Chapter 21: An Effortless Assassination Mission

As he walked through the city, Yuto witnessed scenes of immense suffering everywhere.

If this had been before he crossed over, Yuto would have been deeply moved, emptying his wallet and even giving away his own clothes to these unfortunate people.

However, now, Yuto only felt a sigh in his heart. His steps did not falter as he continued walking towards the city.

Living conditions can change a person. When a three-year-old child witnesses the death of their parents and has the Caged Bird Seal carved into their forehead, their heart inevitably hardens.

Perhaps Yuto still felt pity for these suffering people, but he no longer had the energy to stop and help them.

—Life is tough for most people in the world of shinobi.

Passing through the devastated land, Yuto arrived at his destination before nightfall.

This town, called "Raging Fire City," had a name that sounded as prosperous as a blazing fire.

However, due to a winter storm, the finances of the Land of Hot Water were nearly depleted, and many homeless peasants migrated from small villages to Raging Fire City.

But the capacity of a town is limited. The guards of Raging Fire City blocked the ragged refugees, giving them only some thin gruel for comfort, and let them freeze outside the city walls.

While the walls and snow could block the refugees, they could not block a shinobi. With a simple Body Flicker Technique, Yuto quickly leaped over the wall and entered the city.

"Security is decent..." Yuto murmured as he walked into a tavern, not removing his straw hat. He casually ordered something and squinted his eyes, observing the city.

This assassination mission targeted a wealthy man in Raging Fire City, within the Land of Hot Water.

The information Yuto received described the target as follows:

[Asakawa Hiroshi, male, fifty-five years old, a wealthy man in Raging Fire City who controls seventy percent of the pharmacies and taverns in the city. In recent years, Asakawa Hiroshi has been funding the 'Separation Faction' of the Land of Hot Water, which is a stumbling block in the alliance between the Land of Fire and the Land of Hot Water. He must be eliminated without mercy!]

The shinobi who wrote the mission scroll was clearly a meticulous person, even adding a small note at the end:

[Note: Separation Faction: A recent political force in the Land of Hot Water that advocates distancing from the Land of Fire to avoid becoming a casualty in conflicts between the two major nations.]

Every time Yuto read this scroll, he couldn't help but feel a moment of silence for Asakawa Hiroshi. The Separation Faction in the Land of Hot Water might have seen the painful history of the Land of Rain and feared that their country would follow the same path, hence their strong emphasis on distancing from Konoha and avoiding complete dependency.

From the perspective of the Land of Hot Water, this idea wasn't wrong. In the world of shinobi, entangling with a major nation means either becoming a vassal or a battlefield. Moreover, even if they ally with a major nation, the benefits might be minimal—despite the winter storm, the Land of Fire hasn't provided any aid.

However, from Konoha's perspective, the Separation Faction's advocacy means they might lose a crucial buffer, a strategic concern that cannot be ignored. The core of the Separation Faction are political stars whom they cannot easily assassinate—but they can still deal with you, the investor behind the scenes.

These matters always have different rationales. While Yuto understood this, he could only act as Konoha's killing tool.

—Shinobi, human-shaped killing machines, sometimes don't need many emotions.

"It's just your bad luck... wealthy man..." Yuto ate and drank his fill, paid the bill, and leisurely walked down the street.

Activating his Byakugan, his vision became clear again.

It took Yuto only a short time to locate his target.

"The tallest building to the north, the second room from the left on the fourth floor... Huh, a diligent man indeed, still working even as night falls."

With an expressionless face, Yuto adjusted his hat to ensure no identifying information was exposed and strode towards the building.

On the way, he stealthily took a fire poker from a street vendor, making sure to leave enough silver in the vendor's purse.

"Stop! Who are you?"

"You there, short guy! This is Asakawa's territory, no outsiders allowed!"

"Move away, move away! You..."

Buzz!

Without lifting an eyelid, Yuto gently knocked the guard on the head with the fire poker. Even without using chakra, a shinobi's physical strength far surpassed that of an ordinary person. With less than half his strength, he knocked the guard out.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

In three more strikes, Yuto effortlessly knocked out all the guards.

He didn't linger, leaping to the fourth floor with a heavy stomp, smashing through the glass, and charging into the room.

For an "assassination," this method of entry was somewhat flamboyant, but as long as no one identified the attacker, it was still successful.

In this world, becoming a wealthy man wasn't easy. Becoming a rich man likely meant having many enemies, so having a few grudges was normal.

Glass shattered as Yuto entered the room.

Through his Byakugan, he saw several chakra sources quickly approaching from a nearby room.

As an A-rank mission target, Asakawa Hiroshi was wealthy enough to hire shinobi to protect himself.

"Unfortunately, too slow... can you really call yourselves shinobi?"

Yuto chuckled, looking at the middle-aged man before him.

"You are... wait! I have something to say, no matter who hired you, I can offer..."

His words were cut short by a sharp kunai.

Yuto mercilessly plunged the kunai into Asakawa Hiroshi's heart, using a slight force with his forearm to make the heart explode.

The assassination mission was complete.

From beginning to end, Yuto made it look as easy as crushing an ant. With Jonin-level combat skills from one of the Five Great Nations, he was indeed overpowered in a small country's city.

The branch family boy swung the kunai again, cutting off Asakawa Hiroshi's ear.

Such wealthy men were public figures. Once they died, Konoha and the Land of Fire's leaders would know immediately, so there was no need to seal the entire corpse into a scroll.

Through his Byakugan, Yuto saw the shinobi guards had already reached the next room.

Did they really not have time? Or were they afraid of losing their lives and thus dawdled? Yuto didn't bother to think about it. He symbolically threw down an explosive tag, using the firelight and smoke to escape through the window.

The entire assassination took less than five seconds.

With a thud, Yuto landed in the snow. Bursting his chakra, he quickly left the city.

Next came his "free time."

(End of Chapter)

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