Buy One, Get One Free

The following night

Uchiha Chiba stood on a hill at one of Konoha's encampments in the Land of Wind. In a week, he would join Dan Katō's squad and venture deep into the Land of Wind to carry out a special mission.

Feeling the dry air that was so different from the dampness of the Land of Rain, Chiba let his hair down. It seemed to have grown a little long. His black hair stuck up in the usual wild Uchiha fashion, and together with his fair, delicate face, it made it hard to tell whether he was a boy or a girl.

After a long while

Chiba tied his hair back.

"Dan Katō... If I remember right, he died during the Second Shinobi World War too. Could this be that mission...? That'd be unbelievably bad luck..." Uchiha Chiba felt the power of the Blood Pact within him. The strange sensation of sensing something seemed to have disappeared.

"Danzo... the Blood Pact... It's not the right time to go back to Konoha. I'll just have to get through the Second Shinobi World War first... I only hope I get the chance to take a look at the Scroll of Seals after this war ends. I'm still too weak." Uchiha Chiba gazed up at the night sky, where stars glittered and the bright moon hung high overhead.

Somewhere Chiba had failed to notice,

a shadow hidden in the darkness vanished in an instant.

The mission wouldn't begin for another week.

Which meant

Chiba could wander around the small countries near the Land of Wind.

The countries closest to the Land of Wind were the Land of Rivers and the Land of Birds. The original story had almost nothing to say about either one. The only recorded event was the change of the Land of Birds' daimyo, and as far as he could remember, neither country seemed particularly remarkable.

"Right, Katsuzuki once said there was a huge slave market in the Land of Rivers... I'll go have a look." With that, Uchiha Chiba pulled on a cloak and lowered a conical hat over his head, his black-clad figure blending into the night.

In the Land of Rivers, within the River Forest...

A group of ninjas hurried anxiously along.

"Faster, faster!" A middle-aged man desperately urged the horse-drawn carriage onward.

"Koji, we won't get away! Take that child and run! You have to make it back to Kirigakure!" A scar-faced man coughed up blood. A kunai was buried in his chest, and blood stained his clothes.

"No, Yamagami! We barely made it through Amegakure. We're almost at Konoha! Once we get past Konoha, we can make it back to Kirigakure! Hang in there—don't fall asleep!" The man called Koji urged the carriage onward with all his strength, as if something were chasing them.

"My lung's been pierced... I'm afraid I won't see tomorrow's sun. I... I'm sorry. I couldn't bring that child... back..." The man named Yamagami tilted his head to one side and breathed his last.

Koji gritted his teeth. He and Yamagami were both ordinary elite jonin, and neither was much good at fighting. They had been forced to cross several countries with only the two of them.

Suddenly

BOOM!!!!!

An Explosive Tag Kunai slammed into the horse pulling the carriage. The instant Koji leaped away, the horse was blown to pieces. The carriage it had been pulling came to an abrupt stop from the impact, and a muffled sound came from inside—seemingly a pained groan.

Blazing flames scorched the surrounding forest.

Koji's body crashed heavily into a tree. A branch pierced his thigh, and he slumped beneath the tree, utterly exhausted. Sensing the chakra around him without pause for so long had left both his chakra and his body in an extremely weakened state...

Tap... tap... tap...

"Heh heh heh, now you can't get away..." Several masked men snickered.

"Don't you dare touch that child..." Koji suddenly threw the kunai in his hand.

Clang!!!

A short sword casually knocked the kunai aside.

"You lot, deal with him, then drag that little girl out of the carriage. And remember, don't get any funny ideas. She's top-quality merchandise. The girl inside is from Kirigakure, and she has a special Kekkei Genkai." The masked leader folded his arms and watched the others get to work.

"Absolutely not!" Koji had barely finished speaking when his head jerked. Then his view gradually dropped—his neck had been casually cut through, and he was dead.

Then

Two masked men dragged a little girl out of the carriage.

She had long, snow-white hair and a delicate face as soft as silk. Her eyes were a brilliant sapphire blue, and she had tender lips and an undeveloped figure... But at that moment, her beautiful eyes were filled with hatred.

"Boss." One of the masked men bowed his head.

"Mm. Take her back. This girl will fetch a fortune at the slave market in the Land of Rivers. After this job, heh, those old foxes are going to be green with envy. Whether she's trained as a combat slave or a domestic slave, she'll be top of the line..." The masked leader reached out and stroked the girl's cheek.

The next second

Crunch!

The girl suddenly bit down on his finger.

Smack!

The masked man angrily slapped her.

Even with her right cheek bright red, the fury in her eyes remained unchanged...

"You little bitch!" The masked leader spoke coldly. Slowly, he continued, "I'll personally train you into a proper slave... Heh... Let's go. Oh, right—afterward, clean up this burning forest. Don't leave any traces for the people of Kirigakure to find."

The group of black-clad men gradually disappeared into the night.

At the scene,

only a wrecked carriage remained.

At dawn, the first rays of sunlight fell on Uchiha Chiba.

Clad in black, Uchiha Chiba had walked all night and finally reached the Land of Rivers. Of course, he'd spent the night enjoying the scenery along the way. Before he'd crossed over, he'd hardly ever seen such lush, natural landscapes...

The Land of Rivers was tiny and had no ninja village. Its only real protectors were the daimyo's personal guards. It was said that the Land of Rivers was a small country under the protection of the Land of Wind, so it wasn't allowed to train ninjas on its own. As for why the slave market kept growing, that was all down to the Second Shinobi World War. The Land of Wind was one of the main powers involved in the war, and the more it fought, the less time it had to manage the small countries under its control. With no ninjas stationed there, the small countries became an opportunity for wandering ninjas and black-market traders.

Uchiha Chiba looked toward the village, which seemed fairly large. He closed his eyes and sensed the chakra inside.

"There's only one Kage Level and a dozen or so jonin. As expected, it's a small country." Uchiha Chiba walked into the crowd.

Among the crowd,

several slave traders kept calling out.

"Come take a look! The daughter of some country's daimyo—already modified and ready to be kept as a pet!"

"Looking for combat slaves? I've got all kinds! This one—he's a one-armed Kage Level! I'll take a loss and give you ten percent off!"

"My slaves are all top-grade Kekkei Genkai users. Buy one, get one free!"