Assassination Mission

After dealing with Samuki Danryu, Neji used the same method to plant his own Chakra seals on the other three Chunin. As for the thirteen Genin, there was no need; he left them for Samuki Danryu to handle.

Staying in the village for one more day to let Samuki Danryu wrap up some loose ends, Neji set off toward the Land of Hot Water with Samuki Danryu, the three Chunin, and the twelve Genin. During the journey, one Genin refused to come along. After persuasion failed, Samuki Danryu took care of him. That is just how this world works; without strength, one can only be at the mercy of others. It is a world of the "weak"!

It is worth noting that among the three Chunin, two were of the same clan as Samuki Danryu: Samuki Qifeng and Samuki Tenbu. They originally belonged to a small ninja clan, but after being hunted by enemies, they were forced to become rogue ninjas. After years of fleeing and hiding, only a few members of their clan remained—a truly tragic state.

The Land of Hot Water borders the Land of Fire. Because of its numerous hot springs and pleasant climate, it has attracted many visitors from other countries, eventually becoming a major tourist destination. The capital of the Land of Hot Water, in particular, is a beautiful and wealthy city; in terms of prosperity, it is in no way inferior to Konohagakure. Neji's primary destination this time was the capital of the Land of Hot Water.

The journey was relatively smooth. Since the group of over a dozen people were all ninjas, few fools dared to come looking for trouble.

As a tourist city, the capital of the Land of Hot Water had very lax screening for outsiders. Neji's group entered the city with ease and found a place to stay. Neji called Samuki Danryu and the other three Chunin into a small meeting room.

Looking at Neji, who had now revealed his true face, Samuki Danryu and the other three Chunin felt quite conflicted. A child who looked to be only about ten years old had single-handedly taken on their group of over a dozen people, acting with flawless precision and decisive lethality. Although Neji had relied on a sneak attack at the time, Samuki Danryu reflected on the battle that night and knew that even at his peak, he would have only lasted a few more moves!

He helplessly lamented in his heart that he had wasted his thirty years of life for nothing!

But looking at it from another angle, the more talented the opponent, the better, right? After all, they were now on the same side. And if nothing went wrong, the boy was a member of the Hyuga Clan, a major family in Konohagakure—that was a powerful backer!

Once everyone was seated, Neji said slowly, "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 large amount of money!"

After letting the four of them digest the information, Neji continued, "So, I have formulated two plans to make money. The first is an assassination mission I accepted from the Black Market. The target is a wealthy merchant from the Land of Rice who will be coming to the Land of Hot Water for a vacation in three days. I plan to intercept and kill him on the road as he enters the Land of Hot Water. The mission reward is 20 million Ryo."

Neji looked at Samuki Danryu and said, "Samuki Danryu, you will leave at noon for the Land of Rice to monitor this merchant. Once they depart, inform us of the details of their party in advance. I will lead the others and wait for your news at the border between the Land of Rice and the Land of Hot Water."

Turning his head, Neji said to the three Chunin, "Here is two million Ryo. You three have one day to purchase the necessary ninja tools and Explosive Tags. Make sure you are fully armed. We leave tomorrow to lie in wait at the ambush point. As for the second plan, we will execute it after we finish this assassination mission."

Looking at the two million Ryo Neji brought out, Samuki Danryu felt a pang of heartache. This was money he had saved up through hard work, and now it was going to these little brats!

After the tasks were assigned, the group left the meeting room. Neji went to find a high-end hot spring inn to enjoy himself. After all, they had a mission tomorrow, and there was no telling what kind of opponents they might encounter, so he decided to relax first.

The night passed without incident. Early the next morning, Neji organized the group, and they left the Land of Hot Water in separate, covert batches, heading to the border with the Land of Rice to scout the area and set up traps and ambushes.

The journey took about five hours. Upon arriving at the pre-selected ambush point, Neji realized he didn't actually know how to set traps, so he let the three Chunin handle it while he found a high vantage point, activated his Byakugan, and surveyed the surrounding environment.

Currently, Neji's Byakugan visual range had reached 3.5 kilometers, far exceeding that of a Jonin from the Hyuga Clan. Neji was delighted with this gift from his transmigration.

The Genin worked with the Chunin to set the traps. After Neji finished his patrol and found no abnormalities, he closed his eyes to rest and conserve his energy.

It wasn't until the next morning that Samuki Danryu arrived at the rendezvous point, found Neji, and reported, "Leader, the target has departed. They are expected to pass through the ambush point in about two hours. This merchant has quite the entourage; it seems he discovered that someone had placed a bounty on him, so he hired two squads of ninjas for protection."

Samuki Danryu caught his breath and continued, "The two squads of ninjas are from Kusagakure. Their combat strength is unknown. Including his own men, there are an estimated two Jonin, five Chunin, and six or seven Genin. This is going to be a tough nut to crack."

Neji thought for a moment. As long as he could quickly eliminate one Jonin, this ambush would be secure.

The ambush site was chosen in a valley that was covered in mist year-round. Neji planned to coordinate with Samuki Danryu's Hidden Mist Technique to launch a rapid assault, fully utilizing the advantages of the Byakugan.

No longer hesitating, Neji gathered everyone to explain his tactical plan. After Zuomu-Duanlong and the other three Chunin added their own suggestions, Zuomu-Duanlong and another Chunin who also knew the Hidden Mist Technique headed toward the front and rear of the valley to prepare the mist.

Time ticked by, second by second, until Neji's Byakugan spotted the enemy convoy. The intelligence matched what Zuomu-Duanlong had reported: two Jonin, five Chunin, seven Genin, plus some laborers and servants—the convoy consisted of over thirty people.

As the convoy slowly entered the valley, Zuomu-Duanlong and Zuomu Qifeng simultaneously activated the Hidden Mist Technique. The mist within the valley grew increasingly thick. Realizing something was wrong, the enemy convoy stopped moving and went on high alert.

Neji raised his hand to signal the attack and was the first to charge toward one of the alert Jonin. Under the cover of the thick mist, Neji managed to get within sixty meters of the enemy before being spotted, but it was already too late!

Neji immediately unleashed his Eight Trigrams Formation at full power. In an instant, the targeted Jonin and the other ninjas in close proximity felt their bodies constrained by an invisible force field. Their vision and hearing were suppressed; the four Genin collapsed to the ground, and the two Chunin could barely stand. Only the Jonin retained the ability to fight, though his strength was significantly dampened.

Neji did not hold back. Before even closing the distance, he unleashed a barrage of Eight Trigrams One Hundred Twenty-Eight Empty Palms. This time, Neji had no intention of leaving any survivors. The dense volley of empty palms struck the vital points of the seven people trapped by the Eight Trigrams Formation. The four Genin were killed instantly, and the two Chunin lasted only a few breaths before falling to the ground, unable to rise. Only the Jonin struggled to hold on.

The Jonin held up a massive umbrella, spinning it continuously to deflect the dense barrage of empty palms. Because the umbrella was reinforced with Chakra for defense, the empty palms could not break through it immediately.

To end the battle quickly and minimize his own side's casualties, Neji opened the Gate of Opening, the Gate of Healing, the Gate of Life, and the Gate of Pain from the Eight Gates. Neji, who had not consumed much Chakra to begin with, instantly felt as if the Chakra in his body was about to burst through his entire frame.

Without wasting a single second, he locked his Byakugan onto the target Jonin, condensed a Great Ball Rasengan in his right hand, and charged forward at high speed.

The target Jonin was furious, his eyes bloodshot. How much time had passed since the ambush began? All the Chunin and Genin around him had already fallen, and he hadn't even clearly seen who his opponent was before a sense of being locked on and a deep, suffocating crisis of death gripped his heart. When he felt the pressure behind his umbrella ease slightly, he poked his head out to assess the situation, only to see a massive sphere of Chakra crashing toward him. Suppressed by the Eight Trigrams Formation, he couldn't even perform a Substitution Technique. He could only channel all his remaining Chakra into the umbrella, hoping to save his life.

But reality often defies expectations. Aided by the four opened gates of the Eight Gates, the Great Ball Rasengan Neji unleashed was infinitely close to an S-rank ninjutsu—and a seal-less one at that. Caught off guard and completely suppressed, the Grass Jonin was blasted into smithereens by the Great Ball Rasengan without any suspense. The force of the attack continued, slamming into the ground and creating a massive crater.

The thunderous sound from Neji's side instantly drew the attention of the other battle groups. It would have been better if they hadn't looked; at the sight, the enemy ninjas felt a chill run down their spines. My life is over!

The mood of Neji's allies was the exact opposite, with many shouting, "We've got this!"

Neji did not rush to rest. Instead, he activated the Body Flicker Technique to reach the battle group of the remaining Chunin. He activated the Eight Trigrams Formation once more, and a few volleys of Empty Palms finished off the remaining three enemy Chunin without a hitch.

Ordering the other ninjas to secure the battlefield and ensure no one escaped, Neji made his way to the battle where Zuomu-Duanlong was fighting the other Jonin.

The last enemy Jonin no longer dared to stay and fight. Upon seeing his companion blasted to pieces, he had long wanted to flee. However, he was not skilled in speed, and Zuomu-Duanlong, holding his breath and refusing to give up, kept him tightly entangled even while injured. The enemy Jonin had long since cursed Zuomu-Duanlong to the high heavens.

Zuomu-Duanlong, however, felt a sense of relief. Having witnessed Neji's strength, he was grateful that Neji had held back that day; otherwise, the grass on his grave would likely already be sprouting.

Seeing that Neji was about to arrive, the last Jonin grew desperate. He threw all the senbon on his person at the two of them in a frenzy. Zuomu-Duanlong retreated repeatedly, but Neji was unfazed. He activated Rotation, deflecting all the senbon, and with the Eight Trigrams Formation combined with the Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm, he easily finished off the opponent.

After killing the last Jonin, Neji stopped attacking. Staring at the bewildered wealthy merchant and the terrified servants and laborers, Neji simply commanded, "Kill them all, clean up the battlefield, and prepare to withdraw."