Bounty

The next day, Uzumaki Hane woke up with his Chakra and stamina fully restored and continued his journey. For the next few days, Uzumaki Hane continued his training while advancing.

On this day, Uzumaki Hane left the town and walked upside down on a forest path. Suddenly, Uzumaki Hane noticed a spying gaze, followed by several Kunai gleamed with a cold metallic light, flying towards him. Uzumaki Hane up, dodging the incoming Kunai. While still in mid-air, two lava Kunai appeared in his hands, which he shot directly at the attackers before landing on the ground.

The attacker leaped out of the bushes, dodging Uzumaki Hane's lava Kunai, and landed in front of Uzumaki Hane.

Uzumaki Hane stared at the other man, a middle-aged ninja he didn't recognize. Uzumaki Hane was certain he didn't know him, but the man was clearly lying in ambush, preparing to attack him. Had he mistaken him for someone else? Uzumaki Hane wondered, and shouted, "Who are you?"

The middle-aged ninja did not answer, but quickly Hand Seals and shouted, "Water Release: Wild Water Wave!" He then spat out a stream of water towards Uzumaki Hane.

The other person reeked of blood. Uzumaki Hane thought to himself, "Could he be a member of Root?" His right hand quickly turned into lava and grabbed directly at the ninja.

Bang! The water was shattered and evaporated by the Magma Arm. Then the Magma Arm continued to grab forward, piercing the attacker's chest and instantly burning his internal organs.

Uzumaki Hane withdrew his arm, somewhat puzzled. The opponent was far too weak. Danzo knew his own strength; he certainly wouldn't send such a weak subordinate. Could it be that this wasn't a member of Root, or that the opponent had mistaken him for someone else?

Uzumaki Hane thought for a moment and said, "Never mind, it's none of my business anyway." She then turned and left.

An hour later, Uzumaki Hane was running quickly through the forest when suddenly, two ninjas blocked his way. Uzumaki Hane and looked at the two ninjas, one fat and one thin.

The fat ninja said, "Are you Uzumaki Hane?" His eyes scrutinized Uzumaki Hane, trying to confirm if the person before him was genuine.

Sensing the killing intent emanating from the two, Uzumaki Hane knew they were up to no good and demanded, "Who are you?" Searching his memory, Uzumaki Hane confirmed he didn't recognize either of them. Why did they know his name and deliberately intercept him here? And was that ninja from earlier also looking for him? Uzumaki Hane was filled with questions.

The fat ninja said, "Uzumaki Hane, Konoha Ninja Village, Chunin."

Uzumaki Hane was surprised that the other party knew so much about her and asked, "Who exactly are you people, and why are you stopping me here?"

The skinny ninja's eyes were filled with disdain; he didn't even bother to answer Uzumaki Hane's question, saying, "Isn't he just a brat? Yet someone has spent so much bounty on his head."

Seeing that the two ninjas did not answer his questions, Uzumaki Hane demanded again, "Who are you people, and what is the bounty?"

The fat ninja said coldly, "Then you don't need to worry about that. We just want your head."

The skinny ninja said, "That's right, we just want your head. If you obediently commit suicide, you'll suffer less." He spoke with an air of superiority, as if giving Uzumaki Hane the opportunity to commit suicide was a great favor.

Uzumaki Hane's expression turned cold, and a murderous glint appeared in his eyes. He said, "Is that so? You can have my head, but let's see if you can actually take it."

The skinny ninja scoffed, "It seems you don't understand the difference in strength between Jonin and Chunin. Legend has it that Konoha's ninjas are the gentlest, and it seems the legend is true. Today, I'll let you experience the terror of Jonin." He quickly Hand Seals, creating a Water Clone that rushed towards Uzumaki Hane.

The Water Clone quickly rushed in front of Uzumaki Hane, holding Kunai and viciously stabbing it at Uzumaki Hane.

Uzumaki Hane's expression remained Fudō as he stood still, letting the Kunai pierce his chest.

Seeing this, the skinny ninja said, "I knew it! The opponent was just a lowly Chunin. We didn't even need to lift a finger. Look, I only Water Clone technique and finished him off in one move. Konoha these days is truly getting worse with each generation."

The fat ninja sensed it and confirmed it was indeed Uzumaki Hane's true form, not a clone. He said, "Better safe than sorry. After all, he's just a Chunin, yet the black market has such a large bounty on his head."

Suddenly, the skinny ninja looked ahead and exclaimed, "Impossible!" The fat ninja quickly looked over, and Uzumaki Hane seemed completely unaffected, grabbing the skinny ninja's Water Clone by the neck with his right hand and then killing the Water Clone with a single punch.

Uzumaki Hane glanced at the two, then flashed to the side of the skinny ninja. His speed was so great that the fat ninja only saw a blur. He shouted, "Watch out!"... He quickly Hand Seals and yelled, "Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!" A wall rose up in front of the skinny ninja.

The skinny ninja was shocked when Uzumaki Hane killed his Water Clone and immediately went on guard. However, he didn't expect Uzumaki Hane to be so fast, appearing in front of him in an instant. He didn't even see his figure clearly. Fortunately, his partner immediately used a defensive Ninjutsu, which relieved him. He began to Hand Seals, wanting to release a powerful Ninjutsu to finish off Uzumaki Hane.

Suddenly, an arm pierced through the earthen wall and, to the stunning gaze of the skinny ninja, went straight through his chest. The skinny ninja felt his internal organs being instantly burned. He stared ahead in disbelief, unable to understand why Uzumaki Hane, a Chunin, could break through the earthen wall and kill him, ultimately dying unwillingly.

Then, Uzumaki Hane melted a large hole in the earthen wall and walked over.

It all happened so suddenly that the fat ninja could only watch helplessly as his partner's body slid to the ground. The two had been partners for over a decade, sharing life and death, practically brothers, always referring to each other as sworn brothers. Now, his partner had suddenly died before his eyes. The fat ninja roared, "No..." Then, his eyes reddening, he looked at Uzumaki Hane and said viciously, "I'll kill you." He pressed his hands to the ground, grabbed a huge rock, and slammed it down directly on Uzumaki Hane's head.

With a loud shout, Uzumaki Hane expanded his right hand to ten times its original size and slammed it into the boulder, shattering the entire rock.

Immediately afterward, Uzumaki Hane leaped up, appeared in front of the fat ninja, and punched him, sending him flying. Then, Uzumaki Hane flashed back to him and threw another punch.

The fat ninja roared, "Damn it!" A light seemed to flash in his right hand as he threw a punch. Bang! The fists collided, and the immense force sent the fat ninja staggering back several steps.

Taking advantage of the fat ninja's loss of balance, Uzumaki Hane shouted, "Hell Hound!" and reached for the fat ninja's chest with his right hand. The fat ninja Hand Seals and shouted, "Earth Release: Hardening Technique!" Bang! The fat ninja's body hardened, withstanding Uzumaki Hane's attack.