At this moment, Terumi Mei's lovely face still bore a sweet, innocent look. She forced a polite smile and said:
"Lord Senshi, I don't have any requests to hire you for the time being. You could tour around the Kirigakure and hire me as your guide, so I can show you all the sights and scenery here."
She barely got the words out when she saw that Senshi was already far in the distance, waving goodbye. She offered him no new commission yet wanted him to hire her as a tour guide? Absolutely absurd!
After parting ways with Terumi Mei, Senshi went off to meet up with Kakuzu and Kisame.
Kisame saw him coming, rubbing his hands in satisfaction:
"Yarimasune—so we're heading off to capture the Tailed Beast now, right? Gotta say, you were looking ahead. You've kept this red-haired little brat of the Uzumaki clan with you all along, waiting precisely for this day, yeah?"
Kakuzu also nodded at this and chimed in:
"Indeed. I heard that in Konoha, they've always sealed the Nine-Tails inside an Uzumaki. After all these years, Konoha's Tailed Beast incidents have been minimal."
Kisame nodded:
"Exactly. The Uzumaki clan's life force and sealing techniques are extraordinary, perfectly suited to hosting a Tailed Beast."
Karin: "???"
Her adorable face was now full of shock. So that's what it was? Did Senshi keep her around specifically to make her the Jinchūriki for a Tailed Beast? Surely not?!
Tears already glimmered in Karin's eyes. She had believed all this time she was his cute little assistant!
Hearing Kakuzu and Kisame's words, Senshi's expression was as if he'd seen a ghost.
When people are speechless, they often laugh. Senshi's foot came flying in, kicking the two of them squarely on the backside, sending them sprawling:
"What kind of nonsense is that?! When did I ever say I was going to use Karin as a Jinchūriki?!"
After finishing, Senshi saw Karin's eyes welling up with tears. He reached out to ruffle her red hair.
"You believe everything they say? Don't forget, I said you shouldn't die off prematurely before you actually prove useful—otherwise, I'd be at a huge loss."
Hearing this, Karin broke into a smile amid tears, nodding earnestly:
"Understood, Senshi!"
Senshi nodded too, then further messed up the hair he'd already ruffled. Just moments ago on the verge of tears, Karin now clenched her little fists, pounced onto Senshi's back, and deployed her "Unbreakable Seven-Day Lock of Clinginess."
With his personal "massager" activated, Senshi headed off toward the Kiri's black market.
Kakuzu and Kisame watched him depart, dumbfounded.
"Hey, hey… we're just leaving like that? What about the Organization's mission?"
Kisame eyed Senshi's retreating figure, speaking up.
Senshi merely waved a hand without looking back:
"Relax, everything's going according to plan!"
Neither Kakuzu nor Kisame trusted him in the slightest. This fellow's thinking was so unpredictable. Especially Kisame—he had been seriously injured by Senshi not long ago, and only recovered swiftly thanks to Samehada's healing. If Senshi refused to handle things personally, the Kirigakure would definitely keep heavy watch around that lake now. Even if Kakuzu and Kisame were strong enough to seize the Tailed Beast, they couldn't just waltz off with the Three-Tails right under everyone's nose.
With no better choice, Kisame could only look to Kakuzu:
"Now what?"
Kakuzu shook his head:
"We do what he says. Let's just go back and report truthfully to Pain."
Kisame had no other plan. Thus they left.
On the Blood Mist side, Hōzuki Getsuki and Karatachi Tachii soon reconvened at their hideout. Their faces looked grim.
"We can't let that damned mercenary run wild again!"
…
During these past few days in the Kirigakure, Senshi's entire time was spent sweeping the black market for missions. Even though the Kiri had declined, it was still one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages—a camel may be skinny but still larger than a horse. The number of missions here far surpassed that of the Ame.
Every day, he would complete tasks, then sit down with Karin counting money until their hands cramped.
In the Kiri's black market, at the main hall…
A certain shinobi arrived and slammed his fist on the counter, glaring at the manager:
"Why are there no missions posted?!"
The manager sighed:
"No missions have come in, so what can I post?"
The shinobi, who regularly roamed the Kiri black market, found it impossible to believe:
"No missions, how can that be?!"
He smashed the counter again. The manager gave him a resigned look and pulled out a stack of mission request forms:
Seeing that stack, the roaming shinobi momentarily relaxed—so there were missions, after all. But on reading them, he was flabbergasted:
[Target: Fire Daimyō Yamashita Kenshin]
[Reward: 1,000,000,000 ryō]
[Target: Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen]
[Reward: 1,000,000,000 ryō]
[Target: Fourth Raikage, A]
[Reward: 800,000,000 ryō]
Staring at these bounty requests, the roaming ninja's head buzzed. Could he possibly take on such missions?!
He tossed them aside, glowering at the manager:
"All the other missions? Where are they?"
The manager shrugged:
"Most were taken by Kakuzu, the rest by Uzumaki Senshi."
Hearing Senshi's name, the man swore inwardly. Rumors about what happened at the Kiri's black market had already spread: an insane duo known as the "Task-Devouring Machines," "Eternal Commission Engagers," or "Mission Killers," had emerged there. They'd repeatedly cleared the entire market daily—three times in one day, at the peak! They simply didn't let anyone else get any jobs.
"Dammit, that mission-killing fiend has holed up in the Kiri and refuses to leave?!"
Just then, the hall's doors swung open. Senshi and Kakuzu entered, dropping off a stack of mission reports on the counter.
"No need to save me any missions for tomorrow. I'll be leaving the Kirigakure then."
The black market manager breathed a huge sigh of relief. He'd been worried these Kiri-based rogues would starve with no jobs left if Senshi stuck around forever.
And the wandering ninja, who was unable to get any tasks just moments before, instantly brightened:
At last, that demon is leaving. He ran outside in tears of joy, hollering to all the other freelancers: "He's finally going! That damned mission-killer is heading off—woohoo!"
Within minutes, much of the Kiri's wandering ninja population was weeping with relief:
"Oh, Six Paths above, that monster's leaving the Hidden Mist at last!"
"We couldn't get a single job these past few days!"
"Let's hope he never comes back!"
Inside the black market hall, after dropping off his task results, Senshi watched as Karin and Kakuzu gleefully counted money while sitting on the floor. Their smiles gradually morphed from manic to downright depraved. Kisame, observing them, kept wincing:
"Tsk… Are you guys done yet?"
At length, once Karin's hand cramped from counting, she looked at Senshi questioningly:
"I keep hearing people crying outside. What's happening?"
Senshi thought for a bit, then said matter-of-factly:
"They're probably so touched that this mission-king is leaving. With me here, a flock of prospective clients was bound to come. Hahaha."
Then he left, money in tow, heading out of the Kirigakure. Along the way back to the Ame, Senshi naturally took one last escort commission.
Just as he was about to board a carriage, Kakuzu stopped him:
"Wait. We're simply heading back now?"
Kakuzu's pale green eyes filled with doubt. Something felt off: by his experience, Uzumaki Senshi never left a job half-done.
Senshi asked in a casual tone:
"What's wrong with going back?"
Before Kakuzu could say anything else, Kisame couldn't help scoffing:
"You forgot the real mission? The one Pain gave us? The one we came here to do in the first place?"
Senshi—so unconcerned—waved his hand:
"Mission's done. Let's go."
He climbed onto the carriage, calling for Karin. Kakuzu and Kisame stared, baffled.
"Huh?? That's it? We gotta hand in an empty result?!"
Kakuzu looked ready to argue, but Senshi refused to elaborate:
"Stop nagging, get on board. The mission's finished."
He had no desire to explain about the forced summoning contract he'd used on the Three-Tails. If the Kiri found out, they might find a way to annul it—that would make this whole trip pointless.
"Tch, you'll have to face Pain yourself later," Kisame grumbled. He settled into the carriage with a resigned sigh. Traveling with Senshi had its pros and cons. On the plus side, they traveled in comfort, never short on big paydays. The minus was that this guy was a perpetual mission maniac. He might even be using wood clones to alternate shifts with his main body.
One thing was certain: he'd do exactly what he wanted. No more, no less.
~~~
For Every 100 Powerstone = 1 Bonus Chapter! Please Vote for more chapters!
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 50 Chapters Ahead of Others!