The Shinobi World Bounty Order

Two days later, under cover of darkness, Kisame Hoshigaki and Ringo Ameyuri slipped back into Kirigakure.

Their trip to the Land of Artisans to purchase supplies—and their side gig posing as bandits—had been carried out under a secret order from the Fourth Mizukage, Karatachi Yagura.

Kirigakure's economy was in poor shape, while strategic supplies were essential. Faced with a difficult choice, Karatachi Yagura had resorted to this desperate measure. Still, he had his pride, so everyone assigned to the mission had been selected from Anbu.

They had left by night and returned by night.

Avoiding the shinobi patrolling the village, the two slipped into the Mizukage's Office. The candlelight glimmered faintly, and Yagura was still handling official business.

Being the boss of Kirigakure was just as thankless as being the boss of Sunagakure. It was hard work, and there was hardly any money to be made.

Baby-faced Yagura set down the papers in his hands and studied the pair kneeling before him by the candlelight. He said with relief, "I thought you'd need another two days. I didn't expect you to be back so soon.

"How did it go? What did you bring back?

"By the way, where are the others? Are they still in the Land of Artisans? How many times have I told you not to get greedy? Know when to quit. You can't pull off something like this too often."

Seeing no sign of the others, Yagura assumed there had been so many fat targets that Kisame and Ringo had returned ahead of the rest with their spoils.

The two were sweating profusely, terrified and unsure how to begin. Their boss was in high spirits—how could they tell him the mission had failed and the whole team had been wiped out?

When neither of them answered, Yagura grew suspicious. He looked them over again and was horrified to notice the Kubikiribōchō and Samehada on their backs.

His expression changed dramatically. In Kirigakure, becoming one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen was the greatest honor after becoming Mizukage.

Ever since the first generation of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, Biwa Juzo and the others had never been parted from their blades. Now their swords had been brought back by someone else. What that meant was obvious.

Suppressing the anger welling inside him, Yagura clenched his fist until his nails dug into his palm and asked in a low voice, "What happened?"

A storm was about to break. The two no longer dared hide the truth. They lowered their heads and replied, "Our squad leaders were killed in action. We're the only survivors..."

"I knew it... I knew it...

"They must have gotten greedy and gone after a convoy from the Land of Lightning—or maybe one from Konohagakure. Then they were outmatched and killed.

"Couldn't they have used their heads? The Land of Lightning and Konohagakure are so far from the Land of Artisans. Of course they'd send a large squad of shinobi to escort supplies for the war."

Yagura was a relatively gentlemanly man. He didn't curse them out; instead, he murmured to himself, voicing his painful suspicions.

What a loss! That had all been the village's money. With the Shinobi World in such a tense state, not only had they lost the money, they'd also lost three elite Jonin. What a devastating blow.

His heart ached.

"Mizukage-sama."

Ringo Ameyuri raised her head and studied Yagura. Seeing that he didn't seem intent on killing them, she tried to explain, "The squad leaders only robbed a few small merchant caravans..."

"Then how did the whole team get wiped out?" Yagura asked with a stern face. If they hadn't targeted caravans from Konohagakure or Kumogakure, then who had they gone after—the Land of Earth?

"It happened like this..."

Ringo Ameyuri knew more than Kisame did. She recounted everything in detail, starting with Kaguya Taiga's encounter with Rasa and ending with Rasa catching up to them at the inn and killing Biwa Juzo and Fuguki from the Watermelon Mountain clan...

"Hand me Samehada. Let me take a look," Yagura ordered with a frown.

Kisame was reluctant, but he obediently untied Samehada from his back and handed it to Yagura.

By the candlelight, Yagura examined Samehada. Sure enough, there was a wound about a foot long. He suppressed the sword's consciousness and pushed a little more chakra into it, confirming that a nail clipper was still lodged inside.

"This Himura Kenshin you mentioned—is he really that powerful, like the White Fang of the Leaf was?" Yagura asked, rubbing his brow in distress.

How could he not be upset? The first time he'd ever had the idea to prey on a passing convoy, and the moment he put it into action, a Kage Level powerhouse had appeared out of nowhere to play the hero.

Was Kirigakure doomed?

The village already had few top-tier fighters. He was the only one, and the village relied on its mid- and upper-tier forces—the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, Ice Release, and Shikotsumyaku—to hold up its reputation.

Now they'd gone out once and lost three elite Jonin and more than a dozen Chunin. They'd lost both people and money.

What a disaster!

Kisame thought for a moment before answering, "I never saw the White Fang of the Leaf fight, but I experienced Himura Kenshin's strength firsthand.

"His swordsmanship may be the greatest the Shinobi World has ever seen. Without relying on chakra, he can stand on equal footing with a Kage Level fighter."

Baby-faced Yagura was torn between grief and anger. After a moment, he finally calmed down and asked, "You know about the Underground Bounty Station, right?"

Kisame nodded. "I do."

The Underground Bounty Station had powerful backing. Even Kakuzu didn't dare rob it, and Kishimoto didn't dare mention who its big boss was. Kirigakure shinobi sometimes took on side jobs there while away on missions.

Kisame looked down on this sort of two-timing behavior, but since everyone was doing it, he couldn't stop them. All he could do was stay out of it and refuse to join in.

Yagura clasped his hands together and closed his eyes. "I still have fifty million ryo. Draw a portrait of that man and take the money.

"Go to the Underground Bounty Station and issue a Shinobi World Bounty Order. We can't let ourselves take this loss without knowing why."

"What kind of order?" Ringo Ameyuri asked, her brow twitching.

"A bounty order, of course!" Yagura ground out, so heartbroken that he even got his words wrong.

Ringo Ameyuri stopped nitpicking and changed the subject. "Would fifty million be too little? Most elite Jonin have a bounty of twenty million.

"For a Kage Level fighter like him, surely the starting price should be at least a hundred million."

Kisame tilted his head and glanced at Ringo Ameyuri. You seem to know a lot about this.

Yagura clutched his chest. Don't say that. Every time you bring it up, my heart aches.

After catching his breath, he said mournfully, "Fifty million definitely isn't enough. But do we have any money to spare right now?

"We can only try our luck and hope someone gets lucky enough to kill that Himura Kenshin."

They couldn't just swallow the loss, but sending people after him was out of the question. That wouldn't be a manhunt; it'd be sending people to their deaths. Yagura couldn't go after him himself, either. What would happen to Kirigakure's affairs?

They could only try to deal with it through the Underground Bounty Station.

Kisame hesitated before speaking. "Mizukage-sama, actually, we brought back the squad leaders' bodies too. They're just outside the village.

"Maybe we can get some money for them."

Yagura: ...You didn't even spare the bodies?

Still, the dead were sometimes more useful than the living.

Yagura waved his hand, wanting to be left alone, and dismissed them. "Leave the Ninja Blades behind, then take their bodies to the Bounty Station.

"We'll deal with your mistakes after this is taken care of."

"Yes."

They'd escaped punishment. They were still alive.

The two lowered their heads and answered before leaving the Mizukage's Office. Just before he went, Kisame looked back at Samehada, reluctant to part with it.

The candle flame flickered.

Inside the office, Yagura closed his eyes and pondered. The deaths of three elite Jonin from Kirigakure were undoubtedly a huge loss. The news couldn't be kept under wraps for long.

He needed to find a way to put the matter behind them—and come up with a reasonable excuse that wouldn't raise suspicion, one that would make Kirigakure shinobi abandon their missions without hesitation if they ever encountered Himura Kenshin.

It wouldn't be easy!

Yagura's question had no answer...

Kirigakure's Blood Mist Policy had lasted a long time. The Third Mizukage had attended the First Five Kage Summit, but apart from a particularly youthful photo, the records revealed nothing about him. They didn't even mention his name.

Based on the only available photo, the Third Mizukage had been dead for a long time.

Yagura looked very young, but his official description called him baby-faced. In reality, he was quite old. And whether he was Mizukage had nothing to do with the Three-Tails.