Although the woman had a pleasant voice, Naruto disliked her deliberately friendly tone.
At a glance, she was clearly someone accustomed to holding authority. Her looks were certainly commendable, only slightly inferior to Older Sister Kakashi without his mask.
Seeing Naruto hesitate, the woman spoke again. "Don't worry. If you complete the task, we'll reward you generously."
She confidently held up one pale finger. "How about ten thousand ryo?"
Seeing her hold up a finger with such certainty, as though she had him in the bag, Naruto found it amusing.
I could buy your whole family with just a fraction of my money, and you want to hire me for ten thousand ryo?
"Deal."
Naruto's agreement was only natural.
The Land of Waves was a coastal nation. Its agriculture could never compete with that of inland countries, so trade was its main source of income.
And if bandit organizations really existed around the Land of Waves, Naruto would definitely root them out.
Cutting off someone's livelihood was no less serious than killing their father.
Sure enough, once Naruto agreed, the woman smiled and turned to the middle-aged bodyguard captain. "Uncle Ming, bring him along. He's a local, so he must know the situation in this area."
Seeing that the Miss had already reached an agreement with the boy, Uncle Ming nodded respectfully, then waved to his bodyguards. "We've rested enough. If everything goes smoothly, we'll reach the Land of Waves by noon. Stay sharp, everyone!"
"Yeah!"
Watching the Trade Association's convoy start moving, Naruto was a little bewildered.
"Hey, miss, you don't expect me to guide you on foot, do you? How long would that take?"
Naruto addressed the woman as she was about to lower the carriage curtain. "I can get home in under an hour using the mountain