The Mission in the Land of Demons

Uchiha Chen followed the people from the Bounty Station inside. The underground facility was surprisingly spacious, with quite a few shops.

When Chen appeared, many people looked at him in surprise.

There was no helping it. Chen was simply too young. Even with a mask on, he couldn't hide his age.

"Fighting is forbidden inside the Bounty Station, but once you leave, we won't get involved.

"To accept a mission, just go to the mission desk. If you want to reserve a mission exclusively, you'll need to pay a deposit.

"The deposit is ten percent of the mission reward."

"Reserve a mission?"

Chen was puzzled by the term.

"Simply put, anyone can accept a mission from the Bounty Station. That means several people might try to complete the same mission at once.

"In that case, only the first person to complete it gets the reward. The others get nothing.

"If you want the mission to yourself, you have to reserve it.

"Once the mission is complete, your deposit will be returned. If you fail or the mission is canceled, there's no refund.

"If it's a bounty on someone's head and another person brings in the target's head before you do, you won't get a refund either."

"Interesting.

"I'm curious, though. Doesn't the Bounty Station take a cut?"

Chen was confused. Even missions in Konoha gave a portion of the reward to the village, and that money was what funded its development.

"You don't need to worry about that. The rewards you see have already had all the fees deducted.

"You'll receive the full amount listed for the mission."

"I see."

After Chen followed the man to the registration desk and signed in, the man disappeared without another word.

Registration only meant writing down a name. They didn't even ask if it was real. That made sense; in a gray area like this, many people didn't want to reveal their identities.

At the mission desk, Chen easily found the mission in the Land of Demons.

A long time had passed since the mission was posted, but nobody had accepted it.

The reasons were simple: it involved Moryo, and the bounty was only a thousand ryo.

Compared with other missions, a thousand ryo was far too little.

Without hesitation, Chen accepted the mission and paid a hundred ryo.

Besides the mission in the Land of Demons, Chen also accepted a few bounties to hunt down targets.

"Leaving in such a hurry, kid?"

Chen had barely left the Underground Bounty Station when several rogue ninja followed him. It was obvious they were up to no good.

"You're rogue ninja, aren't you? I wonder if your villages have put bounties on your heads."

Chen didn't recognize the Forehead Protectors worn by the men pursuing him. Clearly, they weren't from the Five Great Shinobi Villages.

"Kid, you think you can earn our bounty?

"You'd better run home and suckle at your mother's breast. If you know what's good for you, hand over your money. Since we're all members of the Bounty Association, we won't kill you."

The four rogue ninja surrounded Chen, but he paid them no mind.

He had killed bandits before, but he'd never fought ninja in earnest. This was a chance to see how strong he really was.

"Come at me together. A little extra income is always nice."

Chen's words enraged the rogue ninja, and all four charged at him at once.

Facing their attack, Chen didn't panic. An Asauchi appeared in his hand, and he charged straight at the rogue ninja in front.

The Kunai struck the Asauchi, which looked like something from a street stall, and was cut clean in half.

Even Chen hadn't expected that. The unlucky rogue ninja certainly hadn't, either.

The poor fool ran straight into the blade and ended up dead.

"Well? How could anything this system gives you be ordinary? Some people were pretty disdainful of it back then."

The system's voice suddenly rang out, sounding extremely smug. Chen ignored it; three enemies were still left.

Chen's instant kill took the other three by surprise, but they didn't stop their attacks.

The next moment, all three attacks landed on Chen at once.

But just as they were gloating, there was a puff, and the Chen they'd hit turned into a wooden stump with an Explosive Tag attached to it.

"Not good!"

One of the rogue ninja reacted immediately, but Chen had already escaped. How could he let such a good opportunity slip by?

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

A massive fireball appeared. This time, Chen had deliberately lowered the technique's power.

If he burned them to ash, there'd be no heads to exchange for the bounty.

After dispatching the enemies with ease, Chen had a clearer idea of his strength. He was definitely at the Genin level, but still had a way to go before reaching Chunin.

Of course, he was referring to the proper ranks used by the Five Great Shinobi Villages.

After collecting the bounties, Chen's wallet was finally full. Next, naturally, he headed for the Land of Demons.

Along the way, Chen took care of a few unlucky targets, completing those missions as well.

When Chen arrived in the Land of Demons, he found the atmosphere oppressive—or rather, downright eerie.

"I'm the bounty hunter who accepted your daimyo's mission."

After showing his token, Chen was able to meet the daimyo of the Land of Demons without trouble.

"Why is it a kid?"

When the daimyo saw Chen, he immediately looked displeased and made no effort to hide it.

But in the next instant, Chen's Asauchi was at the daimyo's throat.

The daimyo wasn't the only one restrained. Chen's Shadow Clone had the samurai in the room under control, too.

"I think it would be best if you didn't make jokes like that, Your Excellency. I can be a little impulsive, and it would be unfortunate if I accidentally did something I shouldn't."

As Chen spoke, he put away his Asauchi and returned to the center of the room, as though nothing had happened.

The daimyo of the Land of Demons, however, had nearly wet himself.

Kurai Seiichi, the daimyo of the Land of Demons, had seen ninja before. He'd just never encountered one like Chen, who attacked at the slightest provocation.

The other samurai were so intimidated by Chen's actions that they even forgot to protect their own daimyo. It was almost comical.

"Since you've accepted the mission, you should know that you're to escort the Shrine Maiden to the shrine where Moryo is sealed, and retrieve the previous Shrine Maiden's token.

"I'll send an elite unit with you to make sure nothing goes wrong."

"An elite unit? You mean them, Your Excellency?

"If so, there's no need. They'll only slow the Shrine Maiden down."

At those words, the samurai in the room gripped their swords, seeming ready to rush forward at any moment.

"I advise you to think carefully. If you draw your swords, I won't hesitate to cut them—and your heads—in two."