Malphegor
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HSU: Ch. 179
🕑 Added 2025-02-04 18:04:37 +0000 UTCGranny Cat was a true cat lover—at least, that's how she appeared.
She was quite old, dressed in an orange, padded coat, with a large scarf wrapped around her neck. Her hairstyle was flamboyant, almost like a peacock fanning its feathers.
She also wore a cat-ear headband.
When Masashi entered, this black-market merchant was sitting on the carpet, playing with a group of cats.
The name "Granny Cat" largely came from this very habit.
"Masashi, it's been a while."
"I've been busy these past two years; otherwise, I would have come to visit you earlier," Masashi said with a smile.
"You all, come greet Granny properly. Especially you, Sasuke—don't cause trouble. The cats here don't like being startled."
Sasuke was at an extremely mischievous age, and every time he visited, he enjoyed scaring the cats.
Not all the cats here were ninja cats.
"Hello, Granny!" he greeted energetically.
"Mm-hmm, you are as lively as ever." Granny Cat beamed at Sasuke, her expression filled with affection.
She loved cats, but she loved Uchiha children even more.
Granny Cat wasn't a lone wolf—she came from a family of black-market merchants, a family that had long-standing ties with the Uchiha clan in the underground world.
Though they operated in the black market, they were known for their integrity—strict about product quality, unwilling to flatter customers, standing out as a rare beacon of honesty in a world where deception and overpricing were the norm.
She was the leader of her clan in black-market dealings and had a deep personal bond with the Uchiha. Even the proud Uchiha held great respect for her.
In the original timeline, even after the Uchiha clan had been wiped out for years, Sasuke continued to purchase weapons here. Even before his defection from Konoha, he was a frequent customer—clearly, Granny Cat was giving him special treatment, because no mere genin could afford to buy weapons from her so regularly.
And Sasuke, sharp as ever, was fully aware of this. She was one of the few people he still respected after his clan's demise. Before leading Team Taka to find Itachi, perhaps uncertain of his victory, he had expressed gratitude to Granny Cat for taking care of him all these years.
To her, Sasuke was just Sasuke—the boy she had watched grow up.
In that timeline, she was also the only one who genuinely mourned the tragic fate that forced the two Uchiha brothers to fight to the death.
"Itachi didn't come today?" she glanced behind the group, searching for his figure.
"No, he's preparing for the Chunin Exams," Masashi replied. "Shisui's been training him nonstop."
This year, Itachi would be participating in the joint Chunin Exams.
The lineup wasn't much different from the last one held in Suna.
However, this time, the joint exam would be held in Kiri.
The leading jonin hadn't been decided yet, but it likely wouldn't be an Uchiha. This responsibility needed to be rotated.
Masashi estimated that this time, the Sarutobi clan's jonin would take the lead.
"What a pity. That boy is so well-behaved—so well-behaved that it makes my heart ache."
"Yeah," Masashi sighed. "He's too well-behaved."
There was no questioning Itachi's talent, but he had matured far too early, in an unusual way.
He wasn't as extreme as in the original timeline, but still…
From Masashi's current standpoint, it was difficult to judge the choices Itachi made in that other world.
But from the perspective of protecting Konoha, those choices were a complete mystery.
Setting aside everything else, did anyone consider how much Konoha's overall strength declined after the Uchiha were wiped out? Even Tobirama, who distrusted the Uchiha, still sought ways to integrate their power into the village.
After Madara's supposed "death," the Uchiha clan hadn't produced another god-tier powerhouse, but they remained one of the village's strongest fighting forces. Their Sharingan was so formidable that people actively strategized how to counter Uchiha with three-tomoe Sharingan in battle.
If it wasn't important, no one would have bothered researching it.
With the Uchiha gone, other villages must have been thrilled, and yet even after their destruction, when a lone Uchiha reappeared for the Chunin Exams years later, just hearing his surname made him the center of attention—while everyone else faded into the background.
From a strategic perspective, exterminating the Uchiha was one of the riskiest moves Konoha could have made—it practically invited war. The biggest troublemakers in the village were gone; of course, the enemy would pounce.
And from the perspective of protecting his younger brother, Itachi's later actions were even more incomprehensible—practically supernatural.
On the night of the massacre, the first thing he did when he saw Sasuke was hit him with Tsukuyomi.
Years later, fearing that Sasuke wasn't being "protected" properly, he snuck back into the village, beat him up, and hit him with Tsukuyomi again.
For all the years Sasuke struggled to survive in Konoha, the worst beatings he took were from his own brother.
Tsukuyomi was nothing like Kotoamatsukami—it was the most lethal Mangekyō Sharingan illusion.
Lethal.
It wasn't meant for control, hypnosis, or confusion—it was purely a killing technique. One hit, and if you survived, you were still left half-dead.
Why not just use a regular genjutsu? Was that too inconvenient?
So yeah, Masashi simply couldn't understand Itachi's thought process.
And he had to admit—he still held a deep-seated prejudice against Itachi.
Not because of what Itachi did in the original timeline—since that future was no longer possible—but because of how he thought. Masashi just couldn't wrap his head around it.
And a person's way of thinking is ingrained. Circumstances change, but mindsets rarely do.
There were so many options, yet Itachi always chose the most bizarre one.
Unless one day he could finally understand how Itachi's mind worked, this prejudice would never go away.
It was terrifying. Who knew when he might lose it again?
"Masashi, keep an eye on Itachi. That child admires you a lot," Granny Cat said, taking a drag from her pipe.
Taking care of the Uchiha children filled her heart, but she knew her place—she wasn't one of them.
She was also aware of Masashi's prejudice against Itachi.
She even had an idea why.
But it wasn't her place to comment.
"Of course. Don't worry, we're all family," Masashi assured her. He truly did care about the clan's children and understood her concern.
"By the way, aside from visiting you, I came for another reason."
He gestured for Anko and Haku to come forward.
"Granny, these two are my students. I'll be counting on you to look after them in the future."
"What adorable girls!" Granny Cat smiled warmly. "Come closer, let Granny take a good look at you."
Masashi sighed. "Granny, Haku is a boy."
Honestly, every time he introduced Haku to someone new, he had to explain this.
Granny Cat froze—such an expression was rare for her.
"My goodness, a boy?" She even stopped smoking, scrutinizing Haku carefully. "That was my mistake. My eyes aren't as sharp as they once were. Don't take it personally, dear."
"It's okay, Granny. I'm just too thin," Haku responded sweetly.
"What a good child. Truly a good child," she said, heart aching. In Haku, she saw a shadow of young Itachi.
"From now on, if you need anything, come to Granny," she said.
Anko and Haku nodded eagerly.
Seeing that the two students had already gotten familiar with each other, Masashi took out several sealing scrolls.
"Granny, this is the shipment for this time."
"Oh! Quite a large batch." Granny Cat glanced at the sealing pattern and immediately estimated the quantity.
"It's been a while since our last delivery," Masashi said.
He found an empty space and began unloading.
The three little ones listened to the bang bang sounds as they watched Masashi continuously summon black suitcases from the scrolls.
A huge pile soon stacked up.
He picked up one of the suitcases, walked over to Granny Cat, and opened it for her to see.
Inside were thick stacks of explosive tags.
"This batch is all explosive tags, huh?" Granny Cat took one out, carefully examining the complex sealing patterns on it. Then, she checked the material of the tag paper and the luster of the markings before nodding in satisfaction. "As expected, no one makes explosive tags as well as the Uchiha."
"We make our living with Fire Release," Masashi chuckled.
To be fair, the Uchiha clan was the undisputed master of crafting explosive tags in the shinobi world.
The quality of an explosive tag could be judged by its sealing pattern—the more intricate the pattern, the stronger the explosion and the longer its shelf life.
Creating such high-quality explosive tags required not only precise chakra control but also a deep understanding of sealing techniques and top-grade materials.
In the ninja world, even the Great Ninja Villages mostly issued low-quality explosive tags to their ninjas—cheaply made, average in power, with a short shelf life. But they were easy to mass-produce, making them ideal for the broad base of genin.
Uchiha explosive tags, however, were at least ten times stronger than the standard ones and could last a year without losing potency due to chakra leakage.
Naturally, they were ridiculously expensive.
Most customers were jōnin, who bought them for personal use. Wealthy merchants and nobles also purchased them for their trusted bodyguards. Then, there were the middlemen.
Even in peacetime, the Uchiha clan generated nearly a billion ryō in annual revenue just from selling explosive tags.
In wartime, though, this business would nearly shut down as the clan reserved the tags for their own use.
But despite this impressive revenue, it was nothing in comparison to the real powerhouses of the market. The ones selling the most explosive tags were the Five Kage, led by none other than the Hokage.
In terms of total sales, the Uchiha didn't even make the top ten.
And in terms of sheer volume, they weren't even a contender.
The explosive tags sold directly or indirectly by the Five Kage made up nearly 90% of the total market. Half of that share belonged to the Hokage.
After all, Konoha had the most fire users. The difference was that the Uchiha had their own black market channels, while everyone else went through the Hokage's official supply lines.
For a ninja clan, especially one based in Konoha, selling explosive tags had never been the real problem.
If there was ever a problem, it wasn't about selling them—it was about who controlled the sales.
In the past, when relations between the Uchiha and the Hokage's office were poor, this was one of the things they got criticized for.
Not because selling explosive tags was wrong, but because it was too profitable.
Sure, the Uchiha weren't in the top ten, but look at who was on that list—that was the entire ninja world's market!
For a single clan, the profits were insanely high.
However, ever since the Third Shinobi War began, the Uchiha had put this business on hold. Now, finally, they could start it up again.
"These are all top-grade. There will be plenty of buyers," Granny Cat placed the explosive tag back into the suitcase. "Supplies are tight lately, so they'll sell for a great price."
She didn't bother inspecting the rest. She knew the Uchiha well—they never cut corners on this business.
That was one of the key reasons the two sides had maintained good relations for so long.
"I'll leave it to you, then," Masashi nodded. "Thanks for your time. I should take them to the next stop now."
"Shinobi life is always so busy…" Granny Cat sighed. "Go on, go on. Let the kids visit me again when they have time."
"Of course." Masashi nodded, then prepared to leave with his group.
Before they left, Granny Cat gifted Anko and Haku each a high-quality kunai as a welcome present.
Masashi motioned for them to accept it, thanked her, and then departed.
Upon exiting Sora-ku, they happened to see another ninja heading in.
Both parties silently stepped aside and acted like they didn't see each other.
The customers of Sora-ku came from all over. People either came to sell or buy—no one wanted trouble.
It had nothing to do with strength. This wasn't a battlefield or a mission site.
Anko and Haku had been warned about this. Even Sasuke had been here a few times and understood the unspoken rules.
So, they all behaved.
After moving a safe distance from Sora-ku, Masashi finally stopped.
He performed a summoning jutsu.
A massive black snake materialized, its heavy body pressing the ground beneath it.
The moment it appeared, its huge head eagerly scanned its surroundings.
But when it realized the area was barren, with no enemies in sight, it seemed a little disappointed.
"Masashi?"
"Kuro, there's no battle today," Masashi chuckled.
He and the three kids stood atop Kuro's head.
"Today, I need you to take us to Ryūchi Cave."
"Understood, Lord Masashi."
Kuro sensed that there were others on its head, but they were small and weak.
Still, they were with Masashi, so it didn't question anything.
"You three, maintain your chakra flow and stay attached to Kuro. Don't let go," Masashi instructed.
Although he hadn't formally taught them tree-walking or water-walking yet, chakra control had always been a priority in his lessons.
Something as basic as this, the three kids could handle.
That was the advantage of being born into a ninja clan— a solid foundation meant they didn't have to take detours.
For non-clan ninjas, unless they had a great mentor, they always had gaps in their basics.
The three quickly recovered from the shock of riding such a massive creature. Following Masashi's instructions, they focused their chakra through their feet.
Seeing this, Masashi formed a series of hand seals.
Smoke engulfed Kuro once again.
When it cleared, they were inside the underground depths of Ryūchi Cave.
This time, there weren't hordes of little snakes slithering around to make their presence known.
After all, Kuro was here.
"Kuro, take me to see the Sage," Masashi said.
She responded with a low hiss and began moving forward.
As the massive serpent slithered deeper into the cave, the three young ninjas put their chakra control to the test.
Haku was the steadiest—he even used his hands for extra grip, proving his practical mindset.
Sasuke struggled a bit at first. But since he had been training with Masashi for a while, he quickly adapted and held firm.
Anko, however, wasn't as skilled. Of course, she had started training the latest.
Masashi had to grab her to keep her from slipping.
Meanwhile, Kuro slithered at increasing speed, swiftly carrying them toward the depths of Ryūchi Cave.
