Outskirts of the capital city of the Land of Fire.
Shishou entered the city gates, following Yugao Uzuki as they headed towards the underground ninja black market.
Yugao Uzuki, once a member of the Third Hokage's direct Anbu, had been to the ninja black market in the capital before, so Shishou had her accompany him.
The underground ninja black market served only ninjas.
It existed only in major cities like capital cities, while smaller towns had only contact points.
In the black market, there were all sorts of shady goods and stolen money.
There were also many regular mission commissions.
It was a place for rogue ninjas and wandering samurai to take missions and earn money.
Of course, being a ninja black market, most of the mission commissions were for assassinations and bounties.
The five major ninja villages had designated personnel in the black market to post bounties on enemy ninjas or collect information on other villages.
For example, Konoha's elite Jonin, Sarutobi Asuma, one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja of the Land of Fire, had a bounty of 35 million ryo placed on him by an unknown ninja village.
In a ninja world where an S-rank mission starts at one million ryo,
this price was considered very high.
After transforming, Shishou and Yugao Uzuki quickly arrived at a secluded street.
Entering a store, Yugao led Shishou directly to the stairs leading to the second floor.
The store clerk glanced at them and then resumed napping behind the counter.
The second floor was a game hall, but there were no players inside.
"We want to post a mission."
At the game token exchange window, Yugao spoke up.
The staff member, a seventy-year-old man, was scribbling in a notebook. He didn't look up and asked directly:
"What kind of mission?"
"Searching for someone or killing someone?"
Yugao glanced at Shishou and stepped aside.
Shishou stepped forward and said:
"Searching for someone."
The old man raised his head and handed Shishou a form.
"Fill out the form first."
Shishou took the form and filled in Orochimaru's name under the target section, followed by some basic information about him.
After filling it out, the old man took the form, glanced at it, flipped through a notebook, and frowned, looking at Shishou.
"The person you're looking for is very dangerous. It won't be cheap."
"It will cost at least a million ryo."
He emphasized the price rather than saying they couldn't find him.
It seems this black market is more capable than I thought.
Shishou thought to himself and nodded.
"Okay, I'll pay one and a half million ryo. Find him as soon as possible."
The old man looked at Shishou and said:
"Alright, wait here. I'll inquire immediately."
The old man then went into the room behind him.
After a short while, he returned with a note and handed it to Shishou.
"The person you're looking for is at the location on the note. You can make the payment now."
What?
They found him already?
Shishou wasn't the only one shocked; even Yugao Uzuki was stunned.
This efficiency is too high.
Such efficiency could embarrass the five major ninja villages.
Seeing Shishou's puzzled expression, the old man chuckled:
"You got lucky. Someone came looking for this person two months ago and paid over a million ryo."
"Yesterday, headquarters finally located him, but several people died in the process."
"And today, you show up."
I see.
So this information was sold twice.
No wonder the old man is so happy.
They made an extra one and a half million ryo.
Shishou took the note and paid the man.
As long as he could find Orochimaru and establish contact, he didn't mind the cost.
"He's in the Land of Hot Water."
Back on the street, Shishou glanced at the note and muttered to himself.
Then, with Yugao Uzuki leading, they entered the ninja black market on the street to see if they could find anything useful.
After two hours of shopping, Yugao bought a dozen explosive tags and a set of shurikens, spending a few thousand ryo.
Meanwhile, the wealthy Shishou found an ancestral Kusanagi sword from a destroyed ninja clan, costing him nearly ten million ryo.
In the outside market, it would easily cost at least thirty million ryo and would still be hard to come by.
Auctioning it could double the price.
If it weren't for the fact that this Kusanagi sword was obviously stolen, Shishou wouldn't have gotten such a bargain.
Kusanagi swords in the ninja world were extremely valuable and powerful weapons.
Each Kusanagi sword was indestructible, and some even had unique abilities.
For example, Itachi Uchiha's Totsuka Blade, held by his Susanoo, was a Kusanagi sword with a built-in sealing technique.
It could seal or kill its target at the user's discretion.
It was a powerful weapon even Orochimaru had sought for a long time without finding.
As for the Kusanagi sword in Shishou's hand, even the seller didn't know if it had any special abilities.
"Poor Asuma, not even worth as much as a Kusanagi sword."
Thinking about how Asuma's bounty was less than the sword, Shishou almost laughed out loud.
"Let me hold it for a bit."
"Please, let me hold it."
As a highly talented swordswoman, Yugao Uzuki was naturally very envious and fascinated by the Kusanagi sword in Shishou's hand, clinging to him and not letting go.
This is a Kusanagi sword, something she had never touched in her life.
Despite her pleas, Shishou ignored her, knowing that if he let her hold it, he might never get it back.
Though he didn't use swords, carrying one for show wasn't bad.
Holding the sword in front of his chest or slinging it over his back, crossing his arms, with a cold gaze.
He would look as cool and impressive as possible.
If he stood on a utility pole, he could even cosplay Itachi Uchiha.
The two playfully argued as they returned to the store where they had bought the information.
Suddenly, Shishou stopped, looking at two figures entering the store.
Cloud-patterned cloaks and straw hats...
That's...
Itachi Uchiha!
Inside the store,
Itachi Uchiha seemed to sense someone's gaze and glanced towards the door.
"Hehe, I got it."
On the street, Yugao Uzuki took advantage of Shishou's distraction, snatching the Kusanagi sword from him and running off.
Shishou snapped back to reality and chased after her.
"What's wrong, Itachi?"
Jūzō Biwa, carrying the Kubikiribōchō, turned to Itachi and asked.
Seeing it was just a couple playfully arguing, Itachi withdrew his gaze and said indifferently:
"Nothing."
"Let's go get the information on Orochimaru."
...
Elsewhere,
After catching up with Yugao Uzuki, Shishou scolded her and then held the Kusanagi sword tightly, deep in thought.
He hadn't expected Itachi Uchiha to be so perceptive, almost noticing him with just a glance.
Such keen insight was terrifying.
If Yugao Uzuki hadn't snatched his Kusanagi sword, he might have aroused Itachi Uchiha's suspicion.
Fortunately, they had entered the black market in disguise; otherwise, Yugao would have definitely been recognized.