The path was littered with scenes of devastation.
Before his transmigration, Hyuga Yuto would have been moved to tears by such sights, emptying his wallet and even taking off his own clothes to help these unfortunate people.
Now, however, Hyuga Yuto only felt a pang of sympathy. His steps never faltered as he continued towards the city.
His environment had changed him. After witnessing his parents' deaths at the age of three and having the Caged Bird Seal etched onto his forehead, his heart had hardened.
Perhaps there was still compassion within Hyuga Yuto for these suffering people, but he no longer had the luxury to stop and help them.
Life in the world of Naruto is hard for most people.
He traversed the ravaged land and arrived at his destination before nightfall.
It was a town called "Raging Fire City," a beautiful name that likely praised the city's prosperity, once burning bright like a raging flame.
However, under the weight of the snow disaster, the Land of Hot Water's finances had nearly collapsed. Many disaster-stricken civilians had lost their homes, migrating from small villages to gather outside Raging Fire City.
But a town's capacity was limited. The city guards blocked the ragged people, offering only meager gruel to appease them. They ignored the plight of the refugees, leaving them to freeze outside the city walls.
However, while walls and snow could stop refugees, they couldn't stop ninja. With a simple Body Flicker Technique, Hyuga Yuto swiftly scaled the wall and entered the city.
"Security is decent..." Hyuga Yuto murmured, entering a tavern. Without removing his conical hat, he ordered some food and observed the city with narrowed eyes.
This assassination mission targeted a certain wealthy individual within the Land of Hot Water's Raging Fire City.
The information Hyuga Yuto received described the target as follows:
"Asakawa Yoshio, male, 55 years old, a wealthy man in Raging Fire City, controls 70% of the city's pharmacies and taverns. In recent years, Asakawa Yoshio has been funding representatives of the Land of Hot Water's [Separationist Faction]. He is an obstacle to the brotherly bond between the Land of Fire and the Land of Hot Water and must be eliminated!"
The ninja who wrote the mission scroll was clearly meticulous, even adding a small annotation at the end:
"Note: [Separationist Faction of the Land of Hot Water: A political force that has emerged in recent years, advocating for distancing from the Land of Fire to avoid becoming a victim in conflicts between major powers.]"
Every time Hyuga Yuto read this scroll, he couldn't help but feel sorry for Asakawa Yoshio. The Separationist Faction of the Land of Hot Water likely witnessed the tragic history of the Land of Rain and feared their country would follow the same path. Hence, they strongly advocated for separating from Konoha, or at least not relying on it completely as they were now.
To be fair, from the perspective of the Land of Hot Water, this idea wasn't wrong. In the ninja world, getting involved with major powers meant either becoming a complete vassal or a battlefield. More importantly, even with an alliance with a major power, the benefits might be minimal – now that the country was suffering from a snow disaster, there wasn't even a single winter coat sent from the Land of Fire.
However, from Konoha's perspective, it was different: Due to the Separationist Faction's advocacy, they might lose a strong meat shield, which was a strategic impact that couldn't be ignored. The core of the Separationist Faction were political stars, and while Konoha couldn't easily assassinate politicians, they could certainly deal with the financier behind them.
In such matters, each side had their reasons. Although Hyuga Yuto saw this clearly, he could only be a blade for Konoha to kill.
Ninja, human killing machines, sometimes didn't need that much emotion.
You're just unlucky... rich man... Hyuga Yuto finished his meal, paid the bill, and strolled down the street.
Activating his Byakugan, his transparent vision unfolded once more.
It didn't take long for Hyuga Yuto to lock onto the location.
The tallest building in the north, the second room from the left on the fourth floor... Tsk, what a dedicated adult male, still working when it's almost dark.
Hyuga Yuto remained expressionless. He adjusted the brim of his conical hat, ensuring no identifying information was exposed, and strode towards the building.
Along the way, he discreetly took a staff from a street vendor, leaving sufficient payment in the vendor's pouch.
"Stop! Who are you!"
"Hey, you short guy! This is Asakawa's territory, outsiders are not allowed!"
"Go away, go away! You..."
Buzz!
Hyuga Yuto didn't even blink. He gripped the staff and lightly tapped the guard's head. Even without chakra, a ninja's physical strength far surpassed that of an ordinary person. With less than half his strength, the guard was knocked unconscious.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Three more hits, and Hyuga Yuto effortlessly knocked out all the guards.
He didn't linger. With a powerful leap, he instantly reached the fourth floor, shattered the glass, and charged into the room.
For an "assassination," this approach was rather flamboyant, but as long as no one recognized the attacker's identity, it would be considered a success.
In this world, doing business wasn't simple. To become wealthy, one might offend many people. Having a few enemies was quite normal.
Glass shattered, and Hyuga Yuto burst into the room.
In his Byakugan's vision, several clusters of chakra were rapidly approaching from nearby.
As the target of an A-rank mission, Asakawa Yoshio was wealthy and naturally hired several ninja to protect his safety.
Unfortunately, you're too slow... Are you really ninja?
Hyuga Yuto chuckled and looked at the middle-aged man.
"You are... Wait! I have something to say, no matter the price, I can double..."
His next words were cut short by a sharp kunai.
Hyuga Yuto ruthlessly plunged the kunai into Asakawa Yoshio's heart. With a slight twist of his forearm, the middle-aged man's heart exploded.
Assassination mission, complete.
From beginning to end, Hyuga Yuto was as relaxed as crushing an ant. The combat ability of a ninja at the level of the Five Great Nations' Jonin was indeed overpowered in a small country's city.
The young man from the Branch Family wielded the kunai again, slicing off Asakawa Yoshio's ear.
Such wealthy individuals were public figures. Once dead, Konoha and the Land of Fire's upper echelons would immediately be notified, so there was no need to seal the entire corpse into a scroll.
In his Byakugan's vision, the ninja bodyguards had reached the adjacent room.
Were they truly too late? Or were they hesitant for fear of losing their lives? Hyuga Yuto didn't bother thinking too much. He symbolically threw down an explosive tag and leaped out the window amidst the fire and smoke of the explosion.
The entire assassination process lasted less than five seconds.
With a thud, Hyuga Yuto landed on the snowy ground. Chakra erupted from his body, and he vanished from the city in an instant.
Next, it was time for his "personal activities."