At this moment, however, as she looked at Naruto's goofy grin, Akali had no idea that she had already been promoted to the status of a foster mother in his mind.
Naruto's efficiency in earning money through photoshoots was simply too high, and the process itself generated a steady stream of emotional energy for her. There was no way Akali would ever give up on someone like Naruto.
Looking at him, Akali pressed on, "So what do you think? How do you feel about this approach?"
"Let's put it this way, Naruto. Are you willing to keep going?"
"This..."
Being asked whether he wanted to continue immediately caught Naruto off guard.
To be completely honest, he was not willing.
After all, what held the greatest appeal for Naruto was ninjutsu.
Yet Akali came from a commoner background as well; she couldn't possibly provide him with an infinite supply of ninjutsu. If she really gave them to him endlessly, she wouldn't be a foster mother anymore—she would be his birth mother!
Therefore, purely in terms of money, Naruto didn't care that much.
He didn't have any massive demand for wealth. Akali's current hundred thousand ryo was already enough for him to buy a set of good equipment and prepare himself for the ninja career ahead.
The most crucial part was that transforming into a woman and striking all sorts of alluring poses was just too humiliating!
Besides, this was different from the Sexy Technique. The Sexy Technique was something he initiated himself to tease others, a mere prank. But taking photos meant someone else was paying money to buy pictures of him.
The ninja career Naruto wanted was a cool one, like the Fourth Hokage saving Konoha—a hero's path, not being a teacher everyone praised endlessly!
Seeing Naruto remain silent, Akali roughly figured out what was going on in his head.
Naruto had no desire for the things she had mentioned.
Without desire, naturally her words wouldn't move him!
It didn't matter, though. If there was no desire, she would just create some!
With a light step on her toes, Akali swept past Naruto like a gentle breeze.
Before Naruto could even react, Akali had already fished his kunai out of his ninja tool pouch, her slender fingers slipping through the ring at the base as she spun it continuously.
Seeing this, Naruto felt a bit nervous: "What are you doing?"
Surely Akali wasn't planning to beat a confession out of him just because he wouldn't agree!
Instead of answering, Akali brought up another topic: "You want to defeat Sasuke, right? Do you think you can beat him?"
"Of course!" Naruto nodded, his attention instantly diverted the moment Sasuke was mentioned.
Yet, in response to Naruto's confidence, a mocking curve simply tugged at the corner of Akali's mouth.
The arc was so obvious that Naruto could see it clearly even through her mask.
Akali stopped spinning the kunai and placed Naruto's weapon right between the two of them.
"Take a look at this kunai, Naruto!"
"What?" Naruto didn't quite understand what Akali was getting at.
"My point is that you're just like this kunai. From a distance, it looks fine, but if you actually take a closer look..."
Akali held the kunai right in front of Naruto's eyes.
Illuminated by the setting sun that had yet to dip below the horizon, the tiny nicks and scratches along the blade's edge were glaringly obvious!
Even the sharpest tip of the kunai had long since chipped and blunted from overuse!
Before Naruto could take another look, Akali flicked his kunai straight up into the air!
Following the trajectory of his weapon, Naruto raised his head.
At the exact same time, Akali whipped out a system-manufactured kunai at lightning speed and slashed down hard!
"Clang!"
A crisp metallic crash echoed through the air!
In Naruto's shocked gaze, his kunai cleaved in half just as easily as a hot knife cutting through butter!
Akali's voice rang out once more: "You're just like this kunai. From afar, it looks alright, but a close inspection reveals it's full of scars, long past its prime and utterly useless."
"With just a light slash, it snaps right in two!"
"Naruto, you say you're going to defeat Sasuke? But the Uchiha clan has a specialized Ninja Cat faction dedicated to forging ninja tools. The quality of their gear is world-renowned, and the ones given to him are the absolute cream of the crop!"
"A cheap piece of junk like your kunai can't even withstand mine. Do you really expect to come out on top against Sasuke's top-tier gear?"
"Frankly speaking, if Sasuke is even willing to engage you in close combat, he's already showing you way too much respect!"
"How many kunai do you have in your pouch? Five? Six?"
"Meanwhile, Sasuke can pack his pouch to the brim with ninja tools—he's got at least twenty of them!"
"He wouldn't even need close combat; he could just take you down by pelting you with ninja tools from afar!"
"Get it now, Naruto? This is the power of money!"
"And I'm not even mentioning the medicinal meals Sasuke eats or the medicinal baths he soaks in every day!"
"Sure, you could say you have a little money now, but have you ever looked into the market prices?"
"A single Explosive Tag costs two thousand ryo, a Fuma Shuriken three thousand, and a ninja blade five or even ten thousand! Shuriken and kunai generally average between three to five hundred ryo, while superior quality ones run eight or nine hundred."
"I won't even bother mentioning military rations, storage scrolls, or armor."
"A hundred thousand ryo—how many times can that replenish your ninja tools?"
Akali's words were brutally direct: "Naruto, what do you have to match the power of money?"
"This..." Naruto fell silent once again.
Just then, dinner time arrived, and a gentle breeze drifted over, carrying the faint, comforting scent of hearth and home.
Cold sweat beaded on Naruto's forehead as he felt as though he had lived through a lifetime.
It was true. Even though Sasuke was an orphan, he had inherited the immense wealth of the Uchiha clan from birth. Compared to a genuine young master like that, an orphan whose entire life depended on government stipends had nothing to compare with!
And so, battered by Akali's words, Naruto's resolve was severely shaken!
There was one detail he could never bring himself to say aloud to outsiders.
Naruto, of all people, was the one who refused to lose to Sasuke!
Therefore, with a rare, serious expression, Naruto looked straight at Akali:
"If I get money, will I be able to defeat Sasuke?"
The corners of Akali's mouth curled up slightly beneath her mask, a teasing smile playing across her face: "Of course not."
"Huh?" Hearing Akali's response, Naruto was completely dumbfounded.
Wait, why wasn't she playing by the rules?!
[Ding! Emotional energy from Naruto +999!]
Fortunately, Akali didn't keep teasing him for long.
"Money is equivalent to power, but at the same time it isn't. Otherwise, why would ninjas bother training at all? Wouldn't it be better if everyone just went into business?"
"Even if many wealthy merchants possess fortunes that could rival a nation, they don't necessarily know how to convert that money into power!"
"They might not understand, but I do! I know how to turn money into power!"
"Put money together with the know-how to transform that wealth into real strength, and *that* is how you defeat Sasuke!"
"Do you understand?"
"..."
There was an infinite, unshakeable confidence underlying Akali's calm voice.
A gust of wind swept by, unable to bend her eternally straight spine, and playfully ruffled the strands of hair at the temple of the young woman.
She raised a slender hand, tucking the stray hairs behind her ear in a gesture that was completely natural.
Looking at Akali like that, Naruto suddenly understood!
With that kind of confidence, even something deemed impossible would surely be accomplished by Akali!
And so, gazing at her, Naruto slowly nodded.
"I understand!"