A strange mission

That night, the sky was covered by a layer of pitch-black darkness.

The usually tranquil Hozuki Castle, dotted with twinkling lights, was disturbed as the prisoners in their cells began to tremble with fear.

Squads of guards stationed at Hozuki Castle ran haphazardly through the long corridor.

"Quickly, get to the square!"

"Hurry, hurry!!"

A fat man with a six-month pregnant belly waved his hands and shouted at the guards to bring reinforcements to the center of the tremor.

As time went on, the shaking of the earth did not decrease; on the contrary, the roaring sound became louder and louder.

In the center of the square, dark cracks spread outwards in all directions.

Sudden!

With a loud bang, the sky and sea seemed to freeze for a moment as a huge box with four large, ghostly-faced doors burst out of the ground.

As everyone watched this scene in shock, a Black Vortex, as dark as ink, slowly began to rotate on the front of the Box of Paradise.

Runes scattered, space shattered.

A tall, slender figure slowly emerged, standing atop the enormous box, overlooking all living beings.

"Finally out, but there's still a long way to go!" Tōka pouted, looking helpless.

The Box of Paradise is neither a normal Summoning Beast nor an ordinary large box.

The Summoning Technique requires special crafting, and Tōka chose the Land of Earth, which borders the Land of Grass, as the location.

With the Two-Tails Jinchūriki currently rampaging through Iwagakure, the Land of Earth is preoccupied with other matters and will not be overly strict in its surveillance and control of the border areas.

Therefore, the only thing Tōka needs to do now is to bring the Box of Paradise to a small border Small Mountain in the Land of Earth.

Under Tōka's imposing aura, the evil aura emanating from the Box of Paradise was not particularly noticeable.

In the pitch-black night, a chilling wind swept through, giving one a creepy feeling.

The cold wind seemed to have a spirit, sneaking into my neck, making my scalp tingle, and the chill went straight to the bone.

The people didn't take it seriously, assuming it was just heavy frost and fog at night, and didn't pay it any mind.

A hundred guards swarmed into the square.

"Who dares to trespass on Hozuki Castle!" The leader noticed Tōka on the Box of Paradise and immediately raised his weapon, shouting angrily.

"Even a small mosquito is still meat. As the first batch of food unearthed from the Box of Paradise, it should be considered Rongxin's, right?" Tōka looked around expressionlessly.

My heart gradually grew cold; to avoid trouble, it would be better if Hozuki Castle didn't exist.

Even the dead can't keep secrets, let alone the living.

Moreover, most of the people imprisoned here are not good people. With Mui dead, the Forbidden Jutsu Heavenly Prison is automatically broken.

If we let these guys leave Hozuki Castle and go back, there will inevitably be chaos and disorder.

Tōka didn't care about the Ninja World; he just didn't want people to know that the Box of Paradise was in his hands.

At least, not now...

Chakra mixed with Natural Energy overflowed, and Tōka's figure floated into the sky like a light cloud.

Gathering a silver whirlwind, breaking through Dimensional Barrier.

A deep, indifferent voice rang out...

The Ice Blue pupils stared indifferently at the ground, the space became stagnant, and even a simple gesture like raising a hand became extremely difficult.

Several jet-black Prayer Beads spun as Tōka moved her fingers.

The speed increased, and the vision became increasingly blurry.

"Silver Wheel Reincarnation Explosion!" Tōka shouted in a deep voice, his five fingers clenching and then thrusting out forcefully.

Buzz!

The dark Prayer Beads spun wildly, eventually coalescing into a silver storm, the whirlwind falling straight down like a comet trailing a long silver streak.

The vast Hozuki Castle was completely enveloped in silver light...

As time passed, the storm subsided, the silver light was swallowed by darkness, and the magnificent deep-sea city vanished completely from history.

In the deep, turbulent waters, only a massive Vortex remained, rotating slowly yet rapidly.

The underwater reefs were faintly visible, and in the blur, small black dots seemed to swirl with the Vortex, gradually sinking beneath the turbulent currents.

After Iwagakure, the Two-Tails Jinchūriki of Kumogakure, was Yugito, the outer walls of Iwagakure were completely destroyed.

"Broken Cliff" best describes the scene of Iwagakure at this time.

A Stone Ninja Iwagakure, which was in dire need of reconstruction, and quickly arrived at the village's central area.

The once-formed Tsuchikage Building can now only be vaguely discerned as an outline, and all the nearby solid stone buildings have been completely destroyed.

All that remained were bare stone walls, the broken sections appearing as if they had been erased by the gods.

A tall, muscular man, shirtless, was carrying building materials, beads of sweat trickling down his muscular physique.

Sweating profusely, Kitsuchi looked as if he had been pulled out of the water.

"Lord Kitsuchi, a mysterious person has arrived outside the village and says he wants to issue a mission." The Stone Ninja had rushed over quickly appeared beside Kitsuchi.

The Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, died unexpectedly in the Land of Lightning, Mirai Iwagakure could elect a new Tsuchikage, it was attacked by the Two-Tails.

Now that Iwagakure is in ruins, reconstruction is the most important thing.

Ōnoki's son, Kitsuchi, was the Tsuchikage's most capable assistant and was very familiar with the Tsuchikage's daily work, so he became the acting Tsuchikage of Iwagakure.

Everything will wait until the village is rebuilt before a new Tsuchikage is selected.

"Issue a mission? Don't you know what's most important right now?" Kitsuchi's face darkened, and he slammed the boulder he was holding onto the ground with a thud.

The earth trembled, and the dust it stirred up reached above everyone's knees.

The Stone Ninja who delivered the message stumbled and almost fell to his knees, but thankfully he reacted in time and steadied himself.

"But the reward offered is substantial!" the Stone Ninja said, forcing himself to speak. He knew, of course, that the most important thing for Iwagakure right now was reconstruction.

Even the election of the Tsuchikage was postponed until after the village's construction was completed, let alone a task assigned by a client?

But that guy really gave a lot of money!

"The task was to transport a very heavy box. The other party wouldn't say what it contained, but they directly gave us ten million taels as payment."

Upon hearing this, not only did Kitsuchi's expression change drastically, but even the group of Stone Ninja nearby stopped what they were doing and turned around in shock.

Kitsuchi licked his dry lips and quickly asked, "What box? Where is it being transported from and where is it going?"

"It's probably smuggled goods, transported from the border of the Land of Grass to a Yamanaka the Land of Land of Earth." The Stone Ninja didn't know what the goods were; the other party only mentioned the transportation route.

"A huge box worth ten million taels of silver, and it has to be transported to Yamanaka?" Kitsuchi pinched his broad chin, looking deep in thought.

Normally, for these kinds of transport and escort missions, the ninja team is only informed of the approximate destination by the employer when they receive the mission.

This time was different. The other party seemed to have no intention of avoiding risks at all, and actually revealed the transportation route and final destination.

And such a large-scale project...

Ten million taels of silver—that's the reward for S-rank Mission!

Now that Iwagakure has been largely destroyed by Matatabi's Tailed Beast Bomb, it is in dire need of funds for reconstruction, and such a generous mission is a welcome relief.

There's no reason... not to answer!

"Hmm? What do you want to say?" Having already made up his mind, Kitsuchi raised his head and noticed that Stone Ninja looked hesitant to speak.

"The other party requested that Deidara's squad be responsible for the transportation."

"Deidara?" Kitsuchi was slightly taken aback, then showed a relieved expression. Deidara's ability was to use Explosive Clay to create explosives.

He can also create giant birds to fly; if he can travel by air, that would indeed be the best solution.

It not only saves time but also requires very little effort.

"How did they know about Deidara? Did they figure out who that guy came from?" As the right-hand man of the Tsuchikage Ōnoki, Kitsuchi was naturally very cautious.

They didn't get carried away by the simple task and the huge reward.

Upon hearing this, the Stone Ninja who delivered the message shook his head. The man was completely shrouded in black, with only a corner of his chin showing, and even his voice was unusually low and hoarse.

It is obvious that they have concealed their true appearance through Transformation Technique or other abilities.

Such a capable person would normally be targeted by the Stone Ninja Anbu, but right now Iwagakure simply doesn't have enough manpower.

Despite the inexplicable lightning tribulation that nearly destroyed the entire village, Kumogakure was still alive.

However, Iwagakure had to be on guard. Normally, no one would launch a war as the Raikage, but the current Raikage sent out the Two-Tails Jinchūriki at this time.

Who knows if that lunatic will launch a surprise attack on Iwagakure?

Therefore, apart from the necessary manpower for defense and construction, Iwagakure dispatched a large portion of its Anbu to the border.

It's not just the Land of Lightning, but also the borders towards the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind.

"If it's just Deidara's small team..." After much hesitation, Kitsuchi simply couldn't afford such a huge sum of money.

Deidara's squad is very strong, and they are almost unmatched among their peers in the entire Land of Earth.

This is why the Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, took the three as his disciples, although this was only in comparison to the entire Land of Earth.

Deidara's squad's fighting strength is not remarkable, after all, they are all only teenagers.

He has great talent; he is a rough gem that needs time to be carefully polished.

"Take this mission. Tell Deidara, Kurotsuchi, Akatsuchi to prepare to depart." Kitsuchi's words were the final word.

"Yes!" The Stone Ninja straightened up and immediately disappeared in Body Flicker Technique.

Ten million ryo is only a drop in the bucket for the reconstruction of the entire Iwagakure, but it is enough to solve this urgent problem before the Daimyo of the Land of Earth arrives with his allocation.

Kitsuchi sent someone to contact the mysterious person who came to Iwagakure to issue the mission, and at the same time sent Stone Ninja to inform the three members of Deidara's team.

What seems like a simple and easy task is actually not so easy.

The price reflects the importance of the mission; no one is foolish enough to pay such a high price for nothing. Therefore, Kitsuchi decided to send a powerful Elite Ninja to lead the team.

Outside Iwagakure lies a mountain range of jagged yellow Stone Forest.

Built against the mountain, this chaotic mountain range serves as the best protective wall for Iwagakure.

"Damn it, how dare you disturb my art studies! Unforgivable... Hmm!" Deidara, with blond hair, leaned against a Rock with his arms crossed, muttering to himself with a dark expression.

Just then, a cute face quietly approached, almost touching Deidara's face.

Kurotsuchi squinted, staring dangerously at Deidara.

"Deidara, what are you muttering about?"

"Uh... it's nothing, you must have misheard, um." Deidara was startled by Kurotsuchi's sudden approach and quickly looked away, not daring to look him in the eye.

"Hmph! If you dare to talk nonsense again, I'll pluck all your yellow hair out!" Kurotsuchi grabbed a tuft of Deidara's hair and threatened him in an unfriendly tone.

"What yellow hair? That's gold, gold, gold! Are you colorblind? You're definitely colorblind, huh!" Deidara jumped up, bristling, and slapped Kurotsuchi's paw away.

"Tch, little blondie..." Kurotsuchi snorted dismissively, straightened up, and turned his head away.

Deidara's eye twitched, and his entire face darkened as if it were ink.

Rustling...

A soft sound of footsteps interrupted Deidara, who was about to speak. The three of them looked in the direction of the sound and saw a tall man walking slowly towards them.

This person had an umbrella on their head, wore a Tea-colored mask over their mouth, and was covered in Yellow-brown armor.

Han, the Five-Tails Jinchuriki of Iwagakure!

They can manipulate Steam for combat, enhancing both Brute Strength and speed. Their kicks are extremely powerful, making them Taijutsu -type ninja.

Undeniably, the Han dynasty was extremely powerful.

Deidara and Kurotsuchi simultaneously put away their playful expressions, while Akatsuchi, standing to the side, also became serious.

Despite the warning from the Stone Ninja who was in charge of notifying the three, this mission was not as simple as it seemed on the surface.

However, when they met the ninja leading the team, Han, the three realized how arduous their mission was.

"Lord Han," Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi greeted respectfully.

Kurotsuchi has a lively and outgoing personality. The Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, is her grandfather, and she often refers to Old Man"Old Man," which doesn't seem disrespectful but rather shows a lot of affection.

The Han dynasty was different; the strong were respected wherever they went.

As the granddaughter of the Tsuchikage Ōnoki, Kurotsuchi received an education unlike that of ordinary people from a young age.

When facing Jinchūriki, she did not show the disgust or hatred that ordinary people have for Jinchūriki.

Akatsuchi has good talent and is a very honest person.

As for Deidara... he's a typical rebellious teenager, and a very crazy one at that, even the Tsuchikage Ōnoki has a lot of headaches about him.

Han glanced silently at the three men's behavior, then continued walking slowly.

As it passed the three, a deep voice rang out, "The employer is in the Valley ahead. Let's go."

Han is a solid and steady man, the kind of person who doesn't talk big but does practical things.

Upon hearing the sound, Kurotsuchi, Akatsuchi, and the other two immediately followed.

Deidara, a beat slower, also took a step forward with a tense expression, trailing far behind the three-person team.

Their nonchalant attitude suggested they didn't care about the mission at all.

In reality, Deidara didn't care about missions. In the Land of Earth, the only person in the entire Iwagakure who could truly speak to him was the Old Man.

Now, even the Old Man has...

Rustling...

The sound of footsteps, though varied, gradually faded into the distance, and the four figures shrank, disappearing into the depths of the Yellow Stone Mountain Range as black dots.