Let's Get Married

Realizing he was no match for them, Sosuke secretly left behind a Shadow Clone during a gap in the exchange.

As long as the remaining person dared to make a move, the Shadow Clone could seize the girl.

Just like the scene before them now.

"Stop!"

"Don't hurt Her Highness!"

Seeing the two men hesitate for fear of hitting the wrong target, Sosuke wavered briefly before abandoning the idea of taking advantage of the situation to threaten them.

No matter how foolish they were, they would never simply stand there and let him slaughter them.

For now, he would retreat. Of course, the Princess had to come with him.

"If either of you moves, I'll cut off one of her ears first, then her fingers, and finally her tongue."

Ignoring the man's murderous glare, Sosuke staggered toward the Shadow Clone. Throughout it all, the two Captain-level experts didn't dare move an inch.

No matter how many tricks they had up their sleeves, they couldn't get to him before the Kunai fell.

The two men couldn't understand why the boy's clone was so powerful. Even now, they couldn't tell which one was the real body.

Frustration and regret filled their hearts. Several times, the younger man nearly took the risk of making a desperate move.

"Don't act rashly." The other man did his best to dissuade him. "From what I can see, that boy isn't hell-bent on killing. He probably only wants to leave with the girl. The worst that can happen is that the mission fails."

"I understand."

When he reached the girl's side, Sosuke ignored the fury blazing in her eyes and raised his arm, knocking her out cleanly.

He had the Shadow Clone carry her over its shoulder, then turned and waved politely. "Senior, I'll be taking my leave now."

Two minutes after the boy left, the two men, who had seemed frozen in place, finally began to move.

The younger man possessed powerful sensory abilities and could easily lock onto targets several kilometers away.

Did he think he could leave safely just because he had abducted the Princess?

How naïve. As long as the boy let his guard down even slightly, they could reclaim the Princess from him.

"Just you wait."

No one knew how much time had passed before Uzumaki Mito slowly awoke from her slumber.

She couldn't help it. The jolting beneath her was simply too intense, and the familiar sensation made her cheeks burn as she secretly reached out and gripped it tightly.

Whenever she was alone, she would secretly do it herself. From its girth and thickness, she knew the instant she touched it that

she was lying on the back of a packhorse.

"You're awake, my Princess."

At the familiar voice, Mito's expression instantly fell. She hated the helpless feeling of having everything controlled by someone else.

As the Princess of the Land of Whirlpools, she had been strict with herself since childhood. Among her peers, she had always ranked near the top in both strength and knowledge, with few able to match her.

Yet today, she had encountered one of those rare exceptions. Even under the protection of two teachers, she had still been captured alive by the detestable man before her.

For proud Mito, being defeated and captured was an utter humiliation.

She tugged hard on the reins, but when the other party remained completely unmoved, Mito could only speak coldly. "Help me up."

"No."

"Why?!"

"I think you look beautiful lying facedown."

"..."

In truth, it was more convenient for him to act while she was lying down.

At the slightest sign of trouble, he could raise his hand and kill her with a Kunai.

After figuring this out, Mito wisely stopped arguing and reluctantly turned her head to ask, "Fine. Then tell me, when are you planning to let me go?"

"I'm not."

"?"

After taking a drink from the water pouch, Sosuke said blandly, "You're the Princess of the Land of Whirlpools, a truly important figure. Now that I've finally captured you, how could I possibly let you go so easily?"

He really saw through my identity. Uzumaki Mito sighed inwardly. Her red Ponytail drooped as she roughly guessed what the boy was thinking.

He intended to use her as a hostage and extort a sum of money.

But when he actually spoke, she realized that she had vastly underestimated the boy's shamelessness.

"I'll take you back to my clan, marry you, and have a child with you. Then I'll make that child the heir to the Land of Whirlpools."

"When that happens, the entire country will be mine. Why the hell would I keep being a ninja?"

The shocking declaration completely dumbfounded the inexperienced Ponytail Princess.

"G-get married?!" Mito's face flushed bright red, but it wasn't from embarrassment. She could no longer contain her anger. "You bastard, don't even think about it."

"I, Uzumaki Mito, would sooner marry a pig in this lifetime than marry you!"

Of course, she was only venting in anger. She hadn't expected the boy to seriously consider it. "That's not entirely impossible. Once we return to the clan, I'll find you a handsome Ninja Pig—the talking kind. I'll sign a contract with it beforehand. That way, I can still control the Land of Whirlpools."

"...You bastard. Once I escape, I'll never let you off."

Before she woke up, Sosuke had spotted a traveling merchant caravan that specialized in providing travelers from all over the world with various necessities.

He had paid for a horse, as well as a straight, tubular chain lock made of fine steel. The handcuff connection consisted of a strip of rigid metal.

Its purpose was to prevent the prisoner's hands from touching each other, denying them the chance to form Hand Seals and resist.

With the girl's current strength, there was no way she could break free of the chain. Otherwise, given Mito's temperament, she would have jumped up and bitten him long ago.

In fact, Sosuke was also hesitating over whether he should simply release her.

Running into the three Uzumaki had been purely accidental. Neither side held any grudge against the other, and there was no need to fight to the death.

The truth was, he simply couldn't beat them. Otherwise, those two men would have already turned into Points.

Sosuke glanced behind him. After pondering for a moment, he had already made his decision.

Once they reached the town ahead, he would release her while there were plenty of people around.

After all, she was the Princess of the Uzumaki Clan. It would hardly be worth provoking the hatred of an entire country for a hundred or so Points.

Her father, "Uzumaki Ashina," was an unrivaled Clan Head-level expert during the Warring States period. His combat power was terrifying, and he had created many widely known Sealing Techniques.

Even if he truly intended to kill her, he would wait until the leek had fully matured. Who would swing the sickle before the crop was ready?

"Behave yourself, and I guarantee you humane treatment."

At that, Mito fell completely silent. She had probably realized that she was no match for him when it came to words.

Continuing would only mean suffering needless humiliation.

At that moment, a large merchant caravan was secretly assembling.

"Move faster! Load all the goods onto the carts."

At the front of the convoy, Scarface was conducting the final inspection. The goods he referred to, however, were groups of lively human beings.

They were slave traders who dealt in human trafficking.

"Haha, our haul is pretty good this time." Before long, Scarface burst out laughing, showing that the quality of the goods was quite satisfactory.

He took out the money pouch at his waist and distributed the prepared payment. The sellers, all of whom had concealed their faces, collected their money and left the scene.

"Are there any goods that haven't been sold yet?" Scarface shouted.

Just then, he heard the sound of approaching horse hooves in the distance.