How Is That Any Different from Selling Me?!

Sixia shook his head and sighed. It looked like he would not be able to sell Kisame after all.

He looked at Mei Terumi with deep regret and said,

"Unfortunately, I can't sell Kisame to you. Do you have any other missions?"

Mei Terumi had already recovered from her initial shock and fear.

Uzumaki Shixia's strength was terrifying.

Earlier, she had worried that Uzumaki Shixia would attack at the slightest disagreement.

Now, after verifying the intelligence on Uzumaki Shixia piece by piece, she had confirmed that he could be reasoned with.

Capturing Kisame was not actually essential. Recovering the Ninja Blade, Samehada, would do.

She spoke again. "Sir Sixia, Kirigakure would like to hire you for five million ryo to help us recover Samehada!"

[New commission mission discovered!]

[Employer: Mei Terumi]

[Mission objective: Recover Samehada for Kirigakure!]

[Mission payment: 5 million]

[Mission rank: S-Rank]

[Mission reward: 5,000 commission points]

Only five thousand?

Still, that was enough for five ten-pulls.

Practically free points.

Sixia beamed. "That's easy."

As he spoke, he walked straight toward Kisame and held out his hand with an utterly serious expression.

"Hand it over!"

"You heard the mission. Kirigakure wants Samehada back."

"Besides, it belongs to Kirigakure in the first place. Hurry up and give it back."

Kisame: "???"

Without Samehada, he would be a shark without his fins.

Many of his powerful ninjutsu required Samehada's assistance.

Kisame hurriedly said, "Samehada is part of my strength! How is this any different from selling me?!"

Sixia frowned. "You've got a pretty low bar for what counts as selling you! Even this counts?"

Kisame clutched Samehada tightly, looking ready to live or die alongside it.

Sixia was stumped too.

This just got tricky!

But even if it was tricky, he could not simply flip the table and declare that they should forget the whole thing.

He had always been professional when it came to missions.

After some thought, he realized that the root of the problem seemed to lie with Mei Terumi and Kirigakure.

Sixia considered it, then asked, "Why does Kirigakure want Samehada back?"

Mei Terumi answered honestly. "The situation in Kirigakure is unstable right now."

"Some clans and factions that support the blood mist policy are still stirring in the shadows."

"Kirigakure looks peaceful on the surface, but it's really a bomb waiting for a spark."

"We plan to recover the missing Ninja Blades and form a new Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist to strengthen the village and suppress the sources of instability."

"So that's it! You should've said so sooner!"

An enthusiastic smile immediately spread across Sixia's face.

"Why bother forming another group of seven? That's just a waste of effort."

"Never mind a new group-even the old Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist weren't all that impressive."

"But you could hire me to suppress those sources of instability for Kirigakure."

"A hundred percent success rate, and every customer leaves satisfied!"

Mei Terumi: "???"

Gonbei: "???"

Ao: "???"

Chojuro: "???"

Bring in a powerful outsider to resolve the enormous crisis within the village?

Could that really work?

Then again, if Uzumaki Shixia really could suppress Kirigakure's rebel factions, peace would return to the village immediately!

But would Uzumaki Shixia actually accept Kirigakure's commission and resolve this problem for them?

Mei Terumi and the others all had their doubts!

Still, whichever way they looked at it, the proposal seemed worth trying.

After making his pitch, Sixia waited for their answer.

With his arsenal of Lightning Release Ninjutsu and the Rumble-Rumble Fruit's abilities, dealing with the ninjas in Kirigakure's rebel factions would be child's play.

Even if the First Mizukage crawled out of his coffin, Sixia could shove him right back in.

After a little thought, Mei Terumi decided to give it a try!

They had no better options at the moment anyway.

And if this worked, the benefits for Kirigakure would be enormous!

She and Lord Genji had racked their brains trying to deal with these hidden sources of instability.

Mei Terumi looked earnestly at Uzumaki Shixia. "Sir Sixia, we've decided to accept your suggestion and hire you to resolve Kirigakure's current troubles."

"What would you ask for in payment?"

This time, Sixia answered without hesitation. "One hundred million ryo!"

Chojuro jumped in shock.

"What? One hundred million ryo? That's way too expensive!"

The expressions on Mei Terumi's, Gonbei's, and Ao's faces shifted repeatedly as well.

They found the price unbelievable too!

Kirigakure's finances were tight, and every part of the village needed money.

Under those circumstances, where were they supposed to find one hundred million ryo for Uzumaki Shixia?

Mei Terumi sighed. "Kirigakure has only just managed to emerge from the shadow of the Bloody Mist Village. Our expenses are enormous."

"We don't have that much money right now."

The smile vanished from Sixia's face.

"No money? That makes things difficult!"

"You may not have money, but the people and factions you want dealt with have plenty!"

As he spoke, Uzumaki Shixia took out the mission requests.

"The Blood Mist Faction has placed bounties on most of Kirigakure's current leadership."

"Genji, thirty million ryo."

"Mei Terumi, twenty million ryo."

"Ao, fifteen million ryo."

"Chojuro, ten million ryo."

"Gonbei, eight million ryo."

Already shy and insecure, Chojuro felt even worse about himself when he heard his bounty.

He was worth only ten million ryo.

Although that was hardly the point, Chojuro, who would become the Sixth Mizukage in the original shinobi world's future, still took a psychological blow.

Sixia paid no attention to that and instead began going over the numbers with Mei Terumi and the others.

"One hundred million ryo is already a friends-and-family price!"

"Let's be considerate of each other. I really can't give you another discount!"

Sixia felt that his quote this time was more than fair.

But what Mei Terumi had just said was true as well.

Kirigakure had only recently emerged from its days as the Bloody Mist Village, and many things needed funding.

The Fourth Mizukage, Karatachi Yagura, had previously gone awry.

He had turned Kirigakure into the terrifying Bloody Mist Village, severely obstructing the village's development and even bringing it to a standstill.

Only after the Fourth Mizukage died and the village passed into Lord Genji's hands

did Kirigakure's situation begin improving day by day.

But the remnants of the Blood Mist Faction still refused to give up and caused trouble from time to time.

The village had to spend money not only fighting them, but also repairing the damage they caused.

Kirigakure truly could not produce one hundred million ryo right now to have Uzumaki Shixia solve their problems.

From Mei Terumi's perspective, she was actually quite willing to pay a substantial sum to hire Uzumaki Shixia and settle the issue once and for all.

According to the intelligence she had gathered, Uzumaki Shixia had accepted countless missions at the Amegakure Black Market.

And he had completed every single one efficiently.

To this day, his mission success rate remained at one hundred percent.

But the greatest problem was that Kirigakure simply did not have one hundred million ryo readily available to pay Uzumaki Shixia.

Of course, there was also a risk involved.

If hiring Uzumaki Shixia actually resolved the problem, there would be no issue.

But what if he took the one hundred million ryo and ran?

Or what if he decided to play both sides, taking money from them and the Blood Mist Faction, then striking at both?

It was unlikely, but still possible.

Seeing Mei Terumi and the others remain silent, Sixia could not help sighing.

He was very interested in Kirigakure's commission mission.

But they had no money-or rather, they were unwilling to spend that much to hire him.

In that case, his interest in their mission meant nothing.

After another sigh, Sixia said helplessly,

"Since your New Kirigakure Faction really can't come up with that much money, I'll have to take missions from the other side."

At those words, Mei Terumi's, Gonbei's, Ao's, and Chojuro's hearts all sank.

Bringing Uzumaki Shixia into their camp would cost a great deal.

But if they let him join the enemy instead, the losses he inflicted on them would far exceed the cost of hiring him.

At that thought, Mei Terumi's mind raced, and she hurriedly spoke.

"Could we pay you in installments? Ten million a month for a year?"

"Besides the payment, we can also lift the restrictions on you accepting missions in Kirigakure."

"You could take not only black market missions here, but Kirigakure's official commissions too. We are one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, after all. We have more than enough missions."

[Long-term commission mission discovered!]

[Congratulations, host, on gaining Kirigakure's recognition! Mei Terumi has issued you a long-term commission mission on behalf of Dawn Kirigakure!]

[Employer: Kirigakure]

[Mission objective: Assist Mei Terumi in suppressing the sources of instability within Kirigakure]

[Mission payment: 10 million ryo per month for one year]

[Mission reward: One Super Draw upon completing the mission objective!]

[When the long-term commission mission is settled, commission points earned from the payment will be doubled!]

Uzumaki Shixia: "???"

"Huh? I get a deal this good?"

Sixia was delighted. It had actually turned straight into a long-term mission?

Did that mean he could ask more people to pay in installments from now on?

And most importantly, Mei Terumi was giving him permission to accept missions in Kirigakure?

She really had found his weakness.

He feared nothing except running out of missions. With all of Kirigakure available for him to grind through,

would he ever have to worry about not having enough?

Sixia quickly made up his mind. Since Mei Terumi was being so generous, of course he would work with her and her people.

Working with the Blood Mist Faction would be a one-off deal. Once he received his payment, there would be nothing else.

Besides, those people were brainless and would never amount to anything. Otherwise, Mei Terumi would not have wiped them out in the original story.

Working with Mei Terumi and the others, on the other hand, would provide a steady stream of income.

Once they agreed to cooperate, he would receive ten million ryo every month!

Not only that, but establishing a connection with Kirigakure would also let him obtain other long-term commission missions from the village.

All in all, working with Mei Terumi and her people was the best deal!