The Devil's Deal

When Nichiyo and the others rushed ashore.

The battle at the port had clearly already ended.

More than a dozen cargo ships lay wrecked, and nearly thirty Kirigakure Anbu Ninja had all been decapitated, dead where they fell.

Every one of them had been killed with a single blow.

Not a single mistake. Their attacks had been precise to the extreme!

It was as if thirty chicks had been bound by the feet and left to be slaughtered.

These were ninja!

And not just any ninja, but Anbu Ninja from the dreaded Kirigakure.

How had they died so quickly?

Just looking at the blood-soaked carnage was enough to make anyone's heart pound and scalp tingle.

"Swish—"

Natsume flung the blood from the Chakra Blade in his hand.

Then he hurriedly took off his smoking shoes.

He'd been moving too fast just now!

The friction between the soles and the ship's deck had produced so much heat that the soles had nearly caught fire.

He had to take them off right away...

As expected, he'd have to find time to buy a better pair of heat-resistant shoes.

Otherwise, every time he used [Setsuna], he'd burn through a pair. That wasn't worth it!

Soon, he took a new pair of shoes from his Space Scroll and put them on.

Only then did Natsume walk over to Nichiyo and the others.

"What are you looking at? Is there blood on me?"

"N-no."

Gin swallowed, trembling.

Compared with the Young Clan Head, the way he'd slaughtered everyone at that [Land of Waves] base had been downright messy...

Look at him. He'd killed so many powerful Anbu Ninja.

And he hadn't gotten a drop of blood on himself.

He was terrifying!

"All right, quit standing around. Go check if there are any survivors."

"While you're at it, see if they've got anything valuable on them. Take it all."

"B-but, Young Clan Head, isn't that a bit inappropriate?" Nichiyo asked hesitantly.

Most members of the Uchiha Clan were proud. They found the idea of looting corpses rather distasteful.

"How narrow-minded!"

"For every ten taels you bring back, the children in the village can go one day less without food and have another full meal!"

"Isn't that worth it?"

"Remember, even the smallest fly is still meat!"

Natsume lectured him earnestly.

Only people who had truly gone hungry knew how painful it was.

Besides, he was the one who'd killed them.

Even if he was looting their bodies, he'd earned that money through his own ability.

What was the problem?

Nichiyo froze for a moment, then understood.

Compared with the children of his own clan, looting corpses really wasn't something to be ashamed of.

Soon, Nichiyo and Gin hurried off in opposite directions.

They checked for anyone who might have slipped through the cracks while happily looting the bodies.

On the other side.

After coming ashore.

Seeing the battlefield littered with corpses, even a cold-blooded hard man like Zabuza couldn't help but feel a jolt in his heart.

It was no exaggeration to say that those thirty Anbu Ninja, together, would have been more than enough to surround and kill him.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have spent all this time hiding from them.

And now, in less than half a minute, they'd all been killed.

It was horrifying!

And the one who'd slaughtered them was just a ten-year-old boy.

What kind of monster had the Uchiha Clan produced?

"What's the matter? Not happy with something?"

Natsume came over, rubbing his sore arm as he asked with a bright smile.

Zabuza looked dejected.

He shook his head and said,

"When those Anbu Ninja were hunting me, I imagined countless times that I'd kill them all."

"But now that I've actually seen them dead..."

"I can't help feeling a little regret..."

Natsume said, "What are you regretting? They came to kill you."

Zabuza said, "They were good ninja from the village. They were only following orders from Mizukage Yagura."

"I never wanted them to die..."

"Every one of them we lose is a tremendous loss to the village..."

Natsume said, "But if they don't die, how will you stage your coup? How will you overthrow the Fourth Mizukage? How will you restore Kirigakure to what it used to be?"

Zabuza said, "I know. That's why I won't hesitate!"

"Once everything is over, I'll come back to gather their bodies and give them a proper burial..."

Natsume glanced at Zabuza, feeling a little moved.

To be honest, setting aside their opposing sides, he respected a hard man like this.

He took responsibility for his actions and valued loyalty.

He was a little cold-blooded and a little stupid.

But he was still more reassuring than Konoha's old schemers.

"With this kind of fighting, even if your coup succeeds, won't there be hardly any capable ninja left in Kirigakure?"

"I understand."

"Let's make another deal!"

Natsume suggested with a smile.

Zabuza immediately grew wary. He had a feeling this kid was going to trick him again.

By now, he knew very well that he couldn't afford to underestimate this kid just because he was a child.

"What are you planning?"

"Relax. Here's my proposal: once we enter [Kirigakure], I'll do my best not to kill anyone."

"I'll try to knock your ninja unconscious without taking their lives."

"That way, your village can keep some of its talent. What do you say?"

Zabuza's eyes lit up.

But he remained wary as he asked, "What else do you want? I'm out of money."

"I don't want your money. I want your village's money!"

"Here's the deal."

"Two hundred thousand taels for each Genin; five hundred thousand for each Chunin; two million for each Special Jonin; five million for each Jonin."

"For every ninja I save, once you've overthrown the Fourth Mizukage, you'll pay me that amount on behalf of Kirigakure."

"What do you think? Fair deal, right?"

Natsume proposed again with a wide smile.

Whether he killed them or not was just a matter of waving his hand.

If he could make some easy money and collect a huge, perfectly legitimate sum from [Kirigakure], why not?

Zabuza hesitated, tempted.

Money was important, of course.

But if the coup left every ninja in the village dead, then no matter how much money they had, they wouldn't be able to protect it.

The other Four Great Hidden Villages would surely take the opportunity to divide up their village.

Using that money to save a group of Kirigakure Ninja and preserve some of the village's strength was undoubtedly a bargain!

"But I'm just a rogue ninja. I have no authority over the village's finances..."

Natsume quickly urged him on. "Hey! Don't underestimate yourself."

"Once we've killed the Fourth Mizukage and his supporters, won't you be one of the village's most important people?"

"You might even become the Fifth Mizukage. It's not impossible."

"By then, would your words carry no weight?"

"Besides, once your village pays this commission, we can form an alliance and give you military support. That'll make sure the other Four Great Hidden Villages can't swoop in and steal the prize!"

"All you'll lose is a little money. You can earn it back later."

"And if you really don't have enough by then, we can even let you pay in installments!"

"It's an opportunity with every benefit and no downside. If you miss it, you won't get another!"

Natsume's persuasion was like the devil's whisper, slowly wearing down Zabuza's resistance.

Zabuza shook his head hard.

He couldn't understand how this kid, who seemed obsessed with money, could be so powerful—and so good at persuading people!

But in the end, he agreed.

After all, he couldn't bear to stand by and watch all of [Kirigakure] drown in blood and be destroyed!

"Fine! I accept!"

"An excellent decision!"

With his scheme successfully carried out, Natsume was delighted.

He immediately called out,

"Pick up the pace! Get ready to move out. Our target is [Kirigakure]!"