The Woman Who Came Knocking

The Oudi Chamber of Commerce, which only relocated here in recent years, is seen as a strange chamber of commerce by the locals.

It wasn't a large chamber of commerce, but it was frequented by all sorts of people, from richly dressed dignitaries to imposing ninjas to petty street thugs.

I've never seen a truckload of goods arriving, but people who come here often leave satisfied with a truckload of cargo.

What's even stranger is that this seemingly ordinary merchant guild harbored numerous thugs, wandering samurai, and even missing-nin.

The excessive military force far exceeded the needs of a merchant guild, to the point that some believed the guild alone was capable of conquering a city in one fell swoop.

--Except for Konoha, of course.

In short, the locals were all whispering among themselves that this chamber of commerce was probably up to no good. But they dared not speak out—the place was in a remote location, and the only road out of town was being monitored and blocked by the chamber of commerce. Someone had tried to escape to report the problems here, but then disappeared without a trace until someone found his belongings in the wilderness.

From then on, the townspeople remained silent in fear.

Fortunately, the Chamber of Commerce didn't do anything to oppress the locals. Apart from the occasional trouble caused by some unruly rogue missing-nin passing by, life here was relatively peaceful. In any case, since they weren't being oppressed to the point of not being able to survive, everyone had no choice but to grit their teeth and endure this kind of life.

Even in the peaceful Land of Fire, there are dark corners where the Amaterasu, especially in remote places like this.

In some ways, the indigenous people's actions were extremely wise; they were unaware that this so-called merchant guild even had a Jonin.

The defection of Jonin is an extremely rare occurrence.

Once a ninja reaches this level, they have entered the elite class of their village. Their strength and prestige are recognized, making them stand out from over 90% of the other ninjas in their village, and their political status is extremely high. In Konoha, the first hurdle for a Hokage to take office is the vote of confidence from the Jonin, which shows just how important the Jonin are.

However, the reasons given for Jonin Uran's defection were almost childish.

He was doing well in the village when he suddenly came into contact with the Akatsuki organization. Tempted by the powerful Secret Technique they offered, he became their subordinate and soon exposed his true colors. During a routine interrogation, he was unable to answer the questions from the Anbu and instead injured the Anbu who was asking the questions before defecting.

No one could understand why a promising young Jonin would contact a missing-nin organization outside the village, and even agree to become their subordinate... There was no other explanation except that he was blinded by greed and had lost his mind.

In short, the promising Jonin Uran has now become the hopeless missing-nin Uran. Without the village's protection and having lost her usefulness, she also failed to obtain the so-called Secret Technique from "Akatsuki." She drifts aimlessly, hiding here and there, and finally ends up in this poor, remote corner, becoming a high-level thug in a so-called "business association" that is actually an "underground bounty agency." Her subordinates are a bunch of scoundrels, the strongest of whom is barely Chunin level. She can easily subdue them even while lying down.

However, after these years of decline, his skills and spirit as a former Jonin have been greatly worn down, and even his vigilance has diminished considerably.

So much so that he didn't realize what was happening until he was beaten up to his doorstep.

It was a rainy day, and everyone was huddled indoors playing cards, drinking, gambling, and having fun. Uran had just won a game and was laughing as she collected the banknotes on the table when she suddenly felt a heavy object slam into the wall outside, making a loud noise that startled everyone.

"What's all the noise about? You looking for trouble!" A cocky-looking thug stood up and shouted at the door.

Thud! The response he received was an even louder sound.

A wandering samurai immediately charged out in a rage, shouting, "You're asking for death!"

As he drew his katana from its sheath, he Gate of Opening, intending to teach the person making the noise outside a lesson they would never forget.

Then everyone inside heard a third loud bang—Boom!

This is the sound of a samurai wielding a sword being slammed to the ground by a heavy, black figure, the sound echoing inside the house.

"It's the thugs from the outer room!" Uran looked closely and recognized the dark figure that had been thrown in. She immediately realized that the Chamber of Commerce had been attacked.

Their hands instinctively went to the hilts of their weapons, and everyone, whether crouching or standing, turned their gazes toward the door.

Then, after a few more noises and shouts outside, there was silence. Clearly, the thugs in the outer room had been killed. Facing the cold, indifferent, or angry gazes of the crowd, a figure wearing a bamboo hat stepped across the threshold and entered.

Tap, tap.

The heels clicked crisply on the ground; the person's steps were steady and precise, leaving a trail of wet footprints on the floor, each step as accurate as if measured with a ruler.

Seemingly ignoring the watchful eyes of everyone inside, the man in the straw hat stopped directly in the middle of the room, looked up at Uran, who was leading the group. The straw hat obscured the man's face, making it impossible to discern his true identity.

Uran rolled over and stood up. The faint Chakra reaction on the newcomer made him somewhat suspicious. The other party seemed to be an active ninja!

Has Konoha already discovered them?

He suppressed his emotions, stared intently at the figure of the man in the straw hat, and asked in a deep voice, "Who comes here?"

The newcomer seemed to chuckle softly, reaching out to remove the straw hat that concealed her face— Uran noticed the person's hand, delicate and pale, with slender and even knuckles, clearly belonging to a woman, and not particularly skilled in Taijutsu, suggesting she was a ninja of the Ninjutsu or Genjutsu type—then revealing her young and slightly childish face, and a pair of cold, frosty green eyes.

It turned out to be a young girl with pink hair.

"Konoha Ninja, ordered to arrest you." She looked at Uran and answered calmly, her clear voice carrying a hint of sharpness.

Hmph, so Konoha discovered it after all? Uran thought with a chill.

Fortunately, Konoha was overconfident and only sent this one girl...

"Go!" Without further ado, he gave the order, and his men, who had been waiting impatiently, drew their weapons and charged forward.

However, these thugs and hooligans can only bully ordinary people; when facing real ninjas, no matter how many there are, they are no match.

The girl remained calm and composed, her eyes fixed indifferently ahead. Facing the enemy's gleaming, sharp sword, she did not move an inch, not even blinking.

She only attacked suddenly when everyone rushed in front of her; her sharp fists and feet became afterimages in their eyes.

Her every Isshiki was as fast as lightning, cunning and ruthless, far exceeding the imagination of these third-rate martial arts thugs. None of the attackers could withstand a single punch or kick from her!

A punch was thrown, followed by a shrill scream and a figure collapsing to the ground; a kick sent a figure flying backward, crashing into the wall with a dull thud.

In less than two seconds, he cleanly and swiftly knocked the enemy attacking from the left to the ground.

The enemy attacking from the right side presented a completely different picture.

Holding a straw hat in her right hand, the girl faced the crowd that was huddled together and effortlessly blocked the attack from her right, repelling them.

The thugs were stunned as their attack was so easily thwarted.

With a flick of her right wrist, her straw hat spun rapidly, soaring into the air and transforming into a boomerang. The hard brim of the hat struck the heads of the attacking thugs, spun around once, and flew back into the girl's hand.

After a few muffled thuds, the enemies on the girl's right also fell to the ground.

In the blink of an eye, besides her, only a handful of cautious thugs and Uran remained standing in the room.

The girl glanced at the thugs lying on the ground groaning, then turned her indifferent gaze to Uran.

"Your Taijutsu are pretty good..."

Uran stared intently at the short figure in front of her and said coldly.

He had to admit that his opponent wasn't as weak in Taijutsu as he had imagined; Uran had misjudged the situation...

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