Chapter 30: Drunken Incident

Although he didn't care much about money, these prices were simply absurd.

A serving of dumplings cost sixty ryō, a bowl of lamb soup was only eighty ryō, but a serving of pork was a staggering eight hundred ryō, and venison was an astonishing two thousand ryō.

With prices this high, he finally understood why that woman said it was impossible to make any money; it was likely that there were also cuts taken by other parties.

"Haha, if heaven bestows something but you do not take it, you will suffer the consequences!"

Sima Yi felt a strange joy rather than worry. He stroked his long beard casually, but his eyes gleamed with a hint of excitement.

Moments later, an Akimichi clansman came over to set up the grill and demonstrated how to roast the meat. Just as the slices of pork began to sizzle, Kai arrived carrying several bottles of sake labeled with the characters for "rice wine."

As soon as he stepped into the barbecue restaurant, the eyes of the Ninja inside turned towards him. A small portion glanced and then quickly looked away, while most of the Ninja fixed their complex gazes upon him.

Kai seemed oblivious to the attention as he sat down across from Sima Yi, sighing, "Luckily, we arrived early; otherwise, we would have missed out on this!"

Afterward, he exclaimed, "Uncle Yi, you ordered so much! Hahaha, how lucky!"

The pork sizzled on the iron grill, and the special seasoning fell through the gaps onto the charcoal, creating waves of fragrant smoke.

Kai inhaled deeply, saliva pooling as he fixated on the slices of meat.

Once the Akimichi clansman left, he grabbed the tongs to take over the grilling.

"Uncle Yi, you must try this! We definitely made the right choice today!"

Kai placed the first piece of grilled meat into Sima Yi's bowl. Sima Yi didn't refuse; he moved gracefully and with a sense of etiquette.

"Mm, it's fatty without being greasy, fragrant without being overpowering; the taste is indeed good."

Much better than Shisui's grilled fish.

Sima Yi enjoyed these newfound delicacies and generously praised the food.

"Hehe, of course! The venison here is truly exceptional; let me grill some for you."

As Kai busied himself again, Sima Yi waved him off and handed the grilled meat he had prepared back to Kai. "No rush; you should eat more."

A little taste is enough; too much is excessive.

He always restrained his desires, satisfied with just a small sampling.

Seeing Sima Yi say this, Kai stopped being polite and dug into the food, drinking heartily as the two chatted and feasted.

It wasn't until late at night, as the restaurant neared closing time and several tables of Ninja began to leave, that they finally paused.

"Owner, please prepare a takeaway box for me with one serving each of lamb and venison."

At this point, Kai was stuffing his face, his mouth greasy and his stomach bulging, and he spoke with a hint of inebriation, "Uncle Yi, I'm already full; no need to bring more. This venison... is a bit overwhelming."

Kai hadn't felt this satisfied in a long time, his face lit up with smiles.

Venison is known to have invigorating properties, and Sima Yi was well aware of this. He chuckled softly and said, "Shisui probably hasn't eaten yet; let's grill some for him to take back."

"Here are the bills, gentlemen."

The total came to 18,400 taels, and upon seeing the bill, Kai instantly sobered up. He grabbed the takeaway box and diligently followed Sima Yi with a big bundle of items, barely out of breath.

As they stepped out of the barbecue shop, the cold wind hit them. Looking at the villagers still bustling along the street, Sima Yi asked, "Are most of the residents in the inner area wealthy families?"

"Not that many wealthy families; it's likely that some people, like us, just returned from the battlefield and are treating themselves this one time. They probably still try to save money normally since being a Ninja is quite expensive," Kai replied.

"Then why are there so few in the outer areas?"

Kai looked at Sima Yi in surprise and replied, "Besides us, there shouldn't be any other Ninjas living in the outer areas."

"Oh?"

A gust of cold wind blew by, and Kai felt much more alert. He suddenly remembered the other party's status and sighed, "People living on the outskirts of Konoha are not qualified to participate in the Ninja Academy assessments, which means they are not eligible to become Ninjas."

"We used to live in the core area, but now... well, it's better not to mention it."

Not qualified to participate in the Ninja Academy assessments?

Sima Yi's eyes shifted slightly as he quietly noted this down.

The two walked slowly, passing by streetlights. Under the lights, people walked in groups of three or five, creating a harmonious atmosphere.

"Bastard, are you blind? Why did you bump into me?"

"Huh? What are you talking about? Clearly, you bumped into me; hurry up and apologize!"

"What do you mean by that? Are you looking for a fight? Bastard!"

"People like you should just die, you idiot!"

The sudden argument shattered the tranquility, and everyone stopped to look. They saw six Ninjas wearing forehead protectors standing face to face at the side of the street, their faces flushed and their breaths aggressive.

The two leading figures moved even closer, roaring with impatience in their eyes.

Genin.

With just a glance, Sima Yi could tell their rank.

He looked at Kai, who slowly shook his head and whispered, "It's those guys from the barbecue shop. They must be drunk. Someone will handle it; let's keep our distance."

Saying this, he positioned himself in front of Sima Yi and moved aside.

"Bastard, go die!"

The two at the front could no longer hold back after only a few exchanges of words and drew their Kunai to fight.

The clash of metal rang out, sparks flying, and the sound echoed continuously.

Once they started fighting, the other four could no longer restrain themselves and joined in.

"Ah!"

There were many ordinary people on the street, and upon seeing this, they screamed and hurried away.

As the commotion escalated, the sound of rushing air quickly approached from a distance, with several figures leaping down from the rooftops.

The leading figure, also wearing green Jonin armor, was not Uchiha Yashiro. He had short black hair and a black dot on his forehead.

His eyes were cold as frost, and with a powerful aura, he charged into the fray, quickly knocking the six men to the ground and confiscating their weapons.

"Which bastard dares to ambush me? Do you know who I am? If you have the guts, let me go!"

The few men didn't even have time to react before they were subdued. The two leading figures, despite being pinned to the ground, still struggled fiercely, refusing to submit.

"This is Tekka's patrol area. With him here, these Genin can't cause any trouble."

Kai commented, nodding as he recognized the newcomer.

The familiar name also caught Sima Yi's attention.

Seeing that the two still dared to resist, Uchiha Tekka didn't hold back. He activated his Sharingan and lifted the two men, forcing them to make eye contact with him.

In an instant, the two men went limp on the ground, no longer moving. The remaining four, seeing this, were terrified and quickly complied.

"Take them away and notify their families to come to the prison in three days to collect them."

They treated these troublemaking Ninjas without mercy, roughly pulling them away.

After the Uchiha left, discussions gradually erupted around them.

"Fortunately, there were people from the Police Department here. These Ninjas are really annoying; they always cause trouble when they're drunk."

"Those Uchiha are just being busybodies. They didn't harm anyone, so how can they treat the heroes of Konoha like this? We're the ones who have been fighting outside for Konoha!"

"The Police Department only bullies the village Ninjas. If they have the guts, they should go to the Front Line and kill the enemies! How despicable!"

"These civilian Ninjas are just so annoying. Thankfully, the Uchiha are standing up for us."

A variety of comments flooded into Sima Yi's ears as he carefully discerned each person's identity, his eyes subtly shifting.

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