The Land of Snow's Treasure as Commission? Don't Joke Like That

The doubt in Princess Koyuki Kazahana's heart was soon answered by Sandayū Asama.

"According to the intelligence I've gathered, those two mercenaries have swept through the black markets of multiple countries in just over a month. Their mission efficiency is terrifyingly high. Furthermore, their mission success rate is one hundred percent!"

"Dotō Kazahana sought out these two mercenaries in hopes of hiring them to capture you, Princess!"

Upon hearing this, Koyuki's heart skipped a beat.

The situation this time was undoubtedly far more severe than before.

In the past, Dotō Kazahana had only dispatched ninjas from the Land of Snow to pursue her, and even when he hired mercenaries, he never chose ones this formidable.

Her current situation was precarious; the track record of those two mercenaries in the black market was truly frightening.

To have swept through the Bounty Exchange missions across multiple countries in just over a month—if Sandayū Asama hadn't told her this himself, she would never have believed it was true.

Since Dotō Kazahana had hired two such powerful mercenaries to hunt her down, her current predicament was likely extremely dangerous.

After a moment of thought, Koyuki continued to ask, "Where are those two mercenaries now? Have they really accepted Dotō Kazahana's commission?"

Sandayū Asama shook his head with a look of shame. "Your Highness, I haven't been able to uncover that information. Being able to learn that Dotō Kazahana had approached the two of them and discussed the commission is already the limit of our intelligence capabilities."

Koyuki nodded. Although she still had some loyal subjects of her father—the former Daimyo of the Land of Snow—by her side, their influence still couldn't compare to Dotō Kazahana's.

After thinking carefully for a while, Koyuki proposed an idea: "Let's go to the Leaf Village. After all, the Leaf is one of the Five Great Ninja Villages. No matter how arrogant black market mercenaries are, they wouldn't dare run wild in the Leaf, right?"

Sandayū Asama immediately expressed his agreement. "This old servant thinks the same. For the sake of safety, it would be best if we went to the Leaf to lie low."

Yet, no sooner had he finished speaking than a young voice drifted from behind the living room screen: "Going to the Leaf is useless. The Leaf is in a mess itself right now; they have no spare time to meddle in other people's business."

The person speaking from behind the screen was, of course, Uchiha Genba.

His sudden interjection gave both Koyuki and Sandayū Asama a fright.

While these two held high status, they possessed little combat ability.

Nevertheless, Sandayū Asama instantly stepped in front of Koyuki, looking toward the back of the screen as he demanded angrily, "Who is it? What are you doing here?"

Genba walked out from behind the screen with a chuckle, speaking casually, "My name is Uchiha Genba. I am one of the two black market mercenaries that Dotō Kazahana wanted to hire!"

Hearing this, beads of sweat broke out on Sandayū Asama's forehead, and Princess Koyuki's pretty face turned pale.

They finally understood, to some extent, why Genba and Kakuzu had been able to blaze through so many black market missions in just over a month.

It had only been about a month since Dotō Kazahana had first made contact with Genba, and yet Genba had already tracked them down here.

What Dotō Kazahana had failed to achieve for years, despite using the full might of the Land of Snow, Genba had accomplished in roughly a month.

Such mission capability was beyond anything Koyuki or Sandayū Asama could have imagined.

In this critical moment, Sandayū Asama made a swift decision. "Your Highness, I will hold him off—you run!"

Koyuki gritted her teeth, but instead of choosing to flee, she drew a dagger from her waist and watched Genba nervously.

Struggling to calm the tension in her heart, Koyuki said, "I know we are no match for you, but you must not take any further action, or I will die right here!"

"If I'm not mistaken, Dotō Kazahana hired you to capture me partly to kill me, and partly because he needs an important item. I am the only one who knows where that thing is. If I die, your mission will never be completed."

Seeing how terrified Sandayū Asama and Koyuki were, Genba couldn't help but rub his nose. Had he really become this intimidating without even realizing it?

Although the Land of Snow was only a small country, it wasn't as if just any ninja could strike such deep fear into its princess and former minister.

Fortunately, Genba had no intention of continuing to tease Koyuki. He smiled and said, "Your Highness, if I wanted to capture you, I would have done it back at the hot springs. Why would I have given you a chance to resist?"

"You..." Koyuki nearly fainted upon hearing this.

She had never dreamed that while she was still at the hot springs, this mercenary calling himself Uchiha Genba had already been in her vicinity!

However, what Genba said next was undoubtedly even more shocking to Koyuki.

Genba sat down on the living room sofa with extreme nonchalance and said, "A month ago, the fake Daimyo of the Land of Snow, Dotō Kazahana, found me and hired me to capture a Tailed Beast for the Land of Snow to study. After that, it was to capture the fugitives of the Land of Snow—the two of you."

Sandayū Asama said angrily upon hearing this, "That man, Dotō Kazahana, who murdered his brother to usurp the throne, is the true criminal of the Land of Snow!"

Genba pressed his hand down, signaling for Sandayū Asama not to get excited, and continued, "Mr. Sandayū Asama, please don't be so agitated. Princess Koyuki, there is no need to be nervous."

"I am well aware that Dotō Kazahana murdered his brother to usurp the throne. Furthermore, I also know that the key to opening the national treasure of the Land of Snow is the Hexagonal Crystal, an item that Princess Koyuki has always kept on her person."

After Genba said this, Koyuki and Sandayū Asama grew even more tense.

Before, they could have gambled on the hope that Genba didn't know what the "key" was or where it was kept.

Now that Genba had laid everything out in the open, how could they not be nervous?

A look of desperate resolve appeared on Sandayū Asama's face.

Princess Koyuki's pretty face was as pale as paper; her heart had already sunk into despair.

Yet, Genba's attitude left a sliver of hope in their hearts, a feeling that perhaps some miracle might occur.

Seeing the expressions on their faces, Genba felt that the goal of his visit might be easily achieved.

He went straight to the point: "Regarding Dotō Kazahana's commission, I only accepted the first part—helping the Land of Snow capture a Tailed Beast for research. I did not accept his second commission because I wanted to come to you, Princess, to accept a higher-paying commission to restore your country."

Koyuki: (O_O)???

Sandayū Asama: (O_O)???

Xuan Yu's words left Koyuki Kazahana and her companion completely stunned.

This move by Xuan Yu was something neither of them could have ever anticipated.

Koyuki Kazahana did not remain dazed for long before she regained her senses; such an unexpected turn of events made the situation feel surreal.

A minute ago, she had truly believed that she and Sandayū Asama were done for.

She even felt a pang of regret, wondering why she hadn't sought out Xuan Yu before Dotō Kazahana to hire him to deal with the usurper.

Although Dotō Kazahana was not easy to handle, Xuan Yu's capability for completing missions was far beyond the norm.

Unexpectedly, she didn't need to regret anything, as a turn of events that no one could have foreseen had finally emerged.

Not daring to waste any time, Koyuki Kazahana decisively nodded and agreed to entrust Xuan Yu with a mission before he could change his mind.

"No matter how much Dotō Kazahana offered you, I will hire you at a higher price to assist me in restoring my country. However, my funds are limited right now, so your commission will have to wait until after I have reclaimed the throne."

"Rest assured, once I use the key to unlock the treasure of the Land of Snow, I will certainly have enough money to pay your commission."

Watching the earnest expression on Princess Koyuki Kazahana's face, Xuan Yu's cheek couldn't help but twitch.

If he didn't know what the treasure of the Land of Snow actually was, he might have let it slide, but knowing exactly what that treasure entailed, how could he possibly take her words seriously?

Fortunately, he was killing several birds with one stone this time and didn't need to keep shearing the same sheep; as long as Koyuki Kazahana cooperated with the mission arranged by the Akatsuki, that would be enough.