That damn mercenary still had his sights on her!

Besides, joining a shinobi village and taking a senior position would spare him the exhausting business of traveling everywhere to take missions large and small.

All he would have to do was sit in an office and enjoy the good life.

Mei Terumi could not understand it. No one in the shinobi world could make sense of Uzumaki Shixia's thinking.

She said to Genji, "Lord Genji, I've also hired Uzumaki Shixia on a long-term basis to provide strategic deterrence for Kirigakure. The Blood Mist people were secretly behind this Three-Tails incident. I'll go find Sixia now and have him put those people in their place."

When they arrived at the lake, they had only seen the Three-Tails emerging from the water, with no sign of anyone from the Blood Mist Faction.

Without any evidence, there was probably little they could do.

But they could still use Uzumaki Shixia's might to intimidate the Blood Mist people.

Before long, Mei Terumi brought Sixia with her and appeared before the two Blood Mist elders once more.

Hozuki Mugetsu and Karatachi Takiichi showed no change in expression when they saw Mei Terumi approach.

Behind the two elders, Kondo Takashi stood with a solemn expression, while Kondo Yano wore a faint smile.

He knew Mei Terumi and the others had surely come to demand answers.

But that was fine. He had handled everything cleanly and efficiently. There was no way he had left Mei Terumi any evidence.

Once she arrived, Mei Terumi got straight to the point.

"Are the Blood Mist people planning to betray the village?"

"You were insane enough to use a secret technique to send the Three-Tails into a rampage!"

Hozuki Mugetsu shook his head at her words. "I have no idea what you're talking about!"

Karatachi Takiichi also spoke coldly. "Utter nonsense! What does the Three-Tails' rampage have to do with me?"

"The Three-Tails is the village's strongest weapon, and nearly all the village's power is now firmly in Genji's hands."

"Since Genji holds all the power, he must also take full responsibility when something goes wrong!"

"The crisis caused by this Three-Tails incident may have passed, but who knows what dangers still remain?"

"Perhaps the Three-Tails has only been temporarily suppressed and is keeping its resentment bottled up."

"After some time, it could go on an even more violent rampage!"

Standing beside Mei Terumi, Sixia wanted to laugh when he heard that.

Two of his employers, the Akatsuki and Mui, both needed tailed beasts.

Under those circumstances, there was no telling how many more days the Three-Tails would remain in Kirigakure.

You two old men, Mei Terumi, and everyone else had better cherish the days when the Three-Tails is still in the village!

After all, before long, the Three-Tails would suddenly disappear right before their eyes.

Mei Terumi was furious at Elder Karatachi Takiichi's words!

"From now on, we'll assign designated shinobi to guard the area around the Three-Tails."

"Without Lord Genji's orders, no one from Blood Mist will be allowed near it."

Kondo Yano shrugged at that.

"Ever since Lord Fourth Mizukage began governing the village, haven't we handled every matter and all research related to the Three-Tails?"

"No one in Kirigakure understands the Three-Tails better than we do."

"The task of guarding the Three-Tails should be entrusted to us as well."

His argument was well grounded.

But Mei Terumi still sneered. "Entrust that task to you so you can abuse your position and help yourselves?"

Kondo Yano did not get angry at her words. Instead, he continued in an unhurried tone.

"At least this time, the Three-Tails wasn't under Blood Mist's watch when the trouble occurred."

"Doesn't that suggest that you people aren't capable of guarding it properly?"

"You should know that once something happens for the first time, it can happen a second time."

While Kondo Yano and Mei Terumi argued, Sixia watched from the sidelines.

He found that both of them were remarkably eloquent.

If he let them keep arguing like this, there was no telling when they would stop.

So Sixia stepped forward.

He looked at Hozuki Mugetsu, Karatachi Takiichi, Kondo Takashi, and the others, then spoke calmly.

"Gentlemen, we've already met."

"Let me emphasize this again. Anyone who attempts to undermine Kirigakure's stability and prosperity is my enemy."

As Hozuki Mugetsu and the others' expressions turned extremely ugly, Sixia continued.

"I hope you won't interfere with my mission."

"You understand what I mean, don't you?"

Hozuki Mugetsu, Karatachi Takiichi, and the others understood Sixia's words perfectly well.

They hated him so much it set their teeth on edge, but they did not dare voice their anger.

Not long ago, the monster standing before them had beaten the Three-Tails into submission!

How could they dare say anything more in front of Sixia?

Even the resourceful Kondo Yano did not dare speak carelessly.

He knew little about Sixia.

All he could determine for now was that Sixia took his missions very seriously.

Anyone who interfered with Sixia's mission was finished. Not even the Sage of Six Paths could stop him.

Under those circumstances, Kondo Yano certainly did not dare try his verbal tricks on Sixia.

If he angered Sixia and got smashed to death with a Lariat, he would have nowhere to plead his case.

Sixia was very satisfied when he saw the expressions on Hozuki Mugetsu, Karatachi Takiichi, and the others' faces.

Hozuki Mugetsu and Karatachi Takiichi practically had "I'm going to cause trouble" written across their faces.

As for Kondo Yano, he was even better at biding his time.

While Sixia intimidated everyone, Kondo Yano remained expressionless and silent, as though he had accepted his fate.

But a biting dog did not bark. This Kondo Yano was the most dangerous of them all.

Sixia was delighted by what he saw.

Excellent, excellent. Things really are looking up in Kirigakure.

With these talented people around, I'll never have to worry about running out of missions here.

They might start plotting something the moment I leave.

Once something comes up that Kirigakure's shinobi can't handle, someone as clever as Mei Terumi will definitely pay handsomely to hire me to solve it.

Since the four people before him would determine the quality and quantity of the missions he could take from Kirigakure in the future, he had a stake in them.

Naturally, he had to know when to stop putting pressure on them.

If he frightened them so badly that they no longer dared pull any tricks, the number of missions he could take in Kirigakure would undoubtedly decrease.

After warning and intimidating them, Sixia turned to Mei Terumi.

"The commission mission to deal with the Three-Tails crisis is complete now, right?"

Mei Terumi froze for a moment before understanding dawned on her, though she still could not keep her expression from changing.

This damn mercenary was just... too expensive!

Fortunately, Mei Terumi did not share Princess Tsunade's gambling habit and had some savings.

Otherwise, she would not have been able to afford those two commissions.

But she could not cover the cost for the village this time, either.

This commission mission had been issued in the village's name in the first place.

So Mei Terumi said, "Sixia, please come with me."

"I'll take you to see Lord Genji and collect your payment while we're there."

Sixia nodded indifferently. It did not matter who paid him, as long as he got his money.

With Mei Terumi leading the way, Sixia soon met Kirigakure's senior officials.

The Five Kage Summit was still a long way off. In other words, these old fellows would remain in power in Kirigakure for a considerable time.

At that thought, Sixia promptly launched into a sales pitch before Genji and the others.

"Greetings, Lord Genji and everyone from Kirigakure."

"I'm Uzumaki Shixia, a wandering shinobi from the Amegakure Black Market."

"I've completed over a hundred S-Rank missions so far, without a single failure."

"As for A-Rank, B-Rank, C-Rank, and D-Rank missions, I've carried out too many to count."

"To this day, I've maintained a one hundred percent mission success rate."

"If you have troubles you can't resolve, hire me!"

"If shinobi from other villages attempt to assassinate you, hire me!"

"If your village is threatened by a tailed beast or any other Kage Level force, hire me!"

"One commission, a lifetime of satisfaction!"

"When you need to commission a mission, look no further than Uzumaki Shixia!"

"Excellent service, efficient execution, and a one hundred percent completion rate."

"You deserve the best!"

After finishing, Sixia looked at Genji and Kirigakure's other senior officials, his eyes brimming with eagerness for more missions.

Genji and the others were left utterly at a loss.

Did this man possess none of the bearing expected of a Kage Level powerhouse?

Mei Terumi was also visibly exasperated at the sight.

All she could say was that the shinobi standing at the pinnacle of the shinobi world were each unconventional, free-spirited, and distinctive.

After all, Hashirama Senju, hailed as the God of Shinobi, was said to have loved shouting, crying, and laughing at the top of his lungs, a carefree man who wore his heart on his sleeve.

Genji remained stunned for quite a while before recovering and nodding solemnly.

Kirigakure currently lacked top-tier fighters.

When faced with extreme circumstances, they genuinely needed a shinobi like Uzumaki Shixia to intervene.

After Genji nodded, Mei Terumi explained the two commissions she had issued to Uzumaki Shixia in the village's name.

As Genji listened, the gentle smile on his aged face stiffened.

He could not help grumbling inwardly, That damn mercenary!

He actually charges ten million ryo for a single commission mission!

And on top of that, the village will have to pay another ten million ryo every month for his long-term services.

The village's finances are already stretched thin!

Hiring this shinobi only makes our financial situation worse!

Despite his helplessness, Genji took out a check and handed it to Mei Terumi.

Then he took out another check for ten million ryo and handed it to Uzumaki Shixia.

[Commission mission complete!]

[Employer: Kirigakure]

[Mission objective: Defeat the Three-Tails, prevent its rampage from destroying the village, and return it to the bottom of the lake.]

[Mission payment: 10,000,000 ryo]

[Mission rank: S-Rank]

[Mission reward: 10,000 commission points]

The moment Sixia received the money, his commission mission was officially complete.

He had earned a full ten thousand commission points from this mission, enough for another ten sets of ten draws. It was a substantial haul.

After collecting his payment from Genji, Sixia left with Mei Terumi.

"Mei Terumi, is something troubling you?"

Seeing Mei Terumi frown, Sixia promptly moved closer.

When commission missions were available, he had to seize the opportunity and take them.

When there were no commission missions, he had to learn to create opportunities himself.

That was his ninja way!

At first, Mei Terumi was puzzled as to why Sixia was saying such strange things.

But when she noticed his gaze fixed on the money in her hand, she instantly became wary!

That damn mercenary!

He earned ten million ryo from Kirigakure and raked in over eighty million ryo from the Blood Mist people.

And now he still had his sights on her precious little stash!