economy. But abilities and knowledge—those were hard currency.
"Then exchange it all!" Sasuke said without hesitation. "I want jars!"
He'd already gone through all the compatible scrolls. Sure, they were clan relics.
But compared to power? Not even close!
"As you wish." Takuya smiled. But he didn't start the exchange just yet. Instead, he looked at Sasuke. "So—have you thought about what kind of jar series you want?"
The scenes he'd shown Sasuke earlier each represented a different jar series.
Abilities from other worlds—
The system could bring them in and make them usable here.
"No." To his surprise, Sasuke shook his head, then glanced at Takuya. "You choose."
"Oh?" Takuya was intrigued.
"I don't know what's the strongest, or what would help with revenge the most. But... you probably do." Sasuke was clearly holding back his impatience.
He was desperate to open jars, get strong, and kill that man.
But he had no idea what to pick.
Every power in those visions seemed godlike. Each one could take him to the peak. But he wanted faster, better, stronger.
He wanted the advice of this man—this force of nature before him.
"If the customer trusts me that much..." Takuya grinned. "Then of course, I'll provide the best service. First, tell me—what's your target's greatest strength?"
"His greatest strength?" Sasuke froze.
"If your goal is revenge," Takuya said patiently, "then the most efficient way is to counter him. For example, if he's a melee expert, I'd suggest a long-range, mobile ability set. That's just an example, of course."
Sasuke got it. As a ninja, he knew how counters worked.
But...
Thinking about it—he couldn't find a weakness.
No matter what area, that man was elite.
He'd never thought this deeply before. Until now, he'd just chased power, not analyzed his enemy. But now that he was trying—
The more he thought, the more terrifying it was.
Close combat, ninjutsu, genjutsu...
"I see," Takuya thought, amused. "A well-rounded monster."
He knew all about Itachi's skills. Other than some physical limitations from his illness, Itachi basically had no weaknesses. The guy was a genius in everything.
Which gave Takuya the perfect excuse...
To recommend a profitable jar series.
"Swordsmanship," Takuya said slowly. "The path of the blade. Perfect for revenge. The truly powerful swordsmen can shatter all techniques with a single strike. No matter your tricks—I'll break them with one swing. You saw those visions earlier, didn't you?"
Sasuke's eyes lit up.
He remembered it clearly—
A single sword slash ripping open the sky, splitting the earth. No one could stand before that edge.
"Can a sword break ninjutsu?"
"Effortlessly," Takuya said with conviction.
"Even genjutsu?"
"Even heart demons can be cut down. What's genjutsu compared to that?" Takuya said as if it were obvious, hugging the sleepy Hibari in his arms.
"Alright!" Sasuke clenched his fists, already imagining the day he faced that man again, sword in hand. His whole body trembled with excitement. "I choose swordsmanship! Give me the jars!"
He couldn't wait any longer.
"Of course." Takuya smiled, and with a wave of his hand—
Two hundred Level-1 jars appeared on the ground.
Swordsmanship was strong—but reaching the point of sword-breaking-all-techniques...
It wasn't cheap.