Underground Organizations in the Naruto World

Underground Organizations in the Naruto World

"Lord Kudo Shinichi, please verify the key."

"Mm." Hyuga Yuto's voice was cold as he formed several hand seals. Though the gestures were simple, their changing speed and sequence created countless possible combinations.

There were many kinds of keys for entering the underground world: physical objects, passwords, hand seals... There were many methods of verifying one's identity, but they all shared one trait—they were not completely bound to a specific person.

In other words, after killing someone, one could take their place in the underground world. As long as the password for entry was correct, no one would pursue the matter. Seizing it through violence was in accordance with the rules here.

The Bounty Station was precisely such a chaotic yet orderly underground world.

When Hyuga Yuto had read the manga in his previous life, the name Bounty Station had barely registered. His only memory related to it was, "Kakuzu carried Asuma Sarutobi's corpse to the Bounty Station to collect a large bounty."

But after arriving in the Naruto world, Hyuga Yuto learned that the Bounty Station was a colossal entity spanning the entire land. Not only did it possess countless bases and branches, it also controlled the world's largest chains of black-market and gray-market interests.

Assassinations, mercenary wars, illegal experiments, trafficking in prohibited goods...

The mission boards of the major ninja villages always maintained a thin veil of morality. At the very least, they could not do anything too disgraceful in public.

The world needed a loose coalition of interests like the Bounty Station to contain the filth and distortion hidden beneath the sunlight.

The Bounty Station was the "sixth great ninja village" hidden underground!

After verifying the identity code, the woman in the rat-faced mask gave a slight bow.

"Lord Kudo Shinichi, welcome to the Bounty Station's second Land of Frost branch."

"I have a batch of goods I want to dispose of."

"Certainly. Please follow me." The woman answered respectfully, brushing her hand over the wall and pressing a mechanism to open a narrow door.

She entered first, exposing her back to Hyuga Yuto without any guard. Her fair neck and slender waist swayed like a water snake.

Not a ninja... Hyuga Yuto came to that conclusion and followed the woman into the hidden passage.

Anyone who had received ninja training and successfully refined chakra would find it difficult to assume a completely non-aggressive posture. Even when forced to turn their back on someone, their toes would subtly angle apart, ready to burst into action at any moment. It was an aftereffect left behind by extensive training, impossible to change.

Of course, the receptionist not being a ninja did not mean the Bounty Station's defenses were weak. Even without activating his Byakugan, Hyuga Yuto could faintly feel tension creeping up his spine. Genuine ninja were clearly stationed here, and their numbers and quality were both decent.

"Lord Kudo Shinichi, we will complete the exchange here."

The rat-faced woman led him into an even more secluded chamber, then expertly retreated several steps.

With a pop, smoke billowed out. Hyuga Yuto activated the scroll in his hand, and the gold, silver, and treasures sealed within poured out onto the floor.

"Please wait a moment."

The rat-faced woman crouched down, took out various tools, and carefully assessed the value of the pile.

"Lord Kudo Shinichi, these treasures are worth a total of forty-seven million ryo. If you wish to exchange them for the common currencies of the Five Great Nations, the Bounty Station will charge a forty-five percent handling fee. We guarantee on our reputation that this money is clean..."

"No need." Fucking robbers. Hyuga Yuto rolled his eyes inwardly and continued, "Spend it all here... Buy some things."

"Understood, Lord Kudo Shinichi." A trace of cheer entered the rat-faced woman's voice.

It seemed that in any world, salespeople and shopping guides loved wealthy customers who spent every last coin.

"I'll speak, you write. Twelve sets of nanometer-grade filter screens and related equipment; six large medical containment tanks, one meter by two meters; twenty tons of formalin; scalpels, mosquito forceps, toothed tweezers—all of those must be made in the Land of Iron..."

The Bounty Station's receptionists were all carefully selected and trained talents. Though they were not ninja, they were highly intelligent. Hyuga Yuto listed a huge assortment of items, some of them fairly tongue-twisting medical instruments, yet the rat-faced woman memorized every one and quickly cross-referenced them with warehouse stock and the required funds.

"...The lids for the culture dishes must be opaque... Mm... All right, that's everything." Hyuga Yuto told the rat-faced woman everything he needed. For some tools, he even specified the model numbers and manufacturers.

He had studied medical ninjutsu under Tsunade for over three months and thoroughly understood the ins and outs of this world's medical field.

The woman transcribed the items onto a scroll, then slid it into a small chute.

"Lord Kudo Shinichi, the Land of Frost branch has all these items in stock. Please wait patiently. Everything will be delivered within half an hour."

"How much is left?"

"Seven million ryo."

"Convert it all into lumber. I want wood from the Red Forest in the southern Land of Fire, cut into blocks."

"Do you have any size requirements for the lumber, my lord?"

"One standard cubic meter."

"Understood, my lord. The lumber will be delivered here along with the medical equipment."

As a Bounty Station receptionist, the rat-faced woman had seen much in her time. From the very beginning, she realized that the customer before her was likely planning to establish a secret laboratory of his own.

Large medical containment tanks measuring one meter by two meters... They were clearly meant to imprison humans. As for those twenty tons of formalin...

The rat-faced woman did not even dare imagine how many people the customer before her intended to kill.

Kudo Shinichi... He truly was a man who brought death.

The rat-faced woman sighed inwardly, not daring to ask questions or say anything unnecessary.

All Bounty Station receptionists were non-ninja. Implicit in that was the message: "Kill them if you want. They're merely non-core peripheral personnel. As long as you pay compensation afterward, it's fine."

In an underground world that harbored such filth, it was difficult to find the "naive" belief of protecting one's companions.

"Oh... Right..." Bored from waiting, Hyuga Yuto suddenly spoke.

"Bring me the bounty list. I want to take a look."

"Yes, Lord Kudo Shinichi."

That was easy enough. The rat-faced woman had one in her sleeve. Hyuga Yuto took it and flipped through it, considering how many more days he could remain active outside while searching for suitable prey.

He still needed money.

Hyuga Yuto's eyes passed over one name after another before he finally returned the assassination registry to the rat-faced woman.

Silence fell over the chamber again, until an enormous scroll emerged from the chute.

"My lord, everything you purchased is inside. You may inspect the goods here. Bounty Station rules state that once you leave through that door, we will deny this transaction ever took place."

Hyuga Yuto nodded indifferently. After inspecting several key medical instruments and confirming there were no problems, he slung the scroll over his back and walked out through the Bounty Station's doors.