Kakuzu

Facts proved that foreign countries really were chaotic.

As one of the two strongest among the Five Great Ninja Villages, Konoha rarely saw ninjas from other villages come into the Land of Fire to cause trouble.

Of course, if someone really did cause trouble, it definitely would not be something minor.

Under normal circumstances, there were still very few foreign ninjas within Konoha's territory. Even when there were, they had received official authorization from Konoha and had been registered in advance by both villages.

But once he left the Land of Iron, Xiu discovered that there were actually so many ninja villages in the world, and that passing through another country did not necessarily require prior registration.

Judging from the map, the Land of Iron and the Land of Fire directly bordered each other.

But that was not actually the case. In the border regions between the various countries of the Shinobi World, there were also several small nations known as feudal states.

Just how small were these countries?

They were roughly the size of a single city!

By comparison, a country like the Land of Waves, which occupied an entire island, could be considered vast.

And on the streets of these small countries, they would occasionally see ninjas from other nations. Some of the symbols on their forehead protectors were ones Xiu had never even seen before.

Though these feudal states were small, the nobles of the Shinobi World's countries often intermarried. Who knew who might be related to whom, so those ninjas would not easily stir up trouble either.

Soon, after passing through those feudal states and entering the Land of Iron, they saw far fewer foreign ninjas along the way.

When passing through towns, they would occasionally see squads of samurai.

After noticing that several of them were dressed as Konoha ninjas, the samurai first scrutinized them for a moment. Then, upon seeing the caravan beside them, they stopped paying them much attention.

"Unlike other countries, the Land of Iron's military force consists of samurai. Unlike traditional samurai, these samurai also wield chakra. Though their overall strength cannot compare to the Five Great Nations, they rank among the top tier of the many smaller countries."

Kurenai Yuhi explained the Land of Iron's situation to Xiu and Izumi. "Furthermore, the Land of Iron is a permanently neutral country. Whenever the villages hold important negotiations, they generally choose this place as the venue."

While Kurenai Yuhi was explaining, Uchiha Hazuki took two beige-black cloaks from a storage scroll and handed them to Izumi and Xiu. "The Land of Iron has a cold climate. Remember to keep warm."

"Thank you, Auntie."

Xiu draped the cloak over himself.

It was not particularly useful to him. He had already adapted to the cold last winter. Still, he had to admit, it looked really good on him!

The cloak had a fur collar and hood, and the fabric looked expensive at a glance.

Xiu looked at Uchiha Hazuki's cloak. Hers was merely a standard off-white warming cape.

Its insulating effect was not bad, but it definitely could not compare to his.

He would use the money from this job to upgrade Auntie's gear. He just did not know whether he would have enough...

He also wondered whether Gato had made his fortune yet.

Uchiha Shu thought absentmindedly.

After the group ate in a town, they continued north through the Land of Iron and finally reached their destination two days later.

"This is it! The Iron Mountains!"

Looking at the mountain range standing silently in the distance, Oda Toru spread his arms and cried out excitedly, "Well? Isn't it magnificent?"

"Wow!" Izumi obligingly clapped. "It's my first time seeing snow-capped mountains. They really are magnificent!"

What was so pretty about them...

This mountain was probably only around two thousand meters tall, wasn't it?

Though it looked all right, it was shrouded in wind and snow beneath thick, gloomy clouds.

Xiu glanced at Oda Toru. "Will this weather be a problem?"

"We definitely cannot shoot in weather like this. We need to wait for a sunny day," Oda Toru said.

"Does this damn place even have sunny days?" Xiu asked skeptically.

Oda Toru nodded and said confidently, "I already looked into it. The Iron Mountains have around thirty sunny days each year. And since this year is a dry year, it is estimated to reach forty."

"Thirty days?" Xiu's eyes widened.

This lousy mountain was pretty damn shy. It was even harder to see than Heavenly Lake of Changbai Mountain!

"Then how long do we have to wait?"

"Don't worry. Sunny days are mostly concentrated within these next two months, so if we are lucky, we can begin filming tomorrow. At the latest, it will not take more than a week."

Oda Toru stroked his beard and continued unhurriedly, "Also, I have booked an entire hot spring inn in the town at the foot of the mountain. During this time, I will cover all of your expenses~"

"Ah—You're too kind. That's not what I meant." Xiu hurriedly waved his hands, then lowered his voice. "Does that include food, drinks, and entertainment?"

"Xiu!" Uchiha Hazuki hurriedly covered his mouth and looked apologetically at Oda Toru. "Sorry, please forgive his rudeness."

"Hahaha, not at all, not at all. It is only a small matter. At my place, it is only natural for beautiful people to receive preferential treatment."

Oda Toru's obsession with appearances was obvious. As a fashion designer, pursuing beauty was his instinct.

While they spoke, the caravan entered the town as well.

The moment they entered the small town, Kurenai Yuhi's steps paused almost imperceptibly.

It was not until the caravan stopped in the rear courtyard of the hot spring inn and everyone had been assigned rooms that Kurenai Yuhi gathered the other three together.

"We're being watched. The other side is highly skilled. I couldn't detect their trail."

Kurenai Yuhi frowned slightly. She had not expected a C-rank mission to run into such trouble.

"Indeed. I also had the feeling that I was being watched just now." Uchiha Hazuki nodded.

"Huh? How come I didn't feel anything? Am I just slow?"

Xiu felt that his immortality had probably made him less vigilant. Logically speaking, if he worked on his own five senses, he could greatly evolve them.

But he simply could not bring himself to do something like gouging out his own eyeballs. Giving himself a couple of slashes was already the limit of what he could accept.

After all, he was only immortal, not immune to pain.

"Soldiers against soldiers, water against earth. You only need to protect Mr. Oda and the others. Leave everything else to me."

Xiu was extremely confident. This was his first mission outside the village, and he was in an excited state. He had been worrying that there would be no opponent to fight.

That night, Xiu declined Izumi's invitation to bathe together. He soaked properly in the hot spring in the courtyard of his room, washing away the exhaustion from the journey.

He left two Shadow Clones on night watch, then collapsed onto the bed and fell deeply asleep.

Early the next morning, the sky was bright.

Oda Toru was in high spirits. "Just as I said, beautiful people are favored by the world. As soon as you arrived, we got a sunny day."

Xiu neither agreed nor disagreed. After everyone packed their things, they set out for the snow mountain.

On the way, Xiu glanced toward Kurenai Yuhi. She nodded almost imperceptibly.

Half an hour later, at the foot of the snow mountain.

Looking at the figure blocking the way ahead, Xiu could not help revealing a brilliant smile.

The good news was that the person lurking in the shadows had come out on his own.

The even better news was that he was about to become a billionaire!

Gato's life was temporarily spared. The one appearing now was—one of the original immortal duo, a rogue ninja from Takigakure, Kakuzu.

Judging by his attire, he had probably not joined Akatsuki yet.

A rogue ninja who had lived from the era of the First Hokage until now and made his living through bounties.

Over fifty or sixty years, even if he made the equivalent of one Asuma a year after expenses, he should have saved over a billion, right?