Okubo Yahiko

"Really?"

Upon hearing this, Yahiko became very excited.

After all, Jiraiya had only taught them ninjutsu before and had never taken them on missions.

"Of course, it's true."

Qingshui gave a positive answer.

For ninjas, appropriate practical combat experience is the fastest way to improve their strength.

In this world, strength is the only capital for survival.

"That's great, as expected of Qingshui Big Brother."

That evening, Qingshui also informed Jiraiya of this decision.

Konan and the other two were his students after all, so he naturally had to inform Jiraiya about taking them on missions.

Jiraiya naturally wouldn't refuse.

In fact, he had already planned to take Nagato and the other two on a mission soon, but Qingshui had just moved it up.

Anyway, with Qingshui's strength, there was nothing to worry about.

"Then I'll trouble you, Qingshui."

The night passed without incident, and time quickly moved to the next day.

It was still raining in the Land of Rain today.

After breakfast, Qingshui took the Trio and left for a mission.

"Qingshui Big Brother, where will we go to accept missions?"

Not long after setting off, Yahiko suddenly asked.

The Trio were not Rain Ninjas yet, so they naturally couldn't go to Amegakure to accept missions.

Qingshui had naturally prepared for this.

"Black Market Exchange."

This answer left the Trio looking confused.

Having only been ninjas for a little over a year, they naturally didn't understand the black market that spanned the ninja nations.

Compared to the Five Great Ninja Villages, the black market was an underground organization that couldn't be brought to the table.

But inside, there were many bounty missions, including but not limited to famous ninjas from various ninja villages, rogue ninjas, wandering samurai, and more.

For example, the future Sarutobi Asuma was bountied at a staggering thirty-five million Ryo in the Black Market.

Keep in mind that the highest-level S-Rank missions usually only paid one million Ryo.

After Qingshui's explanation, the Trio gained a preliminary understanding of the Black Market.

Soon, they arrived outside an inconspicuous building, which was the Black Market Exchange in the Land of Rain.

"You three wait for me outside and stay alert."

After speaking, Qingshui used the Transformation Technique to alter his appearance before entering the Exchange.

Although he seemed very familiar with the Black Market, it was actually his first time in such a place. It was always better to be careful.

Upon entering the building, the first thing he saw was a toilet, and a foul odor filled the air.

This left Qingshui somewhat speechless.

So, it wasn't just the Black Market Exchange in the Land of Fire that used toilets as a disguise.

After finding the hidden mechanism within the toilet, Qingshui entered the real Black Market Exchange.

The environment inside was very dim and filled with a strong smell of blood.

Did the person in charge here not clean regularly?

After a silent complaint in his mind, Qingshui approached the person in charge and stated his purpose.

The person in charge showed no inclination to talk and directly handed Qingshui a large stack of bounty posters, all listing wanted targets.

Flipping through them, Qingshui saw many familiar faces.

Among these individuals were ninjas from his own village and famous ninjas from other ninja villages.

However, these people were generally very strong and not suitable for Konan and the other two to practice on.

Finally, Qingshui found a target with a bounty of 1.2 million Ryo.

This person was named Okubo Yahiko, a notorious wandering ninja who had committed heinous atrocities in many small countries and was an utterly wicked character.

He had recently arrived within the borders of the Land of Rain.

Of course, the main reason Qingshui chose him was that his strength was only at the Chunin level.

The Chunin level here was not referring to the Chunin of a Small Ninja Village, but rather the Chunin of the Five Great Ninja Villages.

For the Trio, who had only been learning ninjutsu for a little over a year, he was a very suitable first mission target.

After all, the first time they didn't need to deal with strong enemies, but to learn how to kill!

This is the first step to becoming a true ninja.

Ninja has never been a glorious profession.

After accepting the mission, Qingshui immediately left with the Trio, resuming his original appearance.

"Qingshui Big Brother, what exactly is our mission?"

Yahiko was still the one to ask. Qingshui didn't hide anything and handed Okubo Yahiko's bounty poster to the Trio.

"Our target is to hunt down this person."

As soon as they heard they had to kill someone, Konan and Yahiko's expressions stiffened for a moment.

As for Nagato, he had already killed people.

Afterward, Qingshui recounted Okubo Yahiko's past misdeeds.

"This person is extremely wicked. Killing him will be eliminating a scourge for the people and contributing to peace in the ninja world."

"I understand, Qingshui Big Brother. This person truly deserves to die!"

Konan was the first to prepare herself mentally. She didn't want to disappoint Qingshui.

Seeing that Konan, a girl, had already shown her stance, Yahiko naturally didn't want to be left behind and quickly declared his attitude.

A remote small village in the Land of Rain.

There were less than a hundred people living here in total, a very poor village.

And today, an unwelcome guest arrived in the village, Okubo Yahiko, the mission target Qingshui had chosen for the Trio.

His purpose for coming here was simple: to plunder money and food.

The reason he chose this place was that there were no ninjas here, and no matter how many ordinary people there were, they were meaningless to him.

He would kill them all.

Of course, if he encountered beautiful women, he wouldn't mind enjoying them first before killing them.

This was why this person had been able to roam free until now, as no one had ever escaped from his hands alive.

But as the saying goes, if you don't want anyone to know, don't do it.

Previously, when he was slaughtering ordinary people, he had accidentally clashed with a group of ninjas.

He originally intended to kill them all to silence them, but one person managed to escape, exposing all his actions.

Just like that, multiple unsolved murder cases with no leads now pointed to him, and overnight, he became a wanted criminal in several countries.

Thus, to evade pursuit, he chose to come to the chaotic Land of Rain.

As Okubo Yahiko continued his unrepentant slaughter of the ordinary people in this small village, Qingshui and his group, tracking his movements, were rapidly heading there.

However, they were ultimately too late.

By the time they arrived, there wasn't a single survivor in the village. Okubo Yahiko, having reaped a full harvest, was preparing to leave.

"Who are you people?"

The appearance of the four, including Qingshui, alerted him, and he quickly questioned them.

But no one responded.

Seeing the tragic scene of corpses strewn throughout the village, the Trio could no longer contain their rage and killing intent.

Without a word, the Trio charged directly at Okubo Yahiko, launching their attack.

Consumed by extreme anger, they had no intention of holding back, wanting only to kill him as quickly as possible to avenge everyone in the village.