A Helpless Choice

Chen was at a loss for words; this system was simply unbelievable.

It really could pull anything out of thin air.

However, what Chen didn't know was that, thousands of miles away, a certain lecherous white-haired man was stepping out of a bathhouse, only to discover that one of his garments had gone missing.

It is safe to say that Jiraiya's expression at this moment was quite spectacular.

"System, is this the mission you issued?

Even if you're messing with me, this is taking it too far, isn't it?"

"Don't blame me. The rewards are randomized within a certain timeframe, and this mission has a one-month limit.

If you learn other B-rank ninjutsu within that month, you can continue to claim rewards.

Of course, the second reward will definitely be better than the first, and the third better than the second; in short, the more you know, the better the rewards.

However, a reminder: the Rasengan is attribute-less and doesn't count, unless you can infuse an attribute into it."

Faced with the system's sophistry, Chen was too lazy to complain; after all, this wasn't the first time he'd been scammed.

Consequently, in a foul mood, Chen turned around and ran off to have a "friendly and cordial" sparring session with Sasuke.

"As expected, beating up the Second Pillar is good for physical and mental health."

After giving Sasuke a sound thrashing, Chen's mood finally improved.

"I don't object to you beating that guy, but aren't you worried that Itachi will come back and fight you to the death?"

"Not necessarily. Although I did it to beat up the Second Pillar, I also genuinely taught him some combat techniques, didn't I?

It's his own fault for being slow; he can't blame me if he can't learn them."

Chen wore a look of self-righteousness, while the system silently despised him in its heart.

Unaware of the system's thoughts, Chen returned home, just as his specially crafted Flying Thunder God kunai stirred.

Chen opened the letter and saw it was written by Shion.

Through Shion's efforts, she had adopted quite a few orphans in the name of the Shrine Maiden and had already begun training them in the ways of the ninja.

The purpose of Shion's letter this time was, on one hand, to explain the recent training situation, and on the other, to ask whether she should place special seals on these people.

All the samurai in the Land of Demons bore special seals, and it was these seals that ensured they would protect the Shrine Maiden unconditionally.

Even if it meant trading their own lives for hers, these people would not hesitate.

This time, Shion was hesitant about whether to use the same methods on these future ninjas.

Looking at the letter, Chen was also somewhat conflicted.

From the bottom of his heart, Chen did not want to use such seals; after all, it felt a bit too similar to Danzo's Root.

Danzo relied on the Tongue-Sealing Curse Seal to control Root and prevent betrayal, and Chen was fundamentally repulsed by such things.

"Sigh..."

After a helpless sigh, Chen finally made up his mind to reply to Shion.

"Didn't you despise the methods Danzo used on Root?

Why would you agree to what Shion is suggesting?"

"What other choice do I have? People's hearts are unpredictable. I don't have that much time to cultivate confidants bit by bit. Even though Shion is a Shrine Maiden, she can't see through people's hearts.

If I want loyalty, this is the only desperate measure.

However, I am not Danzo. As long as they don't betray me, I won't make excessive demands of them."

Chen was actually quite helpless; after all, there was still quite a bit of time before the Uchiha massacre or the Otsutsuki incident.

But it was basically impossible to cultivate a group of loyal ninjas otherwise.

Therefore, he had no choice but to use some special means.

"System, give me a mission outside the village. I need to go out and clear my head."

Chen was in a bad mood; he truly detested such Danzo-like tactics.

"Ding, system prompt: Hunting mission. Kill the Kusagakure missing-nin Yuzuki Ryoma. Bounty mission synchronized and active.

Yuzuki Ryoma, Kusagakure chunin, bounty 30,000 ryo, Water Release user.

Mission reward: Water Release, Water Formation Wall.

Mission failure penalty: XXXXX."

Seeing the mosaic on the failure penalty, Chen chose to ignore it. It wasn't the first time the system had been a pain; he was used to it.

"Hey, aren't you going to complain this time?"

Seeing that Chen had no reaction, the system was a bit curious.

However, Chen had no intention of paying the system any mind. After leaving behind a Shadow Clone, he used a teleportation array to leave Konoha.

"Hey, if you don't talk, believe it or not, I'll issue a mission for you to run around Konoha wearing Guy's underwear?"

"That's enough out of you. Can't I just have a moment of silence?"

"Is it really necessary to be like this?"

"Why are you getting so worked up? I was just saying."

"Besides, don't you want to know what the penalty for this mission is?"

"Even if I wanted to know, would you actually tell me?"

"This time, this system will be merciful and tell you: if you fail, you will be teleported directly in front of Orochimaru."

Inside Chen's mind, the system was laughing wildly, sounding exactly like a female demon lord.

What could Chen do besides be speechless?

"Hey, why don't you have any reaction at all?"

"What kind of reaction am I supposed to have? Aside from completing the mission, I don't think I have any other choice."

"Tch."

Faced with such an attitude from Chen, the system was helpless, as if it had punched a pile of cotton, and could only stop bothering him.

Chen first headed to the Underground Bounty Station to accept missions. In addition to hunting Yuzuki Ryoma, Chen also picked up several other tasks.

Coming out this time, Chen intended to earn as much money as possible; after all, establishing a ninja village in the Land of Demons would certainly require a significant amount of funds.

Although Shion controlled everything in the Land of Demons, a country's treasury was finite and could not be spent without limit.

After accepting over a dozen missions in a row, Chen finally set off toward his destination.

"Damn it! Who on earth accepted so many bounty missions!"

Shortly after Chen left, a certain rogue ninja with beady eyes walked out of the Underground Bounty Station, looking extremely displeased.

Although Chen hadn't taken every single mission, the relatively simple ones were clearly in short supply now.

Because of this, Kakuzu, the treasurer of the Akatsuki, suddenly found himself without any easy tasks.

"Haha, it's rare to see you looking so frustrated. I never thought the great Kakuzu would have his jobs snatched away."

"Kisame, you had better shut your mouth, or I wouldn't mind taking that shark heart of yours."

As temporary teammates, neither Kakuzu nor Kisame liked each other very much.

However, both were incredibly strong, and since the Akatsuki forbade open infighting, the two managed to maintain a strained partnership.

"If you could actually do it, I wouldn't mind, but Samehada doesn't like the smell of you."

"Hmph.

No matter who it is, if they dare to steal bounty missions from me, I will make that guy pay the price!"