Don't Die Before You Make Yourself Useful

Mei Terumi's pretty face still had a sweet, innocent look to it.

She forced a polite smile and said,

"Mr. Sixia, I don't have any more jobs to hire you for at the moment."

"You could spend some time sightseeing in Kirigakure and hire me as your guide. I could show you what the village has to offer."

Before Mei Terumi had even finished speaking, Sixia was already in the distance, waving goodbye.

Not only did she have no new missions for him, she actually wanted him to hire her as a guide. Talk about turning the tables!

After leaving Mei Terumi, Sixia went to meet up with Kakuzu and Kisame.

When Kisame saw Sixia, he rubbed his hands together in satisfaction.

"Well done. Are we going to capture the tailed beast now?"

"I have to admit, you had foresight. You've kept that Uzumaki Clan kid around all this time for this very day, haven't you?"

Kakuzu nodded repeatedly as well and chimed in, "I've heard Konoha has always sealed the Nine-Tails inside members of the Uzumaki Clan."

"Over all these years, Konoha has had the fewest problems with its tailed beast."

Kisame nodded. "Exactly. The Uzumaki Clan's vitality and Sealing Jutsu are exceptional. They make ideal vessels for sealing tailed beasts."

Karin: "???"

Shock covered Karin's cute little face!

Was that what this was all about?

Had Sixia kept her around as part of a plan to use her as a vessel for a tailed beast?

Surely not?

Karin felt so wronged she was about to cry. She had always thought she was Sixia's cute little assistant!

Hearing Kakuzu and Kisame's words, Sixia looked as though he had seen a ghost.

What nonsense were these two idiots spouting?

As it turned out, people really did laugh when they were utterly speechless.

Sixia raised his leg and delivered a kick to each of their backsides, sending both men sprawling face-first.

"What the hell are you two talking about?!"

"When did I ever say I was going to use Karin as a vessel?"

Then Sixia turned to the teary-eyed Karin and reached out to ruffle her red hair.

"You believe everything they say?"

"Remember, don't die before you make yourself useful."

"Otherwise, I'll take a huge loss."

At that, Karin smiled through her tears and nodded her little head earnestly. "Got it, Sixia!"

Sixia nodded, then messed up her already tousled hair even more.

Karin, who had been on the verge of sobbing a moment ago, promptly clenched her delicate fists, pounced onto Sixia's back, and unleashed her Love Stronger Than Gold Seven-Day Lock.

With his human massager activated, Sixia headed toward the Kirigakure Black Market.

Kakuzu and Kisame were dumbfounded when they saw Sixia simply leaving.

"Hey, hey, hey..."

"We're just leaving?"

"What about the mission the organization assigned us?"

Watching Sixia's retreating figure, Kisame hurriedly called out.

"Relax. Everything's going according to plan!"

Kakuzu and Kisame were anything but reassured.

Their younger companion was incredibly strong. Perhaps none of the current Five Kage could beat him.

But the way his mind worked was anything but ordinary.

He often did things no one saw coming.

Kisame, in particular, had been badly injured by Sixia not long ago and had only regained his mobility so quickly thanks to Samehada's healing.

But without Sixia's help, they had another problem: Kirigakure was now keeping a close watch on the lake.

Even if he and Kakuzu had the strength to deal with the Three-Tails, they couldn't pack it up and carry it away right in front of Kirigakure's shinobi.

Helpless, Kisame could only turn to Kakuzu and ask, "What now?"

Kakuzu shook his head. "We'll follow his lead for now and report everything honestly to Pain when we get back."

Kisame had no better idea, so he could only go along with it.

Meanwhile, Hozuki Mugetsu and the others from Blood Mist gathered at the Blood Mist Stronghold for another meeting.

Their faces were all grim.

"We can't let that damned mercenary keep stirring up trouble!"

Over the next few days, Sixia swept through the Kirigakure Black Market's missions every single day.

However far Kirigakure had fallen, it was still one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.

Even in decline, its resources dwarfed Amegakure's. The number of missions available was on a completely different level.

After completing his missions each day, he and Karin counted money until their hands cramped.

Inside the Kirigakure Black Market hall.

A shinobi entered the hall, slammed a fist onto the counter, and demanded of the manager,

"Why isn't the black market posting any missions?"

The manager sneered. "I don't have any missions. How am I supposed to post them?"

"No missions? How is that possible?" The shinobi who had come looking for work was stunned.

He had frequented the Kirigakure Black Market for a long time and had never encountered anything like this.

He pounded the counter again and asked, "There isn't a single mission left in the black market?"

The manager sighed and pulled out a stack of mission sheets.

The wandering shinobi's expression softened a little when he saw the stack.

Just as I thought. How could the black market possibly have no missions?

But when he picked up the sheets and read them, he was dumbstruck.

[Bounty target: Kenshin Yamagami, Daimyo of the Land of Fire]

[Bounty amount: 1 billion ryo]

[Bounty target: Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi]

[Bounty amount: 1 billion ryo]

[Bounty target: Fourth Raikage A]

[Bounty amount: 800 million ryo]

The wandering shinobi's head buzzed as he read the mission requests. Were these jobs he could possibly take?

But he soon recovered and slammed his fist onto the counter again. "What about the other missions?"

The manager shrugged. "Kakuzu took most of them. Uzumaki Shixia took the rest."

Hearing the name Uzumaki Shixia, the wandering shinobi cursed inwardly!

After all this time, news of the catastrophe at the Amegakure Black Market had spread to Kirigakure.

A two-man team of Mission Thugs, Mission Perpetual Motion Machines, and Mission Smashers had appeared at the Amegakure Black Market!

Those two had no decency whatsoever!

At their craziest, they had cleared out the black market three times in a single day!

"Damn it!"

"Why is this Mission-Killing Machine hanging around Kirigakure instead of leaving?"

While the wandering shinobi seethed with grief and indignation,

Uzumaki Shixia and Kakuzu appeared in the black market hall.

Sixia slapped a stack of mission reports onto the manager's counter.

"You don't need to save tomorrow's black market missions for me."

"I'm leaving Kirigakure tomorrow."

The manager breathed a sigh of relief.

Over the past few days, he had genuinely worried that Kirigakure's wandering shinobi would starve to death, leaving no one to carry out missions in the future.

The wandering shinobi who had just tried and failed to find a mission in the hall

couldn't help rushing outside with tears streaming down his face when he heard the good news, eager to tell the other wandering shinobi.

Before long, the wandering shinobi of the Kirigakure Black Market were all crying, tears pouring down everyone's faces.

"The Sage of Six Paths has answered our prayers!"

"That damned Mission-Killing Machine is finally leaving Kirigakure!"

"Boo-hoo-hoo..."

"I haven't been able to pick up a single mission at the black market hall these past few days!"

"This is wonderful! He's going to ruin some other village!"

"I hope he never comes back!"

Inside the hall, Sixia supervised Karin after handing in his missions, while Kakuzu sat happily on the floor counting money.

Watching the three of them, their smiles growing increasingly deranged and downright wicked, gave Kisame a pounding headache.

"Ow..."

When her hands began to cramp from counting money, Karin couldn't help asking,

"Why are so many people crying outside?"

Sixia thought for a moment, then said casually, "They probably can't bear to see me, the Mission God, leave."

"After all, with a name as prestigious as mine here, who knows how many employers are heading to the Kirigakure Black Market to post missions? Hahahaha!"

After turning in their missions at the Kirigakure Black Market, Sixia and his companions left the village.

On the way back to Amegakure, Sixia naturally didn't sit idle. He picked up an escort mission along the way.

"Wait!"

Just as Sixia was about to board a carriage, Kakuzu stopped him.

Earlier, in front of Kirigakure's shinobi, Kakuzu hadn't openly brought up the Three-Tails.

Now that they had left Kirigakure's territory, he naturally had to address it.

"We're heading back already?"

Kakuzu's blue-green eyes were filled with confusion.

Something about Uzumaki Shixia seemed very wrong to him!

From what he knew of Uzumaki Shixia, the kid would never abandon a mission halfway through.

Sixia asked casually, "Is there a problem with heading back now?"

Before Kakuzu could speak, Kisame gave a cold laugh. "Have you forgotten what we came here to do?"

By now, Kisame had gained some understanding of Sixia.

Uzumaki Shixia's strength was unfathomable, and his personality was impossible to pin down.

Sometimes he was steady, sometimes he acted like an idiot, and sometimes he did things that made no sense whatsoever.

This time, for example, once Sixia had beaten the Three-Tails into submission, the best choice would undoubtedly have been to use Sealing Jutsu to seal it inside Karin.

That would have let them take the Three-Tails away without anyone noticing.

Hearing Kisame's words, Sixia waved a hand dismissively.

"The mission's already complete. Let's go."

As he spoke, he called Karin over and boarded a carriage at the rear of the caravan.

"Wait!"

"How are we supposed to explain ourselves to Pain if we go back without completing the mission?"

Kakuzu spoke up again. Clearly, he didn't believe Sixia.

He had watched most of Sixia's battle with the Three-Tails.

Neither Kakuzu nor Kisame knew that Sixia had already forced the Three-Tails to sign a Summoning Contract.

Sixia couldn't be bothered to explain further to either of them and simply said,

"Cut the chatter and get in."

"The mission is already complete."

Sixia hadn't revealed his methods because he was worried Kirigakure might have some means of listening in and learning what they were doing.

Otherwise, if Kirigakure's people found a way to dissolve the Three-Tails' Summoning Contract, this trip really would have been for nothing.

"Heh. You can explain it to Pain yourself, then."

Kisame grinned and climbed into the carriage.

Going on missions with Sixia had its advantages and disadvantages.

One advantage was that they always hitched a ride through another mission when traveling.

Another was that Uzumaki Shixia's strength was unfathomable, so they barely had to worry when a fight broke out.

The downside was that the guy was a Mission Perpetual Motion Machine.

As long as he still had unfinished missions on hand, he could keep carrying them out without stopping.

Of course, Kisame suspected that Sixia sometimes had his Wood Release clones take shifts with his real body.