Mission Complete

"Who was the target this time?"

After killing the men and looting the bodies, both of them were in much better spirits.

Itachi took an interest in the target.

"His name is Jingbian Shanglang. He's an unknown swordsman, but he offended a major tycoon, so the bounty is quite substantial."

Surprised that Itachi was interested in the target, Juzo gave him the information.

"How much is the bounty? How long has it been?"

After listening to Juzo, Itachi continued asking.

"The bounty is fifteen million. It's already been a month."

Hearing Juzo's answer, Itachi fell silent.

"Half an Asuma..."

After a long while, he murmured softly.

"What?"

Juzo, who had been hurrying along, did not catch Itachi's mutter. He stopped and turned back at him in confusion.

"Nothing. Usually, targets with bounties on their heads hide in sparsely populated places or keep their whereabouts secret. This guy still dares to appear in public. Either he's an idiot, or he has some real skills."

Itachi sighed softly.

"He definitely has some ability, or he wouldn't be worth so much. He's just unlucky. Our organization's intelligence agents found him. His movements are secretive; ordinary people couldn't have discovered him."

Hearing Itachi's remark, Juzo chuckled and explained.

The two traveled for several days and soon arrived near their destination.

"According to the intelligence, Jingbian Shanglang appeared in this little village. Should we wait here for him, or ask around?"

Juzo asked quietly.

"Let's wait."

Itachi answered absentmindedly.

A chill ran through his heart. Even this rundown little village had Akatsuki informants. It gave him a clear understanding of Akatsuki's intelligence network.

The two found a courtyard and discussed borrowing a place to stay for a few days.

It could not be helped. Compared with the other homes, this one looked a little larger...

The owner of the house was a burly man. Seeing that the two were not locals, his expression became conflicted.

But when he saw the silver in Juzo's hand, he immediately smiled and went to prepare rooms for them...

It could not be helped. Juzo had paid far too much...

"Kid, this village doesn't even have a place to stay. It's utterly decrepit. If we wait here for him, how long are we supposed to wait?"

The two sat in their room.

Juzo spoke with some hesitation.

"Didn't you suggest two options yourself?"

Hearing Juzo's words, Itachi replied irritably.

He had only answered offhandedly.

After all, if outsiders suddenly entered such a rundown village and immediately started asking about someone, then if the target had informants in the village, would they not expose themselves at once...

"I didn't expect this little village not to even have a place to stay..."

Hearing Itachi's answer, Juzo replied helplessly.

"Don't consume anything here. We'll take turns sensing. Maybe we'll catch a little tail soon..."

Hanzo picked up the teapot on the table, poured himself a cup, and was about to drink.

Itachi spoke softly.

Juzo froze, thought for a moment, then set down his teacup.

Itachi's words had caught his attention.

"What do you mean?"

Juzo asked in confusion.

"Assume the target has an informant here. From the moment we entered the village, we should have been noticed. Next, that informant will definitely go report the news. That's the point of waiting for the rabbit."

Itachi casually picked at his nails with a kunai as he spoke.

"Isn't that a bit much..."

Juzo was somewhat dumbfounded by Itachi's words.

He clearly did not understand...

"A person who isn't particularly strong but has a decent bounty—if he didn't have some backup plan, do you think he could have survived this long?"

Itachi spoke softly, half guessing and half theorizing.

"I feel like you're fooling me, but I have no proof..."

Hearing Itachi's words, Juzo muttered.

"This rundown little village probably sees barely any new faces all year. We came here, and not only that, we're staying here. What do you think..."

Juzo nodded as if he understood, though he still felt Itachi's reasoning was a little forced.

"What if they use a carrier pigeon? Wouldn't we be unable to sense it?"

Juzo spoke softly, cautiously raising his objection.

"If we sense more carefully, we should still be able to detect it. This is only a small village, after all. Very few people use those things."

Itachi answered Juzo absentmindedly.

His senses had long since spread through the entire, not particularly large village.

At the same time, he was searching for Akatsuki's intelligence agent.

Compared to the prey, he was more interested in that intelligence agent.

Juzo was completely baffled. Itachi thought through things far too thoroughly. For the first time, Juzo felt that his brain might not be enough...

"Let's go. The target has appeared."

In less than half an hour, a sneaky figure began moving toward the mountain.

Itachi called out softly to Juzo, who was still lost in thought.

"Huh? He appeared?"

Juzo, whose mind had been wandering far and wide, froze when he heard Itachi's voice. His tone was full of disbelief.

"Yes, he appeared. And soon, the mission target will reveal himself as well."

Itachi spoke softly.

His face did not change as he casually bluffed.

In truth, he was only sixty percent sure, but rounding up made it ten.

So six rounded up was ten...

The two quietly opened the door and swiftly left the courtyard.

Just as Itachi and Juzo went after that sneaky villager.

The burly man in the neighboring room looked into the distance with a complicated expression. He was the same money-grubbing man from earlier.

At that moment, his eyes gleamed. He pulled a long wooden case from beneath the bed and slung it over his back.

Then he picked up the bundle on the table, carried it on his back, and quietly opened the door, preparing to leave.

However, the moment he opened the door, he froze slightly.

Two figures stood outside the courtyard gate.

The figures were shrouded beneath the setting sun. The golden sunlight cast their shadows long, very long...

"Where are you going, Jingbian Shanglang?"

Itachi looked at the man before him and spoke indifferently.

The man froze, then smiled lightly.

"Are the two guests hungry? I was just about to dig up some local specialties from the fields to entertain you."

The man's expression did not change at Itachi's words, and he did not even pause while speaking.

"You need to bring a sword case to dig up local specialties in the fields?"

Itachi spoke flatly.

Beneath his straw hat, his face remained expressionless.

"You misunderstand, guest. This is a toolbox..."

The man explained softly, his tone completely steady and composed.

"I was originally going to give you a dignified death, but as a swordsman, you don't even have the courage to draw your sword. That's truly disappointing."

As Itachi spoke calmly, he took several shuriken from his ninja tool pouch.

"As a ninja, you cannot attack civilians without cause. Otherwise, your village will not escape war. Aren't you afraid of provoking conflict between nations?"

Seeing Itachi take out the shuriken, the man raised his voice. It rang out like a great bell.

"Heh. Then I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. I'm a Rogue Ninja."

Hearing Jingbian Shanglang's words, Itachi smiled lightly. The shuriken tore through the air.

Four shuriken flew toward Jingbian Shanglang's vital points.

"Rogue Ninja... Heh, a stray dog abandoned by his village..."

Jingbian Shanglang deftly took the sword case from his back and easily blocked all four shuriken.

Then he slapped it with his hand, opening the sword case.

A long sword was revealed before the three of them.

The light reflecting off its blade shone into Itachi's eyes.

Jingbian Shanglang did not hesitate. He slammed his palm against the sword case and charged toward Itachi.

The sword followed close behind, flying into Jingbian Shanglang's hand...

Juzo stood to the side with his arms folded, watching the show.

The moment Jingbian Shanglang gripped his sword, his expression changed drastically. His eyes gleamed, killing intent surging from him as though he had become a different person.

Itachi showed no reaction as he watched the long sword thrust straight at him.

With a kunai in hand, he lightly blocked the attack.

Their figures passed one another.

"You've got some skill. Looks like you're not a stray dog after all—you've become someone else's lapdog..."

Jingbian Shanglang sneered disdainfully.

"If your swordsmanship were as good as your mouth, you probably wouldn't have to run around everywhere."

Itachi stared at him expressionlessly and spoke flatly.

"How did you discover my identity?"

Jingbian Shanglang stood opposite Itachi, confusion on his face.

His disguise had clearly been so perfect. How had he been discovered...

As long as his opponent was fooled by his deception, he could easily shake off these outsiders.

That was why he had been able to live openly in this village.

As Jingbian Shanglang spoke, he removed the human-skin mask from his face.

It revealed a handsome, youthful face.

He looked less than twenty years old.

Itachi watched Jingbian Shanglang silently without speaking. He merely took out a sealing scroll and retrieved the long sword issued by the ANBU.

He gripped it in his hand and gave it a swing.

"Your little deception is too crude. It might fool ordinary people, but there's no need to show off before an expert."

Itachi said mockingly.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible! Did that bastard sell me out?"

Hearing Itachi belittle his technique, Jingbian Shanglang became furious.

"Blind spots, plus a small arrangement. The fact that you weren't exposed immediately is already not bad. Who else were you trying to fool?"

Jingbian Shanglang's fury piqued Itachi's interest.

Just now, Jingbian Shanglang had constantly been spewing trash talk, trying to provoke him into revealing an opening so he could strike.

Now that Jingbian Shanglang was emotionally unstable, Itachi naturally found it amusing.

"I don't believe it. My arrangement was flawless."

Jingbian Shanglang said unhappily.

"You underestimated your opponents... If you ran into someone truly ruthless, they would slaughter the entire village. Your little trick would vanish in an instant."

"Even if you didn't meet someone like that, your methods were nothing special."

"You arranged this courtyard quite well. If your opponent stayed in the village, he might accidentally fall for your trap. And your deception was decent too. Whenever strangers came to the village, you had villagers you arranged beforehand sneak out. Then whether you advanced or retreated depended entirely on your mood. Unfortunately, you were too naive..."

Hearing Itachi lay out his entire plan, Jingbian Shanglang's expression darkened...

"How exactly did you find out? I don't believe you could see through my setup so easily."

Jingbian Shanglang's face was filled with disbelief as he kept muttering.

"Impossible..."

Seeing Jingbian Shanglang lose his composure and drift off, Itachi used the Body Flicker Technique. In the blink of an eye, he appeared beside Jingbian Shanglang and lightly severed his blood-spattered head.

"What a naive fool..."

Itachi looked at the headless corpse, wiped the sword in his hand on its clothes, then sheathed it and fastened it at his waist.

Compared to his previous incarnation's unfathomable hidden weapons, he preferred using a longsword...