Nine-Tails' Rampage II?

The battle that took place outside Glass City ended quickly. Many eyes were secretly watching the event, but apart from those who wanted to reap the benefits, staying behind the scenes was also a matter of necessity.

Even though there are many hidden masters in the Shinobi World, those Kakuzu are few and far between. So, even if you want to eat that first big piece of meat, you have to be alive.

The news of their failure spread rapidly throughout the surrounding areas and the black market the following day, and the detailed information revealed chilled the hearts of all those who had been vying for the prize.

The Konoha Ninja guarding Glass City are the Purple Aurora Squad. Their resurgence after the Third Shinobi War is astonishing. In less than a minute, they defeated two S-rank rogue ninjas and numerous skilled fighters, sending them fleeing in disarray. With such a record, who would dare to covet Land of Glass Village again?

The Koizumi Family, who had been trying to find a way to break the deadlock, were overjoyed. They had kept their promise not to reveal Shuichi's whereabouts, and now that they had won a defensive battle, their own trade should be able to proceed smoothly...

"Lord Kenzo, urgent intelligence has arrived!" A breathless ninja from Land of Glass Village rushed into the Lord's mansion. "Only one day has passed, and no more traders have come in. The group that left with the goods yesterday has been intercepted and killed outside the city."

Koizumi Kenzō asked in astonishment, "What's going on? Why aren't those powerful gangs coming into the city to buy things at lower prices?"

"Because there are two rumors circulating outside," the subordinate said, his voice trembling with tears. "They say that Lord Purple Aurora's only task is to defend the city, and he won't concern himself with anything happening outside the city anymore, so the forces surrounding the village have actually increased."

"Meanwhile, some people confidently asserted that the Konoha Squad would only stay for two months, and there were even rumors that they were very dissatisfied with their employer's concealment of information, after which Konoha would no longer accept any requests from Land of Glass Village."

Koizumi Kenzō's vision went black for a moment, and he instantly understood the thoughts of the various forces, big and small. In any case, since the Land of Glass was already surrounded, this huge pile of rare metals and money would definitely not be able to escape.

Even those who send out mission commissioners are intercepted and killed, so spending money to buy goods is not worthwhile; it's better to wait two months and just rob them outright.

Thinking of this, he felt a pang of heartache. He couldn't sell his family's accumulated wealth over the years, and these rare metals couldn't be eaten, so it was basically a waste of time.

"Does this really mean we have no choice but to give up most of it?" Koizumi Kenzō was somewhat unwilling; he couldn't yet make the difficult decision to cut his losses. "If it really doesn't work out, then we'll have to..."

"Bang!" Just as he hesitated, another ninja rushed in through the back door in a panic. It was a trusted member of the Koizumi Family. "Master, something terrible has happened! During our inspection, we found that both underground passages have been completely destroyed. It's estimated that they won't be able to be repaired for the next few months..."

Upon hearing this, Koizumi Kenzō felt a booming sound in his ears, his mind went completely blank, his face rapidly changed from red to purple, and he fainted.

As local strongmen who had operated in this area for many years, the Koizumi Family certainly had many escape routes. They knew that they possessed coveted wealth and could not possibly leave without making some relevant preparations.

These two passages connect to abandoned wells outside the city. Moving heavy metal is a bit inconvenient, so leaving with lightweight paper money is the best option. In any case, this is the reason why they dare to stay in the city for a long time.

But some unscrupulous person destroyed them all, driving them into a desperate situation.

A few days later, Shuichi was stopped by a group of people. However, they were not there to cause trouble, but rather the Koizumi Family had asked him to discuss the guard duty.

Following them to a luxurious reception room, Shuichi quickly saw the haggard-looking Koizumi Kenzō, and immediately broke into a warm smile, "Mr. Kenzo, may I ask what brings you here?"

Koizumi Kenzō didn't speak; instead, his head butler, Koizumi Seiji, spoke to Shuichi on his behalf, saying, "Lord Shuichi, regarding this mercenary mission, we withheld some information. Fortunately, no one was injured."

"I believe you are already aware of the predicament faced by the Land of Glass. I wonder if we can continue discussing the matter of hiring them?"

There was nothing they could do. Even if they suspected that the bombing of their rear route might have been the work of Konoha Ninjas, they dared not openly confront them. Not only could they not find any evidence, but their strength in a direct confrontation was also far inferior.

Shuichi smiled slightly, "Of course we Konoha Ninjas have this desire, but because the recent commotion has been quite significant, even the Daimyo and the Lord Hokage have specifically inquired about this matter."

"To better help Land of Glass Village escape its predicament, our Land of Fire has prepared a full range of services. Here is a preliminary plan for your review."

Koizumi Seiji took it and, having weathered many storms, couldn't help but feel a surge of anger upon seeing the conditions. Konoha didn't treat them like human beings at all!

First, there was the proposal to sell rare metals. The Land of Fire would offer 30% of the Koizumi Family's inventory, which was even more outrageous than a 50% cut, practically a fire sale.

Of course, Koizumi Seiji didn't know that Shuichi one representing the Land of Fire and Konoha. He certainly wouldn't let go of such a good opportunity to make money; he could pack up the goods and take them all away using Summoning Technique.

The second proposal was another escort mission after the two-month protection period. Even after the rare metals were sold off cheaply, the Koizumi Family still had an extremely large cash flow.

Shuichi said he could protect them and help them escape safely, but as for the price, a mere 100 million taels would be fine.

At this moment, he has people among the black market experts surrounding the city. If he doesn't pay this money... hehe, perhaps Purple Aurora might secretly turn into a group of onlookers after leaving.

Later, there was even a selective proposal to help the Koizumi clan settle in the Daimyo of the Land of Fire. After all, saving money would be a waste, so wouldn't it be better to contribute to the country's GDP?

"Our demands might be a little high, but that's alright. Even if a deal falls through, we can still be on good terms. I believe there will be opportunities to cooperate in the future," Shuichi said nonchalantly. "There's still more than a month to go, so you can consider it carefully before making a decision."

Anyway, he now has "his own people" both inside and outside the city, so colluding to cause trouble is a piece of cake. He wants to see what other tricks the Koizumi clan has up their sleeves.

More than a month passed quickly, and with no other options, Land of Glass Village had no choice but to agree to Shuichi's conditions.

During this period, all the personnel they sent out disappeared without a trace, including even the Chunin, who were part of their core strength.

The desperate gamble only resulted in heavy losses, while the four Shuichi's squad patrolled the streets every Tenten with great diligence. No matter how closely they were watched, they couldn't find any flaws. Clearly, the two sides were not on the same level at all.

However, Shuichi didn't go too far in the end. He first bought most of the rare metals at half price and also reduced the escort fee a little. This not only allowed the "vultures" who had been waiting for two months to get some meat soup, but also allowed the Koizumi Family to escape the Land of Rivers with a lot of wealth.

"Take this, have a good feast when you get back to the village." On the way back to Konoha, Shuichi tossed a bulging bag of money to Shisui. Each member of the team received ten million ryo. This was the result of following the right leader; no other team in the Entire Ninja World received such treatment.

Shisui felt like he was dreaming. Receiving so much money at once was unimaginable to him. If he had honestly completed the tasks, it would probably have taken him ten years to accumulate that much.

"Senior, about..."

He was about to ask about the ninjas' modus operandi, since they essentially used their superior abilities to manipulate their employers, which didn't seem to align with the principle of obeying orders.

"Hmm?" Shuichi knew what Shisui wanted to ask, but just as he was about to answer, a strange feeling suddenly came from afar. "What's going on? This is the Nine-Tails' chakra!"

They were still several kilometers away from Konoha. With his exceptional sensory abilities, Hideki Shuichi detected the hateful and violent chakra, and immediately commanded, "You all stay where you are. Do not return to the village without my permission!"

After thinking it over, he still felt it wasn't safe, so he left a Shadow Clone before quickly heading back to the village...

A few minutes earlier, outside Konoha, in an underground laboratory near the edge of the village, Orochimaru walked unhurriedly through the passage and soon arrived at the door of the deepest room.

"Snap!"

When he opened the door, he could see some corpses scattered around the room, and a young man standing in front of the operating table in the center, looking over expressionlessly after hearing the sound.

"You are..." Orochimaru was quite surprised, then his snake eyes revealed an excited and curious expression, "I remember your code name is C, or rather, Experiment Subject No. 8. Just as I suspected, Danzo was behind it all. So what is your purpose in coming here now?"

To be honest, there weren't many things that could surprise him. Danzo clearly hidden this successful Wood Release Experiment Subject away, so why did he let him appear in front of him again?

Unexpectedly, Bing's behavior was completely different. Without hesitation, he smeared something on his stomach, and immediately a red Chakra Cloak appeared all over his body. He charged towards Orochimaru like a madman.

"Nine-Tails Chakra? Jinchuriki?" Orochimaru was momentarily stunned. Wasn't the Nine-Tails sealed inside Naruto?

However, he quickly realized that Shuichi had cut off two of the Nine-Tails' tails back then, which were then hidden away by the Konoha High Command. Judging from the strength of this person's chakra, it's possible that one of the tails was sealed within him.

"Interesting, Danzo's too impatient." Orochimaru wasn't about to take a beating without fighting back. As Bing charged at him, he gathered his hands together, "Ninja Art: Hidden Shadow Many Snake Hands!"

"Bang bang bang..."

Loud noises continued to emanate from the underground laboratory, and the surrounding walls were almost cracked by the shockwaves. Meanwhile, Bing, who possessed the Nine-Tails Chakra, became increasingly agitated, his eyes turning bloodshot. Judging from his hateful expression, he had completely lost his mind.

During the battle, Orochimaru seemed to realize something. After carefully sensing the surroundings, he discovered fluctuations coming from the Barriers of many laboratories, indicating that someone was forcibly breaking in. Moreover, many ninjas were also rushing to the scene.

"Looks like this was premeditated. They really have no patience." Orochimaru smiled wickedly. His Chakra Cloak grew thicker and thicker, and he crouched on the ground like a little fox. The next moment, he charged directly towards Orochimaru's position. "In that case, let's change battlefields and have some fun."

A Shadow Clone quickly appeared beside Orochimaru, and the two calmly formed hand seals. At the same time, several pythons coiled around the charging Orochimaru. "Flying Thunder God Formation!"

"Brush!"

In the Root Base laboratory, several staff members were preparing to clean up the Wood Release Experiment Subjects when suddenly three people appeared in the room, accompanied by the Nine-Tails' violent chakra.

"Wha... what happened?"

"Boom!"

Orochimaru was sent flying, rolling several times on the ground before quickly getting up, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. "This technique is really troublesome, but it does come in handy sometimes. It wasn't a waste of time."

After attacking Orochimaru, Bing's appearance changed instantly. His orange-red Chakra Cloak disappeared, and he had dark red striped skin. He looked like a little red dog with a tail behind him.

"Ugh..."

The laboratory was in complete chaos, filled with screams from the Root ninjas and the clatter of shattering glass. After smashing everything around him, Bing jumped out of the room and saw Orochimaru charging straight at him...

"What happened? That's Nine-Tails's chakra!" The Third Hokage, who was processing documents in the Hokage's Office, was shocked and immediately stood up to call over the nearby Anbu. "Has something happened to Naruto? Could it be that Masked Man..."

He had barely rushed out of the Hokage Building when Anbu approached him to report, "Lord Hokage, Naruto is fine, and the Barrier Team has not detected any signs of intruders."

The Third Hokage had already realized that the chakra fluctuation was coming from beneath his feet. "Is that the Root base? Immediately sound the alarm for the entire village. Send two teams of Anbu to follow me, and the rest of you go to cover the villagers and prepare to enter the shelter."

"Yes!"

Upon sensing the Nine-Tails Chakra, Shuichi sprinted towards the village, figuring the distance would consume a moderate amount of chakra, and then teleported directly to his Villa.

"The Hokage Building? No, it's underground, and it also contains Teacher Orochimaru's chakra."

After flying into the village, he knew that Naruto was alright. The chakra intensity was very low, so the root cause must be the two tails he had cut off.

After these thoughts flashed through his mind, Shuichi immediately activated the Flying Thunder God and arrived beside Orochimaru. The scene before him seemed somewhat familiar, and he quickly remembered that this was Danzo's Root Base.

As soon as he appeared, a bright red ball rushed towards him, and he immediately slammed a small chakra ball into it, shouting, "Rasengan!"

"Bang!"

C was sent flying backward by the blow, crashing into the ground and creating a large crater before falling silent. Given his irrational state, he wouldn't have stopped unless he was seriously injured.

"Shuichi-kun, you've come back just in time." Orochimaru smiled calmly. With his strength, dealing with this weaker Small Jinchuriki was no problem. Even though the Flying Thunder God Technique used up a lot of chakra and he was hit hard, he was just making a commotion by walking the dog earlier.

"Master, was this Danzo's doing?" Shuichi asked, frustrated. He'd finally managed to cut off one of his tails, only to have it wasted. What a spendthrift! "What exactly happened?"