Konoha cat breeder

Chapter 149: Making Money and the Graduation Mission

"To celebrate Minato and Kushina becoming apprentices of Jiraiya, one of the Sannin, and also to mark the one-year anniversary of the cat café's opening, let's have a barbecue tonight!"

Walking out of the Hokage's office, Tonari looked quite cheerful.

Don't be fooled by the fact that Jiraiya had only agreed to teach Minato and Kushina for a year. Once he spent some time with Minato, he'd understand what the term "irresistible charm" truly meant.

"Let's go! Let's splurge tonight! It's Tonari's treat!"

When Kushina heard they were having barbecue, she immediately lit up with excitement.

Hearing that he'd be footing the bill, Tonari's face twitched slightly in embarrassment.

"What's wrong? Not treating? It's your one-year anniversary celebration!" Kushina said, glaring at him with her fiery eyes.

"Alright, alright! Whatever you say, madam!" He immediately raised his hands in surrender.

Minato couldn't help but smile at the exchange.

Jiraiya, still not entirely sure of the situation, was beginning to notice how close these three were. His student, Minato, would face off against Orochimaru's student in a year, but their camaraderie seemed almost too good.

"Alright! I'll see you all at the barbecue place. I'm going to fetch Reika. You guys go ahead and start ordering!"

With that, Kushina hopped away joyfully.

Since Tonari's cat café opened, Kushina had often gone there to play. Upon meeting Reika, instead of sparking a rivalry between the two women, they hit it off immediately.

Reika's gentle demeanor seemed to resonate with Kushina, and the Uzumaki girl developed an inexplicable fondness for her. From their first meeting, they became fast friends.

Through Tonari, Reika also learned that Kushina was one of the last surviving members of the Uzumaki Clan in Konoha. This understanding deepened her bond with Kushina, as she felt a sense of kinship.

Kushina, in turn, never forgot to share interesting things or delicious treats with Reika, making her feel less alone in the village.

Watching Kushina's retreating figure, Jiraiya asked curiously, "Does that kid have a lot of money? Is he from some prominent clan?"

Minato, who respected Jiraiya as one of the Sannin and now his teacher, replied politely, "Jiraiya-sensei, Tonari is quite business-minded. He opened a cat café in Konoha and made a substantial profit. He used his earnings to purchase a lot of property in the village. As he puts it, he's practically Konoha's landlord."

Jiraiya blinked, stunned.

A cat café? Making that much money?

Minato chuckled and elaborated, explaining Tonari's pricing model:

Regular cat-petting sessions:

30 minutes: 2,000 ryō.

1 hour: 3,000 ryō.

Customers could also purchase membership cards.

Buying cats:

Ordinary breeds ranged from 50,000 to 150,000 ryō, depending on the type.

Specially trained cats that could understand human commands ranged from 150,000 to 300,000 ryō.

Ninja cats capable of using chakra started at 300,000 ryō, with no upper limit.

Tonari even offered custom-tailored cats, taking into account breed, chakra attributes, and strength level. According to him, with enough money, he could train a cat capable of passing the summoning beast exam and obtaining a ninja registration.

At first, many dismissed Tonari's cat café as a scam upon seeing the exorbitant price list.

However, Tonari stuck to his pricing and regularly strolled the streets with a cat in his arms, letting people pet it for free on occasion.

As the saying goes: petting a cat once is delightful; petting a cat continuously is addictive.

Gradually, people began visiting his café, and the number of customers grew. Members of prominent clans such as the Uchiha, Hyūga, Nara, and Yamanaka also began frequenting the café, partly to build a relationship with him.

Unexpectedly, they found themselves hooked.

For shinobi, who live in a constant cycle of killing and surviving in life-or-death situations, petting cats proved to be an effective stress reliever.

The cat café's business skyrocketed.

Eventually, Tonari introduced membership cards and even catered to customers who wanted to buy cats to take home. This led to a surge in demand for high-quality ninja cats that could double as pets and summons.

Business boomed, and Tonari's earnings grew exponentially.

Jiraiya was left dumbfounded.

"This kid is loaded?"

Minato nodded. "Not just loaded—he's super loaded."

Jiraiya's eyes twitched. "Then let's milk him for all he's worth!"

Hearing their conversation, Tonari smiled faintly.

Did Minato think this was the extent of his money-making abilities?

Too naive.

While Tonari's ventures in Konoha had been highly profitable, over the past year, he had secretly trained and deployed countless stray cats across the ninja world. These cats quietly gathered other strays in various towns.

Promising ones were brought back to Konoha for further training and categorized based on their potential.

Through this network, Tonari was establishing an intelligence system unique to him, covering almost every town in the ninja world.

Using Kakuzu's connections, Tonari infiltrated underground bounty exchange centers, selling information about notable ninja locations. The pricing varied based on the target's strength and position.

Initially skeptical, Kakuzu became fully convinced of Tonari's intelligence network after seeing its results. Their partnership was formalized.

Within a year, Tonari's intelligence network began generating revenue, with its growth promising even greater profits in the future.

In the underground world, people believed the intelligence system was Kakuzu's creation, unaware that the real mastermind was a young café owner from Konoha—a special jōnin named Tonari.

Kakuzu, despite his ruthless reputation, remained tight-lipped about Tonari's identity, staying true to his motto: "Paid to do a job, no questions asked."

Tonari's two employees were Reika, who required only shelter and safety, and Kakuzu, whose fees were high but manageable given the café's earnings.

---

That evening, at the barbecue restaurant, the group enjoyed their meal. The owner, a long-time patron of the cat café, even gave Tonari a 10% discount.

Jiraiya, embodying a classic envy of the rich, ate as much as Tonari, if not more.

---

The Next Morning

Before dawn, Tonari met Orochimaru at Konoha's gates.

The two set off together.

After the barbecue, Orochimaru had informed Tonari of an important mission requiring his assistance. Though apprehensive, Tonari knew this task was significant, given Orochimaru's involvement.

"Orochimaru-sensei, what's our mission? It seems we're heading out of the Land of Fire. Is the target outside?" Tonari asked.

Orochimaru didn't keep him guessing. "Our experiments have reached a bottleneck. To break through, I plan to collect some rare and valuable materials that might hold the key."

Tonari froze, realizing where this was going.

Orochimaru's piercing gaze lingered briefly on Tonari's bandaged left arm, almost as if he could see through it.

Suppressing a shiver, Tonari trusted in the Uzumaki Clan's sealing techniques to conceal his secrets.

Orochimaru continued, "Among the cells of Hashirama Senju, I've discovered a peculiar energy that doesn't align with standard chakra attributes. If it's not one of the five basic elements, my first thought is tailed beast chakra."

Hearing this, Tonari's heart raced.

Orochimaru had already deduced a key element of Hashirama's Wood Release—an insight that could revolutionize their experiments.

As Orochimaru outlined their target, Tonari realized their mission was far more dangerous than he'd anticipated.

Their first goal: the Eight-Tails of the Cloud Village.

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