"Mr. Yoichi, is this ring really valuable? It's the first time I've seen you so interested in something like this..."
Sakura asked with a probing smile on her charming face, hoping to gather more information.
But Uchiha Yoichi smiled and said, "Sakura, we haven't met often; if Ino had said this, it would've been understandable. You really don't have to... I find this ring interesting, so I'm willing to pay for it. If you want to study it yourselves, just pretend I never said anything."
Ino, again with Ino... what's with these two? Why does this person mention Ino right from the start?
Sakura thought indignantly. Although she and Ino have been best friends since childhood, hearing another man constantly praise Ino in front of her made her feel a tiny bit uneasy.
"I'm just curious... But Mr. Yoichi, what are you willing to trade for it?"
Uchiha Yoichi pretended to ponder for a while before speaking, "Hmm... two billion ryo, plus five Fourth-Grade Secret Medicines and two Fifth-Grade Secret Medicines."
"Two billion ryo? And secret medicines?"
Upon hearing this, Sakura immediately opened her cherry-red lips, feeling like she had misheard. But after confirming it was indeed two billion ryo, she was at a loss for what to do.
The Fourth Great Ninja War had ended a long time ago, and many voices in the Land of Fire felt that ninja power wasn't necessary anymore. However, the Land of Fire Daimyo still strongly supported Konoha.
But the Daimyo Mansion's funding for Konoha is only about one or two billion ryo a year. Compared to before the Fourth Great Ninja War, Konoha now has much fewer ninja forces, which is the result of a common agreement among the Five Great Ninja Villages.
Two billion is equivalent to Konoha's entire annual budget. Hearing this, Sakura dared not make a decision on her own, let alone with the Fourth and Fifth-Grade Secret Medicines...
"Mr. Yoichi, I need to ask Naruto about this, so please wait a moment..."
After saying this, Sakura arranged for someone to guide Uchiha Yoichi and then went to find Uzumaki Naruto; she didn't forget to take the ring with her, and on her way past the Barrier Team, she also pulled Ino along.
After arriving at the Hokage Office, Sakura explained everything that had just happened.
"Two billion and so many secret medicines. I remember Third-Grade Secret Medicine can't even be bought with money. Fifth-Grade Secret Medicine can allow a Genin to face several Jonin head-on... Is that guy so rich, exchanging so much for a ring?"
Yamanaka Ino touched her chin, feeling a bit surprised, but then she tilted her head and asked, "But what does this have to do with me? Sakura, why did you bring me here?"
Sakura waved her hand and said, "You're his friend, so you should know him well; that's why I'm asking you about the situation."
"What do you mean 'know well'? I don't know anything."
Sakura leaned in, staring at Yamanaka Ino and said in an odd tone, "But that's not what he said. He said you're a rare find in the entire Ninja World, a woman who's beautiful and kind-hearted."
"...How should I know he would say that."
Yamanaka Ino replied stubbornly, but inside she felt very shy, secretly thinking how this guy reveals everything. If it's not hidden, their relationship would surely be discovered.
"Ino, did Yoichi ask you about anything?"
Nara Shikamaru harbored some suspicion. He wasn't worried about Ino's loyalty to Konoha, but if that guy used other methods to casually get information from Ino, it would be normal for Ino not to realize it.
"No, I haven't met him many times, and we haven't talked about the village."
On the surface, Ino looked unchanged, but inside she felt a bit angry. Shikamaru's wariness was a bit excessive; why was he constantly suspicious of Yoichi for no reason?
"Really nothing? Maybe you accidentally revealed something..."
"Shikamaru!"
Yamanaka Ino's expression turned serious, and she asked, "Are you accusing me?"
"No... Sorry, Ino, I just don't trust that person too much. I didn't mean to question you."
Nara Shikamaru realized that his previous words seemed somewhat distrustful of Ino and quickly apologized. He and Ino had been classmates and partners for over twenty years, and what he said was indeed somewhat excessive.
"I've never disclosed anything about the village, and before I took over the reorganization of the Barrier Team, I was just a Jonin running the Yamanaka Flower Shop..."
After a moment of silence, Yamanaka Ino slowly spoke.
Uzumaki Naruto, noticing the tense atmosphere in the room, quickly changed the subject, "Let's not talk about this. There's definitely no issue with Ino, let's talk about the ring... For the Yin Yang Master to offer so much for it, it must be a treasure brought by that Exotic Beast. Have you found anything?"
Sakura spoke up, "We didn't find anything. We don't recognize the inscription; it's not something from the Ninja World..."
"Let me use Sage Mode to sense it."
After saying this, Uzumaki Naruto entered Sage Mode, then picked up the ring and carefully sensed it. After a while, he put down the ring and shook his head, "There's nothing unusual, it's just an ordinary ring."
Nara Shikamaru and Ino also took a look, and Yamanaka Ino even used Perception Ninjutsu, but still found nothing.
In terms of perception ability, Uzumaki Naruto's Sage Mode should be among the strongest in the Ninja World. If he didn't find anything, then other perception ninjas would be even less likely to.
After everyone took turns examining it, they exchanged looks, unsure of what to say.
Nara Shikamaru suggested, "How about letting Sasuke come back to take a look?"
"His perception ability isn't stronger than mine, and the Rinnegan... Right, Shikamaru, let Hanabi come over."
Uzumaki Naruto suddenly thought that the Byakugan might be stronger than the Sharingan in terms of insight, especially since this isn't a combat situation.
Nara Shikamaru also thought about the Byakugan, and since Hanabi was still in the village, he asked other ninjas to bring her over.
When Hyuga Hanabi arrived and learned the reason she was summoned, she activated her Byakugan and carefully inspected the object, even probing it with her Chakra.
In the end, she detected nothing and shook her head, saying, "Isn't this just an ordinary ring? Why did you call me to look at this...."
Seeing that even Hyuga Hanabi couldn't discern anything, the people in the room felt a bit resigned; however, they all believed that since Uchiha Yoichi offered so much to buy this ring, it couldn't be ordinary.
But they couldn't find any special trait.
As the room fell silent, Sakura asked, "So what do we do? Should I go back and refuse him?"
"Agree to it...."
Uzumaki Naruto thought about it for a while before saying, "The village recently needs money for many things, and if you hadn't mentioned it, Sakura, I was just about to discuss with the Daimyo...."
Konoha had faced various issues lately, causing a sudden increase in expenses over the past month.
"Sell it to that man... Alright, I have no objections."
Nara Shikamaru instinctively wanted to object, but he couldn't think of a reason. Compared to keeping this mysterious ring in Konoha's care, it made more sense to exchange it for money and secret medicine, allowing Konoha to recover quickly.
With this money, Konoha could also help more affected civilians.
Uzumaki Naruto said, "Since that's settled, Sakura, I'll leave this matter to you. You can also decide on the secret medicine."
"Yes, I understand, but...."
Sakura shifted the conversation, asking Ino, "Ino, why don't you come with me?"
Yamanaka Ino immediately felt cautious and said, "Huh? Why should I go? It's just selling a ring..."
"You're friends with her after all, and you could have a say when selecting the secret medicine, so come along, Ino."
"Alright..."
Ino felt that continuing to refuse might cause Sakura to notice something, so she agreed outright.
After confirming the decision, Sakura took the ring and returned to the place where exotic beasts' corpses were stored underground.
By then, Uchiha Yoichi had almost discerned the information on the dragon-headed lion's corpse, noting it was nearly at the peak of a Combat Emperor's strength, but had given birth not long ago.
The demon core was still a Tier Six Demon Core, suitable for refining high-grade elixirs; however, there were few medicinal materials in the Ninja World to complement a Tier Six Demon Core, and even if he obtained it, it would probably end up stored in a storage ring.
Upon seeing Sakura return, Uchiha Yoichi asked, "So, is there a reply?"
"Yes, Konoha is willing to sell this ring to you."
After speaking, Sakura handed over the storage ring.
Uchiha Yoichi guessed they must have tried many methods, but what they probably never attempted was blood recognition, especially since this was a high-grade storage ring the dragon-headed lion had acquired from somewhere, bearing its spiritual mark.
Taking the storage ring, Uchiha Yoichi smiled and said, "Thank you, the money and secret medicine are available anytime. Do you want to come over now to get them?"
"This afternoon or tomorrow; I still have things to do, but I'll visit then."
Sakura shook her head, then asked, "Mr. Yoichi, about the summoned beast's corpse..."
"I took a small part, intending to study it thoroughly when I get back; perhaps parts of this exotic beast's body can be used for alchemy."
With that, Uchiha Yoichi bid farewell and prepared to leave, finding no reason to stay any longer.
——————————
After leaving the underground space where the dragon-headed lion was stored, Uchiha Yoichi prepared to go back and check what treasures were within the storage ring.
However, upon returning to his pharmacy, he sensed another visitor.
The familiar Chakra told Uchiha Yoichi exactly who had slipped in.
He walked up to the third floor, opened the door, and casually deflected an attacking hand to the side before wrapping his arm around Lady Temari's slender waist, pulling her into his embrace.
Smelling the fragrance on Temari's neck as he held her up and walked her towards the bathroom, he said, "Lady Temari, coming for our meeting so soon is quite a surprise....."
"Bastard..."
Having failed at her attempt to retaliate with a punch, Temari angrily said, "Hurry and remove that spiritual mark, or I won't let you off....."
"As long as you visit me every day, it can be removed in five days, Lady Temari.... today just counts as once!"
Upon entering the bathroom, the sound of clothes rustling quickly emerged, soon followed by the sound of running water and muffled moans.
And the intermittent sound of applause-like impacts....