Kusagakure.
Shiraha and his group of five escorted the prisoner into Kusagakure.
Mui, the leader of Kusagakure's Jōnin, came to receive them. He was also the current lord of Hozuki Castle.
"Are you one of the Three Ninja, Orochimaru? I never expected Konoha to send someone as formidable as you on such a simple Rank B escort mission!"
Mui warmly stepped forward, his manner exceptionally respectful.
He appeared to be in his early thirties, slightly older than Orochimaru. However, the ninja world had never ranked people according to age.
Orochimaru gave a slight nod in greeting.
"Worthy of being Orochimaru's team. You may all be young, but I feel your strength is nearly on par with mine. Konoha truly produces talented individuals!" Mui turned to praise Shiraha and the others, his tone full of envy.
Kushina, Chiho, and Hideto were not good at dealing with such people, so Shiraha picked up the conversation.
"You flatter us, Lord Mui. You look far stronger than an ordinary Jōnin yourself!"
This Mui truly had some skill. The Energy Field he radiated made the fire elements in the air unusually active.
He clearly possessed a powerful secret Fire Style technique.
"Could you be Yagami Shiraha?" Mui revealed a surprised expression.
"Lord Mui knows me?"
Shiraha was taken aback.
"Of course. Lord Shiraha is hailed as Konoha's future second medical expert. Your Black Market bounty has already risen to 30 million ryo, higher than even some Elite Jonin from major nations!" Mui said solemnly.
Shiraha: "..."
Fuck!
"Everyone, please follow me." Seeing Shiraha fall silent, Mui smiled and led the way.
Halfway there.
A burst of angry shouting suddenly came from the street.
"Hurry up, stop slacking off! Kusagakure doesn't feed idlers! If you want to eat your fill, work hard!"
A Kusagakure ninja swung