Task Line Disconnected, New Task Line Opens
Rokosuke spoke quickly and urgently, as if he were summing up all the information in one sentence.
"W-what's going on?" Rock Lee was eating cross-legged, was the most confused, his tongue tied in knots.
They were just eating and singing when they heard a noise and looked up to see their three teammates had tied up the client. If Rock Lee hadn't known the three men's character, he would have almost thought they were planning to betray the village.
"It's alright. The client isn't very honest, so we tied them up for their safety." Naruto explained briefly, then stuffed the rag back into Rokosuke's mouth.
The mountain road of the Clover Gold Mine Mountain is shrouded in mist.
The four of them tied up the three clients and left them at Granny Sansho's curry shop. After obtaining enough information from them, the four decided to go ahead and check out the situation.
"So... does the funeral mean burying the people who disobeyed the Kurotsuchi Family alive?" Tenten suddenly spoke up, breaking the silence.
"Hmm." Neji's expression also turned somewhat grave.
"That's too cruel! Why would they do that?" Tenten's face looked rather grim.
"Yes!" Rock Lee echoed, turning his head as he hurried along. "Let's rescue all those villagers in a bit!"
"Just drive Raiga Kurosuki away, that's enough. There's no need to do anything else," Naruto reminded him.
Fortunately, although the Team 3 consisted of honest people who were not good at dealing with troublesome clients, they were not inexperienced novices and did not underestimate the enemy.
No one mentioned that the villagers were also pitiful, but Naruto brought it up, and all three agreed.
"This village is different from other places. It lives off the gold mines, so it's destined to be anything but peaceful," Naruto explained. "We're just ninjas. In someone else's country, all we can do is complete our missions."
A light rain began to fall from the gloomy sky.
Naruto stood on a high place, with bare cliff face beneath his feet, squinting as he watched the group of black-robed figures carrying a white coffin slowly walking in the rain in the distance.
As far as the eye could see, everything was a gray haze; the mine was covered with endless rocks, and not a single blade of grass or tree could be seen.
A faint funeral bell tolled in the distance, and the sound of wailing could be heard in the background.
"If the information provided by the three clients is accurate, then the one wailing is Raiga Kurosuki," Neji said, standing to the side. "Guy-sensei also mentioned that he encountered Raiga Kurosuki when he was still Genin."
"No wonder Raiga Kurosuki likes burying people so much, he's an old madman."
In an instant, a synthesized mechanical voice rang in my mind. Unlike the usual monotonous "ding" notification sound, this time it was a rapid alarm.
[Ding! Warning! Warning!]
[Hinata's favor, Nine-Tails' Recognition 73%, host releases Nine-Tails, error occurs, quest line lost, will be permanently sealed!]
In the pop-up panel, the green task progress bar at the top instantly surged from the forties to seventy-three and then stopped, before turning gray and locking.
Unpin it and move it to the bottom.
Naruto stood in the rain, stunned for a moment. It turned out that the previous lag had been foreshadowed; his premature disarming of the tail had conflicted with the mission's progression, effectively locking the mission in place.
The benefits of releasing the Nine-Tails cannot be measured in terms of profit. Although Naruto himself couldn't explain the specific reasons, he instinctively felt that it was better to raise the Nine-Tails as early as possible.
But now 73% is barely acceptable, not too bad, and he has nothing to regret.
"What's wrong?" Tenten asked Tenten she saw Naruto standing there in a daze for a long time.
"Fine."
He then pointed to another area full of mine shafts and proposed a bold idea.
"Can we make a quick buck?"
"No way!" Neji refused without hesitation.
"Naruto, you..." Tenten sighed helplessly, unsure of what to say, "Why do you always have these strange ideas in your head?"
"Make a quick buck? What do you mean by making a quick buck?" Rock Lee asked.
Naruto pursed his lips and pointed at Neji.
"You, a member of the Hinata clan, have no use for money."
Then he pointed at Tenten and said, "You, rich little girl, don't lack money at all."
"As for Rock Lee, he doesn't need money."
"I'm different. I'm destitute and have nothing. I have no choice but to succeed."
"Don't talk nonsense, no means no." Neji ignored Naruto and walked to the edge of the cliff, gazing at the funeral procession. "We can try to get closer first."
Rock Lee agreed, Tenten had no objections, and Naruto was indifferent.
If we can't gain any benefits, we should just kill Raiga Kurosuki as soon as possible. Although the mission says to drive him away, it's really about severely injuring or killing him.
However, since we're in the Land of Rivers, we still need to keep a low profile on the mission statement and give the Land of Rivers some face.
With four against one, they have the advantage.
The funeral was held on a hillside. The living were nailed to coffins, and six men in black robes walked silently in the rain. The path was muddy, so the funeral procession moved slowly.
About ten minutes later, Naruto and his companions reached the other side of the hillside. The cries grew increasingly piercing, sending chills down their spines.
"This Raiga Kurosuki buried those who offended him alive and then personally mourned their deaths. He probably doesn't have much fighting power in that state of mind," Naruto whispered.
"Let's all attack him together and kill him!"
The dull, monotonous crying suddenly stopped, Neji, before he could even speak, jolted.
"Why is it foggy?" Tenten asked nervously.
"We've been spotted! Watch out." Neji's voice turned serious. Rock Lee stood to one side of the group, got into a fighting stance, and was ready to make his move.
The light rain continued to fall, but the white fog grew thicker and thicker.
A gust of mountain wind swept through the exposed rocks, chilling him slightly. This reminded Naruto of a book, "How the Holy Mother Was Forged."
Raiga Kurosuki should also be carrying a little girl with Red Eye Kekkei Genkai on his back. She has a pitiful background and her relationship with Raiga Kurosuki is almost like that of Zabuza and Haku.
Fortunately, Naruto's greatest strength lies in severing bonds, not using an umbrella in the rain, and killing without a sword.
These days, the Virgin Mary has no market.
Just as Naruto was preparing to Lava Release technique, a mechanical synthesized voice kept ringing in his mind like crazy.
[Dear Host, the Land of Water arc, the Ninja Blade Stamp Collection questline has begun! (Pinned)]
[Achievement Completed: Broken Blade - Kubikiribōchō.]
[Achievements not yet completed: Lightning Blade - Fang, Greatsword - Samehada, Dual Blades - Hiramekarei, Longsword - Nuibari, Explosive Blade - Shibuki, Blunt Blade - Kabutowari.]
[Reward: Izanagi (one-time use item), awarded upon completion of all achievements.]
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