Killing the Body, Breaking the Heart

"Ah~ I've struck it rich!"

After putting Kakuzu's corpse away, Xiu could not help but laugh aloud.

Sure enough, horses did not grow fat without night grass, and people did not grow rich without windfalls. This had given him financial freedom in one shot!

When he got back, he would set Aunt Hazuki up with a business. Hmm... a hot spring inn would be nice~

Then he could buy a few shops to collect rent from. But he could not buy them in Konoha, or they might get blown up someday.

In the original story, there had been the Konoha Crush Plan and Pain's Assault, and Konoha had even been bombed by the Sky Ninja in a movie.

The capital of the Land of Fire would be a good choice. Its economy was prosperous, troops were stationed there year-round, and it was not far from Konoha.

Meanwhile, Kurenai Yuhi and the others waited where they were. Suddenly, the air twisted, and Xiu's figure emerged from the void.

"Xiu, you're back! You weren't hurt, were you?"

Uchiha Izumi rushed to Xiu's side at once, her expression full of concern as her eyes swept over him.

Though she knew Xiu's Mangekyo ability was practically a cheat, this had been a battle of life and death. She could not help worrying.

"I'm fine." Xiu waved his hand, the corners of his mouth unable to stop rising.

"You look pretty happy." Kurenai Yuhi walked over to Xiu. "Did you get him?"

"Of course. I chased after him myself. If I still couldn't kill him after that, I might as well bash my head into a block of tofu. All right, everyone, let's keep moving."

Xiu's tone was light. This time, he had not only killed Kakuzu and gotten money, but also gained a round of evolution along the way.

He could clearly feel that his strength, speed, chakra reserves, and every other aspect of his abilities had improved compared to before.

After checking the system panel, he saw that his chakra reserves had already risen to 20 cards.

Honestly, if not for Kakuzu, he would have forgotten that he could also increase weapon damage through chakra nature transformation.

With his current physical strength, his defense was probably even greater than that of an incomplete Susanoo.

At his words, Kurenai Yuhi's gaze lingered briefly on Xiu's Sharingan, and she lowered her voice. "Your eyes..."

"What? Planning to tattle on me?"

Xiu raised a brow. He did not mind the existence of his Mangekyo being exposed, but that did not mean he would allow someone to leak his information on their own initiative.

"...As the Jonin leading the team, I have to submit a mission report. By the rules, this falls within the scope of that report."

Kurenai spoke softly, then paused and gritted her teeth. "But this time... I'll pretend I know nothing. As for the bounty, I'll definitely help you get an explanation!"

"You? Get an explanation for me?"

Uchiha Xiu was surprised, but he could not help laughing. "You think too highly of yourself. That old man, the Third Hokage, will probably apologize to me sincerely, swear that he'll investigate it thoroughly, then toss out some excuse about spies causing trouble and play the victim. This matter will probably just blow over like that."

"I believe the Third Hokage wasn't the one who did this, but whoever did definitely has ties to him. You know that in your heart too, don't you?"

Kurenai Yuhi fell silent. She knew very well that the village had a dark side.

Not long after graduating from the Ninja Academy, she had once considered joining the Anbu, only for her father to stop her.

Her father, Shinku Yuhi, was a Jonin who deeply believed in the Will of Fire and trusted the Third Hokage greatly.

Yet this man, who had upheld the Will of Fire his entire life and doted on his daughter, had unexpectedly opposed the idea.

Kurenai had not understood at the time, and he had not said much. He had only vaguely implied that the village had certain dark sides that were not suitable for her to encounter.

Then, thinking of Asuma's rebellious attitude toward the Third Hokage and how he had even cast aside the privileges of being the Hokage's son to become a guardian ninja, there was no need to say more about certain things.

"Looks like you understand."

Seeing that Kurenai Yuhi said nothing, Xiu snorted. "Still, I'm a little surprised that you have the heart to stand up for me."

"I'm the Jonin leading this team. You're my teammate, so of course I'm responsible for you." Kurenai Yuhi said seriously, "Isn't it only natural for comrades to support each other? I also believe the Third Hokage will handle this properly."

"Oh? Then let me ask you..."

A faint smile tugged at Xiu's lips. "If your comrade encountered danger during a mission, and saving him would cause the mission to fail and inflict massive losses on the village, what would you do?"

"...I can't say for sure unless I actually face it."

Kurenai Yuhi paused slightly, and the image of a certain white-haired, dead-fish-eyed man suddenly appeared in her mind. "But... something like that really has happened before, and the example was right beside me."

"That's right. I think you know the outcome better than I do, so wake up~ They aren't worth it."

Xiu sneered. "Naruto Uzumaki is the Fourth Hokage's orphan. Look at the life he's lived. After Hidden Cloud failed to steal the Byakugan, they turned around and made false accusations, and the higher-ups promptly handed over Hizashi Hyuga's corpse."

"The funniest joke I've heard this year is, 'I believe the Third Hokage.' You're not the first person to say that to me, and you probably won't be the last."

"Then what are you planning to do?"

Kurenai Yuhi was somewhat worried. With Xiu's personality, he might just go kill his way over there.

"I like destroying my enemies from every angle, whether physically or psychologically."

Xiu shook his head, a smile curling across his lips. "For example, take away or destroy what they cherish. If they love money, steal their money. If they love beautiful women, steal their women. If their dream is to become Hokage... then make them lose all reputation, shatter their dreams, and leave them barely clinging to life while they watch someone else take that position!"

"Killing the body, breaking the heart—isn't that fun?"

"..."

Killing them was not enough? He had to break their hearts too?

Kurenai Yuhi stared at Xiu's grin, which was full of malicious amusement, and found herself speechless.

So he'd actually been rather gentle with me?

Thinking that, she could not help asking curiously, "Then what if you ran into someone like me? I don't have any grand ambitions. My greatest hobby is having a couple of drinks at night."

Xiu glanced at her, his gaze cool and chilling. "Who says you don't? Don't you have family? If you don't have family, don't you have friends? And if you don't have friends, won't you have children someday? Besides, you have a nice body, desires, a personality, and a sense of self. All of those are things worth destroying."

A chill ran down Kurenai Yuhi's spine, and she did not dare continue the conversation.

Was this guy's mind too twisted?

Silently grumbling to herself, she returned to the rear of the group.

With no more creatures blocking their path, the group soon arrived at the foot of the snow mountain.

Once they had finished their makeup and styling, the shoot proceeded very smoothly.

Perhaps women were born for photographs. Hazuki, Izumi, and Kurenai all showed a natural feel for the camera and completed the shooting requirements with ease.

By comparison, Xiu was rather clumsy in this regard. His expressions and movements were all stiff.

But according to the photographer, attractive people looked good no matter how they were photographed.

With a face like Xiu's, he basically did not need any camera sense. As long as his movements were natural and the lighting and composition were fine, it would work.

"Good! That's a wrap!"

After taking the final set of photos in the sunset, the photographer gave everyone a thumbs-up.

Xiu's first mission had been completed perfectly!