The border of the Land of Rain.
A steady drizzle drifted down on the wind.
Through the curtain of rain, a caravan hurried onward.
At the center of the convoy, Uzumaki Shixia sat at ease.
Inside a carriage, he chatted freely with the man seated opposite him.
He looked about eighteen or nineteen, with a striking head of red hair.
Suddenly, a figure appeared in the middle of the road.
The newcomer wore the Black Sky, Red Clouds Robe, which flapped in the rain.
A Takigakure forehead protector hung at an angle across his brow, a slash carved through it.
A gray-white hood clung to his head. Above his black half-mask, only a pair of cold, pale-green eyes showed.
Creak-
The soft sound broke the stillness of the rainy night.
Inside the carriage, Shuinaihao, who sat opposite Uzumaki Shixia, was startled by the sudden noise.
He pushed the carriage door open and poked his head out, his brows tightly furrowed.
"What's happening out there?"
He was a somewhat frail-looking middle-aged man, and his nerves made his face even paler.
Seated in a corner of the carriage, Sixia swept a sharp gaze over the figure in the rain and clicked his tongue in amusement.
"Tsk, tsk. Lord Shuinai, you've really hit the jackpot this time. Someone quite extraordinary has come calling."
Shuinaihao's heart tightened at those words.
But when he saw only one figure in the rain, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Stop talking nonsense. I handpicked every one of my guards. Each is an expert who can take on ten men. He's just one man. What's there to fear?"
Sixia glanced at him, his smile widening as he said lightly:
"That's the famous Kakuzu, a former member of Takigakure's Assassination Squad and one of the top five on the Black Market Hit List. During the Shinobi World War, he even fought Konoha's First Hokage. He's a living legend."
Shuinaihao's face turned deathly pale.
He had long heard of the First Hokage of Konoha's might.
A ninja who had fought the First Hokage...
Shuinaihao forced himself to stay calm and retorted, "You greedy brat, stop trying to scare me. Why would a ninja that powerful come after me for no reason?"
Before Sixia could answer, an ominous pressure abruptly filled the air.
Whoosh!
Like a shadow scattered by the wind in the darkness, Kakuzu vanished, leaving only an afterimage.
The next second, he appeared soundlessly behind a guard.
Countless thin black threads burst from the guard's chest like the tendrils of death. In an instant, they shredded his heart, sending blood splashing everywhere.
A brutal, bloody slaughter began without warning.
Kakuzu prowled the battlefield like a ghost, using his secret technique, Earth Grudge Fear, to control the black threads and pick off his victims with deadly precision.
Whether they were caravan guards or ninja Shuinaihao had hired at great expense, they were all helpless prey before Kakuzu, utterly incapable of resisting.
At the sight, Shuinaihao's face went deathly pale. Sweat streamed down him like rain, soaking his collar.
Yet Sixia smiled in amusement. "Lord Shuinaihao, would you like me to deal with this enemy?"
As those words fell.
Shuinaihao panicked.
He practically roared, "What are you waiting for? Get out there!"
Sixia said nothing.
He rubbed his fingers together at Shuinaihao and chuckled.
That shameless look on Sixia's face nearly made Shuinaihao explode with anger.
But with a powerful enemy before him, he swallowed his fury, inwardly cursing. Was this wandering ninja from Amegakure so poor he had never seen money before?
"Uzumaki Shixia, are you even a ninja? You've been hired, so do your job!"
Shuinaihao spoke through gritted teeth.
Sixia merely shook his head.
He was no hot-blooded manga protagonist who constantly preached about his ninja way.
He wagged his straightened index finger in front of Shuinaihao in an emphatic no, no, no!
"No, no, no. The mission I accepted was only to ensure your personal safety. These guards and the other ninja aren't covered by it."
"You..."
Shuinaihao clenched his teeth, anger burning inside him.
He had painstakingly selected these guards and servants from all over.
Many possessed valuable skills, and they were essential assets for establishing himself in Konoha.
Losing even one felt like a knife through his heart.
He took a deep breath, struggling to calm his anger.
"How much do you want?"
Before he had even finished speaking.
Sixia held up two slender fingers and gave them a little shake, a sly gleam in his eyes.
Shuinaihao's expression flickered as he stared at Sixia.
After weighing his options.
He gritted his teeth.
"Fine! Two thousand ryo it is. I'll pay extra! Now, go save my people! Immediately!"
However.
To his surprise, Sixia reacted as though he had heard a joke.
"Huh? Are you sure you're not joking? That's someone who actually fought the First Hokage."
Shuinaihao's face turned green.
Holding back his fury, he squeezed the words out through his teeth.
"Twenty thousand ryo!"
Sixia folded his arms and shook his head in displeasure.
"Lord Shuinai, I'm beginning to wonder whether you lack sincerity or simply lack the means."
At those words.
Shuinaihao nearly ground his molars to pieces.
"Two hundred thousand ryo!!"
"All right, then."
As Sixia finished speaking.
A translucent panel appeared before his eyes.
[New commission mission detected!] [Employer: Shuinaihao] [Mission objective: Rescue Shuinaihao's subordinates.] [Mission payment: 200,000 ryo.] [Mission rank: A] [Mission reward: 200 commission points]
Sixia gave a satisfied smile.
Although Shuinaihao's payment was substantial, to Sixia it was merely a bonus.
What he truly valued was the generous reward provided by the system.
Ever since Sixia had arrived in this world, the system had awarded him commission points for every commission mission he completed, based on the payment.
Commission missions were triggered by an employer's request.
The quality of the rewards depended on the amount paid.
Commission points, in turn, could be used to draw various rewards.
Without a moment's hesitation, Sixia accepted the mission.
Barely a moment after he finished speaking.
His figure flashed before Kakuzu like a phantom.
Whoosh!
A sharp whistle cut through the air.
Kakuzu completed his hand seals in an instant and unleashed Earth Release: Earth Spear, charging straight at a caravan guard.
The guard's face went deathly pale, as though he could already feel death closing in.
But at that critical instant!
"Lightning Release: Lariat!"
Sixia growled, refraining from committing a foul with an elbow strike.
Instead, surging blue arcs gathered around his right hand in an instant, writhing like electric snakes.
After spending so long fighting his way through the ninja world, Sixia had completed countless commission missions, large and small.
Both his physical strength and his chakra reserves had reached staggering levels.
Calling him a walking tailed beast in human form would not have been an exaggeration.
Of course, that comparison did not include the Nine-Tails.
Boom!
A deafening blast erupted as their fists collided in midair!
Strengthened by Earth Release: Earth Spear, Kakuzu's arm had turned an eerie jet-black, as though it could withstand any attack barehanded.
Yet Sixia's punch carried terrifying power and tremendous weight.
Even someone as powerful as Kakuzu was sent skidding backward, gouging two furrows like railroad tracks into the hard ground.
Regaining his footing, Kakuzu's eyes flashed with surprise.
His gaze locked onto the young ninja who had attacked him a short distance away.
"So it's this brat..."
Even as he marveled, he quickly steadied his breathing and regained his composure.
As a tireless regular at Amegakure's black market, Kakuzu was no stranger to Sixia.
Although they had crossed paths a few times, both had been too busy to speak much.
Now Kakuzu's gaze sharpened as he studied Sixia from head to toe, searching for an opening.
Sixia, however, remained perfectly composed.
While rapidly weighing his options, Kakuzu also realized he had been careless to let Sixia's surprise attack land.
Still, he did not believe Sixia could defeat him easily.
After all, he had yet to use his trump card.
Just then, however, Sixia spoke.
"Kakuzu, forget this job. You can head back and find another one."
Those words made the veins on Kakuzu's forehead throb with anger.
He glared at Sixia, grinding his teeth.
"Arrogant brat!"
"Secret technique: Earth Grudge Fear!"
Kakuzu wasted no more words.
His aura surged in an instant.
Faced with Sixia's provocation, he held nothing back and unleashed his full power!
Seeing Kakuzu release Earth Grudge Fear, Sixia looked as startled as if he had seen a pig climb a tree.
"Seriously? We just met, and you're already using your ultimate move? It's not easy for an old man like you to steal all those hearts. Why waste them all here?"
Kakuzu did not respond.
Instead, he roared and released an Earth Grudge Fear mask, which flew toward Sixia like a ghost.
"Fire Release: Searing Migraine!"
The Earth Grudge Fear fire release mask opened its gaping mouth.
A surging wave of flames swept toward Sixia like a wildfire, threatening to swallow him in a sea of fire!
Immediately afterward.
"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"
The Earth Grudge Fear Wind Release Mask let out an eerie shriek.
An enormous sphere of compressed wind burst from its mouth.
In an instant, it became a raging tidal wave of wind.
Fire and wind intertwined. Fanned by the gale, the flames surged higher, surrounding Sixia in a sea of fire.
At the sight, a smug, cold smile spread across Kakuzu's face.
But his smile froze almost immediately.
Amid the flames, Sixia's figure suddenly burst into a cloud of white smoke.
A wooden log appeared in his place.
"Lightning Release: Lightning Oppression Horizontal Chop!"
Sixia moved as fast as lightning, like a brilliant flash streaking across the sky.
An arc of lightning suddenly flashed behind the heart of the Earth Grudge Fear fire release mask.
Sixia's lightning-wreathed knife-hand sliced it apart in an instant, leaving a charred wreck.
Seizing the opportunity, Sixia swiftly gathered all his chakra and lunged at the Earth Grudge Fear Wind Release Mask.
Blue arcs leaped wildly like dancing silver snakes, illuminating the surrounding space.
In a single instant, the Lightning Blade in his hand tore through the Wind Release Mask like a hot knife through butter.
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