Bounty Hunter Team!

Outside the Royal Capital.

Amid the lush forest, Hyuga Setsuna's (this is a Shadow Clone~) figure stood on a tree branch.

The forest beneath the setting sun was not especially noisy. Only the leaves rustled in the wind.

But at that moment, Hyuga Setsuna, who had been leaning against the tree with his eyes closed, suddenly opened his Byakugan and looked toward the sky.

"Caw!" "Caw!"

A flock of birds beat their wings and cried out continuously as they flew deeper into the forest.

That summoned Falcon was hidden among those inconspicuous birds.

Meanwhile, another Falcon had arrived above the Royal Capital to take its shift and monitor everything below.

Hyuga Setsuna fixed his gaze on the Falcon flying deeper into the forest and murmured.

"Finally heading back, huh?"

Ever since he had left the Royal Capital, he had been waiting here. Now, the time to reap the rewards had finally come!

Hyuga Setsuna's figure began to flicker through the forest, using its complicated terrain to conceal himself.

Elsewhere.

Inside a cave ten kilometers from the Royal Capital.

A middle-aged man dressed as a samurai opened his previously shut eyes and shook his head at the other three.

"My Falcon will be back soon. No one is following behind it."

Upon hearing him, a man with a scar across his face spoke dismissively.

"Hey, hey, hey. Does Qingyu really need to be this cautious?"

"They're just two brats from Leaf Village. What's there to worry about?"

Qianhun Qingyu glanced at the scar-faced man and mocked him lightly.

"It's precisely because you're never cautious, Tetsuya, that you have that shameful scar on your face."

Yamada Tetsuya glared darkly at Qianhun Qingyu, his words brimming with chilling killing intent.

"You bastard, do you want to die?"

"And this scar isn't shameful. It's proof of my bravery in killing enemies! You bastard, you don't understand anything at all!!"

"I really don't know why I formed a team with you in the first place!"

As he watched the two start arguing again, helplessness flashed through Tokugawa Koichi's eyes. Seriously, how many times had they argued over the past month?

The four of them were a team of bounty hunters. They had met by chance and formed an alliance because they supposedly shared the same goals.

This time, they had accepted an invitation from an extremely generous employer to carry out a mission.

The mission was to kill the Land of Fire's daimyo and his daughter, Akishinomiya Yuri.

Normally, they would never touch a mission that would bring the pursuit and wanted notices of all Konoha upon them.

But helplessly, that extremely generous employer was offering far too much.

The employer had even allowed them to freely choose A-Rank Ninjutsu or even Forbidden Techniques after completing the mission.

As a guarantee for the mission, the employer had already paid them a full fifty million ryo, along with four B-Rank Ninjutsu.

When the four of them saw that generous reward, their eyes had practically lit up, and even their breathing and heartbeats had quickened.

In the end, they had clutched the fifty million ryo and four B-Rank Ninjutsu, then agreed with great difficulty.

After all, once they finished this job, the four of them could retire for good. They would not have to worry about food or money for the rest of their lives!

As for Leaf Village's retaliation and wanted notices, they did not care much. As long as they struck quickly enough and used the ample time afterward to hide, even Leaf Village, now known as the number one village in the Shinobi World, would never be able to find them.

That exceedingly generous employer had even generously stated that, once they completed the mission, both Leaf Village's wanted notices and their hiding place could be easily dealt with!

After completing the mission, in addition to receiving four A-Rank Ninjutsu or Forbidden Techniques of their choice, the four of them would also receive the full one hundred and fifty million ryo mission reward!

Including the advance payment from the employer, that would be a full two hundred million ryo! Even if each of them only received fifty million ryo, that would be more than enough!

At the time, they had even considered simply killing that foolishly rich employer and swallowing all his assets.

But after thinking it over, they had decided against it. Since the employer had been willing to offer such terms with confidence, he was definitely not someone they could afford to provoke.

In the end, they could only forcibly suppress that tempting idea.

Tokugawa Koichi watched the two arguing in front of him, impatience flashing through his eyes, before turning his gaze toward the tall middle-aged man sitting cross-legged at the very back.

Knowing that he could not suppress those two noisy fellows, he looked toward their leader, "Nakamura Shido!"

Nakamura Shido sat cross-legged atop a rock with his eyes closed. He stood over two meters tall, with a lion-like muscular physique. His bare upper body was covered in wounds and scars, proof of the death and battles he had endured.

As though sensing Tokugawa Koichi's gaze, he slowly opened his eyes. His majestic, terrifying lion-like gaze fell upon Qianhun Qingyu and Yamada Tetsuya.

He said nothing. He simply stared at them with that majestic and terrifying gaze.

Qianhun Qingyu and Yamada Tetsuya, still in the middle of their quarrel, also noticed Nakamura Shido's gaze. They exchanged a look, then both fell silent.

After all, they could not beat him...

Seeing that the two had finally stopped arguing, Tokugawa Koichi relaxed. Having to listen to those two quarrel during a mission was truly irritating.

Tokugawa Koichi rubbed his throat, cleared it, and spoke with a brilliant smile.

"Although Qingyu shouldn't have mocked Tetsuya's brave scar, he does have a point. After all, this mission isn't like the bandits and thieves we usually deal with."

"So it's better for us to be a little cautious!"

Qianhun Qingyu and Yamada Tetsuya looked at Tokugawa Koichi with disdain, both eager to retort.

But due to the majesty of their leader, Nakamura Shido, they remained silent and said nothing more.

They merely glared at Tokugawa Koichi, that sarcastic bastard, with contemptuous eyes.

Seeing the two look at him with disdain, Tokugawa Koichi smiled indifferently.

After all, geniuses did not bother with two ordinary mediocrities.

Of course, Boss Nakamura Shido was surely a genius among geniuses!

After all, Nakamura Shido was extremely powerful. He had even touched upon the level of a Kage, far stronger than the other three, who were merely Jonin.

Once this mission was complete, Nakamura Shido could obtain a Forbidden Technique from that generous employer.

By then, even Kage-level experts could be resisted if they joined forces. In fact, Nakamura Shido alone would be able to hold one off.

Just then, a tiny Falcon suddenly flew into the cave from outside and slowly landed on Qianhun Qingyu's shoulder.

The gazes of all four men landed neatly upon that Falcon!

Elsewhere.

Hyuga Setsuna had also followed that Falcon to the place where that group was hiding!

La la la, first update!!

Thanks to "Name Too Awesome to Display" for the 100-point tip!

And to "Son of Heaven Liu Xiu" for the 400-point tip!

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