Chapter 81 Group Purchasing

"Well, this is our first C-rank mission," Sasuke said calmly, his eyes still searching the shelves, he had already found a few targets.

"So soon?" Shino didn't seem surprised. "Looks like I have to ask Yuhi Kurenai-sensei to upgrade my mission level."

"Do you know what Kiba is going to give Hinata?" Naruto asked.

"A new set of calligraphy tools, but I think I'll have to remind him several times before he remembers to buy them. I wanted to give him something practical, but now it seems that Tigress might be more suitable."

Sasuke patted Naruto's shoulder and motioned for him to go and look for himself.

Naruto nodded slightly and continued chatting with Shino, who gave them a strange look but said nothing.

During the time in "Mantis", Sasuke realized that he and Naruto also needed to acquire new equipment.

And this time, he didn't even have to rush Naruto - the blond no longer had a single intact long-sleeved shirt, and the few pairs of mission pants he did have were little more than rags.

Sasuke chose a pair of reinforced arm guards for himself that would not be easily damaged by the impact of the Nine-Tails' chakra. He completely gave up on finding a long-sleeved shirt and instead focused on finding the right chakra mesh shirt and ninja pants of the right length.

Sasuke also took a fancy to a few men's sleeveless turtleneck shirts, the kind that Sakura liked to wear. He originally wanted to buy ten, but Naruto, as frugal as always, bargained with him and finally only bought three. Of course, Naruto also bought a few for himself.

They also bought new leg packs and belts, Naruto bought several special straps for carrying scrolls of different sizes, while Sasuke bought a series of armor gloves of different lengths to conceal various weapons, everything from small needles to kunai.

Ordinary clothing stores are really a headache. If it weren't for the fact that the owner of this store was an ordinary person, Naruto felt that Sasuke would definitely kill everyone who looked at them strangely.

At least those damn ninjas knew how to hold themselves back.

In the end, the hardest part about buying clothes was finding someone brave enough to pay for them when Sasuke was about to breathe fire.

Sasuke was so angry that he didn't notice that Naruto was laughing beside him.

---

"Are you sure this is here?"

Naruto double-checked the address and map Sakura had scribbled on the back of the list.

"Yeah, asshole, right here."

The "drug store" Sakura was talking about looked more like some witch doctor's hut, a ramshackle wooden house located near the Forest of Death, which made Naruto very uneasy.

The exterior walls of the cabin are painted in eerie reddish-brown and dark purple, reminiscent of half-healed wounds and deadly poisons.

Hanging on the doorway are various amulets, odd-shaped antiques, and wind chimes made of bones that make eerie sounds in the breeze.

"I will never go in there," Naruto said firmly.

"We were the ones who went in, not me. You ran out of conditioner," Sasuke said coolly.

"Damn it!" Naruto couldn't help but curse.

He walked to the door, lifted the curtain and walked in.

"This should be the best herbal medicine shop in the village."

"This is also where more than half of Konoha's jonin buy their cigarettes." Sasuke whispered as he looked around warily.

The pharmacy was dimly lit and the air was filled with a strong smell of tobacco. The smoke formed grayish-white swirls on the ceiling.

It was obvious that the owner tried to cover up the smell with low-quality incense, but the mixture of vanilla, medicinal herbs and essential oils created an even stranger smell that was nauseating.

Naruto took a step inside before immediately backing out and covering his mouth and nose with his hands.

"No, I just can't stand the smell. Let's go."

But Sasuke pushed him in anyway, ignoring his protests and walking straight into the dimly lit shop.

"Is anyone there?" he asked loudly, looking around warily, while Naruto cowered behind him.

"What do you want?" came a muffled voice from behind the counter.

Naruto saw a man lazily leaning on a chair with a book covering his face.

Before they could answer, they heard a rustling sound, followed by a crisp voice coming from behind.

"Don't go to sleep, you old fool! Don't be so rude to the guests!"

"I'm only 29, you little girl!"

A young girl came out from behind the curtains, wearing many beads that jingled as she walked.

The girl looked to be a few years younger than Naruto and Sasuke, and had short dark purple hair cut into a neat bob with only a few strands hanging down past her shoulders.

She had a pair of bright big eyes, the color of which was like melted butter, warm and bright. She smiled sweetly at the two of them and said:

"Welcome, please don't mind Silver, he's always a little grumpy in the morning."

"It's already 2:30 in the afternoon," Sasuke reminded deadpan.

"Of course I know, but you have to tell him." Cai Ya shrugged, then looked at the two of them and asked, "What do you want to buy? I can recommend it to you."

Naruto pulled the crumpled list out of his pocket and handed it to Ayame.

Cai Ya took the list and quickly scanned the complex herbs, extracts, and prescriptions. When she saw the bottom of the list, her eyes suddenly widened.

"Oh, I recognize this handwriting. You must be Sakura's younger brother?" she said with a smile.

Naruto and Sasuke exchanged a surprised look and Sasuke shrugged.

"Yeah, that's right," Naruto replied, "She stayed up late last night and is catching up on some sleep now."

The man behind the counter put down the book in his hand and raised his head, revealing a thin and pale face, messy silver hair, dark circles around his dark red eyes, and wrinkles at the corners of his eyes as deep as if carved with a knife.

"Tell her that her poison permit is approved, but she must pass the Chunin Exams, or I won't let her be exposed to neurotoxins."

Sasuke nodded to show that he understood.

"I'll tell her."

"I think I should have what you need here." Cai Ya said while thinking, "I'll go and count it first, you can take a look at it, the burn ointment is half price today!" After saying that, she turned and walked into the curtain behind, while Yin picked up the book again and covered his face with it.