Being a Ninja is, without a doubt, a profession where money flows like water.
Every battle, the Kunai and shuriken thrown, and the Ninja tools used are all bought with money.
The most expensive Ninja tools are exploding tags, smoke bombs, flash bombs, and similar tools that can catch an opponent off guard or even change the tide of battle.
Fighting is not just fighting; it's also burning money. Poor Ninja can't even afford Ninja tools.
There's a reason some rogue Ninja are hired by dark forces. Without the protection of a Ninja village, they have no legitimate channels to take missions and earn money.
When even survival becomes an issue, they naturally don't care who hires them.
Orochimaru returned home, laid out all her Ninja tools on the bed, and held her bankbook, looking at the inheritance and condolence money left after her parents' deaths, falling into contemplation. She really wanted to ask Hiruzen Sarutobi if he could reimburse her for the smoke bombs she had used earlier.
With her current status, the lowest-level D-rank missions are what she can take. A single mission earns between 10,000 and 50,000 ryo. After the Ninja village takes its cut and the small team divides it, getting a few thousand ryo is considered good.
This also meant that the smoke bombs she used earlier were worth the money earned from one D-rank mission.
(In the manga, during Shikamaru and Chouji's fight, they used exploding tags and smoke bombs, and Shikamaru, pained by the cost, said that exploding tags and smoke bombs were very expensive Ninja tools.
You should know, Shikamaru is from the Nara Clan, and even people from a prominent family felt the pinch of exploding tags and smoke bombs, let alone ordinary Ninja.
They would definitely avoid using them if possible, and would only bring them out in a last resort.)
It was impossible for Orochimaru to just sit around and deplete her resources.
Considering her current age and Genin status, she needed to think of other ways to earn money.
Both Ninjutsu and scientific research required a lot of money.
Her parents' inheritance and survivor's benefits would only allow her to live comfortably during her childhood.
Write novels?
Start a catering business?
Orochimaru thought of the surprisingly bland Japanese food Tsunade treated her to.
It wasn't that she was picky, but she genuinely wasn't used to Japanese cuisine.
If it weren't for fear of Tsunade, who could explode like a powder keg at the slightest temper, getting angry, she wouldn't have had to pretend to be very satisfied with the food.
She wondered if Chinese cuisine could bring a culinary revolution to this world and provide her with long-term income.
However, given her current age, relying on catering to make money was clearly unrealistic.
If it were Orochimaru who had defected from Konoha and established the Hidden Sound Village in the Land of Rice Fields, she would have enough subordinates to use catering to make money.
The Six Paths Sage's underwear... she was still suffering from the disadvantage of age!
Orochimaru scratched her head in distress.
Given the current situation, it seemed the only way to earn extra money was to write novels, unless it was an assigned mission.
Otherwise, she didn't want to do D-rank missions like catching cats, walking dogs, playing with children, pest control, weeding, digging sweet potatoes...
According to Orochimaru's memory, the technological level and social development of this world were quite deformed and twisted.
It was clearly an extremely feudal society, yet technological development had reached the level of the 19th-20th centuries.
Currently, Uzushiogakure of the Land of Whirlpools had not yet been destroyed, and Konoha and Uzushiogakure had frequent and close interactions.
Uzumaki Mito's existence ensured that the relationship between the two villages was not affected by the deaths of Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama.
Judging by the time Uzumaki Kushina arrived in Konoha, Uzushiogakure should have been destroyed during the Second Shinobi World War.
Strange, given the relationship between Konoha and Uzushiogakure, why didn't Hiruzen Sarutobi... why didn't Konoha support Uzushiogakure?
Or was there some hidden reason behind it?
What am I thinking...
This kind of thing is too early for me right now.
Orochimaru forced herself not to think about things that were still out of her reach.
After tidying up her Ninja tools, Orochimaru prepared paper and pen, then created two Shadow Clones.
The Shadow Clones would train while she herself sat at the table writing novels.
Based on her understanding of her own body, two Shadow Clones training was within her acceptable limits.
When the Shadow Clones were dispelled, the fatigue and experience would return to her main body.
Any more Shadow Clones would start to affect her.
Hmm... what should I write...
Orochimaru twirled the pen in her hand and thought of Jiraiya's "Make-Out Paradise."
Why not write something explicit... Who cares, earning money by writing erotic novels isn't bad either.
Orochimaru didn't think there was anything wrong with writing erotic novels.
In her previous life, Konoha's Sannin were known for gambling, women, and drugs.
Gambling aside, she embraced both women and drugs.
Since she only remembered the general plot, Orochimaru added her own adaptations and localized it to be more suitable for the people of the Ninja World.
It transformed from a book that exposed the contradictions of feudal society's economic life and the conflicts between rulers and the oppressed, into a very profound book that could teach many stances, no, knowledge.
Maybe, the two warring nations will stop fighting because of my book!
Orochimaru looked at the outline she had written with satisfaction, a joyful curve appearing at the corner of her lips.
On the way to the training ground, Orochimaru's Shadow Clone saw a sneaking figure.
Jiraiya?
That direction is the bathhouse?
Orochimaru hesitated for a moment and followed him.
Outside the women's bathhouse, Jiraiya's eyes widened in excitement as he looked at the scene inside.
Just then, a hand patted his shoulder, startling him into a scream.
"Who?!"
"Someone's peeping?!"
"Pervert!"
The women bathing in the bathhouse noticed someone peeking and all stood up, running outside.
Hearing the screams of the older sisters in the bathhouse, Jiraiya saw Orochimaru behind him and dragged her into an alley.
Jiraiya, seeing no one was chasing them, breathed a sigh of relief.
Looking at Orochimaru, who had ruined his fun, he reproached, "Orochimaru, are you trying to scare me to death?"
"Jiraiya, that behavior of yours was peeping, wasn't it?"
"Wh-what peeping! I was admiring the beauty of the older sisters! Don't talk nonsense if you don't understand!"
"Indeed, a pervert..."
Orochimaru's eyes held a hint of disdain.
"Hey, you won't tell anyone, will you?"
Jiraiya looked at Orochimaru with apprehension.
"No, but if you dare to peep at Tsunade and me, you're dead."
Orochimaru left a warning-filled remark and hurried to the training ground.
---
Things are unpredictable...
Orochimaru held a trash picker, numbly picking up garbage from the ground and tossing it into the basket on her back, moving at a steady, robotic pace.
She didn't know what kind of madness her dear Hiruzen Sarutobi was in today, not dealing with documents in the Hokage Building, but taking on a D-rank mission for them to clean up trash.
"Hiruzen Sarutobi, why do we have to do this kind of thing! Isn't training more important right now!"
Jiraiya couldn't help but throw the trash picker to the ground.
He still wanted to train hard to learn Summoning Jutsu so he could show off in front of pretty older sisters, how could he waste precious time here.
"Cough!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi held a piece of paper.
"After this mission, there's another pet-finding mission."
"Eh~ aren't there any more challenging missions, Hiruzen Sarutobi?"
Tsunade said unenthusiastically, D-rank missions were too boring.
"With your current strength, you can only do D-rank missions."
Hiruzen Sarutobi said seriously.
It was truly because no one else was willing to do these two missions that he brought them to his students.
He really wanted to lead by example and promote the model of one teacher with three students, but as Hokage, he was also very busy.
Given their growth, perhaps in a while, they could be given more difficult missions.
On the quiet street, a black shadow flashed by, and in the darkness, a pair of eyes emitted a faint glow.
"Fat, Shiba Inu, characteristics match, target confirmed as Ah-Wang."
Orochimaru squatted on the rooftop, narrowing her eyes at the Shiba Inu hiding in the shadows.
"I have reached point C."
Tsunade arrived at point C, which was the direction the mission target might escape to if it ran away.
"Very good, Jiraiya, Tsunade, prepare for action."
As soon as Orochimaru finished speaking, she saw Jiraiya boldly walking towards the mission target.
"Ebi! Watch me!"
Jiraiya wanted to show his manly side in front of Orochimaru and Tsunade, and lunged at the snarling Shiba Inu in the shadows.
"Woof woof woof—!"
"Got it! Got it!"
"Woof woof woof—!"
"Ah! It bit me! Quick, come help!"
A piercing dog bark came from the alley, followed by Jiraiya's screams.
Orochimaru was holding a chubby Shiba Inu with a tail wagging like a propeller and its tongue hanging out.
Jiraiya had tears in the corners of his eyes, covering his arm which had been bitten by the Shiba Inu named Ah-Wang.
He had a banana peel on his head and smelled sour, looking quite disheveled, clearly having had an intimate encounter with a trash can.
"Why didn't it bite you?"
Jiraiya looked at Ah-Wang, who was as docile as a doll in Orochimaru's hands, completely devoid of its previous ferocity, and was full of resentment.
"I suggest you go to the hospital."
Orochimaru glanced at Jiraiya's arm, wondering if there was rabies in this world, otherwise, the Inuzuka Clan would be the first to get it.
"What do you mean?"
Jiraiya froze for a moment and looked at his arm.
"Need I say more? Orochimaru means you should get your head checked.
If you rush in so thoughtlessly, who else would get bitten but you?"
Tsunade walked to Orochimaru's side, resting her arm on her shoulder, gloatingly looking at Jiraiya.
"You try getting bitten by a dog too!"
Jiraiya angrily tried to throw Ah-Wang, who was in Orochimaru's hands, at Tsunade.
Orochimaru, sensing what Jiraiya was trying to do, dodged his outstretched hand and retreated several steps, leaving enough space for Jiraiya and Tsunade to have a fight.
Fight, fight!
Orochimaru watched the two antagonists, silently cheering them on.
"You scoundrel!"
Bang—!
The scene Orochimaru had anticipated didn't happen, because Jiraiya was knocked out by one punch from Tsunade.
What a short battle!
Orochimaru glanced at Jiraiya, who was lying on the ground, sighing in her heart.
She watched Tsunade walk towards her step by step, taking half a step back.
She wouldn't be unsatisfied with the fight and want to beat me up, would she?
"It looks so cute, chubby like a little pig!"
Tsunade's eyes sparkled as she looked at the docile and cute Ah-Wang.
"Woof woof woof!"
It seemed Tsunade's words provoked Ah-Wang, and it barked fiercely.
"I take back what I just said."
Tsunade looked at Ah-Wang, who was trying to pounce and bite her, and no longer found it cute.
"Ah-Wang! My Ah-Wang! You must have been starving these past few days you were lost!"
Ah-Wang's owner was an elderly grandmother, who didn't forget to bring dog food when she came to pick up Ah-Wang, feeding it spoon by spoon.
Is this a case of "hungry" as in, "Grandma thinks you're hungry"?
Orochimaru looked at the listless Ah-Wang, feeling that a mission to find Ah-Wang would surely happen again soon.
"No wonder it wanted to run away..."
Jiraiya saw the grandmother's overwhelming affection for Ah-Wang and understood why Ah-Wang had run away.
"Hmph! Not cute at all."
Tsunade had no sympathy for Ah-Wang's plight; after all, the dog tried to bite her.