Chapter 406: Three-Tomoe Sharingan, Do You Buy These?
The shinobi world nowadays was truly unfamiliar to Zabuza!
Actually, that wasn't quite right to say.
The rest of the shinobi world wasn't much different from his memories, but the closer they got to this so-called "Konoha Divine City," the more everything he saw and heard became different.
At first it was just the roads becoming unusually smooth and wide, merchant caravans frequently traveling back and forth, civilians smiling more often.
But this kind of situation had happened before when Konoha Village was at its peak, so it didn't strike him as particularly unusual.
However, the further forward they walked, the more bizarre everything became.
First the bandits vanished completely, then even the bounty stations he used to frequent regularly had disappeared.
Then he discovered to his shock that those nobles who oppressed the common people everywhere and the tax officials who collected levies arbitrarily had all vanished as well.
Even the topics the pedestrians and traveling merchants discussed became increasingly different. Words like "Divine City," "new regulations," and "puppet guards" appeared with growing frequency.
The surrounding landscape also gradually shed its primitive wildness, taking on a sense of meticulous human planning, as if they were stepping from an "old era" into a carefully designed "future" with each step forward.
Before coming here, he'd assumed this so-called Uchiha Divine Clan had simply replaced the original daimyo and become a batch of new nobles.
That this so-called "Konoha Divine City" was just Konoha Village built a bit larger with a slightly bigger population, at most comparable to the capitals of the Five Great Nations.
But only after actually arriving here did he realize this was far more than just "a bit larger"!
When that city silhouette, lying across the horizon like a mountain range, gradually became clear, when he saw several massive roads wide enough for ten carriages to travel side-by-side converging toward the gates like blood vessels, only then did Zabuza realize how impoverished his previous imagination had been.
This wasn't a village's expansion. This was a "megastructure" belonging to a new era, fundamentally different in concept.
In terms of sheer area alone, this Konoha Divine City was probably larger than all the capitals of the original Five Great Nations combined.
Perhaps to regulate traffic, the streets here were far wider than the standard roads of each village.
The main avenue was broad enough for giants to walk shoulder-to-shoulder, making even the sky seem higher.
Add to that the presence of those enormous stone sculptures, and the city's interior felt extraordinarily spacious.
Perhaps to fill this sense of emptiness, the buildings throughout the city were generally six stories or higher.
Residences, shops, workshops... nearly every structure reached upward with clean, powerful lines, windows arranged in neat rows reflecting points of light in the morning sun.
But the increased building height allowed this already vast city to accommodate even more people.
Just standing on the street and casually sweeping his gaze around, Zabuza could see masses of merchants from various regions pushing specialty goods, neatly dressed citizens walking briskly. The crowds flowed like woven fabric, yet each kept to their own path without the slightest chaos.
He was certain the number of merchants and civilians in this city absolutely exceeded the total population of some small nations.
Seeing all this, Zabuza felt increasingly uncertain.
He was now quite worried that when he produced that Three-Tomoe Sharingan, instead of gaining an opportunity for Arato, he'd be killed on the spot with nowhere to even flee.
While he fretted anxiously, Arato had already squatted down by the roadside and was chatting enthusiastically with an old man.
"Haha, just looking at you two, I can tell you're also here to take the Divine Temple entrance exam, right?"
"Divine Temple entrance exam? What Divine Temple entrance exam?" Arato blinked his big eyes, which were filled with clear, transparent stupidity.
"Applying to the Divine Temple, passing the trials, defeating enemies to achieve victory, becoming a Divine Temple guard member!"
"No way, I don't want to be some Divine Temple guard!" Arato leaned leisurely against the wall, hands clasped behind his head, saying dismissively, "Big uncle and I wander the shinobi world, going wherever we want. I'm not coming here to be ordered around by people."
"Eh?" Now the old man was shocked. "Don't you know that once you enter the Divine Temple guards, you can learn all the ninjutsu in the entire shinobi world, even including many forbidden techniques?"
"And look at those ninja tools those Divine Temple guard members carry on their backs. Those are scientific ninja tools developed by Lord Kiyomei. They say even ordinary genin holding them can fight against jonin!"
"Hehe..." Arato smiled confidently, curling his lip. "Ninjutsu isn't about knowing more to be stronger. The key is still the person using them."
"And I've encountered those scientific ninja tools before. Their power is indeed good, but the weaknesses are very obvious too."
"Scientific ninja tools' power is limited by the quality of their materials. There's an upper limit. I feel they're not as good as those old-style ninja tools. Sure, those can't be mass-produced, but at least their power scales with the user's own ability."
"And people with insufficient chakra control ability can't fully bring out the power of scientific ninja tools either. Holding powerful ninja tools is just wasteful."
"For ninja, their strength fundamentally still depends on themselves."
This professional talk completely bewildered the street corner old man.
"Uh... I don't really understand these things you're talking about, but I see all the major ninja clans are sending people to take the exam. This enrollment slot must be pretty important, otherwise those ninja clans wouldn't be scrambling to compete for it."
"Whatever. It's got nothing to do with me anyway."
After chatting for a few exchanges, Zabuza came over and grabbed him by the neck, dragging him away.
"Let's go. What's there to chat about with some old man!"
"Hey, big uncle, that old gentleman was really nice..."
"Nice what nice? You think everyone is nice. Be careful you get sold off someday!"
The two bickered as they left the main street, following a side road through several twists and turns until they arrived before a tall building.
This pavilion had an imposing, solemn presence, constructed from dark-colored stone. An ancient "Hundred Treasures Pavilion" plaque hung above the door lintel. Though it had no excessive decoration, it possessed an undeniable sense of gravitas.
The crowd surged here, with large numbers of people going in and out.
But the people entering and exiting were clearly all ninja. Their gazes were either sharp or deep, their clothing varied but all emanating an extraordinary aura. Occasionally someone had bulging items in their breast or tightly wrapped objects, clearly not ordinary transactions.
Zabuza pulled Arato and headed inside, but was stopped and questioned by the staff at the entrance.
"You two look rather unfamiliar. First time at Hundred Treasures Pavilion? Are you here to buy or sell?"
"Do you have an arranged trading partner, or are you planning to trade with our Hundred Treasures Pavilion directly?"
"Let me make this clear upfront: ordinary supplies should go to the corresponding shops, intelligence trading should go to Information Pavilion. Here we only sell or buy back precious items, ninjutsu, and such things."
Zabuza's gaze assessed this person for a moment. After some hesitation, he reached into his clothing and pulled out a test tube. His nerves grew somewhat taut as he stared intently at this person and asked in a low voice:
"Three-Tomoe Sharingan. Do you buy these?"
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