Land of Rain, at the border.
A gentle drizzle fell, drifting with the wind.
Amid the curtain of rain, a caravan of merchants hurried on.
In the center of the convoy, Uzumaki Senshi sat at ease.
Inside one of the wagons, he faced another person, chatting away.
He looked about eighteen or nineteen years old, with a striking head of red hair.
Suddenly, a lone figure appeared in the middle of the road.
He wore a black robe adorned with fiery cloud patterns, fluttering in the rain.
A Takigakure headband hung askew on his forehead, bearing a long slash.
A gray-white hood clung to his scalp, and behind a black half-mask gleamed a pair of cold, pale-green eyes.
"Creak—"
A soft sound shattered the stillness of the rainy night.
Inside the wagon, Mizunai—seated opposite Senshi—was startled by the sudden commotion.
He couldn't help but slide the door open slightly, peering outside with furrowed brows.
"What's going on out there?"
He appeared somewhat frail for a middle-aged man, and tension further drained the color from his face.
Senshi, perched in one corner of the carriage, cast a sharp look at the figure in the rain before letting out a playful chuckle.
"Tsk tsk, Lord Mizunai, you've really run into bad luck this time. A rather big deal just showed up."
At those words, Mizunai's heart tightened. But seeing only a single silhouette in the downpour, he relaxed a little.
"Don't spout nonsense. My guards are all handpicked, each of them worth ten men in a fight. There's no need to fear just one person."
Senshi glanced at him, lips curving higher. His airy tone carried a hint of mockery:
"That man is Kakuzu—formerly of Takigakure's assassination squad, top five on the black-market most-wanted list. Back in the Great Ninja War, he even crossed fists with the First Hokage of Konoha. A living legend."
Mizunai's face went pale at once. He'd heard tales of the First Hokage's terrifying might, and a ninja who had once faced that Hokage…
Struggling to stay composed, Mizunai forced a retort:
"You greedy brat, don't try scaring me. Why would such a formidable ninja come after me for no reason?"
Before Senshi could reply, a menacing pressure suddenly permeated the air.
Swish!
Like a gust of wind scattering a shadow in the dark, Kakuzu's form vanished, leaving only a blur behind.
In the next instant, he appeared silently behind one of the guards.
Countless black threads, like the tentacles of Death itself, thrust straight through the guard's chest. In a heartbeat, the man's heart was ripped to shreds in a spray of blood.
Thus began the abrupt, brutal slaughter.
Like a phantom on the battlefield, Kakuzu used his Earth Grudge Fear to manipulate those black tendrils, hunting his targets with grim precision.
Neither the caravan guards nor the ninja Mizunai had hired at great expense could muster the slightest resistance—before Kakuzu, they were as helpless as fish on a chopping block.
Seeing this, Mizunai's face turned ashen. Sweat poured down his brow like rain, soaking his collar.
At that moment, Senshi cast a roguish grin.
"Lord Mizunai, do you need me to deal with him?"
No sooner had he spoken than Mizunai practically roared, "What're you waiting for? Hurry and go!"
Senshi merely rubbed his fingers together, chuckling.
At his shameless behavior, Mizunai nearly burst a blood vessel. But with a deadly enemy present, he grit his teeth and choked back his anger, silently cursing this wandering shinobi of the Rain as a pauper who'd never seen money.
"Uzumaki Senshi, aren't you a ninja? Once hired, you should do your duty!"
Senshi shook his head repeatedly, quite unlike any hot-blooded protagonist who preaches the 'Way of the Ninja.'
He wagged his index finger in front of Mizunai.
"No, no, no. I only agreed to protect you personally, my lord. As for your guards and the other shinobi—sorry, they're not my responsibility."
"You…"
Mizunai's teeth clenched. Those guards and attendants had been carefully chosen from far and wide, each bringing crucial skills he needed for his operations in the Hidden Leaf. Losing even one was a wrenching blow.
Taking a long breath to steady his fury, he asked, "How much?"
Before he could even finish, Senshi raised two slender fingers, a cunning glint in his eyes.
Mizunai's expression flickered. After a brief calculation, he ground his teeth:
"Fine. Two thousand ryō it is. Get out there right now and save my men!"
But Senshi just rolled his eyes, as though he'd heard a joke.
"Huh? You're not kidding, right? He's gone head-to-head with the First Hokage."
Mizunai's face turned green. He forced himself to spit out words:
"Twenty thousand ryō!"
Senshi folded his arms, shaking his head in clear dissatisfaction.
"Lord Mizunai, are you short on sincerity or short on money?"
Mizunai was practically grinding his molars to dust.
"Two hundred thousand ryō!!"
"Deal."
At Senshi's reply, a transparent panel appeared before his eyes:
[New Commission Detected!]
[Client: Mizunai]
[Objective: Rescue Mizunai's subordinates.]
[Fee: 200,000 ryō]
[Difficulty: A-rank]
[Reward: 200 Commission Points]
Senshi smiled, satisfied. Mizunai's fee was generous, but for Senshi, it was merely the icing on the cake. What he truly valued was the system's lucrative bonus.
Ever since arriving in this world, every time he completed a commission, the system would reward him with points according to the amount paid. Commissions were triggered by the client's request; the higher the price, the richer the reward; and those points could be used to draw for all kinds of prizes.
Wasting no time, Senshi accepted the mission.
In the blink of an eye, he flickered like a ghost, appearing opposite Kakuzu.
Whoosh!
A piercing whistle cut through the air.
Kakuzu's hands wove seals, activating Earth Style: Earth Spear, thrusting at one of the caravan's guards.
The guard's face went pale, as though he could feel death looming.
But in that split second—
"Lightning Style: Elbow Bolt!"
Senshi shouted, lightning surging over his right arm, electric snakes dancing.
After countless missions, he had built up a monstrous physical strength and huge chakra reserves. One might truly call him a walking Tailed Beast—though he'd never compare himself to the Nine-Tails, of course.
Boom!
A deafening blast tore through the night as fists collided in midair!
Kakuzu's arm, strengthened by the Earth Spear jutsu, turned jet-black, seemingly able to withstand any blow.
Yet Senshi's punch struck with overwhelming power, a force that shook even Kakuzu, sending him skidding backward and carving two long furrows in the ground.
Regaining his footing, Kakuzu's eyes glinted with surprise, locking onto the young shinobi.
"So…it's this kid…"
He swiftly steadied his breathing and calmed himself. As a regular in the Rain's black-market underworld, Kakuzu recognized Senshi—though they'd rarely spoken, they had crossed paths.
Now Kakuzu's gaze grew even sharper, searching Senshi for the slightest vulnerability. But Senshi showed no sign of alarm. Kakuzu realized that his earlier failure was partly due to his own carelessness. Still, he remained confident: he had not yet revealed his trump card.
Just then, Senshi spoke again:
"Kakuzu, why not forget this job? Go take on something else."
Kakuzu's forehead veins bulged in anger. He glared at Senshi, biting out his words:
"Damn kid!"
"Secret Technique: Earth Grudge Fear!"
Without further talk, Kakuzu's chakra flared dramatically. Provoked by Senshi's taunt, he unleashed his full power immediately.
Seeing Earth Grudge Fear activated so soon, Senshi looked startled, as though he'd spotted a pig climbing a tree.
"Really? You're going all-out the moment we meet? It's not easy gathering those hearts. No need to lose them all here."
Kakuzu did not reply. With a roar, he released one of the Earth Grudge Fear masks, which shot at Senshi like a ghost.
"Fire Style: Searing Migraine!"
From the Fire mask's gaping maw, a wave of flames burst forth, rushing toward Senshi like a seething tidal wave, threatening to swallow him whole.
Then, almost simultaneously—
"Wind Style: Pressure Damage!"
The Wind mask let out a sharp screech, spewing a giant compressed wind sphere that instantly churned into a violent gale. Wind fed flame, the blaze swelling in intensity, and in the blink of an eye, Senshi was engulfed in a sea of fire.
A satisfied smirk crossed Kakuzu's face—one that froze almost immediately.
Within the raging flames, Senshi's figure abruptly burst into a cloud of white smoke, leaving behind only a wooden log.
"Lightning Style: Backhand Chop!"
Senshi's speed was like lightning, a streak of brilliance slashing across the night sky.
In a flash, he reappeared behind the Fire mask's heart. With lightning-wreathed hands, he sliced it apart, leaving it scorched and smoking.
Seizing that opening, Senshi gathered his chakra and lunged at the Wind mask in a blur. Blue arcs of electricity crackled wildly around him, illuminating the battlefield in a flickering glare. In that brief instant, his lightning-charged hand cut through the Wind mask as though slicing hot butter, annihilating it in one strike.