Buy One Get One Free

The following night.

Uchiha Chiba stood on a hill within the Konohagakure encampment in the Land of Wind. In one week, he would join Kato Dan's squad to venture deep into the Land of Wind for a special mission.

Feeling the irritating dryness of the air—so different from the humid atmosphere of the Land of Rain—Chiba let his hair down. It seemed to have grown a bit long. His black hair inherited the Uchiha Clan's signature spiky style, and paired with his fair, delicate face, it was difficult for a stranger to tell if he was a boy or a girl at first glance.

After a long while.

Chiba tied his hair back up.

Kato Dan... if I remember correctly, he's supposed to die during the Second Shinobi World War. It wouldn't be this mission, would it? That would be incredibly unlucky... Uchiha Chiba sensed the power of the Blood Pact within his body; the strange sensation of perceiving something seemed to have vanished.

Danzo... the Blood Pact... It's not the right time to return to Konohagakure yet. I have no choice but to honestly finish this war... I just hope that after this conflict ends, I'll have a chance to take a look at the Forbidden Jutsu scrolls... I'm still too weak. Uchiha Chiba looked up at the night sky, where the stars twinkled and the bright moon hung high.

Somewhere Chiba hadn't noticed.

A shadow hidden in the darkness vanished in an instant.

The mission wouldn't begin for another week.

That meant.

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

The closest small countries to the Land of Wind were the Land of Rivers and the Land of Birds. In the original story, there was almost no description of these two nations; the only recorded event was the change of the daimyo in the Land of Birds. However, in his memory, these two countries didn't seem to have anything particularly special about them.

"Right, speaking of which, Katsuzuki once mentioned that there's a large slave market in the Land of Rivers... I might as well go take a look." Thinking of this, Uchiha Chiba donned his cloak and pulled his conical hat down low, his entire figure blending into the darkness of the night.

Within the borders of the Land of Rivers, in the River Forest...

A team of ninja was rushing along in a panic.

"Faster, faster!" a middle-aged man urged, driving the carriage with all his might.

"Koji, we can't escape! Take the child and run! You must make it back to the Mist Village!" A man with a scar on his face coughed up a mouthful of blood. A kunai was embedded in his chest, staining his clothes crimson.

"I can't, Yamagami! We barely made it through the Land of Rain; we're almost at Konohagakure! Once we pass through Konohagakure, we can return to the Mist Village! Hang in there, don't fall asleep!" The man called Koji drove the carriage desperately, as if something were chasing them from behind.

"My lungs have been pierced... I'm afraid I won't live to see tomorrow's sun. I... I am truly sorry that I couldn't bring the child... back..." The man named Yamagami let his head loll to the side, his breath fading away.

Koji gritted his teeth. Both he and Yamagami were ordinary jonin who weren't particularly skilled in combat; it had been a desperate measure for just the two of them to cross several countries.

Suddenly.

BOOM!!!!!

An Explosive Tag Kunai slammed into the horse beneath Koji. Then, the moment Koji leaped away, the horse was blown to pieces. The carriage it had been pulling screeched to a halt due to momentum, and a muffled sound came from inside—a pained groan.

Raging flames scorched the surrounding forest.

Koji's body crashed heavily into a tree, a branch piercing his thigh. He sat beneath the tree, exhausted. The long, uninterrupted effort of sensing the surrounding chakra signatures had left both his chakra and his body in a state of extreme weakness.

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

"Heh, heh, heh. Now you have nowhere left to run..." several masked men sneered.

"Don't you dare touch that child..." Koji lunged, throwing the kunai in his hand.

BANG!!!

A short blade casually swatted the kunai away.

"You lot, finish him off, then drag that little girl out of the carriage. Remember, don't get any funny ideas. This is top-tier merchandise. That little girl inside is from the Mist Village, and she even possesses a special Bloodline Limit." The masked leader crossed his arms, merely watching the others move.

"Absolutely not!" Koji felt his head go numb the moment he finished speaking. Then, his perspective began to drop; just like that, his neck was casually severed, and he died completely.

Following that.

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

The girl had long, snow-white hair and a delicate face that seemed as if it would break at a touch. Her eyes were as blue as sapphires, and she had tender lips and an immature frame... but at this moment, those beautiful eyes were filled with hatred.

"Boss," one of the masked men lowered his head.

"Hmm, take her back. This one will fetch a high price at the slave market in the Land of Rivers. After this trip, heh heh, those old foxes will be green with envy. Whether she's trained as a combat slave or a domestic one, she's the best of the best..." The masked leader reached out and stroked the girl's cheek.

The next second.

CRACK!

The girl bit down hard on his finger.

SLAP!

The masked man angrily swung his hand.

The bright red mark on the girl's right cheek could not hide the fury in her eyes...

"Bitch!" The masked leader's tone was malicious. He spoke slowly, "I will personally train you into a qualified slave... Heh... Let's go. Oh, and clear out this burning forest. Don't let anyone from the Mist Village find any traces."

The team of men in black gradually disappeared into the night.

In their place.

Only a shattered carriage remained.

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

Uchiha Chiba, clad in black, walked for an entire night before finally arriving within the borders of the Land of Rivers. Of course, this night was merely for taking in the scenery along the way; after all, before Chiba had transmigrated, he had almost never seen such dense, natural landscapes.

The Land of Rivers was very small and lacked a ninja village. The only thing that could be considered a guard force was the Daimyo's personal bodyguard unit. It was said that the Land of Rivers was a small nation under the protection of the Land of Wind, which was why it was forbidden from training its own ninjas. As for why the slave market was growing ever larger, that had to be blamed on the Second Shinobi World War. As one of the primary belligerents, the more the Land of Wind fought, the less time it had to manage the smaller nations under its wing. With no ninjas stationed there, it provided an opportunity for rogue ninjas and black-market merchants.

Uchiha Chiba looked toward this village, which did not seem particularly small, and closed his eyes to sense the chakra within.

Only one Kage Level and a dozen or so Jonin; it really is a small nation. Uchiha Chiba walked into the crowd.

In the crowd, several slave merchants were shouting incessantly.

"Come take a look! The daughter of a certain nation's Daimyo, already broken in and ready for captivity!"

"Looking for combat slaves? I have everything here! This one—this is a one-armed Kage Level! I'll take a loss and sell him to you at a ten percent discount!"

"The slaves I have here are all top-tier specimens with Bloodline Limits! Buy one, get one free!"