Chapter 99: A Feast Approaches

Is Guy weak?

A month ago, he certainly was. But now, a month later, that's no longer the case.

Ye Zi knows that White Fang has a son named Kakashi, who is now Minato's student. He has heard that Kakashi is an exceptionally gifted genius. Although he hasn't seen Kakashi himself, he believes that Guy, now, is not weaker than Kakashi.

Having always adhered to the belief that speed equals lethality, he passed this concept onto Guy. After a month of intense training, he was confident that Guy, with his unparalleled speed and terrifying physical abilities, combined with his destructive power—even without ninjutsu—could easily surpass Kakashi.

Despite the changes in this mission, he didn't mind much. He had absolute confidence in his own strength and is considering how to let Kai practice against a few enemies. As for Kurenai, he consciously ignored her, as he still underestimated genjutsu thus didn't care enough.

After the ambush, their progress slowed, and they became more vigilant of their surroundings.

Since the enemy dared to attack, they surely wouldn't give up easily. The reputation of Konoha's Little White Fang alone isn't enough.

If Ye Zi knew that the bounty on Moko Kumokawa in the black market was high, he might reconsider his confidence.

Don't forget, his own bounty in the black market is already at 100 million ryo. If it weren't for his significant reputation, ordinary petty criminals would retreat automatically, and those with the strength would be reluctant to engage, or else Ye Zi would have been hounded by bounty hunters long ago.

However, when two individuals collide, the situation naturally changes.

Those ninjas targeting Moko, after the failed ambush, returned at the fastest speed to spread the news. Many bounty hunters learned that the Little White Fang with a bounty of 100 million ryo and Moko with a bounty of 50 million ryo were traveling together.

Together, they are worth 150 million ryo, and the key was that Moko is a defenseless young woman. Many people are eyeing this lucrative bounty duo, hoping to get lucky and catch at least the 50 million ryo bounty.

Thus, many bounty hunters flocked towards Ye Zi, leaving the bounty hall eerily quiet.

A man dressed in black with a black mask entered, carrying a round, blood-stained bundle, presumably a head.

Seeing the bounty hall so empty, the man showed some surprise in his light green eyes. He threw the head to an old man behind the counter and asked, "Where is everyone?"

The old man opened the bundle, confirmed it, took out a stack of 10 million ryo, and tossed it on the counter. Then he said coldly, "They all went after the bounties."

"Oh?" The man's eyes gleamed. Without immediately taking the money, he asked, "What's the bounty?"

The old man looked up, his wrinkled face revealing a sinister smile. He said coldly, "It's the Little White Fang. But he has an additional 50 million ryo bounty with him. Here are the details; you might want to consider it."

The old man handed over a bounty notice with a picture and brief description of Moko Kumokawa.

The man, upon hearing this, pocketed the money and took the bounty notice. After a moment, he couldn't help but laugh.

"Looks like my luck is good recently."

He took the notice and left.

Implying that he had already pocketed the bounty.

"The Little White Fang? Tough to deal with, but I'll take the other 50 million ryo bounty," the man thought silently, a cold smile spreading beneath his mask.

...

Ye Zi and his team, however, were completely unaware of the turmoil in the black market. With their speed reduced, reaching Shimizu City within the day was no longer possible, so they had to camp out in the wild again.

This night, however, was not as peaceful as the last.

Ye Zi, sitting under a tree and resting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them and said to the three on night watch, "There are enemies. Number unknown. Protect the employer."

With that, he sprang into the darkness, leaving the three on high alert.

Kotoe hid in a tree, while Guy and Kurenai stayed to guard the carriage, as previously agreed.

Kotoe's strength lies in assassination, so hiding in the dark is his best strategy. Leaving Guy and Kurenai created a false impression of weak protection, and if the enemy strikes, they would face Kotoe's poisoned needles.

The sky was overcast, making the night deep and silent, with faint sounds in the darkness.

Ye Zi stood on a tree, his expression serious. In his perception, the number of enemies was exaggerated, at least several hundred.

For merely the future Daimyo's fiancée, this seemed too excessive.

Ye Zi felt helpless. With so many enemies, even he couldn't guarantee Moko's safety.

He waved his arm through the air, and a cross-shaped light appeared. From the light emerged a creature of similar size.

"It's been over a month, you know? Over a month! I haven't eaten anything for over a month!" The creature, named Shokui, emerged with a face full of grievance.

Ye Zi ignored Shokui's complaints and focused on a direction in the darkness.

Shokui followed Ye Zi's gaze and saw only darkness. Lacking Ye Zi's sensing ability, it had no idea how many enemies were lurking. If it knew, it probably wouldn't complain, as to him, all these enemies were just delicious food.

Shokui had a particular fondness for the taste of chakra—or rather, food with chakra. It could be said it was addicted to it.

It enjoyed the taste, not obsessively, but it liked eating it.

"There are many enemies."

Ye Zi said simply, and Shokui's excitement grew.

"I'm going to take down a hundred!" Shokui chuckled to itself, thinking, I'll eat a hundred of them!

Ye Zi gave him a sidelong glance and sneered, "Don't come crying for me to save you later."

Shokui's face darkened at the remark. This was a painful memory for it, hard to let go of.

Once, during a mission, Ye Zi was ambushed and surrounded by a large number of enemies. He summoned Shokui to help, and seeing so many enemies, it was initially thrilled. But it forgot it was no longer the same as before and nearly died from the siege of ninjas.

Had Shokui not shouted for help in time, Ye Zi might have been suffocated to death.

Since then, it had become one of Shokui's black histories, though over the years, it had devoured many beings and even consumed chakra from extremely powerful beings like the Samehada. Now, though not as strong as a tailed beast, he was not far off.

In a sense, Shokui was now a formidable fighter.

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