I have a way to find these people

A brief silence fell over the shimmering lake.

Mei Terumi, Gonbei, Ao, and Chojuro.

All four swallowed at once, beads of sweat constantly forming on their foreheads.

If Uzumaki Shixia agreed to Mei Terumi's proposal, everything would be fine.

But if Uzumaki Shixia rejected Mei Terumi's long-term commission arrangement, the four of them were done for today.

Uzumaki Shixia's strength had not only reached Kage Level, but far surpassed that of an ordinary Kage Level ninja.

Among all the Kage Level ninja throughout the history of the Shinobi World's Five Great Nations, there were probably very few who could defeat Uzumaki Shixia.

At that moment, Uzumaki Shixia was not weighing his options. He was checking the mission panel again.

He had only secured the previous long-term commission mission after considerable effort.

This long-term commission mission, however, had come very easily.

At that thought, a professional smile appeared on his face.

Not only was his strength beyond question, but so were his competence and professionalism.

"I accept your village's commission arrangement!"

"Once your village pays the first installment, we can discuss the mission details."

Hearing that, Mei Terumi finally felt the weight lift from her heart.

Gonbei, Ao, and Chojuro likewise let out deep sighs of relief.

Just moments ago, they had averted a tremendous crisis for their village!

Of course, that was all thanks to Mei Terumi. If this woman, blessed with both beauty and brains yet desperate to marry, had not come up with such a plan...

The four of them would have been bundled up by Uzumaki Shixia and handed over to the Blood Mist.

After breathing a sigh of relief, Mei Terumi took a check redeemable for ten million ryo at a bank from her wallet and handed it to Uzumaki Shixia.

[Long-term commission mission accepted!]

[Employer: Kirigakure]

[Mission objective: Assist Mei Terumi in suppressing destabilizing elements within Kirigakure]

The moment Sixia received the check for ten million ryo from Mei Terumi, a system notification sounded in his mind.

The only problem was that both these missions required completion before awarding a Super Draw, which was incredibly annoying.

Sixia looked at Mei Terumi and the other three with a cheerful smile.

"Now we can discuss the commission mission details."

His words excited Mei Terumi, Gonbei, Ao, and Chojuro.

At least for now, they had spent just ten million ryo to hire someone as powerful as a village's Kage to help solve their problems.

With such a great opportunity before them...

One was happy to offer, and the other was happy to accept.

Both sides were excited.

Besides, Uzumaki Shixia was an exceptionally capable ninja. It was one thing if he refused a mission, but once he accepted one, he never failed to complete it!

Mei Terumi took a deep breath to calm her excitement.

Then she looked at Uzumaki Shixia and spoke with utmost seriousness.

"Mr. Sixia, my idea is to find the Blood Mist's leaders and have you demonstrate your strength in front of them."

"If you could take action and suppress the powerful ninja in the Blood Mist faction, that would be even better."

Once Mei Terumi finished, Ao immediately added his thoughts.

"Yes. If you could take action and suppress the followers of the Blood Mist..."

"Then whatever action they plan afterward, they would have to take your involvement into account."

"Your terrifying strength might even be enough to make them behave."

Having finished speaking, Mei Terumi and Ao looked at Sixia expectantly.

If Sixia agreed, hiring him would have been an incredible bargain!

Under their four expectant gazes, Sixia shook his head.

"That's not a good approach. Do you know where these people are hiding?"

Never mind Gonbei and the other two-even Mei Terumi, who had access to almost all the village's classified intelligence, could not answer Sixia's question.

If they had known these clans inside and out...

They would have taken targeted action against their leaders and key figures.

Unfortunately, these people were not so easy to deal with.

Kirigakure currently had very little intelligence on them.

Mei Terumi sighed and shook her head, regret filling her stunning face.

"I'm sorry."

"Kirigakure hasn't obtained that much intelligence yet."

Gonbei, Ao, and Chojuro likewise felt deeply disappointed.

They had finally managed to hire a ninja as formidable as Sixia, only for a lack of intelligence to prevent the mission from proceeding as planned.

This was not merely a disappointment for the four of them, but for all of Kirigakure.

Yet just as Mei Terumi and the others were feeling down, Sixia rubbed his hands together and cheerfully offered an idea.

"I have a way to find these people."

"What way?" Mei Terumi asked almost instinctively.

After asking, she felt that perhaps she should not have.

She had already learned more about Uzumaki Shixia.

He was a ninja who never lifted a finger without something to gain. If he volunteered a plan, he surely had something in mind.

Although Gonbei and the other two suspected there was a catch, they could not imagine what it might be.

For now, they all looked at Sixia expectantly, waiting for him to continue.

Sixia did not keep them in suspense. He took out the stack of commission forms he had put away earlier.

The top sheet in the stack just happened to be the bounty on Mei Terumi.

Mei Terumi: "???"

Gonbei: "???"

Ao: "???"

Chojuro: "???"

The four of them were completely dumbfounded. What was going on?

Had they not paid enough?

Had Uzumaki Shixia taken their money without intending to do the job?

Seeing their bewildered, shocked expressions, Sixia immediately realized that all four had misunderstood.

Although his boundaries and principles had always been extremely flexible when carrying out missions...

He would not go so far as to take their money, shirk the job, and kill the four of them.

After taking out the commission forms, Sixia spoke.

"My method is simple. I'll capture all four of you alive and hand you over to the Blood Mist."

"Then I can follow them in secret and see where they take you."

"Given your positions, if you fall into the Blood Mist ninja's hands, you're bound to meet their leaders."

"Then I'll reveal myself and take them all down in one fell swoop."

"What do you think?"

Chojuro jumped up at that.

"No, no!"

"What if we never get to see their leaders after falling into their hands, and they execute us on the spot instead?"

"Once we're in their hands, they'll definitely seal our chakra."

"Then we won't have any chance to resist at all."

When Chojuro finished, Sixia raised a hand and slapped him on the shoulder, speaking with amusement.

"Little brother, it seems you don't have much faith in my strength."

"With me following you in secret, what could possibly go wrong?"

"Besides..."

As his words trailed off, Sixia performed a Lightning Release Ninjutsu in front of the four of them that none had ever seen before.

"Bzzzt! Bzzzt! Bzzzt! Bzzzt!"

Sixia's body instantly transformed into a streak of pure lightning release chakra.

Then that streak of lightning release chakra became an electric current and entered the ring on Mei Terumi's hand.

"This..."

Mei Terumi stared at the ring on her hand, her mouth hanging open and her beautiful face filled with shock!

Gonbei, Ao, and Chojuro were likewise wide-eyed and speechless.

At that moment, all four were utterly stunned!

Turning one's entire body into chakra-wasn't that an ability exclusive to chakra life-forms, the tailed beasts?

Or had Uzumaki Shixia's talent for Lightning Release already reached a level on par with the tailed beasts themselves?

Moreover, that terrifying bolt of lightning had hidden inside Mei Terumi's ring without giving off any noticeable chakra fluctuations.

Without witnessing it themselves, who would have imagined that such a powerful ninja was hiding inside the ring on Mei Terumi's finger?

What Sixia had used this time was the Rumble-Rumble Fruit's power.

The first ability turned his body into chakra, transforming it entirely into lightning release chakra.

The second allowed him to move through or hide within conductors.

This required exquisitely precise, flawless control over his own abilities.

Otherwise, the electric current released by his vast reserves of chakra would have been far more than a mere two hundred million volts.

But his control over his abilities had long since reached perfection, so there was absolutely no chance of him injuring Mei Terumi.

Sixia soon transformed into a flash of lightning again and appeared in front of them.

Although he had suppressed his chakra as much as possible, the terrifying amount contained within him still left Mei Terumi and the others deeply shocked.

To them, Uzumaki Shixia's chakra reserves were probably already very close to those of the tailed beasts, beings made of chakra.

What they did not know was that Sixia had suppressed his chakra fluctuations to the greatest extent possible.

His total chakra reserves had already entered the Ten-Tails' realm, amounting to twice those of an ordinary tailed beast or even more.

After witnessing Sixia's incredible talent for Lightning Release, Mei Terumi and the others reluctantly agreed to his plan.

In truth, Mei Terumi felt they had no choice but to agree.

As Sixia spoke with them, he kept glancing through the commission forms, then looking back at them.

If they could not reach an agreement with Sixia, he would certainly force them to agree.

Mei Terumi pursed her lips and spoke helplessly.

"Mr. Sixia, we agree to your plan."

"Crack, crack, crack!"

Branches grew, and the familiar Wood Clones appeared.

Since Sixia had more than enough chakra, and his chakra was extremely potent...

Ordinary jonin from small ninja villages could not even defeat his Wood Clones.

After creating several Wood Clones, Sixia spoke casually.

"Stay here for now, and don't wander off. I'll get my companion, then we'll head to the black market together to turn in the missions."

After considering Sixia's arrangements briefly, Mei Terumi and the others nodded in agreement.

Still, none of them could help feeling uneasy.

Sixia left the lake and came to Kisame, who looked utterly bewildered, then patted him on the shoulder.

"Come along. We've got another mission."