Naruto: People are in Konoha, the system arrived 20 years earlier Chapter 065

Minghui’s expression turned serious as he slowly recounted the events.

“It’s like this, Teacher Sakumo. We originally planned to go to the northern commercial district today to purchase ninja tools, but upon arriving, we discovered that offensive ninja tools like kunai and shuriken had already been bought out,” Minghui said with a hint of helplessness.

Koichi chimed in, adding, “We weren’t willing to give up, so we went to another commercial district, but unfortunately, the offensive ninja tools there were also completely bought out, leaving only some defensive ninja tools.”

Sakumo’s brow furrowed slightly upon hearing this. He rubbed his chin in thought for a moment, then asked softly, “Did you manage to find out who bought such a large quantity of these offensive ninja tools?”

Minghui shook his head, replying, “The shop owners only said it was a mysterious merchant caravan, but they didn’t reveal any specific details. According to them, this happened yesterday.”

“The new batch of standard weapons hasn’t been forged yet, so we pretty much wasted our trip today,” Koichi explained helplessly from the side.

Hayato then offered his speculation, “This merchant caravan’s behavior is so strange, buying up offensive ninja tools on such a large scale. I’m afraid there’s a ninja village behind it.”

“That’s what we thought too, but now the other party has left, and we have no other way to get their information,” Minghui nodded slightly, agreeing with Hayato’s judgment.

Sakumo nodded, his expression grave. “Your speculation isn’t unreasonable. The sheer quantity they bought clearly indicates preparation for war. Which ninja village is secretly plotting this?”

He pondered for a moment, then continued his analysis, “The Five Great Nations are unlikely; they wouldn’t need to be so secretive. It’s more likely the act of a small nation, but if it’s a small nation, isn’t doing this exhausting their country’s wealth? What exactly are their intentions?”

Koichi seemed to suddenly remember something and interjected, “Oh, we also got a piece of news: that mysterious merchant caravan also purchased a large quantity of ore raw materials.”

Kenta also spoke up then, his voice tinged with worry, “The problem now is that the ninja tools we need to purchase are nowhere to be found. It looks like we’ll have to spend some more time.”

Sakumo thought for a moment and offered a solution, “Since we can’t buy readily available stock, we’ll just custom order them directly from the workshops. I’ll go find Uemon tomorrow and have him contact a few reputable peers to forge the ninja tools we need together.”

He then turned to Minghui and the other two, “How did you fare with purchasing defensive ninja tools?”

Minghui replied somewhat awkwardly, “Because the prices varied quite a bit from several shops, we haven’t finalized anything yet. We plan to ask other merchants tomorrow.”

In truth, they had been so focused on buying offensive ninja tools all day, running around from place to place, that they hadn’t had time to purchase protective gear.

However, the Leaf Village didn’t require much protective gear. Unlike offensive ninja tools, which were consumed quickly, the demand for protective gear was relatively small.

Sakumo didn’t press the issue much upon hearing this, only instructing, “Alright, then the procurement of protective gear will be up to you tomorrow. As long as the price isn’t too outrageous, you can buy them.”

Then, he looked at Hayato, “I’ll handle contacting the craftsmen myself. Hayato, you can tend to your own matters.”

Hayato nodded, understanding Sakumo’s intention.

The next day, everyone went about their duties, splitting up to act.

To avoid being deceived, Hayato first gained an in-depth understanding of the properties of the required raw materials before heading to the procurement location.

After some inquiries, he arrived alone at the southern commercial district’s street vendor area.

This area gathered a large number of stalls selling raw materials. Most of the stall owners were outsiders who directly set up their stalls to sell. The raw materials here were relatively cheap, attracting many buyers.

Here, Hayato unexpectedly encountered Hiko’s merchant caravan.

Hiko was clearly surprised to see Hayato, and Nirugu even bounced and ran to Hayato’s side.

“Hayato, I didn’t expect to meet you here again,” Hiko said with a smile.

Hayato smiled in response, then glanced at Hiko’s stall, which displayed many ores.

“Uncle, I want to buy some ores. Do you have any of these in stock?” Hayato said, handing over a list of ore materials he had specially transcribed.

Uemon’s material list contained not only ores but also other materials.

So Hayato had categorized and transcribed them, making it easier to communicate with merchants.

Hiko took the list, examined it carefully, and then a smile appeared on his face as he pointed to several places on the list.

“We have all of these kinds of ores.”

He thought for a moment and added, “Oh, right, I originally had Empty Rock here too, but someone reserved it yesterday. I’m selling it to them today.”

This statement immediately caught Hayato’s attention.

“Oh? Who is the other party? Uncle, don’t misunderstand, I’m just saying I don’t need much, and I want to see if I can communicate with them and have them spare some for me.”

Hayato secretly wondered if the person buying the raw ores was the same person Minghui and the others had mentioned who bought a large quantity of offensive ninja tools.

Although the other party had left the day before yesterday, who could say for sure? Perhaps the other party had arranged for someone to be here to connect.

Hiko heard Hayato say this, and considering their slight acquaintance, he agreed.

“How about this: that person agreed to come pick up the goods at noon. You can come back then and see if there’s a turn of events. Oh, and there are many other vendors selling ores on this street. You can check out other stalls; you might find something.”

“Okay, thank you, Uncle,” Hayato said with a smile, then first traded for the several ores Hiko had mentioned earlier.

After the transaction, he picked Nirugu up from his body and handed her to Hiko.

Before leaving, Sakumo had given him a wad of money, so he didn’t need to use his own money for now.

After completing the transaction with Hiko, Hayato quickly began communicating and purchasing at other stalls.

After more than an hour of busy work, he finally bought all the ore materials on the list, even successfully obtaining the Empty Rock that Hiko had mentioned earlier.

Then Hayato went to purchase other materials.

After nearly a full morning of work, Hayato finally gathered all the materials and delivered them to Uemon.

“Don’t worry, it’s my turn now. I will definitely forge an excellent ninja sword for you,” Uemon promised, patting his chest.

Hayato thanked Uemon, then glanced at the time, finding it just right.

So, he decided to go back to the southern vendor street to meet the mysterious person who had reserved the Empty Rock.