Unscrupulous Men

"Sir, would you happen to need a porter?"

Miyake Yusuke obsequiously approached some well-dressed patrons. This time, he had his eye on two young men.★🎁  🐉♝

"No need!" One of the black-haired young men waved him away.

"Then might you need a guide, sir? We're all born and raised in the Land of Artisans!"

"Whatever service you need, we can help you with it!" Miyake Yusuke's sharp eyes caught sight of a black-marked rod strapped across the black-haired youth's back.

"That's right! I'd know that tempting, golden gleam anywhere. This guy's loaded!" Miyake Yusuke roared inwardly.

"No need!" The black-haired youth shook his head, then walked through the crowd with the red-haired youth beside him.

Watching the black-haired youth's back as he walked away, Miyake Yusuke hurried around to the other side and pulled the bewildered Naganuma Kento aside. He quickly blurted out a sentence, cutting off the string of curses Naganuma Kento was about to unleash.

"I've got a big score! That black-haired kid's probably a runaway rich boy. The iron rod on his back is actually packed with gold!"

"Really?! You're sure you didn't mistake it?" A flash of greed gleamed in Naganuma Kento's eyes.

"Come on! You don't trust me? I might mix up the color of Sakurako's sash in the Flower District, but I'd never mistake gold's smooth, bright luster!" Miyake Yusuke thumped his chest and swore.

"Fine... How do we split it?" Naganuma Kento narrowed his eyes.

"I found the fat sheep, so we split it seven-three!"

"Hah! Dream on. What good are those half-grown brats you've got with you? I'll take seven, and you can have three..." Naganuma Kento scoffed.

Miyake Yusuke gritted his teeth. "Four each. The last two go to whoever takes the kid down!"

"Deal!" Naganuma Kento thought it over for a moment, then agreed.

The two spat into their palms and slapped them together to seal the deal.

The two young men who had arrived by boat in the Land of Artisans were, of course, Souya and Sasori.

After their unexpected gains in the Land of Bears, they had planned to head straight back to the Land of Wind. But Sasori couldn't resist examining Samehada and the star a little.

To his surprise, Sasori discovered that the methods he'd used to cut metal wouldn't work on Samehada.

Though Samehada was sealed, it seemed to retain the instinctive reflexes of a living creature. Whether exposed to intense heat or attacked with a blade,

the moment anything touched it, rows of barbs would rise across its surface, greatly increasing its hardness. That meant it couldn't be melted down and reforged.

And Sasori still hadn't figured out how to incorporate the wondrous star into his puppet-making.

In Souya's view, the people of the Land of Bears were simply courting death by using the star as a medium to cultivate Chakra.

Even if they were lucky enough to master the so-called "Mysterious Peacock Method," their strength would only reach around the level of a jonin. Their only special trait was the ability to fly.

But even the jonin who emerged after expending vast amounts of their life force had an exceptionally short lifespan, like the male Star Ninja Souya had met, who was already close to death.

The female Star Ninja named Natsuhi Star had mastered a higher level of the "Mysterious Peacock Method," yet her life force remained abundant. She could live at least another decade or more.

Could it be because of her hair color...? After all, the importance of bloodlines in the Ninja World was undeniable.

As someone born a commoner, Souya felt that keenly. Despite being called a genius for his extraordinary comprehension, too many obstacles now stood in the way of further strengthening himself.

The first was his Chakra reserves. If only he had a "Chakra" bloodline...

"Hey, Sasori! Do you know which way we're supposed to go?" Souya and Sasori walked along a shaded path. The fields beside it were overgrown with weeds, as though they had been abandoned for some time.

"No."

"Then why did you come to the Land of Artisans?" Souya rolled his eyes.

"I only know what my grandmother told me: the Land of Artisans has the finest metalworking in the world, and many secret techniques can give weapons and armor unexpected abilities."

"The first step in making weapons is processing metal. The master smiths here must have handled plenty of rare metals, and they'll have workshops specially equipped to work with them," Sasori said confidently.

"Then do you know any of the famous masters here?" Souya asked.

"No."

"If you don't know anything, why are you acting so confident?" Souya said helplessly, and kept walking.

Suddenly, Souya stopped. He grinned and said, "Our guide's arrived!"

"Hey, kid! I suggest you hand over everything valuable on you, nice and easy! Otherwise..."

"Heh! You two have such soft, pretty skin. Clean you up a bit and plenty of old geezers at the Flower District would be happy to take you!" A burly, overweight man suddenly sprang from the fields and blocked the road.

A bristly beard surrounded his chin like a pine tree. When he spotted the golden glint on Souya's back, greed blazed openly in his eyes.

Creak, creak!

In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen muscular, bare-chested men surrounded them, flexing fists as big as cooking pots.

The stench of sweat mingled with a strange, sour odor, nearly drowning Souya and Sasori in it.

Even Sasori, who was usually so indifferent, furrowed his brow.

Whoosh!

A sharp whistle cut through the air. Souya turned his head and dodged. An arrow had flown in from afar, aimed straight at his face. It had been meant to kill him in one shot.

Souya glanced at the arrow embedded in the earthen wall. Its material was ordinary, and there was no sign of Chakra on it. It had been fired with brute force alone. Souya was a little surprised. That was some strength...

"Hm? Dog-Leg Yusuke?! You gutless coward! You're trying to ambush us from the shadows and steal my score?!" Naganuma Kento roared angrily.

He searched around with his eyes, then spotted a figure in an abandoned thatched hut to the front left. But the figure looked more like a boy, without the sleazy aura that clung to Miyake Yusuke.

"But now's not the time to settle things with Dog-Leg Yusuke. That kid's lucky he dodged the arrow..."

Naganuma Kento thought to himself. Taking the kid out quickly was what mattered. As for the split... What a joke. Everything those two had belonged to him!

Just as Naganuma Kento gave his men a signal to surround the pair, he seemed to hear the devil whispering in his ear.

"Everyone except the leader and the one with the bow in the distance—kill them all..."