Assassination Mission

After dealing with Zuo Mu-Duanlong, Neji used the same method to implant his chakra seals into the other three Chunin as well. As for the remaining thirteen Genin, there was no need. Zuo Mu-Duanlong could handle them himself.

They stayed in the village for another day, allowing Zuo Mu-Duanlong to settle some remaining matters there. Then Neji led Zuo Mu-Duanlong, the other three Chunin, and twelve Genin toward the Land of Hot Water. One Genin had refused to come along, and after persuasion proved useless, Zuo Mu-Duanlong dealt with him. That was how this world worked. Without strength, one could only be at another's mercy. This was a world where the strong devoured the weak!

It was worth mentioning that among the three Chunin, two were members of Zuo Mu-Duanlong's clan: Zuo Mu-Qi Feng and Zuo Mu-Tenbu. They had originally belonged to a small shinobi clan, but after being hunted by their enemies, they had been forced to become wandering shinobi. After years of fleeing from place to place, only a handful of clan members remained. It was truly pitiful!

The Land of Hot Water bordered the Land of Fire. With its many hot springs and pleasant climate, it attracted travelers from other countries, eventually becoming a major tourist nation. Its capital in particular was a beautiful and prosperous city. In terms of liveliness alone, it was no less impressive than Konoha. Neji's main destination this time was the capital of the Land of Hot Water.

The journey went relatively smoothly. Their group of more than a dozen were all shinobi, and few people were foolish enough to come looking for trouble.

As a tourist city, the capital of the Land of Hot Water conducted very lax inspections of outsiders. Neji's group entered the city with ease, found a place to stay, and Neji called Zuo Mu-Duanlong and the other three Chunin into a small reception room.

Looking at Neji, who had revealed his true face, Zuo Mu-Duanlong and the other three Chunin felt rather conflicted. A child who looked barely ten years old had single-handedly taken down more than ten of them. He did everything flawlessly and acted with exceptional decisiveness. Although Neji had caught them by surprise at the time, Zuo Mu-Duanlong recalled that night's battle and knew that even at his peak, he would only have lasted a few more exchanges!

He could only complain helplessly to himself that he had wasted thirty years of his life!

But from another perspective, wasn't it better that the other party was such a genius? After all, they were on the same side now. And unless something unexpected happened, he was a member of Konoha's great Hyuga Clan. That was someone worth clinging to!

Once everyone was seated, Neji slowly said, "My main purpose for coming to the Land of Hot Water this time is to establish a base here, and establishing a base requires a great deal of money!"

After giving the four time to digest the information, Neji continued, "So I have made two plans to earn money. First, I accepted an assassination mission from the Black Market. The target is a wealthy merchant from the Land of Rice. He will come to the Land of Hot Water for a vacation in three days. I plan to intercept and kill him on the road once he enters the Land of Hot Water. The reward is twenty million ryo."

Neji looked at Zuo Mu-Duanlong. "Zuo Mu-Duanlong, leave at noon and head to the Land of Rice to monitor this merchant. Once he sets out, inform us in advance of the details of his entourage. I will lead the others to wait for your news at the border between the Land of Rice and the Land of Hot Water."

Turning to the other three Chunin, Neji said, "Here are two million ryo. You three have one day to purchase the necessary ninja tools and Explosive Tags. Make sure you arm yourselves properly. We leave tomorrow for the ambush site. As for the second plan, we will carry it out after completing this assassination mission."

Looking at the two million ryo Neji had brought out, Zuo Mu-Duanlong's heart ached a little. He had painstakingly saved that money, and now these brats were getting the benefit of it!

After assigning the tasks, everyone left the reception room. Neji found an upscale hot spring bathhouse and went to relax. After all, they had a mission tomorrow, and there was no telling what opponents they might encounter. He might as well unwind first.

The night passed without incident. Early the next morning, Neji gathered everyone and had them leave the Land of Hot Water in batches, discreetly.

They headed to the border with the Land of Rice to scout the area and set traps and ambushes. After traveling for nearly five hours, they arrived at the ambush site they had selected beforehand. Neji truly knew nothing about setting traps, so he let the three Chunin handle it. He found a high point, activated his Byakugan, and surveyed the surroundings.

Neji's Byakugan now had a viewing range of 3.5 kilometers, far surpassing even the Jonin of the Hyuga Clan. He was extremely pleased with this benefit of transmigration.

The Genin worked with the Chunin to set the traps. After making a circuit and finding nothing unusual, Neji closed his eyes to rest.

Not until the following morning did Zuo Mu-Duanlong arrive at the appointed location. Finding Neji, he reported, "Leader, the target has already set out and is expected to pass the ambush site in about two hours. This wealthy merchant travels in quite a grand procession. It seems he discovered that someone had placed a bounty on him, so he hired two teams of shinobi as protection."

Zuo Mu-Duanlong paused for breath, then continued, "The two teams are from Kusagakure, and their combat strength is unknown. Together with his own men, they are estimated to have two Jonin, five Chunin, and six or seven Genin. This target is a tough one."

Neji considered it. As long as he could quickly take out one Jonin, this ambush would be secure.

They had chosen a valley for this ambush, one that maintained a certain amount of mist year-round. Neji planned to coordinate with Zuo Mu-Duanlong's Hidden Mist Technique and launch a rapid assault, maximizing the advantage of the Byakugan.

Without further hesitation, Neji gathered everyone and explained his tactics. After Zuo Mu-Duanlong and the other three Chunin added a few suggestions, Zuo Mu-Duanlong and another Chunin who also knew the Hidden Mist Technique went to the front and rear of the valley to prepare the technique.

Time passed second by second until Neji spotted the other party's convoy through his Byakugan. It matched Zuo Mu-Duanlong's report almost exactly: two Jonin, five Chunin, seven Genin, along with some attendants and servants. There were more than thirty people in the convoy.

The convoy slowly entered the valley. Zuo Mu-Duanlong and Zuo Mu-Qi Feng used the Hidden Mist Technique together, and the mist in the valley gradually thickened. The enemy convoy sensed that something was wrong, stopped moving, and went on alert.

Neji raised his hand to signal the attack, then took the lead in rushing toward a Jonin standing guard. Concealed by the dense fog, Neji closed to within sixty meters of the enemy before being noticed, but it was already too late!

Neji fully spread the Eight Trigrams Formation in an instant. The target Jonin and several other shinobi near Neji immediately felt their bodies bound by an invisible force field, their vision and hearing suppressed. Four Genin collapsed directly to the ground, while two Chunin could barely remain standing. Only the Jonin retained the strength to fight, though his power was greatly suppressed as well.

Neji showed no mercy. Before he even got close, he unleashed a full set of Eight Trigrams One Hundred Twenty-Eight Empty Palms. This time, he had no intention of leaving survivors. Dense Empty Palms struck at the vital points of the seven people bound by the Eight Trigrams Formation. The four Genin died instantly, and the two Chunin only held on for a few breaths before falling for good. Only the Jonin was still struggling desperately.

The Jonin raised a huge umbrella and spun it continuously to block the barrage of Empty Palms. Chakra had been attached to the umbrella for defense, and the Empty Palms could not break through it for the moment.

To end the battle as quickly as possible and reduce casualties on his side, Neji directly opened the Gate of Opening, Gate of Healing, Gate of Life, and Gate of Pain of the Eight Gates. Neji, who had not expended much chakra to begin with, instantly felt as though the chakra within him was about to burst through his entire body.

Without wasting even a second, he locked onto the target Jonin with his Byakugan. A Great Ball Rasengan instantly formed in his right hand, and he charged forward at high speed.

The target Jonin's eyes were bloodshot as well. How much time had even passed since the ambush began? All the Chunin and Genin around him had already fallen, and he had not even seen who his opponent was. A sense of being locked onto, accompanied by a dense aura of death, wrapped around his heart. When he felt the pressure behind the umbrella lessen slightly and poked his head out to check the enemy's situation, a massive ball of chakra slammed toward him. Suppressed by the Eight Trigrams Formation, he could not even use the Substitution Technique. He could only force all the chakra in his body onto the umbrella, hoping to preserve his life.

But reality often ran contrary to one's wishes. With the support of the Four Gates, Neji's Great Ball Rasengan had become infinitely close to an S-rank Ninjutsu—and it required no hand seals. The Kusagakure Jonin, forced into a rushed defense and completely suppressed, was blasted into pulp by the Great Ball Rasengan without any suspense. Its remaining force even blasted a huge crater into the ground.

The tremendous explosion on Neji's side instantly drew the attention of the other battlefields. It would have been better not to look, because once they did, the enemy shinobi felt a chill run down their spines. My life is over!

The shinobi on Neji's side felt the exact opposite, shouting, "This is in the bag!"

Neji did not hurry to rest. Instead, he activated the Body Flicker Technique and arrived at the battle involving several Chunin. The Eight Trigrams Formation opened once more, and several Empty Palms dispatched the enemy's remaining three Chunin without suspense.

After ordering the other shinobi to keep the battlefield under control and not let a single person escape, Neji went to where Zuo Mu-Duanlong was fighting the other Jonin.

The other enemy Jonin no longer dared to continue the fight. He had wanted to flee the moment he saw his companion blasted into pulp. Unfortunately, he did not specialize in speed, and Zuo Mu-Duanlong was holding back a burning determination. Even when injured, he clung tightly to him, and the enemy Jonin had long cursed Zuo Mu-Duanlong to the depths of hell.

Yet Zuo Mu-Duanlong felt thoroughly exhilarated. After witnessing Neji's strength, he was grateful that Neji had held back that day. Otherwise, the grass on his grave would probably already be sprouting.

Seeing that Neji was about to arrive, the last Jonin went all out, frantically throwing every senbon on his body at the two of them. Zuo Mu-Duanlong retreated again and again, but Neji was unafraid. He directly activated Kaiten, deflecting all the senbon. With the Eight Trigrams Formation and Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm, he easily killed the man alongside Zuo Mu-Duanlong.

After killing the last Jonin, Neji stopped attacking. Looking at the helpless wealthy merchant and the servants and slaves who had been frightened senseless, Neji simply ordered, "Kill them all. Clean up the battlefield and prepare to withdraw."