Chapter 134

Kaito's speed, akin to a phantom, and his indifference, echoing like a hoarse voice from hell, truly stupefied the folks of Star Ninja Village.

They knew that no ninja who dared to accept war mercenary tasks was easy to provoke, but his display of force was beyond their expectations.

The man held hostage by Kaito was named Akaboshi. In the Star Ninja Village, he was a powerful and influential character.

But such a man was now being held by Kaito like an infant, seemingly ready to eliminate him at any disagreement.

How could the Star Ninjas present accept this?

Especially the Third Star Shadow, whose anger was quickly rising.

He didn't particularly like Akaboshi, but as the village's shadow, he had to protect his people.

He took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "Isn't what you're doing a bit excessive? We don't seem to have any grudges."

"Whether it's excessive or not isn't defined by you, but by me."

Kaito merely glanced at him calmly, then gently shook his head. A slight ripple of chakra and he instantly vanished from the spot.

Akaboshi only felt the pain on his neck disappear in that moment, and the crowd blinked, seeing Kaito unexpectedly return to his original position!

"Remember one thing, it's important for you."

Before they could say anything, Kaito indifferently spoke again.

"You are the ones who need to hire us to accomplish a task that's beyond your league, not us needing to accept your task.

Adjust your attitude, know your reality, and don't attempt what you're not qualified to do. This will only invite calamity."

Kaito's words were tough and excessive. Shisui couldn't help but glance at Kaito upon hearing them, let alone the Star Ninjas.

Including the Third Star Shadow, everyone's faces became incredibly ugly at that moment, but they didn't dare to retaliate.

"You're right," the Third Star Shadow admitted, no matter how hard it was to swallow. He took a deep breath and said, "Before the mission begins, pay us forty percent of the commission as a deposit.

Also hand over any intel you have, including the target. Leave the rest to us."

As Kaito said this, he paused slightly. The next moment, the abundant chakra within him suddenly surged, a heavy aura permeated the entire room.

Shisui also synchronized his actions with Kaito's. Although his chakra wasn't as strong as Kaito's, it was not something ordinary people could endure.

The intertwining and entangling of the two chakras made everyone present feel a strong sense of suffocation around them.

They all felt extremely stifled, but they didn't dare to act.

Because the two figures in black clothes and masks before them indeed posed a significant threat.

It felt like any hasty move they made would only result in death!

The pair even conveyed something stronger, something their hearts were reluctant to think or mention, yet could keenly sense.

That was the power of these two men, fearsome enough to wipe out their entire Star Ninja Village!

When had such formidable figures appeared in the ninja world? Who were they? To what organization did they belong? Why had they chosen them?

These thoughts whirled in their minds, but they didn't dare voice them, finding even movement difficult!

"I understand," the Third Star Shadow finally gritted out after a long silence, "We will pay forty percent of the deposit in gold and provide the information and target to you."

"Well done, the Third Star Shadow is indeed a sensible man."

Upon hearing this, Kaito withdrew his chakra. However, he wondered if he had a rather poor relationship with this so-called Third Shadow?

Of course, whether good or bad, he didn't care. What mattered to him was money. Now that he had obtained what he wanted, his demeanor improved considerably.

His voice softened, and he spoke with a touch of amusement, "Then, here's to a pleasant cooperation."

"Cooperation… pleasant," came the clenched reply.

…

"Swish!"

Accompanied by the sound of a blade piercing through the body, a ninja from Bear Country fell to the ground, ending his mission.

The one responsible was a figure wearing a straw hat and a red cloak with black shadows, three similarly dressed figures by his side.

As the breeze blew, accompanied by the sound of a bell, the wind lifted his hat, revealing his face.

He had long black hair, vertical golden pupils, and purple eyeshadow that extended from the corners of his eyes to his nose wings.

His skin was pale, adorned with blue, comma-shaped earrings. Just standing there, he exuded a chilling aura.

If Kaito and Shisui were here, they would surely recognize this man as Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Three Ninjas from the Leaf Village!

Orochimaru nonchalantly shook the fresh blood off his blade, then indifferently licked his lips and slowly said, "Is that all? They truly wasted my time."

"Indeed, a waste of time. Such opponents are truly uninspiring," a young man with red hair next to Orochimaru also spoke.

This red-haired young man's voice was cold and mechanical, devoid of any emotion, giving a sense of lifelessness.

And this man was Orochimaru's current teammate, Sasori!

Sasori never liked Orochimaru, a fact well established, and he had strongly opposed Orochimaru's entry into the Akatsuki.

But this time, he agreed with Orochimaru's view. The mission given to them, the ninjas, was too mundane and a waste of time.

"Wealth accumulation takes time and it requires us to do things one by one. Where else would the money come from for your experiments?"

The speaker now was a man with green eyes, Kakuzu, who was in charge of all the Akatsuki's financial matters.

Kakuzu had lived for far too long. In the vast river of time, he had witnessed countless partings and deaths, which had made him emotionally indifferent.

To him, only money truly existed in this world, so that was all that mattered to him.

Beliefs, the future world — none of these things mattered to him.

His involvement in the Akatsuki had been initiated merely because a fellow named Pain had allowed him to raise and earn money.

He had no interest in Orochimaru, Sasori, or the Akatsuki. However, these two men obstructing his money-making schemes did not sit well with him.

His gaze fixed on Orochimaru, he gave a contemptuous sneer.

"Not to mention anything else, without money, how would you research reattaching your arm?

Or how would you conduct research on how to deal with that one-eyed brat?"

At Kakuzu's words, Orochimaru's gaze instantly darkened. The air around them seemed to freeze.

The 'one-eyed brat' Kakuzu mentioned was naturally Uchiha Itachi. They all knew his story.

The foolish boy had attempted to annihilate his clan to prove his worth — at least that was what he himself had claimed. But in the end, he had been killed in retaliation.

If someone hadn't helped him escape quickly enough, he would have lost more than just one eye!

When Uchiha Itachi had joined the Akatsuki, they weren't keen on it as he had never proven his strength.

Attacking the entire Uchiha clan might seem impressive, but in reality, the clan hadn't suffered any losses, and this young man had even lost an eye.

To have such a man join them was a joke!

Despite their vehement opposition, Uchiha Itachi had eventually joined the Akatsuki. However, he was not yet a full member, only a candidate.

But it was undeniable that the one-eyed brat was somewhat capable. Orochimaru seemed very interested in the boy's eye, which led to his intervention.

The result was that Orochimaru was defeated by this brat, even losing an arm!

Although this incident had become a topic of their mockery, they knew that Uchiha Itachi was not to be trifled with. They also realized that the Uchiha of the Leaf Village were formidable!

With only one eye, he had defeated Orochimaru, even costing him an arm.

So, the thought of facing Uchiha Itachi — who had attacked them, remained unscathed, and even gouged out his eye — was truly terrifying. Who wouldn't have run as fast as possible to escape such a dreadful existence?

This question indeed left them perplexed, but they had no opportunity to understand, at least for now, their orders were not to provoke those people.

"What's the matter? Touched a nerve, did I? Thinking of retaliating?"

Kakuzu looked at Orochimaru's current state, and he snorted coldly, releasing an aura of readiness. He wouldn't put up with Orochimaru's attitude.

Standing next to Kakuzu, the silver-haired man named Hidan had his eyes locked onto Orochimaru as well.

The scythe in his hand was already posed for battle, his body beginning to brew with chakra.

Hidan and Kakuzu were teammates, and their relationship was quite sound. Given the situation, it was only natural for Hidan to side with Kakuzu.

In contrast to Hidan's stance, Sasori remained silent on the side, appearing uninterested in involving himself.

Orochimaru frowned at the scene before him, though not out of fear.

Or, perhaps, he knew very well that even if he couldn't defeat the two before him, there would be no issue.

But he didn't want to engage two men he had no desire to kill, especially when his current condition could hardly be called ideal.

Being manipulated by Uchiha Itachi's genjutsu and even losing a hand was a severe blow for him.

Normally, he wouldn't be subdued by such illusions, but having just completed the reincarnation jutsu, his spirit and body weren't in perfect harmony.

Under such circumstances, his resistance to genjutsu unknowingly weakened, something he found somewhat unacceptable.

"To resist genjutsu, the best way is to possess a pair of eyes like that."

Orochimaru's mindset had quietly but significantly changed after Itachi's counter-attack.

According to the original plot, he would have chosen to leave Akatsuki and head to the Land of Rice Fields, even establishing a Sound Village along the way.

However, at this moment, the Uchiha clan was not annihilated, and there wasn't a single remaining Uchiha like Sasuke to maintain the lineage.

On the contrary, the Uchiha showed formidable combat power at this moment!

After all, Orochimaru was a rogue ninja from the Leaf, having left many pawns in the village, so he was quite aware of what was happening there.

He knew very well that the Uchiha at this moment was not something he could provoke alone. That's why he chose not to leave, but to stay in Akatsuki.

And to stay, he couldn't just cause any major trouble. Thinking of this, Orochimaru sneered and withdrew his aura.

"Indeed, your words hit where it hurts."

Orochimaru gently licked his lips, unabashedly admitting Kakuzu's point, a level of composure that was not something any ordinary person could possess.

But after all, Orochimaru was Orochimaru. He stared at Kakuzu and Hidan, then began to laugh. He gently licked his lips before finally speaking in a deep voice.

"However, everyone has their pain points, or weaknesses, because these prove that one is alive.

Rather than putting the value of their existence in other things, living such a life would be better off dead.

After all, such people wouldn't even understand the purpose of their existence."

"Hey, what is this snake-thing blabbering about?"

Hidan, rather simple-minded, couldn't comprehend Orochimaru's point, ranting loudly.

"If you want to fight, then fight. Why all the chatter?"

"Such a simple-minded creature, it's the kind that tends to meet a premature end."

Orochimaru dismissed Hidan's words, not even sparing him a glance. His focus remained on Kakuzu as he turned and walked away.

"I'll deal with my designated target. It may be tedious and a waste of time, but at least I'll be quicker if I act alone."

With these words, Orochimaru departed without a backward glance. Sasori, with a cold snort, walked in the opposite direction, obviously intent on handling his own target.

Suddenly, the once-tense area was left with only the two 'living dead', Kakuzu and Hidan, along with corpses scattered all around...

.....

"Kaito, wasn't your attitude just now...a little too domineering?"

After leaving the Hokage's office and swiftly heading towards the village defense area, Shisui couldn't help but ask.

Kaito's behavior just now was somewhat unexpected, appearing entirely different from the Kaito he remembered.

Even during the most critical moments for the clan, when he had to take forceful measures to seize control, he never acted so assertive.

Today's scene gave him a dramatic contrast, which he found somewhat hard to accept.

"Being domineering is necessary, especially since we can't let them know we indeed need their mission, or rather, their money."

Seeing Shisui's bewildered expression, Kaito couldn't help but laugh. He even took out a scroll from his pouch and waved it at Shisui.

"Only by appearing strong enough can they believe us, right? Isn't this proof that they must trust us?

And, our drastic change in demeanor can divert suspicion from us, can't it?"

The disparity between Kaito and Shisui's demeanor in the Leaf Village and their current behavior was strikingly wide.

Anyone familiar with them might not recognize them at first glance.

Hearing Kaito's reasoning, Shisui couldn't help but nod in agreement. Besides, Kaito's approach did lead to a higher bounty for them.

Initially, the offer Shisui received on his first visit was nothing more than a minor bounty's worth.

However, this small target was to be paid in gold, which was why Shisui accepted it. After all, gold has potential for appreciation.

The reason for the Star Village's wealth was largely due to them possessing a not-so-large, not-so-small gold mine. Naturally, this mine had caught the attention of the major ninja villages.

The mine was located in a canyon filled with poisonous gas, a hellish location. Only those versed in the Peacock Method could figure out how to mine there.

Thus, the mine had temporarily escaped disaster. Regrettably, the Star Village was still trapped in a situation where they had money but nowhere to spend it.

Kaito's forceful demeanor indeed irritated the people of the Star Village. However, it must be said that his assertiveness also instilled a certain intangible confidence in them.

After all, the power displayed by Kaito was truly terrifying, and their mission seemed more likely to succeed under such might.

Under these circumstances, the Third Star Shadow quietly raised the price to motivate Kaito and his team further.

Kaito naturally wouldn't miss such a good deal. The deposit they received now, converted into the currency of the ninja world, amounted to at least 50 million.

This 50 million in gold was all sealed within scrolls, taking nearly twenty scrolls to complete.

"Alright, you're right, even though it feels a bit strange to me."

Shisui scratched the back of his head, then finally spoke seriously.

"So, what should we do next, act directly?"

"Of course, it's better to deal with this matter sooner rather than later."

Kaito said with a smile, his gaze already looking ahead.

"Even though our client is generous, the mission is not an easy one, and we can't stay away from the Leaf Village for too long. Let's get it over with and return sooner."

Kaito hadn't forgotten that they'd snuck out. He couldn't guarantee the duration of his shadow clone, so the sooner they finished, the sooner they could return. That was key.

However, they had only moved forward a little when they saw a figure approaching them.

This figure immediately raised Kaito's alarm because he was clad in a robe of black and red clouds...

//

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