Tasks and Money

The Third Shinobi World War began with Sunagakure's invasion of Konoha, but the war between these two sides was also the first to end.

Currently, both sides were bogged down in the mire of their respective opponents, with no time to start another conflict. They only left small guard forces along the border just in case.

As a buffer zone and the main battlefield between the two nations, the Land of Rivers hadn't improved even after Sunagakure and Konoha signed a peace treaty. Two years on, the domestic situation remained a complete mess.

War destroyed production, and chaos bred thugs.

Bandits, rogue ninja, rogue ninja, samurai, and various small ninja clans all joined the festivities in the minor nations between the Five Great Nations, fighting each other over scraps of profit or meaningless convictions.

A scene of vibrant vitality, with all things competing to thrive.

Among the small and medium nations, the Land of Rivers wasn't small in territory, but it had no ninja village of its own. Domestic mission commissions were mostly meat in Konoha's pot, with Sunagakure getting a share too.

The Daimyo and aristocrats of the Land of Rivers, having been served in turn by two great nations, weren't worried about their own positions. So they didn't care that the country was falling apart.

As long as a few important prosperous towns stayed safe, that was fine. As for the vast rural areas, no one cared how many people died.

After all, those folks had weed-like properties. If the lords just closed their eyes and opened them again after a few years, they'd be pleasantly surprised to find the population had respawned. How amazing!

In the forests along the Fire-Rivers border, the Higashino Makoto Squad of three was rarely moving on the ground instead of leaping between trees.

Suddenly, the leading Uzuki Yugao stopped, crouched down to examine something, as if searching for a clue.

"This direction is right!"

Hayate Gekko nodded. "Then let's keep tracking!"

Higashino Makoto followed at the rear, saying nothing, silently adjusting his direction along with his two teammates.

Among the current Squad Trio, Uzuki Yugao had the weakest strength, so everyone was deliberately cultivating her abilities in various areas.

The Land of Rivers was crawling with mountain bandits. Some Clever Imps near the Fire Country border often crossed over to do business there.

The villages in the Land of Rivers that could be plundered had all become paupers, with no fat to skim. Staying to compete internally in their own country wasn't as fun as robbing the rich folks of the Land of Fire.

It took a bit of risk, but fortune favored the bold. What if they got lucky and no ninja caught them?

Too naive, they had no concept of a ninja's tracking and mobility.

Soon, the Squad Trio entered the Land of Rivers. As the forest thinned and rolling hills rose into mountain ridges, a cluster of log-built houses appeared at the foot of a mountain where a river flowed by.

They looked new, with a crude, primitive style, likely built not long ago.

Uzuki Yugao asked, "Makoto, are there any ninja inside?"

Since adapting to ninja life, the Little Girl seemed to have suddenly grown up. When addressing Higashino Makoto and Hayate Gekko, she no longer added "big brother."

"No, they're all commoners."

"Alright then, same as before. Let's finish this quickly."

With that, the three drew their weapons and charged straight into the crude stronghold. Strength was the guarantee of confidence; against these ordinary bandits, there was no need for stealth or assassination.

The people in the Mountain Stronghold naturally spotted them quickly. Seeing the Konoha Headbands on their heads, they immediately knew who had come.

But they didn't flee. Instead, they viciously pulled out weapons, shouting and charging forward. They had everything—blades, spears, clubs, axes—and their faces were ferocious.

"Bastards, they're Konoha ninja."

"Just three kids."

"Kill them. If we kill them, we'll be safe."

Too naive, as I said. They had no concept of a ninja's strength and no understanding of how a Great Ninja Village operated.

Higashino Makoto and his two teammates were like tigers among sheep. No matter how hard these men swung their weapons, they couldn't touch a single hair on their heads.

In the chaotic battlefield, screams rose and fell. Tall adults dropped one by one. Finally, someone realized the gap in strength and understood one thing: ninja, even if they looked like children a few years old, weren't something they could handle.

The remaining bandits began to scatter and flee, but it was useless. The three, relying on their speed, steadily reaped lives. There was no disgust in their eyes, no nausea, and certainly no excitement.

After their initial killing spree, nearly two months had passed. Reminded by Yugao Gekko, the Squad Trio had long re-examined their hearts, not turning into psychopaths who loved killing.

Ninja needed to kill, but they couldn't be controlled by killing.

It was just a job, and they were killing a bunch of bottom-feeding bandits.

If they faced ordinary civilians of the ninja world, they were still youthful, sunny, humble, and polite good youths.

The screams suddenly stopped. All the bandits had become corpses, leaving only their Leader alive.

He was a tall, middle-aged man with long hair draped over his shoulders, his face covered in scars, looking fierce.

Leaning on a long blade, he knelt on one knee, staring at the Three Little Ones with a gaze full of bitter hatred.

"Unbelievable. Even children in the Great Ninja Villages are like monsters. Hear that? You're all monsters. Why don't you just die?"

Higashino Makoto was long tired of this kind of insulting talk. "Yeah, but aren't you one too?"

"We're not monsters. We're rebels. It's you big-nation ninja who turned our country into a battlefield and forced us into this."

"Sorry, maybe you're right. But a mission is a mission. You crossed the border and robbed two villages and one town in the Land of Fire, killed over thirty people. It's time to pay the price."

The Scarface Leader sneered. "And when will you ninja pay the price for your killing?"

"There will be a day when the price is paid. But you won't live to see it. Goodbye!"

"There really is—the Rabbit Goddess is still hanging in the sky, and all ninja chakra is her food."

Higashino Makoto finished speaking, raised his right hand, and made a finger-gun gesture at the Scarface Leader with his thumb and index finger.

A tiny Chakra Ball condensed at the tip of his index finger, sharp Wind Release Chakra swirling wildly around the ball's tail, making it look like a miniature shuttlecock.

[Wind Style: Wind Finger Gun]

Another seal-less jutsu developed by Higashino Makoto, a weakened variant of [Wind Style: Rasenshuriken] , inspired by the Kirigakure Hozuki Clan's [Water Style: Water Gun Technique] .

Did the original Higashino Makoto know how to use it? Naturally. But did he need that much chakra to kill a man? No. Chakra was life, and he hated waste, so he improved it.

Under the Scarface Leader's terrified gaze, the spinning chakra bullet carried a faint whistling sound and instantly pierced into his heart.

The razor-sharp Wind Release Chakra exploded inside him, completely shredding his core of life. The Scarface Leader only felt a slight sting in his heart before collapsing to the ground, lifeless.

Hayate Gekko and Uzuki Yugao had seen this move before. They envied it, wanted it, but couldn't replicate it. It required the ultimate combination of shape and Nature Transformation of chakra—who knew how many years of training it would take to achieve that?

"Alright, this C-rank Mission is over."

After Uzuki Yugao announced that, the three of them entered the Mountain Stronghold to search. Mainly for cash and Valuables—if there was any special intelligence, that would count as an Unexpected Harvest.

Nearly two months had passed since the last time they wiped out the Sea Shark Clan, and they had already completed several similar missions.

Some encounters involved rogue ninja or Rogue Ninja, raising the Mission Rank to B-rank, but most were C-rank missions that didn't involve ninja at all.

No A-rank missions. A-rank missions already involved Special Jonin or Jonin. Such people held decent positions in the village. Even if they defected, they could live well anywhere—there was no need to become bandits in a profession with no Prospects.

After each mission, the money they obtained counted as an Unexpected Surprise. After all, how much was the reward for a C-rank Mission? Even for B-rank, the cap was only 200,000 ryo, and that had to be split four ways.

Take the earlier D-rank Beast elimination mission, for example. Why did Higashino Makoto mark every kill on the map? Because the ranch needed to send people to collect the carcasses, then convert them into cash for the team.

Even the Large Ship they seized from wiping out the Sea Shark Clan was handed over to the officials at Hemo Port to be converted into cash. No one dared embezzle money from the ninja of their Home Country's Ninja Village—unless they had a death wish.

But that time, the money from selling the Large Ship was unanimously agreed by the Third Squad's four members to be given to the Victims they had rescued.

Ninja were tools, but they weren't heartless.

After packing up, Higashino Makoto looked at the haul and said cheerfully, "Let's go. Head back and meet up with the Teacher. I heard the Hot Spring in town is pretty good—perfect for relaxing."

After working so hard on missions, couldn't they enjoy themselves a little?

Besides, none of them were short on money now.

The village didn't claim what was earned outside of missions either. After all, ninja lived in the village and their expenses weren't low. In the end, the meat would always rot in the pot—there was no need to reclaim it by force and chill their subordinates' hearts.