Chakra vs. Chaos Gacha 14 (Patreon)

“That’s what happens when you’re not the one leading the business,” he muttered as he examined a shelf on a special warehouse, sealed carefully to avoid any observation, used to store higher value items before delivery.

In front of him lay a hundred rare flowers from the Land of Snow, some special kind of ivy that was used for making antidotes, ordered by Konoha hospital.

The only problem, unlike their state earlier today, they looked at the edge of death, with their petals wilted, the edges already browning. He should have guessed it was how it would end when one of his newer employees brought them in, bragging about buying them in discount.

It was problematic, as he needed to deliver them to hospital soon; a deal that took him the better part of two days to set up, stealing from his training time. Failing to deliver would have been a terrible situation. There was a lot riding on the successful delivery.

“It’s good that I have a workaround,” he said as he raised his hand, using Greater Healing Light. Under its intense glow, the plants recovered rapidly, life returning to them.

Then, a notification arrived.

[Feat Achieved! Escape a mechantile conspiracy

+1x Bronze Random Gacha ticket]

“Huh,” he muttered, surprised by the reward text rather than the value of the reward. With everything he had been doing against potential saboteurs, he was starting to feel like he was being paranoid, but clearly, he wasn’t paranoid enough.

He summoned the ticket while he was humming.

[Makeup]

{Common Skill: You are very skilled at applying makeup and enhancing natural beauty with products.}

“Not bad,” he muttered even as he changed his mind about calling his employees. Instead, he carefully loaded them himself, even driving the wagon to avoid any potential sabotage.

A good choice, as he had dealt with two attacks on the way, both disguised as accidents, one delivered by civilians, the other disguised as a prank gone wrong. Konoha business was cutthroat indeed.

Only when he arrived at the hospital, and signed the material to the senior clerk in question, and received confirmation that they were delivered successfully, he relaxed. With the document fully in hand, he walked, his destination a room where he would discuss a much bigger order with the ninja responsible for that particular department.

Tanaka navigated the sterile hallways of the Konoha Hospital, the echo of his footsteps mingling with the distant murmurs of patients and medics, a constant movement all around him.

He stood at his destination. Room 118. He knocked. “Come in,” called a familiar voice. He entered, making a show of looking surprised, which then turned into a fond smile. “Sakura, long time no see!”

“T-Tanaka,” she gasped the moment she saw him, her eyes wide. “I … I am sorry I can’t talk with you right now. I have a very important meeting.”

He smirked. “What a coincidence, me too,” he said as he closed the door then approached her, and presented her with a set of documents he had just acquired, and a small box of samples.

She just gaped in shock while he took a seat across her. “W-what are you doing here?” she asked, gasping.

“I mentioned that I’m a merchant trying to expand my business to Konoha,” he said with a casual tone. “I succeeded. How about you? I never realized you’re a ninja.”

“I … yes,” she gasped, looking shocked.

“Wow, you must be a genius to work at the hospital, leading a department despite your age,” he said. “I never guessed that I would encounter a friend here.” He paused, letting her recover a bit, then spoke. “Look, I know that your job is very critical. I promise I’ll not mention anything about our … encounter, and I don’t expect any special treatment, alright.”

He waited for an answer, not requiring Communication to know she was imagining salient points of the night they had spent together at the club, one that had escalated into a tasty dance between three of them.

After all, the higher rewards he got from her or her stable working hours making finding her easier weren’t the real reasons he picked her to visit instead of Ino. They were just additional benefits.

The real reason was her attitude. Ino was a competent social butterfly despite all her flighty attitude. Even if he could make Ino believe that their encounter was accidental, he didn’t expect her to play along with his approach unless he was willing to pull some radical tricks.

No, it was for the best for Ino to come to him instead.

He didn’t say anything immediately, letting her imagine more. “Sakura. I can ask for someone else to deal with me if it’s making you uncomfortable. I’m sure no one would realize the reason,” he said, doing his best to radiate an earnest honesty. He wanted her to consider the risk without it coming across as a threat. After all, in her mind, he was merely a civilian, and even well-intentioned, he could reveal something.

The pen in her hand trembled, nearly snapping. “No need,” she responded after a deep breath. “I can act professional. I expect you to do the same. Not even a word about … that night.”

“Promise,” he said. After all, he didn’t need to speak about it to remind her that. His body language, maybe supported by a few accidental touches, would be more than enough to get her blood flowing, and her mind would handle the rest.

Something that was only possible due to her incredible lack of experience, losing her first kiss … and more to him.

“Your business has just been established, right?” Sakura said, trying to act professional. “Are you sure you can handle supplying us. Our contracts are very strict. Failing a delivery has strict punishment. Depending on the material, you might have to pay up to ten times the cost of the contract in penalties, or even end up in prison. We’re dealing with lives here.”

“Yes, I’m sure,” Tanaka replied. “I have just been established in Konoha, but I have been operating for years between the Land of Fire and surrounding countries, though recently, we have been expanding pretty strongly to Kiri, as well as some indirect connections. We have the ability to acquire rare plants and other materials.”

“Good,” she said. “How about the required background checks.”

“Here,” he said as he pulled another set of files from the folder he brought along. The documents had been prepared easily thanks to Tenten’s involvement, even if she was not in Konoha.

Apparently, to celebrate her new business, her sensei decided to bring her to a training trip. Weird gift, but who was Tanaka to judge.

Instead, he kept his attention on Sakura, brushing her hand ‘accidentally’ while delivering the documents, a move that awakened some physical sensations that best left buried.

Sakura swallowed hard, forcing herself to shuffle while she made a show of reading through the file carefully, her excessive care showing just how badly she was affected by a mere touch.

Tanaka crossed his legs casually, relaxing as he realized his little mission might have been even easier than he had first assumed.

After checking the documents, she opened the box he had brought in, checking the vials and the dried herb samples he had brought along, which, unlike the rare plants, were the products he could trust his employees to acquire.

He reached to show her something just as she reached for a box, her fingers brushing his. The contact sent a visible shiver through her, destroying what little control she managed to acquire.

“Not bad,” she started, unable to hide the hitch in her breath. "We'd need lab verification for potency and side effects. Konoha's protocols are rigorous. No shortcuts." Her tone steadied as she clung to medical talk, a lifeline amid the shock. "Volume? Sourcing reliability?"

He quoted the details with ease, the details trivial to get right. Considering Sakura’s importance in his future plans, he had worked hard to be prepared. As they discussed, he wove in flirtation subtly at first. "You have a keen eye for quality. Steady hands too, not that it’s a surprise —“ he said before pausing, making himself blush to make it look like the innuendo was accidental.

Sakura's cheeks heated, choosing the easiest path and ignored it. A mistake. As the discussion progressed, he squeezed more and more subtle shifts, chipping down her already wavering control to nothingness.

“A beautiful offer from a beautiful ninja,” he replied once she quoted a price, and signed the document, finalizing the deal and tying Tanaka to Konoha hospital for a foreseeable future.

Her pen stopped, calm cracking. "Beautiful? This is a business meeting, Tanaka. Keep it professional." But her voice breath shook, attraction betraying her, Together with the earlier tricks, her will was at the edge.

“Well, we have signed the contract, meaning the deal is done,” he said. Then, he looked around, acting curious. “By the way, I didn’t expect Konoha hospital to be this silent.”

“My room is sound-proofed,” she commented before she paused, realization that he had been leading her to mention that hitting her. Her pupils dilated, her body shifting, but she was unable to say anything.

He stood up, enjoying the panic and desire in her bright green eyes. “What are you doing?” she asked.

“You look tense. A massage can help,” he said, and put his hands on her shoulders.

“It’s inappropriate —“ she said, which was the only thing she was able to say before his fingers started working on her shoulders, the sudden intensity of sensations enough to break her will.

“Come on, Sakura. It’s not inappropriate between friends. And, we’re friends, aren’t we? We even went clubbing together.”

She swatted his hand away, but weakly, particularly notable when coming from a girl that could punch him through the wall if she wished. "Stop. We can't— not here."

“Why not? It’s just an innocent massage,” he said. “And, if someone walks in, we can always claim it’s a medical scroll you’re trying to buy.”

“This is absurd,” she responded, but her body betrayed her, leaning in, breaths ragged. With her calm shattered, she grabbed her desk desperately, trying to regain control.

An impossible achievement under his control. She stayed silent as his hands drifted down, caressing her lower back, her top not much of a barrier. Though, even as he worked, he wondered just how bad was her childhood for her to be unfamiliar with even the most basic flirting despite her incredible beauty.

“You’re tense, close your eyes,” he ordered once he climbed back, caressing her neck, one hand sliding up to disappear in her pink locks.

She was lost in pleasure, enough to not question when he gently led her to rise, with her chest pressing to her desk, giving him a much better access to her back. “So good,” she muttered.

“It’s just as good as I had promised, right,” he said.

“More,” she replied, only to freeze when his hands slipped under her top, riding it up while he climbed. “T-that’s too much,” she stammered.

“Nonsense, Sakura,” he replied, his fingers moving to her sides. “A little fun around your lunch break is nothing less than what you deserve as a loyal and competent Konoha ninja, protecting all of us.”

Even as he spoke, he pushed his fingers high enough to reveal the back of her bra, which he snapped open with a flick. “I need unrestricted access to your spine,” he explained, and dragged his finger along it to show her exactly why it was important, pushing his massage abilities to limit he could without mixing in chakra.

Her wordless moan was a masterpiece.

Too bad whenever his fingers dipped down to the edge of her pants, she tensed, signaling that, despite her growing pleasure, she was determined to stop him there.

Could he pushed her, maybe, but not without making it too suspicious; and there was always the risk of someone bursting in for her next meeting. Luckily, making her climax again and again was one option, the other being the exact opposite.

“Oh, look at the time,” he muttered as he glanced at the clock and pulled back. “It looks like our meeting has come to an end, Sakura. See you around,” he said, and walked toward the door.

“W-wait, what,” she muttered, still lying on the table, her tits pressing against the surface, giving him a good view thanks to her misaligned bra.

He pointed at the clock. “My time is over, and I’m sure you have another meeting,” he said, enjoying the way her eyes widened in panic as she pulled back, but her bra stayed on the table, giving him a long glimpse of her naked breasts.

A detail she had noticed a moment later, pulling her shirt down with panic, the absence of a bra making her much sexier, her nipples pressing against the fabric. “See you around, Sakura,” he waved, as if what he had done was completely ordinary, leaving her to suffer right at the edge.

Was it mean? Yes. Was it entertaining? Was it profitable? Certainly?

[Feat Achieved! The edge of a cherry blossom

+1x Gold Random Gacha ticket]

Sakura once again proved that she was favored by the system, rewarding him with another gold ticket. Unknowingly, she was working hard to usurp Tenten’s place as his favorite.

Then, he returned to his hotel—which he didn’t like particularly well, but most of his cash sank into growing his business, purchasing a proper house with proper privacy was not an option for the moment, and moving to an apartment was a waste of time—and the moment he entered, he summoned his newest skill.

[Queen of All Trades]

{Elite Skill: You have intermediate-level expertise in all basic trades (Intermediate Blacksmithing, Medicine, Mechanics, Cooking, Interfacing) with fair competence comparable to actual performers of the trade and are talented in those fields.}

His eyes widened as he read it, then immediately ripped it to absorb. “Oh, she’s definitely working very hard.”

What he received was certainly a game changer, for multiple reasons. The first was the great boost it had for his wildly growing trade business. Having intermediate expertise across a range of disciplines that included medicine and blacksmithing meant he would know about the exact nature of his trade far more than others. And, since no one would really suspect a young merchant to be expert of a range of disciplines, any information he conveyed would be assumed to be conveyed by his contacts.

The second category was self-improvement. Blacksmithing would combine incredibly well with Bronze Creation, creating actual weapons out of it rather than merely producing ingots hoping to sell them. Similarly, medicine gave him a better understanding of the human body, which supported his growing understanding of the chakra system.

Interfacing gave him a superior ability to open locks and pick pockets. While he no longer needed financial benefits, he could think many ways it would come useful sneaking around.

And, to top it all, a wider knowledge base would help him solve some problems by himself that would be suspicious to reach to others, like melting forty thousand hammers back into ingots, or finding the exact plants that would ensure Yamanaka clan would come knocking, searching for a business deal.

“Flexibility is the key,” he muttered, once again sneaking downstairs, the abandoned shelter allowing him to practice with ease. “Let’s see what I can do with Bronze Creation.”

In the basement, he reached his expanded pouch, pulled a dozen ingots, and started experimenting. It wasn’t the first time he was testing it, but before, it was just to confirm its general function of the ability, meanwhile Blacksmithing meant it was time to test it properly; while Adept Math helping him to get the details properly.

He began with a baseline.

Tanaka touched an ingot, and separated into a hundred thin strips, roughly the size of a large coin. He could have created it from nothing, but that way was far more exhausting. First, he just pushed his chakra to one of the coins, just a flicker, letting it absorb. Then, he moved to the next coin, imbuing it with more chakra, then repeating until he had ten coins, one natural, nine of them imbued with increasing amount of chakra.

Then, he tested their basic qualities like hardness, tensile strength, brittleness and a dozen other stuff that he only knew because of his blacksmithing skill.

The results were impressive and underwhelming at the same time. On one hand, he was happy to see that, even adding just a bit of chakra had an impact on the basic quality of the metal, making it far more useful for a wide range of stuff. On the other hand, the chakra requirements for increased benefits were not linear. To create something that came even close to chakra metal even for a weapon, he would have to work for hours, which, frankly, a terrible usage of his time.

As long as his reserves stayed small. The moment he pushed his reserves to what might be called jonin level, the equation would change. Until then, superior disposable weapons to compete low-end market seemed to be the better option; maybe one or two high-grade stuff mixed in to prove the potential of his nonexistent smuggling business.

It was not his only experiment. He tested other coins under different circumstances, like what would happen when the chakra was yang or yin aligned, how dense was the imbued chakra, or whether the chakra had been transformed by elemental nature.

Some of the conclusions were interesting. For example, imbuing the metal earth-natured chakra ruined its ability to hold a proper edge, yet put some extra presence that would make superior blunt weapons. Others, like the impact of yin and yang, were far more difficult to discern, requiring further explanation. Meanwhile, chakra density had almost uniform positive impact across all features, making it a good aspect to focus except some very rare edge cases like luxury ornaments.

“Tired,” he muttered after two hours of nonstop experimentation, his body starting to ache. He took the same path, and sneaked out of the hotel for a quick lunch. When he returned, he found the receptionist waiting for him with a frown on her face. “I thought I told you not to do anything that will bring ninja,” she growled.

“Sorry, who?” Tanaka asked.

“A kunoichi, chunin. Waiting for you upstairs! Go deal with her!” Then, she paused. “Also, what the hell did you to do get the attention of someone like her.”

Tanaka sighed. It must be Tenten.

“Sorry, she’s a business partner,” Tanaka replied, not wanting to explain the details of his relationship with her. “I’ll handle it.” But, when he arrived at his floor, his eyes widened.

Tenten did not have pink hair.