After a pleasant chat with his teacher, Ryuku made his way toward the main market.
But midway there, he turned into a quiet, narrow street and formed a hand seal.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu."
In an instant, a clone identical to him appeared at his side. Although he'd confirmed last night that he could maintain up to five clones, he only needed one for now.
The clone stood silently, awaiting orders.
"Head home and focus solely on practicing Fūinjutsu seals," Ryuku instructed.
The clone simply nodded and walked off in the opposite direction.
Because of his meeting with Hiruzen, he'd avoided using the Shadow Clone for this purpose since morning. It wasn't that shadow clones drained too much chakra from the main body, but rather, he didn't want to leave any trace that might reveal to Hiruzen just how proficient he already was with an A-rank Technique.
Now that the clone can help me speed things up, I need to start laying the groundwork for the main project—creating a spacious laboratory in an unreachable location and experimenting on these special genes, diluted from the original Otsutsuki Bloodline...
His chakra reserves had temporarily dropped by thirty percent from creating just a single clone. Still, thanks to his advanced chakra control, that one clone could easily last for hours. And since his clones were exact copies of him, they also retained all his skills and knowledge.
If I had Jonin-level chakra reserves, I could create dozens, and all of them would last for nearly half a day... What a cheat code... But the mental strain would probably knock me unconscious...
Once he was done, Ryuku headed toward the ninja shop he had visited before: Premium Weapon Store.
Upon arriving, he walked in with quick steps and approached one of the counters.
He noticed a zombie-like woman seated behind it and asked, "Do you have chakra paper?"
"Yes..." the white-haired woman replied in a gloomy tone, as if she had been forced to work there.
"How much for one?" he asked swiftly, not wanting to waste even a second.
The woman's purple gaze met his violet eyes as she answered, "500, 1000, and 2000... low to high quality... choose."
Hm, chakra papers are used for creating Explosive and Sealing Tags. No wonder they're so expensive...
Ryuku pulled out a 500 Ryo bill and placed it on the counter.
Understanding his intent, the woman gave a slight nod and silently pulled out a normal-looking piece of paper. She handed it over to Ryuku and casually asked, "Checking affinity?"
Oh, that surprised me. She's interested in talking?
"Yes, I wanted to find my chakra nature, so I only need one," he replied shortly.
The woman nodded, still looking dead as ever.
Finding her bizarre personality somewhat amusing, Ryuku decided to test his affinity right then and there. It wouldn't take long anyway. And if needed, he could always buy another.
"Let's find out..." he muttered, already channeling chakra into the paper.
The woman, slightly surprised—though her expression barely changed—watched with interest.
The process only took a few seconds.
Both Ryuku and the woman observed as the paper first split into three pieces—one wrinkled, another became damp, and the last one crumbled into dust.
"Hmm?" Ryuku frowned at the result. Without a word, he pulled out another 500 Ryo and bought a second chakra paper.
The woman silently completed the transaction and handed over the new slip.
He repeated the process. The result didn't change.
"..."
"Four affinities..." the white-haired woman mumbled in her usual dull voice.
"Yeah," Ryuku confirmed. The next moment, his eyes lit up as he looked at her. "Thanks," he said, flashing a genuine smile before leaving.
The woman, caught off guard, blinked in surprise as Ryuku stepped out of the shop.
Strange boy...
The thought flickered through her mind as her half-lidded eyes blankly stared at the floor.
----
Main Market
Ryuku walked toward the Akimichi Restaurant at a leisurely pace, his focused gaze fixed ahead, yet his mind churned with countless thoughts.
Four affinities... Wind, Lightning, Water, and Earth... How many Kekkei Genkai could I possibly create with these elements?
Even he hadn't expected to possess four of the five basic chakra affinities. Yin and Yang were special and technically present in everyone, but having four elemental affinities was highly uncommon.
Then a thought crossed his mind.
Is it because of... my transmigration? No, Hiruzen has all five, so having four in this body is very much possible. Still... I need to train in each of these affinities—but with such limited chakra, it's going to take a painfully long time...
The more he thought about it, the more frustration crept into his heart. His pitiful chakra reserves were becoming a serious obstacle to his ambitions.
I've got the Uzumaki Clan's Fūinjutsu. Now, it's up to me to squeeze out every last bit of value from it...
Driven by the intense need for more chakra, Ryuku had finally made up his mind—to reverse-engineer the Four Symbols Seal, and whatever fragments he still remembered of the Life-Draining Curse Seal.
A few minutes later~
---
Akimichi Clan's Restaurant
Seated in the same private room as a week ago, Ryuku waited patiently for Akimichi Choza.
Not because Choza was absent—but because he was currently in a serious discussion with a high-ranking noble who had arrived from the Fire Capital. This man, a direct subordinate of the Daimyō, was a powerful figure who supported agriculture-based businesses across the Fire Nation. He was an important person—not just for the Akimichi Clan, but for Konoha as a whole.
Leisurely sipping the tea served by the same waitress from last time, Ryuku's thoughts lingered on the situation.
The restaurant buzzed with activity. Even from his room, he could hear the cheerful voices of satisfied customers.
And it wasn't just this restaurant. Every food business run by the Akimichi Clan had been raking in profits these past few days.
So they did manage to replicate the recipes, huh... No wonder that noble came here in person. Let's just hope Choza doesn't blurt out anything about me in an attempt to kiss that guy's ass...