NOVEL NEXT Chapter 2: 2
Tetsuya sorted through the memories in his mind. Senju Hashirama had abdicated, and the current Hokage was the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.
Not long ago, Uchiha Madara suddenly appeared and attacked the village, leading to the Battle of the Valley of the End. Senju Hashirama defeated Uchiha Madara and successfully brought back the Nine Tails.
His wife, Uzumaki Mito, also known as Senju Mito, became the first Nine Tails Jinchūriki in Konoha.
At the same time, the ninja world began to experience unrest, and the air was thick with tension.
However, all of this had nothing to do with Tetsuya. After all, he was not a ninja. Even if a war were to break out, it would be a battlefield for ninjas, and it would not concern him as a civilian.
"Is this my original home?"
Tetsuya rubbed his face in a somewhat dilapidated house on the streets of Konoha.
Goodness, it's really shabby.
There was no way around it; when Uchiha Madara brought the Nine Tails to attack Konoha, the devastation was immense, and their aim seemed to be the complete destruction of Konoha.
Although his house was some distance from the battlefield, the intensity of the battle between Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama was too overwhelming.
The whole street was affected.
But after all, it was Senju Hashirama. He was genuinely kind and asked his ninjas to assess the damage across Konoha and formulate a compensation plan.
In his words, the villagers of Konoha had come there because of him.
And now, because everyone was suffering due to him and Madara, even though he was no longer the Hokage, he felt compelled to make amends.
"Are you Chiba Tetsuya?"
A voice sounded, and Tetsuya turned around to see a white-haired ninja wearing a Konoha forehead protector leading a team to his door.
Tetsuya hadn't closed the door. The ninja stood at the entrance and saw him sitting in the room in a daze.
"Hello, Ninja-sama, it's me."
Looking at this white-haired ninja, Tetsuya's first thought was whether this guy was Hatake Sakumo. Even if not, he was likely a ninja from the Hatake clan.
"Take this; it is the compensation promised by the First Hokage. Although it isn't much, it should be enough for you to rebuild your house and live comfortably."
Tetsuya took the thick wad of banknotes.
"Thank you very much."
"You don't need to thank me. If you want to express gratitude, thank the First Hokage."
"Yes, thank you very much, Hokage-sama!"
Tetsuya expressed his gratitude sincerely.
He had quickly glanced at the money and estimated it to be at least five thousand taels.
Don't be fooled by the amount; it's still the early days of Konoha, and prices hadn't inflated yet.
At the time of Naruto and his peers, the price of a bowl of ramen was around sixty to seventy taels, while a D-level mission ranged from five thousand to fifty thousand taels, with cuts for the village and the team leader.
In today's prices, as per his original memories, a bowl of noodles cost around thirty taels, nearly half the difference.
Therefore, in his opinion, these five thousand taels were indeed valuable.
After all, although his house was a bit dilapidated, it was still inhabitable. Repairing it, cleaning it up, and replacing some furniture wouldn't cost much.
The remaining money could serve as start-up capital for opening a store!
While he could also choose to recharge the 50,000 yen directly, exchanging it for 50,000 points, allowing him to draw twice from the most expensive 16,800-point prize pool, he didn't intend to do so.
What could he achieve even with power? Rob money? Or live the life of a ninja, taking on missions with constant danger?
He didn't favor that lifestyle. Compared to living on the edge, wouldn't it be better to engage in a small business?
Besides, he didn't believe that drawing twice from the highest-level prize pool would make him invincible.
The combat power in this ninja world is outrageous, with all kinds of monstrous powers, meteorite summoning, and even undead and aliens.
Even if one is immortal, there are numerous ways to be tricked. If you can't be killed, you can be sealed.
Moreover, there's the crafty Black Zetsu and the not-dead Sage of Six Paths. If I dare to flaunt my power today, I might not even know how I died later.
"Let's just open a store honestly. I have the technology and the start-up capital. I will definitely be able to build a business empire of my own in the future!"
Tetsuya started to make plans to open a store with confidence.
He first went to the business district, bought a store that had been affected by the fighting, and renovated it.
In fact, he just repaired the damaged areas and added tables, chairs, benches, dishes, and chopsticks.
Next, he purchased ingredients and began experimenting with making ramen.
In the kitchen, Tetsuya started kneading dough.
Although he had never cooked before traveling through time, it did not prevent him from mastering the full set of Ichiraku Ramen techniques.
Knead noodles, pull noodles, cut vegetables, make soup, cook noodles.
After a series of smooth operations, it was as if he was born to do this.
"Phew~! It's done."
Wiping the sweat from his forehead and looking at the steaming noodles in the pot, he felt a sense of accomplishment.
"It smells pretty good; let's give it a try."
Naturally, he let himself try the first bowl of noodles.
"Yes, indeed. The soup is delicious and has an endless aftertaste. The noodles are soft yet firm, fully infused with the soup's flavor. It's really great."
Tetsuya couldn't help but give himself a thumbs-up for the taste.
"Very good, then let's open the shop. A wonderful life is waiting for me."
The next afternoon, the Chiba Ramen shop signboard was put up.
To attract customers, he put up posters for the opening of a new store, offering a 20% discount for new customers on their first purchase, and a half-price second purchase for two people together.
Although Tetsuya had never done business before, he had observed many marketing tactics.
Many people saw this newly opened ramen shop and its offers, so they came with their relatives and friends. After all, if two people could dine together with a discount, who wouldn't want to take advantage of it?
Business was booming on the first day it opened. After all, the taste of Ichiraku Ramen is not something to be underestimated.
Looking at the shop full of customers, Tetsuya's hands almost made sparks while kneading the dough.
"Hoo~! Great luck on the opening, great harvest, great harvest!"
At night, sitting on the bed, Tetsuya counted his earnings with sore hands.
In just one day, he sold more than a hundred servings of ramen and earned over three thousand taels.
It was truly a great success. After all, he had only spent a little over a thousand yen on setting up the store, which cost almost two thousand taels, including other expenses and funds for purchasing ingredients.
In almost one day, he made back what he had spent, and it would be pure profit from tomorrow onward.
"Sha."
When the excitement passed, Tetsuya felt a sharp pain in his sore and swollen hands.
Oh dear, making ramen is indeed hard work.
If business gets better, I won't be able to keep up with the demand.
Will I need to hire staff then?
Suddenly, Tetsuya had a flash of inspiration.
"By the way, I can use the clone technique! Although the clone might break easily, I won't be using it in battle. It would be perfect for kneading dough!"
Thinking of this, Tetsuya felt he was simply a genius. Why recruit others when he could handle it himself?
But the premise of this plan is to refine Chakra and learn the clone technique.
But what's so hard about it? Nothing is difficult if you put your mind to it.
"Done!"
He decided to forgo sleep that night. Sitting on the bed, Tetsuya began to refine Chakra.