Chapter 13: Opening Day and the Sugar Rush
For the first entire day, absolutely nothing happened.
Ren stood behind the warped wooden counter, his arms crossed, staring out the open front window. The incredibly sweet, rich aroma of boiling brown sugar and steeped black tea drifted out into the street, but it didn’t draw a single paying customer.
People walked by, mostly Uchiha clan members on patrol or academy students rushing home. A few slowed down, their noses twitching at the unfamiliar smell, but the moment they saw the "disgraced" heir standing behind the counter, they kept walking.
When the sun set, Ren locked the door, staring at an empty cash box.
I miscalculated, Ren thought, letting out a heavy sigh as he wiped down the counter. This is a wartime economy. People are strapped for cash. Nobody is going to drop twenty ryo on an unknown drink when that same money could buy a ration bar or a spare shuriken. Money is a luxury right now. I need marketing.
Day Two
By noon the next day, the shop was still completely empty. Ren was sitting on a stool, leaning his chin against his palm, when the front door finally slid open.
He shot up, pasting on a customer-service smile, but it immediately melted into genuine surprise.
Mikoto walked into the dusty teahouse, carrying a neatly wrapped cloth bundle. She looked around the dimly lit room, her eyes softening with maternal concern when she saw Ren standing behind the counter wearing a stained apron.
"Oh, Ren," she murmured, walking up to the counter. "Your father was so harsh. I was worried you would be miserable in this old place."
"Mom," Ren said, legitimately glad to see her. "What are you doing here?"
"I brought you lunch," she smiled, untying the cloth to reveal a stacked bento box. "You left before breakfast. I know Fugaku intended this as a punishment, but you don’t have to starve."
She really is the only sane person in this clan, Ren thought, a warm feeling blossoming in his chest.
"Thanks, Mom," Ren said. He pushed the bento box slightly to the side. "Actually, since you’re here, you need to be my first official taste tester."
Mikoto blinked in surprise as Ren quickly turned to his prep station. He scooped a ladle of warm, dark tapioca pearls into a wooden cup, poured in his perfectly chilled, heavily caffeinated black tea, and topped it off with fresh milk and liquid sugar. He dropped a thick bamboo straw into the cup and slid it across the counter.
"What is this?" she asked, eyeing the dark spheres resting at the bottom of the milky liquid.
"I call it Boba," Ren announced proudly. "Drink it."
Mikoto took the cup, her expression a mix of fond amusement and slight apprehension. She brought the bamboo straw to her lips and took a sip.
Her eyes immediately widened.
She took another sip, this time pulling up a tapioca pearl. She chewed it, her hand flying to her mouth in absolute shock. The rich, deep sweetness of the brown sugar perfectly balanced the bitter kick of the black tea.
"Ren... this is incredible," Mikoto gasped, staring at the cup. "The texture of these... little sweets at the bottom. It’s delicious! Where did you learn to make this?"
"Trade secret," Ren grinned, leaning against the counter.
"Your father loves tea. I should bring him a cup," she said, her eyes practically sparkling with pride. "He thinks you are sweeping floors, but you’ve invented something entirely new. I am so proud of you, Ren."
She set the cup down and opened her arms, a warm, maternal smile spreading across her face.
"Come here, my boy. Let me give you a hug for your hard work."
Ren didn’t hesitate for a single second.
He quickly walked around the counter, throwing his arms around Mikoto’s waist. He hugged her tightly, acting like a clingy, emotionally overwhelmed twelve-year-old desperately seeking his mother’s affection.
He buried his face directly into her ample chest, pressing his cheeks firmly against the soft, yielding pillows of her breasts.
"Thank you, Mom," Ren mumbled into her cleavage, making sure to nuzzle slightly deeper under the guise of an affectionate hug.
Mikoto, completely unsuspecting and seeing nothing but her sweet, stressed son seeking comfort after his father’s harsh punishment, wrapped her arms around his shoulders. She stroked his dark hair gently, resting her chin on top of his head.
"You’re a good boy, Ren," she cooed softly.
Oh, I am a very bad boy, Ren thought, his eyes closed in absolute, shameless bliss as he pressed his face harder against her chest. I am a filthy, shameless opportunist, and this reincarnation is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me.
After a solid minute of milking the hug for all it was worth, Ren finally stepped back, his face slightly flushed.
Mikoto left a few minutes later, taking a second cup of boba in a sealed bamboo flask to bring back to Fugaku.
An hour later, the shop got its actual first paying customer.
It wasn’t a rush. It was just one girl.
Kurenai Yuhi walked past the shop, carrying a bag of groceries. She paused, looking at the "OPEN" sign, and then peered through the window. When she saw Ren sitting behind the counter, she sighed and pushed the door open.
"I heard Fugaku-sama made you the clan janitor," Kurenai said, walking up to the counter. "I didn’t think you actually knew how to run a teahouse."
"I don’t," Ren replied smoothly. "I run a liquid energy dispensary. Try one. First cup is free for girls with red eyes."
Kurenai rolled her eyes at the terrible flirting, but she accepted the wooden cup he slid toward her. She took a sip.
Just like Mikoto, she froze. The sugar hit her system instantly.
"What... what is this?" Kurenai asked, her cheeks flushing slightly from the sudden rush of caffeine and sweet milk.
"Twenty ryo for the next one," Ren winked.
Kurenai didn’t argue. She slapped twenty ryo onto the counter, chugged the rest of the cup, took her second order, and walked out of the shop with a dazed, highly energized look on her face.
Day Three and Four
The explosion didn’t happen overnight. It was a slow, agonizingly steady trickle.
On day three, Kurenai returned. This time, she brought Asuma Sarutobi and another Genin with her. They grumbled about the price, but the moment they tasted the sugar, their wallets opened.
On day four, an exhausted Inuzuka Genin—who had just returned from a brutal patrol—stumbled past the shop. Ren offered him a free sample. The kid drank it, got the sugar rush of a lifetime, bought two more, and sprinted back to his clan compound like a caffeinated missile.
Word of mouth began to spread.
The disgraced Uchiha heir is selling something weird, the whispers went. But it keeps you awake for two days straight.
In a village fueled by war, exhaustion, and trauma, a drink that provided instant, delicious dopamine was worth its weight in gold.
Day Seven: The Surge
By the end of the week, the trickle turned into a tsunami.
Ren was frantically scooping pearls into wooden cups. The line stretched out the door and wrapped around the corner of the compound. Medics coming off grueling twelve-hour shifts at the hospital stood in line, desperate for the sugar to keep them awake. Off-duty patrols from the city gates loitered on the porch, waiting for their fix.
They were all exhausted. They were all stressed. And Ren was happily trading them liquid sugar for their mission pay.
"Keep the line moving!" Ren shouted, his arms moving in a blur as he splashed milk and sealed cups. "Exact change only! If you hold up the line, you go to the back!"
"Hurry up!" a tired medical kunoichi yelled from the back of the queue, waving a fist full of ryo. "My shift starts in ten minutes!"
"I’ll buy your spot for fifty ryo!" a bruised Genin offered her.
"I’ll break your arm for free if you touch me!" she snapped back.
Ren was sweating profusely. His twelve-year-old arms ached from the constant shaking and pouring. He had completely sold out of his first batch of tapioca in two hours and had to frantically boil a second batch on the back hearth while simultaneously managing the register.
Every single time a wooden cup slid across the counter, coins clattered into his lockbox.
An older Uchiha patrolman, wearing the high-collared police uniform, walked past the shop. He stopped in his tracks, staring in absolute bewilderment at the line of shinobi eagerly waiting outside the disgraced heir’s punishment detail.
Ren caught his eye, flashed a completely unapologetic, exhausted grin, and went right back to pouring.
By the time the sun finally dipped below the Hokage Monument, the shop was entirely empty.
Not just empty of customers—empty of inventory.
Ren locked the heavy wooden front door, turned the sign to CLOSED, and collapsed against the counter. He slowly pushed himself up and dragged his heavy lockbox over to the table. He popped the lid open.
It was overflowing.
He dumped the coins onto the table, his hands trembling slightly as he counted it. The slow buildup of the week had culminated in a massive, overwhelming payday.
Ding!
The blue holographic screen of the Shinobi Tycoon System materialized in the dim room.
[WEEKLY LEDGER CLOSED.]
[Total Revenue: 5,400 Ryo]
[Overhead/Material Cost: 1,200 Ryo]
[Clean Profit: 4,200 Ryo]
The numbers glowed brightly, dissolving into a stream of golden light that flowed directly into his system balance.
[CONVERTING PROFIT TO BUSINESS CAPITAL...]
[Current Business Capital (BC): 420]
Ren stared at the glowing blue number.
The grueling, sweaty labor had directly translated into systemic power. He didn’t have to throw a single punch. He didn’t have to risk his life on a battlefield.
I am going to buy this entire village, Ren thought, laughing like a comic book villain into the empty room.
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