Overnight Riches

Even the reward for a B-rank mission was only gathered because the nearby villages pooled together all their assets.

In the end, Yi Xiang came up with a plan. Yi Xiang transformed into a beautiful and moving young lady, while Kakashi disguised himself as this lady's father, posing as a traveling merchant.

Unsurprisingly, with Yi Xiang's stunning beauty, they were quickly snatched up by mountain bandits and presented to their leader. Kakashi used this opportunity to locate their hideout, but he did not rush to act, choosing instead to observe how Yi Xiang would handle the situation.

What followed was a shocking scene: Yi Xiang was like a god of slaughter. He reaped the lives of the bandits as easily as cutting vegetables, while Kakashi intercepted those who tried to flee on the perimeter.

When almost all the bandits were dead, Yi Xiang deliberately left the leader and the strategist alive. He made them experience what it meant to have their tendons pulled and bones broken, unable to live yet unable to die. He dragged it out for three full days until those two died in agony, looking like ghouls.

"At that time, I used two common Ninja Experience Cards, keeping my strength at or above its peak.

When I came to my senses, there were only sixty or seventy corpses with gruesome deaths on the ground. Then, I vomited everything I had eaten over the past few days right there on the spot. It wasn't until I returned to Konoha that I realized my pupils had evolved into the Three-Tomoe."

With his expression blank for a moment, Yi Xiang looked at the group of samurai charging toward him, as well as Gato, who was trying to escape in the chaos.

"Shadow Clone Technique!"

Three shadow clones appeared abruptly; two blocked the enemies behind him, while the third restrained Gato, waiting for the battle to end.

Yi Xiang swung the Kubikiribōchō, which felt as if it were connected to his own heart and mind. Without any graceful or flashy moves, he simply gave it a light swing, and three heads instantly fell to the ground.

"As expected, a big blade is much easier to use. How could a child's toy like a kunai be suitable for a youth like me! Hahaha!"

As Yi Xiang spoke, two more samurai were cut in half at the waist by him. In just a few seconds, eight samurai lay dead before and behind Yi Xiang.

Even though they were desperate outlaws who feared nothing, they had never seen such a ferocious humanoid monster. They immediately stopped caring about their pay, discarded their weapons, and turned to run.

These fellows surely had the blood of many on their hands, so how could Yi Xiang let them go? He continuously used the Body Flicker Technique to harvest their lives.

Fortunately, the Kubikiribōchō could absorb blood, otherwise, it would have splattered onto him. Yi Xiang would certainly have found that very troublesome; if he couldn't wash it off, these clothes would be wasted again.

Nearly two minutes later, the gloomy corridor was deathly silent. Or rather, those who wanted to speak no longer had the possibility of doing so, leaving only Gato, who had witnessed the entire process, trembling and looking somewhat demented.

"Now, there should be no one left to hinder us from getting the money."

Yi Xiang smiled at Gato, a smile so gentle and quiet that it made one feel favorable toward him.

"Even if I give you all the money, you won't let me go, will you?!"

Even though he was terrified of death and guessed that the madman before him would never spare him, Gato's last shred of luck forced him to ask for a final hope.

"That's right. But would you rather die in pain, or should I give you a quick end? I don't have that much patience, you know~"

Yi Xiang said the last sentence somewhat playfully.

"You are a devil! A devil!"

Gato roared hoarsely, his body struggling violently against the restraints of Yi Xiang's shadow clone. Then, he fell to his knees with a 'thud,' tears streaming down his face.

"I was wrong, I know I was wrong. Please, let me go. I have a huge fortune that isn't kept here; I can give it all to you.

You can have whatever you want, as long as you spare me this once. Please... I beg you..."

"I am a devil in your eyes, yet a savior in the eyes of those you persecute. Since you can be so vicious when playing the villain, why do you have no backbone when you know you are about to die!"

"Ah!!!"

Gato's index finger was snapped backward by Yi Xiang with a brutal 'crack,' and the man howled in agony, his expression twisted.

"Now I understand. It's because the pain wasn't falling on you. That's why you like to act recklessly and treat human life like blades of grass.

Now, are you still unwilling to lead the way for me?"

"I was wrong! I really know I was wrong! Spare me this once, and from now on, I will definitely only do good deeds."

"Ah!!!"

Gato's middle finger was easily snapped by Yi Xiang again, and tears and snot immediately gushed out in abundance.

Once he had the basic ability to move, Gato stopped talking nonsense. Under the guard of Yi Xiang's shadow clone, he walked to where he hid his money.

When Gato turned the code to open the safe, it was piled high with Land of Fire banknotes in denominations of two hundred ryo.

Yi Xiang inspected it and found there was about 3 million ryo. He had already planned how to spend it lavishly, but he still stared at Gato with unkind eyes.

"Is this all the money the richest man in the world has?"

"Of course there is more. This is just to throw people off the scent. Please, this way."

Gato knocked on the wooden wall very skillfully and turned a painting hanging on the wall. Suddenly, a wooden wall about four meters high and five meters wide slid downward.

Yi Xiang was instantly stunned, his mouth agape, and drool even dripped from the corner of his lips. The wall was piled high with banknotes, also in denominations of two hundred ryo, the common currency of the Land of Fire.

"My goodness, it would be an understatement to say there are tens of millions here! Gato, you really are greedy enough."

Gato was about to reply, but saw Yi Xiang suddenly decapitate him. His head fell to the ground with a look of confusion.

"For this money, how many people had to die because of you? Therefore, you can die."

Yi Xiang withdrew his gaze and turned to think about how to move this money.

At this moment, Haku walked through the blood-streaked corridor and arrived at Gato's office. He saw Yi Xiang, who was unharmed, and also saw the reward, which would have taken countless missions like this one to earn.

"Haku, you've returned just in time. I suddenly remembered that there are many homeless orphans in this town. You and Zabuza can use this money to adopt them all, how about that?"

"Very well. Zabuza-sama will agree as well."

"Then the first mission I give you is to guard the peace of the Land of Waves here, and prevent people like Gato from appearing. Also, take good care of those children. You can take the money from here, but you had better spend it sparingly."

Haku uncharacteristically did not ask for Zabuza's opinion first, seemingly certain that with this sum of money in hand, Zabuza would surely agree.

"Hmm... first, you must teach them what kind of people to become, and select the kindest children to instruct in ninjutsu.

In this way, they may be able to help us in the future, and they will also have the power to protect themselves."

"Understood."

Four days later, the people of Konoha waved goodbye to the residents who had come to see them off.

Because Gato was dead, and not a single one of his subordinates had been left alive. The residents, mistakenly believing that the people of Konoha had wiped them out together, could not suppress the tears of joy streaming down their faces as they gave the group a warm send-off.