"Didn't you see? That was Tsunade, one of Konoha's Legendary Three," Lin Chuan said after coming back to his senses. He was still thinking about Tsunade from earlier. She really was big and beautiful—no wonder so many people in the real world liked Tsunade.
"Lady Tsunade? What was she doing here? I wouldn't have noticed if you hadn't said anything." Terai kept his eyes fixed on the target. The target had a scar over his left eye, making him quite recognizable. He looked exactly like the photo on the mission scroll.
"Forget it. Tsunade is too far away from us. Let's deal with the target first and go turn in the mission." Lin Chuan suddenly stopped caring about Tsunade. They were neither friends nor family, and Tsunade could not help him. His blatant double standard immediately earned him an eye roll from Terai.
"Then why the hell did you bring her up?" Terai was utterly speechless. Looking at the ten-thousand-yuan bill in Lin Chuan's bowl, he smiled. "Lady Tsunade took pity on us and gave us that. What should we do now?"
"Buy food, of course. If beggars get money and don't buy food, they won't look much like beggars." Lin Chuan raised his head and swept his gaze around the area near the casino. Most of the establishments were taverns for drinking, and the red-light district was not far away either. After all, gambling, sex, and drugs tended to go together, usually all on the same street.
"Come on, come on, let's buy some snacks." Terai looked at the street-side food stalls and could not stop himself from drooling. It had been a long time since he had eaten grilled meat.
"Let's go." Lin Chuan picked up the ten-thousand-yuan bill and left the casino entrance with Terai. They were immediately noticed by the casino thugs keeping watch, who quietly followed after them.
When Lin Chuan and Terai reached a food stall and handed the ten-thousand-yuan bill to the stall owner to buy a few skewers, the bill they had just offered was snatched away by a taller casino thug. He cursed at the two of them as well.
"You filthy little beggars, you stole our money and still dare come buy food? I'll beat you to death..."
When Lin Chuan saw their money get snatched away and the fierce-looking casino thug standing behind them, he hurriedly crouched down, hugged his head, and curled into a ball. Terai, who had not yet reacted, was pulled down by him as well. The two curled up on the ground, not daring to meet the thug's eyes.
Seeing how effective his intimidation had been, the casino thug had just rolled up his sleeves to start beating them when he noticed that an empty space had instantly formed around him. He became the most conspicuous person on the snack street. With so many people watching him bully two little beggars, he felt too embarrassed to make a move and could only leave them with a threat.
"Don't let me see you again, you filthy little beggars..."
"Did you memorize that guy's face?" Lin Chuan asked Terai quietly, hugging his head while keeping the burly man firmly in the corner of his eye.
"I memorized it. That bastard is going to die horribly." Terai had not expected this either. He had thought they would wait until the two had eaten a full meal before robbing them. He never expected the casino thug to be disgusting enough to steal even their lifesaving money.
Hearing that, the corners of Lin Chuan's mouth unconsciously curled upward. Then he suddenly noticed the beautiful blonde woman who had given them money among the crowd—Tsunade and Shizune. He quickly wiped the smile from his face. His disguise could not be seen through.
"Let's go, Shizune." Seeing the money she had given the little beggars get stolen, Tsunade had no intention of helping. She had long passed the hot-blooded age of youthful impulsiveness and could not be bothered to interfere in matters of injustice.
"Lady Tsunade." Shizune also felt that the two little beggars were pitiful, but she felt that the two of them were even more miserable. They no longer had money for food or lodging.
As the burly casino thug left, Lin Chuan and Terai were chased away by the food stall owner as well. They could only return to the area near the casino and stare at its lively entrance. Their broken bowl remained on the ground, and they casually picked up a large cardboard box from the snack street and wrapped themselves inside it.
"Eat a Soldier Pill first to tide yourself over." Lin Chuan took out a Soldier Pill and put it into his mouth. They could endure for a long time without eating, but those casino thugs would not survive the night.
"I've been watching for a long time. The rogue ninja has a lot of subordinates around him. If we kill the rogue ninja, those people might get in our way." Terai looked toward the bustling casino. The rogue ninja moved through the casino, keeping an eye on cheating and gamblers who wanted to cause trouble after losing money.
"Didn't you say they were going drinking? We'll make our move after they get drunk." Lin Chuan pulled the cardboard tighter around himself. He had not expected it to feel a little cold at night.
They waited like that until one or two in the morning, when the casino finally turned off its lights and closed for the night. The casino thugs laughed and chatted as they shut the lights, locked the doors, and left the casino in a group of more than ten, heading for the red-light district. The casino's nightlife was over, but the red-light district's nightlife had only just begun. They would play there until dawn.
As for the two little beggars curled up in the corner, even if the casino thugs noticed them, they did not care. Who would care about two little beggars who were practically dead?
"They've gone. Should we follow them?" Terai quietly opened his eyes and watched the casino thugs' backs disappear into the distance.
"No need. They're going to drink with prostitutes. Targets that obvious can be found in the red-light district anytime." Lin Chuan lightly shook his head and continued curling up inside the cardboard box. Only after waiting another hour did he slowly stand up and call to Terai, "Time to change clothes..."
"We're finally making our move. I've been waiting so long I can't take it anymore." Terai followed him out of the cardboard box and licked his dry lips. The target had really made them wait.
The two went to the forest outside Tanzaku Town, found the ANBU uniforms and armor hanging from the tree canopy, and put them on. Then they donned ANBU patterned masks and leaped toward Tanzaku Town's red-light district.
Not long afterward, Lin Chuan and Terai arrived on a rooftop in the red-light district. Directly below was the private room where the men were drinking with prostitutes. More than ten casino thugs were inside drinking and playing with women. Hearing the wild laughter coming from within, the two on the roof remained silent and waited patiently for the right moment.
Lin Chuan even took the time to visit the toilet, leaving Terai to keep watch alone. He found an unoccupied corner, made sure Terai was not following him, took out a pencil and wrote a letter, tied it to a kunai, and only then returned to the rooftop above the private room.
It was not until four or five in the morning that they came outside the window and quietly peeked inside. The rogue ninja was lying on a large sofa, while many casino thugs and scantily clad women lay sprawled around him.
"Move." Lin Chuan raised his hand in a signal. The two quietly entered the private room, thick with the stench of sweat, perfume, and alcohol. Drawing the snow-white, gleaming short blades from their backs, they stabbed each casino thug through the heart one by one.
Every casino thug stabbed through the heart awoke from the pain in his chest. Seeing the two mysterious figures in black clothes and trousers wearing patterned masks, they revealed terrified expressions. Before the casino thugs could think further, they breathed their last.
The casino thug who had stolen their money received especially thorough attention from the two. If time had allowed, they would have carved him into a thousand pieces.
After Lin Chuan and Terai finished dealing with more than ten thugs, only the final target, the rogue ninja, remained. Lin Chuan indicated that he would do it. The casino thugs from before did not even count as warriors; their strength was an entire level below his, so his personal panel's Life Points had not changed at all.
This rogue ninja was different. First, he was a Chunin, one level stronger than Lin Chuan, so Lin Chuan did not need to worry about the gap in strength being too great. The only question was whether he had appeared in the anime. Only minor characters who had shown their faces possessed Life Points.
Just as his short blade was about to pierce the rogue ninja's chest, the rogue ninja suddenly snapped his eyes open and flung a smoke bomb at Lin Chuan. Lin Chuan changed his thrust into a slash, cutting apart the incoming smoke bomb. The private room instantly filled with thick white smoke.
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