Chapter Thirty-Three: Learning Chakra and Ninjutsu (All Kinds of Pleas!)

Kahn had arranged all the affairs in Woodleaf, from the transfer of medicines to other matters. This time, it seemed the village had received a grant from the daimyo, so they only paid a small portion in gold, settling the rest—an even larger sum—in the currency used throughout the ninja world.

Seventy million ryo in total—a sum so vast he could never spend it all. After setting aside some funds for Kawaki Miwa to open a shop and covering two months’ worth of orphanage subsidies, Kahn took the remainder with him. He knew he couldn’t keep this much money on hand for long. In his eyes, these paper notes were nothing more than useless scraps if not spent quickly.

As he left the village, Kahn mulled over ways to spend the money. He would leave twenty million to Natsukawa, so she could continue expanding business within the Land of Fire; pay ten million to bring Kakuzu to his side as a ninjutsu instructor; use the rest to acquire gold, jewels, and, if he came across any rare or ancient artifacts with long histories, buy them all to sell at a profit to those foolish people in the East Seas.

While Kahn was staying in Woodleaf, Natsukawa had made rapid progress. She found two reliable candidates to manage the casino and brought them to Kawaki Town. She also recruited some wandering samurai and muscle—twenty-three in total. Only four of them could use chakra, and none were actual ninjas.

Recruiting ninjas skilled in ninjutsu from outside was next to impossible. Usually, only rogue ninjas fit the bill—otherwise, given how strictly each village controlled ninjutsu, it was difficult to learn it even in a minor ninja village. Woodleaf was considered the most open to commoners, yet after six years of schooling, all they taught was the basic three techniques. That alone showed how precious ninjutsu was. Otherwise, Kakuzu would never have become the star of the underground currency exchange—there were simply too few bounty hunters of his caliber.

“Well done, Natsukawa. Leaving outside affairs to you really sets my mind at ease,” Kahn said with a smile. Over this period, he had seen her abilities grow steadily as she took on more business and management responsibilities. At first, she had to consult him about even the placement of goods; now, Kahn could entrust her with much more without worry.

Natsukawa was a real talent. Though not strong herself, she was immensely useful to Kahn.

“Natsukawa, from now on, your salary will be tripled. Year-end bonuses will be calculated separately,” he told her. Hearing this, joy lit up her face. Her previous salary was enough to give her child a life of comfort; with it tripled, she could even consider preparing medicinal baths once her child entered the ninja academy.

Such treatments were normally reserved for geniuses among the ninja clans, but with her new salary, she could finally afford them. As for profit sharing, Kahn had considered it, but he wouldn’t mention it yet. Not until someone had given him ten years of loyal service would he bring it up. Rewards had to increase gradually—overnight fortune was a trap for both parties.

With staff, equipment, location, and security in place, the rest was simple. The casino opened quickly. At first, business was slow, but after a few days of promotion, customers began to trickle in. Once they experienced the novel gambling methods, they started to take a liking to the place.

The security detail still needed to be expanded. Kawaki Town had more than just the casino: there was also the sweets factory, the cocoa plantations, and other shops. Ideally, thirty to forty guards were needed—enough to keep everyone in town in check and deter troublemakers.

Afterward, Kahn had someone contact Kakuzu. But before Kakuzu arrived, Kahn asked Natsukawa about chakra and ninjutsu.

“Boss, you want to learn ninjutsu?” Natsukawa looked at Kahn in surprise. With his resources, he could easily hire ninja bodyguards. Besides, learning ninjutsu at his age would be strenuous and unrewarding. Still, she told him everything she knew.

“To learn ninjutsu, you must first learn to manifest chakra, then use hand seals to guide it along your meridians. Once the seals are complete, the ninjutsu is cast. As for chakra, it’s the combination of physical and spiritual energy…”

After explaining, Natsukawa demonstrated the Clone Technique and then shared the key points of chakra refinement, encouraging Kahn to try it himself.

But Kahn couldn’t get anywhere. All Natsukawa gave him was, “Focus your mind and combine your physical and spiritual energies. Control and maintain them, and you’ve succeeded.” It sounded simple, but Kahn was not of this world.

After a while, he still didn’t grasp what “physical energy” and “spiritual energy” meant. With an awkward smile, he said, “Natsukawa, could you let me feel your chakra? For example, have your chakra move through my body or something like that...”

“Like this? That shouldn’t be a problem,” she replied, placing her hand on his back, refining her chakra, and channeling it into him.

In an instant, Kahn felt an energy surge from her hand into his body—a wondrous sensation that made him feel lighter and more vigorous.

“That’s the feeling…”

Kahn felt suddenly empowered. He immediately formed hand seals, trying to use that feeling to refine chakra.

In this state, his body felt full of life, his strength greater than before. If he focused, he seemed almost able to perceive the physical and spiritual energy Natsukawa spoke of…

“Hmm, Natsukawa, why did you stop?”

Just as Kahn was getting the hang of it, the chakra flow from behind abruptly ceased. Turning, he saw Natsukawa’s face beaded with sweat, looking thoroughly exhausted.

“I... I need to rest, boss,” she panted.

Kahn nodded apologetically. “Rest as much as you need. Let me know if you need anything.”

It was a bit of a shame—he felt he’d nearly succeeded in refining chakra. But seeing her like this, he couldn’t push her further. After all, overusing chakra was dangerous.

After a day’s rest, Kahn asked her again, but the result was the same as before: Natsukawa collapsed from exhaustion, and Kahn still hadn’t refined any chakra.

After two identical failures, he stopped asking her for help. Perhaps it was because Natsukawa’s chakra reserves were too low, or perhaps it was something about his own body. But if she needed a day to recover each time, nothing else in Kawaki Town would get done.

A few days later, Kakuzu finished his latest bounty mission and hurried to Kawaki Town. But when he heard Natsukawa’s request, his expression darkened at first—only to swing around instantly when he saw the chest Kahn presented.

He opened it, his green eyes gleaming. No less than nine million—probably a clean ten million. What a generous employer!

Kakuzu’s mood improved immensely as he counted the money. Being a ninjutsu instructor? Couldn’t be easier for him. After all, he was once a top ninja of the Hidden Waterfall Village, who had fought the First Hokage himself!