Spar?

In the streets of Konoha, Satoru patted a stack of banknotes in his hand, frowning as he planned how to maximize his spending. His monthly living allowance, which was originally 1500 ryō, had been tripled to 4500 ryō. It was not too much, just as much as a C-rank mission's earnings.

With the leftover savings from the custom-made storage scrolls, he should have no problem affording some metal arrows.

The main challenge was finding the right shinobi tool shop. Too high-end wouldn't be cost-effective, and too cheap wouldn't meet his expectations.

Sighing, he thought about how tough it was without money and wished he had a rich woman to support him.

Satoru couldn't help but complain; why was he a debtor in his previous life, and even after transmigrating, he still had money troubles?

While looking for a shinobi tools shop, Satoru intentionally avoided the area where he previously bought from. After all, Rin had claimed that the whole street belonged to her family, and he didn't want any trouble with her after injuring her during the assessment.

Unexpectedly, as he entered another shinobi tools shop, a salesgirl immediately approached him with enthusiasm.

"Are you Hyuga Satoru-kun? I've been waiting for you."

"What? Are you sure you've got the right person?" Satoru was taken aback.

The salesgirl beamed, "Absolutely, it's you! Our young miss said that we must treat you well once you came."

"Miss again? Is it Rin?"

Satoru's mouth twitched. Even after avoiding half the village, it turned out to be her shop.

The salesgirl continued, "Our young miss's family owns almost half of the shinobi tool shops in Konoha."

"...And what about outside Konoha?"

"Well, we have a few dozen there as well."

Satoru was speechless.

The salesgirl added, "Even though our boss is from the Uchiha clan and not skilled in combat, she is very adept at business. With the help of Nekobaa Grandma, her business has flourished."

"This environment has made our young miss highly competitive since childhood."

Satoru rolled his eyes. It seemed that Rin's rich woman and harem king traits were inescapable.

"Help me customize a set of metal arrows, made with chakra-conductive metal, and... How much will it cost?" Satoru hesitantly asked, as he didn't have much confidence due to his limited funds.

"1000 ryō."

"1000 ryō?" Satoru was surprised, not because it was expensive but because it was far cheaper than he expected. He had estimated it to be at least five digits.

"Yes." The salesgirl smiled. "Our young miss insisted on giving you a discount."

"That's interesting." Satoru rubbed his chin, relieved that someone was willing to be the scapegoat. "Make five arrows using the same specifications, but with chakra-conductive metal."

After placing the order, Satoru returned to school the next day and noticed that his classmates' attitudes toward him had changed.

Shocked, envious, admiring, jealous... various emotions were mixed in their gazes.

He also saw Iruha's complicated look, but Iruha immediately turned away, unwilling to make eye contact.

As Satoru sat down, he noticed Anko curiously leaning over.

"Hey, Satoru, are you really the guy they call the dual kekkei genkai user?"

"Of course." Satoru glanced at her, wondering why she was slow to react.

.

"I never expected someone to possess two kekkei genkai simultaneously. It's truly incredible; I thought having one was already the limit."

"You must be getting dumber from eating too many sweets. Kirigakure had dual bloodline users before, albeit rare. Read more books, will you?"

Before, if Satoru mocked her like this, she would have immediately retorted, but now that she knew he was a dual bloodline genius, she simply nodded and replied, "Oh."

Just then, Satoru noticed someone walking towards him. Looking up, he saw Rin.

"What do you want?" Satoru's voice was not loud; he felt a bit guilty about overcharging her when buying the arrows yesterday.

Rin calmly said, "Let's spar after school."

Satoru: ???

Seriously? Just because of a few chakra-conductive metal arrows? I could just pay her back later; it's not like it's a big deal. I'll just buy them in installments.

Perhaps sensing that his wording wasn't appropriate, Rin thought for a moment and said, "I wasn't satisfied with losing last time, so I've learned some new ninjutsu. Let's have a rematch after school."

Satoru breathed a sigh of relief, thinking, "Then, just say we'll have a match; what's with the theatrics?"

"Compared to Kakashi, you're a more suitable opponent," Rin added.

After a moment's pause, she continued, "If you agree, I'll cover the expenses for your shinobi tools in the future."

Interesting!

A smile appeared on Satoru's lips. The electromagnetic force ability he wanted to develop would require a lot of shinobi tools, and he couldn't rely on the clan. Since Rin was willing to be the scapegoat, why not take advantage of it?

After agreeing on the time and location, Rin returned to her seat.

Beside him, Anko curiously leaned over again and asked in a low voice, "Satoru, what's your relationship with Rin?"

Satoru thought for a moment and replied, "Business partners."

Anko: ???

After school, Rin followed Satoru to a forest behind the academy. A stream flowed gently through the trees, and the evening sun's glow filtered through the leaves, creating a pleasant atmosphere.

"Is this your usual training spot? Why don't you train on the clan's training ground?" Rin looked around and asked with mild interest.

"There are too many stubborn people in the big clan; it's not very comfortable training there." Satoru shrugged.

Hearing Satoru's words, Rin thought of some of the Uchiha clan's elders. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly, and she agreed, "Indeed, there are many old fogies in big clans."

Satoru smirked, looking at Rin. He couldn't help but say, "Honestly, I didn't think you'd really show up."

Rin raised an eyebrow, gazing at him. "Why do you say that?"

"Um..."

"Do you know that going to a small forest with male classmates can have certain implications in some places?"

"What implications?" Rin looked at him with a hint of confusion, her dark eyes fixed on him.

Satoru clenched his teeth; although Rin had a good appearance, she was a bit of a cold beauty. Yet, there was a voice in his head that kept repeating:

"I am not a tsundere, and I am not a tsundere."

Even though some shinobi got married at twelve or thirteen years old in the shinobi world, Satoru's views were influenced by his previous life. He didn't want to get too close to her and end up getting suffocated, especially since she was not only a rich woman but also a scroll king.

"Forget it, I don't want to discuss these boring topics with you." Rin's face showed impatience.

"Just start the spar!"