How Much Did It Cost to Hire Such a Powerful Shinobi?

Smelling the alcohol on Kazahana Koyuki, Asama Sandayu asked with concern, "Are you all right?"

Kazahana Koyuki's head was still spinning. Hearing Asama Sandayu's voice, she thought she was hallucinating from drinking too much.

She turned to look and saw that it really was Asama Sandayu.

"Sandayu? You... how did you get here too?"

Asama Sandayu looked completely bewildered.

"Huh? Miss Fujikaze, I've been here the whole time. I never left."

Anko, meanwhile, walked over to Yeyu with a look of shock. "What's going on?"

"How did you suddenly disappear and then reappear, bringing Kazahana Koyuki back with you?"

Anko had no idea what Yeyu had done, but she knew he must have used some kind of special ninjutsu, perhaps even a forbidden technique.

It was terrifying. In less than three minutes, Yeyu had brought back Kazahana Koyuki, whom they'd searched for all day without finding.

How had he done it?

Yeyu glanced at the equally bewildered Asama Sandayu and Kazahana Koyuki. "I used a few ninjutsu techniques and brought her here from a bar."

"If I hadn't gone, someone else probably would've picked her up."

Anko looked at Yeyu in confusion. "Picked her up?"

Yeyu explained, "A woman like her drinking in a bar, with a few men nearby who clearly had bad intentions—what do you think would've happened?"

Anko thought it over, then shuddered. "That could've ended very badly."

"I don't even want to imagine it."

Anko was a shinobi, and a Special Jonin at that. She'd seen plenty of things like this.

After hearing Yeyu's explanation, Asama Sandayu also shuddered with relief.

"Thank goodness Mr. Yeyu stepped in in time. Otherwise, Princess Koyuki's virtue would have been ruined."

"But how exactly did Mr. Yeyu find Princess Koyuki, and how did he bring her back?"

"And in such a short time?"

Asama Sandayu had many questions.

Kazahana Koyuki was still in a daze. She didn't know how Asama Sandayu had found her.

She still thought she was at the bar where she'd been drinking.

"Sandayu, how... how did you find me?"

Even as she spoke, the smell of alcohol lingered on her breath.

Yeyu frowned slightly.

Standing beside Yeyu, Anko wasn't surprised at all.

She often got drunk too, though always in the village.

Although alcohol was forbidden for shinobi, hardly anyone in the village followed that rule.

Since they were in the village, no one bothered to enforce it.

So most shinobi in the village, men and women alike, drank. Many were even hopelessly addicted to it.

Listening to Kazahana Koyuki, Asama Sandayu realized she still didn't know where she was.

"Miss Fujikaze, this is your residence."

Kazahana Koyuki squinted as she looked around, realizing the place did look a lot like her room.

"Is this an illusion?"

"I remember I was in the outskirts of town. Why is there a place here that looks exactly like my room?"

"Miss Fujikaze, this is your room. Mr. Yeyu brought you back," Asama Sandayu said.

But inside, he was astonished. The outskirts of town are at least ten kilometers from here. Mr. Yeyu brought Princess Koyuki all the way back from there.

Does that mean he covered dozens of kilometers in just a few minutes, while carrying Princess Koyuki?

And it seems Mr. Yeyu spent some time at Princess Koyuki's side, dealing with those ill-intentioned men.

In other words, he may have made the round trip from the outskirts with Princess Koyuki in less than a minute.

That's a distance of dozens of kilometers! Even a shinobi couldn't move that fast, could they?

Is this the extent of Mr. Yeyu's abilities?

Not only does he have overwhelmingly terrifying strength, he can also move almost instantaneously.

Even the most elite shinobi can't do that.

Mr. Yeyu is only twelve, and I heard he graduated from the Ninja Academy not long ago.

I can't imagine how powerful Mr. Yeyu will become in the future.

No matter what, befriending Mr. Yeyu will surely benefit the Land of Snow, and Princess Koyuki as well.

Thinking this, Asama Sandayu helped Kazahana Koyuki to her feet.

"Miss Fujikaze, Mr. Yeyu brought you back."

Kazahana Koyuki turned to look at Yeyu, who was sitting on the windowsill.

When she saw him, she remembered. "Aren't you the shinobi from the bar?"

"Where have you taken me?"

Kazahana Koyuki thought Yeyu had kidnapped her.

Yeyu had no intention of responding.

He knew how bad-tempered this princess could be.

Asama Sandayu hurriedly explained, "Miss Fujikaze, you're back at your residence. This is your room."

Kazahana Koyuki looked around again. When she realized it really was her room, she sat down in a daze.

"How is this possible? I was more than ten kilometers away from here. How could you bring me here in an instant?"

"That's impossible."

Kazahana Koyuki couldn't believe it. It was too bizarre.

In an instant, before she'd even had time to react, she'd gone from a bar more than ten kilometers away to her own room?

Even shinobi had to follow some basic logic, didn't they?

The strongest shinobi Kazahana Koyuki had ever seen was Kakashi.

Even Kakashi couldn't do something like this.

She even wondered if Asama Sandayu and Yeyu had teamed up to deceive her.

She didn't believe it. She stood up and rushed outside.

When she reached the courtyard, she saw that everything around her was exactly as it was at her residence.

Even the scenery outside was the same.

Kazahana Koyuki clutched her hair. "Am I under an illusion?"

She bit the back of her hand.

"Ow. It didn't disappear. It's real. I really am back at my residence."

"That guy actually has that kind of ability. Unbelievable."

This was the first time Kazahana Koyuki had witnessed the power of Space-Time Ninjutsu.

But there weren't many Space-Time Ninjutsu techniques in the Ninja World to begin with.

It was perfectly normal that Kazahana Koyuki had never seen one.

After all, only three people had learned the Flying Thunder God Technique since it was developed.

Of the three, Yeyu was the only one still alive.

Kazahana Koyuki gradually calmed down. She was drunk, yes.

But being drunk only slowed her thoughts; it hadn't given her amnesia.

She began retracing what had happened from the moment she saw Yeyu.

She pieced it together.

How could that guy be so young?

After thinking it all through, Kazahana Koyuki was sure Yeyu was an exceptionally powerful shinobi.

And yet Asama Sandayu had managed to hire someone that powerful for a mission.

"Sandayu, how much did you pay to hire such a powerful shinobi?"

Hiring a powerful shinobi cost a fortune, and even then, you couldn't just hire whoever you wanted.

Everyone wanted to hire the Kage of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, but few could manage it.

Everyone knew that the Kage of the Five Great Shinobi Villages were surely the most powerful—or at least among the strongest.

But hiring one of those Kage wasn't simply a matter of having enough money.