Chapter 28: The Impatient Tenten
Akiyama Makoto smiled faintly. It seemed Uzuki Yūgao had taken the tulip.
In the simulation, he had also given her a tulip, but the real Yūgao couldn't possibly know that. So, Makoto had bought an extra one, considering it a thank-you for her previous help. Now that he could train his chakra on his own, the two of them might never have another chance to interact.
After a simple breakfast, Makoto began to eagerly train his body and refine his chakra. He could now do these things openly. Besides, with his youthful mindset, it was understandable for him to be engrossed in training, wasn't it? As for writing, he could relax his body in the afternoon and write a little each evening. As long as he wrote one book every two to three months, he could publish at least three books before Sarutobi Hiruzen's death, which would be enough to make a name for himself.
Just as Makoto was in the middle of a heated workout, a thump, thump came from the door.
He looked over in surprise. It was Tenten, waving and smiling at him.
"Tenten, what are you doing here?"
Makoto glanced down at his sweaty appearance. "Come in and sit down. I'll go take a shower..."
"No, no need! We're both ninja, and I train in taijutsu all the time. A little sweat is nothing."
To prove her point, Tenten leaned in, twitched her nose, and sniffed. "See? There's not really a smell. After all, you're always very clean, aren't you, Makoto-kun?"
Only then did she realize her actions were a bit too intimate, and she fidgeted, at a loss for what to do.
"Alright then, I'll go wash my face. Just a moment."
Makoto gave her some space. When he met with her again, he had returned to his appearance of a graceful young man in white.
Tenten rested her chin in her palm, smiling as she looked at him. No matter how she looked at it, he seemed very different from everyone else.
"What would you like to eat? Besides senbei, I also have dango today."
Makoto's words pulled Tenten back to reality. She sat up straight and said, "I'm here to talk about the payment for the Fragmentation Kunai."
"Do you have any conditions? You can state them freely, and we can discuss them slowly."
After Tenten went home yesterday, she and her family had studied the matter all night. She had tried her best to fight for his interests, but her parents, after learning he was an orphan, had ideas of severely lowballing the price. Tenten had been so angry she almost got into a huge fight with them. In the end, she had to play the card that Makoto was highly regarded by the Hokage to finally convince them.
Even so, she was still not satisfied with the price they offered. Thus, she was feeling very anxious right now, extremely worried that this matter would cause a rift between her and Makoto. Compared to this paltry sum, Tenten felt that building a good relationship with him was the most important thing.
"Discuss?"
Makoto shook his head. "There's no need. I'll accept whatever price you offer."
"This design is mainly to repay you for saving my life. I'd be fine with giving it to you for free."
"We'll have many more opportunities to cooperate. I can make money later."
Tenten was dumbfounded. Did his words mean that he could design even more ninja tools? Of course! How had she not thought of that?!
Tenten patted her own head, deeply reproaching herself for not being smart enough. If she had used this argument yesterday, she might have been able to secure double the benefits for him.
"I understand you want to thank me, but it's best not to mix personal feelings with business."
"How about this? My family will give you a smaller share this time, and for our next collaboration, we'll give you an extra ten percent. How does that sound?"
Seeing Makoto nod, Tenten breathed a sigh of relief. "My plan is, starting from today, my family will give you 150,000 Ryō per month. Then, at the end of the year, we'll give you a share of thirty percent of the profits. How about it?"
Tenten made a fist with one hand and held up an open palm with the other, signaling the number fifteen. This was the absolute limit she could offer.
To her surprise, Makoto shook his head again.
Tenten grew anxious. Just as she was about to raise the price, she saw him reach out, take her hand, and close it into a fist.
If it's 200,000 Ryō, I'll just have to bite the bullet... she thought, relieved.
Before she could even bite the bullet, Makoto took her fist and placed it under the table. "100,000 Ryō is enough," he said with a smile.
"W-Wait a minute!"
Tenten quickly interrupted him. "How is 100,000 Ryō enough? You need money to open your Storyteller's Tea Hall, you need stationery to write your books, and you need to supplement your nutrition for training..."
Before she could finish, Makoto leaned across the table, his face getting so close to hers that they were almost touching. Tenten was instantly petrified.
Seeing her face was about to turn completely red, Makoto said, "Tenten, tell me the truth. The price your parents offered was 100,000 Ryō a month, wasn't it?"
"The other 50,000 is coming out of your own pocket. I'm not wrong, am I?"
"Don't look away. Look at me."
Tenten looked into his eyes, which were just inches away. All the excuses she had prepared were now stuck in her throat. In the end, she pursed her lips and gave a soft "Mm."
Every month, Tenten had a ninja tool expense allowance of 100,000 Ryō. She had originally planned to take a portion of that, plus her income from missions, to supplement the extra 50,000 Ryō for him.
As for why Makoto had guessed this, the answer was simple. In the second simulation, this is exactly what she had done. The current Tenten was simply following the same path, driven by her personality.
Only then did Makoto let go of her hand and sit back. "Tenten," he said seriously, "you're a professional ninja now. If you use your own income to subsidize me, you won't have enough resources to be fully prepared for every battle."
"Do you really think that in my eyes, your safety isn't worth more than 50,000 Ryō?"
His tone was stern. Tenten bit her lip, aggrieved, and mumbled, "I was just thinking of you..."
"I know, and I'm grateful, Tenten. That's why I have to think of you, too. 100,000 Ryō is more than enough for me."
Tenten nodded, but she still looked a little dejected. She had wanted to do something for him, but in the end, she had accomplished nothing. The feeling of failure was disheartening.
But how could Makoto let her be unhappy?
A smile curved his lips. "If you really want to help me, there is actually another way."
"What is it?" Tenten's eyes lit up instantly.
"Teach me some taijutsu, of course!"
Makoto said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "I can't learn ninjutsu, but you can teach me some fighting techniques that use chakra, right?"
The moment he finished speaking, Tenten jumped to her feet, grabbed his arm, and started running outside.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go train outside the village!"
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