[Sponsored] Chapter 168: Call me Sesshomaru

[This Chapter Is Sponsored by Purriah! Everyone, please thank him in the comment!]

Land of Whirlpools.

This town is a gathering place for numerous rogue ninjas, renegade ninjas, and samurai who are here for personal gains, as well as countless merchants.

The great sword of the First Hokage? This is probably the reason why Tsunade, one of the Three Legendary Sannin, is here. Moreover, it was lost by the Second Hokage within the borders of the Land of Lightning.

At this moment, when Sesshomaru (Uchiha Yoru) thought about this, he couldn't help but sneer. He considered it a well-played move to recover the weapon of the First Hokage, which would be a huge boost to one's reputation.

"Are you the ninja who accepted the mission?"

A rogue ninja with a ferocious look glared at him and said, "It's damn expensive, come on, heal my eyes for me."

This ferocious-looking rogue ninja had a scar on his forehead and was a one-eyed dragon. Beside him was another weak rogue ninja, obviously threatened to be here.

"No."

The weak rogue ninja was about to speak when he received a painful blow, silencing him as the one-eyed dragon rogue ninja angrily punched him.

The bustling hotel was filled with people, all of whom showed a bloodthirsty smile at this scene. In this dark city, it was nothing out of the ordinary.

"A down payment of 100,000, and another 500,000 upon completion."

Within everyone's view, a distinguished young man sat at the dining table, his cold expression unchanged as he casually stated this. The one-eyed rogue ninja revealed a smile when he saw that he didn't scare the young man, but his eyes became even more cautious.

"Good enough with the nonsense, hurry up and replace his eyes for me."

It's clear that this one-eyed rogue ninja had captured someone to replace his own eyes. In the ninja world, medical ninjas are a scarce resource, let alone those with the ability to replace eyes.

Nohara Rin, known to be the lowest-ranking among eye-replacing medical ninjas, was still at the level of a Chunin during wartime and even became a disciple of Namikaze Minato. She was definitely not an ordinary medical ninja in terms of talent, otherwise, it would be a waste of resources for the village.

Since the village could arrange for someone of Namikaze Minato's caliber to train her, there could only be two possibilities: talent and background. Clearly, Nohara Rin falls under the talent category.

So medical ninjas capable of eye-swapping techniques are technically far superior to ordinary chūnin-level medical ninjas, but still not up to jōnin level.

The combat capability of medical ninjas is especially a weak point. Among the ninja world, only the five major countries have the ability to train a large number of them; smaller ninja villages really have very few.

"Fine."

With an economical use of words, Sesshomaru's indifferent expression didn't show a hint of hesitation, just coldness. The opponent, although wary, still glared threateningly at the rogue ninja they had captured.

"Kogame Sanrou, rest assured, as long as you give us one of your eyes, if you resist, you will lose more than an eye."

Faced with the threat from the one-eyed rogue ninja, the weak Kogame Sanrou chose to submit. Given the choice between life and an eye, any wise person knows what to choose. This is also the cruelty of the ninja world.

A scream echoed in the restaurant. Even though medical ninjutsu had already blocked his pain nerves, losing his eyesight in one eye suddenly caused Kogame Sanrou to scream out of instinct.

The bloody eyeball was in hand. Even though wearing surgical gloves, Sesshomaru's eyes couldn't help but show a look of disgust, as if annoyed at dirtying his hands.

"Hurry up!"

The one-eyed rogue was excited looking at the bloody eye; he would finally regain his sight. No one could understand the pain of someone who had lost an eye.

Sesshomaru coldly used medical ninjutsu to remove the damaged eyeball and replace it with a new one. With the nourishment of light green medical chakra, the optic nerves began to connect. The one-eyed rogue was immediately excited because he could see the light again.

And Kogame Sanrou, who had lost an eye, covered his remaining eye in pain, quickly tore off a piece of cloth to blindfold himself, and hurriedly fled.

Choosing between an eye and his life, he chose life. The opponent was in the process of swapping eyes; this was his best opportunity to escape. Once the eye swap was done, his life would once again be in the hands of others.

As Kogame Sanrou fled in disarray, people were amazed. Such an easy eye-swapping technique probably already approached the jōnin level, but only in terms of medical ninjutsu, not combat power.

Medical ninjas are a scarce resource, and also the envy of countless rogue ninjas and small ninja villages.

Similarly, several self-aware ninjas exchanged glances and quietly chose to leave. Knowing their own capabilities well, they understood that the one-eyed rogue ninja Kogame Sanrou was the real prize.

Not just them, others in the restaurant were also making similar calculations.

"My eyes!"

When the vision of one pair of eyes was restored, the one-eyed rogue ninja instantly showed an excited expression. But in the next moment, his face changed, showing a look of pain as he covered his newly transplanted eye. Pointing at the other person, he cursed, "Damn it, my eye hurts so much. Did you not learn your medical ninjutsu properly? Damn it."

"Your skills are simply inadequate. Considering you've barely managed to give me a new eye, let's call it even."

It was evident to everyone that the one-eyed rogue ninja wanted to renege on the deal. However, he seemed to still fear the medical ninja with an aristocratic air, eventually taking out a thick wad of bills from his pocket.

"This is only 100,000, still short by 400,000!"

A detached voice spoke again. Sesshomaru disdainfully removed his medical gloves and threw them away. He looked at the money on the table, obviously still insufficient, while the one-eyed rogue stood up angrily.

"Damn it, my eye hasn't fully recovered yet. I want to consult other medical ninjas for confirmation, otherwise I can't trust you. I'll give you the rest when my eye is okay."

Cheating, but anyone who appears in this chaotic city is no simple person. So, this rogue ninja still calmly took out some money, offering at least a resolution to the matter.

Ask for a bit less, everyone keeps the peace. Really, if it escalates, no one knows who will suffer, especially since you are a medical ninja.

Inside the restaurant, many people showed playful expressions, curious to see how this drama would unfold. At the same time, many wanted to gauge the skill of this medical ninja; if he was ordinary, he might fetch a good price, but if he was strong, it would be good to befriend such a medical ninja.

Just then, a flash of cold light passed by. While many were still bewildered, only a very few showed shocked expressions.

Such quick swordsmanship!

"400,000, I think your body should be worth this much." A cold voice echoed, and the standing rogue ninja suddenly collapsed, powerless. A red line appeared at his neck, followed by a continual spreading of fresh blood, dripping onto the floor.

"Eyes, limbs, heart, liver, spleen, lungs, this is your money, sir."

At that moment, the restaurant owner came out with a full smile, looking up and down at the corpse. He held up five fingers, "All organs are intact, and he even has chunin-level chakra. It's just that he's a bit old."

Looking at the so-called 500,000 taels in the boss's hand, Sesshomaru nodded indifferently, "Alright, send the money to my room."

"Of course, sir."

Bloodshed and killing were already commonplace in this chaotic land, and almost no one was surprised. However, many were shocked when they finally realized what had happened.

Such quick swordsmanship! So many of them hadn't even seen how the opponent had drawn his sword; only a few had caught a glimpse of a cold light.

After Sesshomaru left calmly, people started discussing. A powerful ninja alone wouldn't impress them so much, but possessing profound medical ninjutsu under such strength was different.

Rogue ninjas, defectors, samurais from small countries, and so on—high-level medical ninjas were a scarce resource. Having such a high-level ninja in the wilderness was a real catch.

If you say there's a powerful rogue ninja or samurai wandering in the ninja world, people would be amazed and then go about their business. But if it's a powerful medical ninja, they would certainly start gathering information.

After all, who among them isn't living on the edge, licking their wounds and taking risks? Injuries and poisonings are everyday occurrences, even loss of limbs or disabilities happen often. What if they could get to know such a medical ninja?

A lifesaver.

"This person is only known to have come from the Land of Fire and is descended from samurai nobility."

"I see, no wonder his swordsmanship was so impressive."

"In my opinion, this person's swordsmanship has already exceeded the scope of ordinary ninjas; we shouldn't act rashly."

Amidst the discussions, everyone in this dark gathering place knew that a desolate samurai noble with advanced medical ninjutsu had arrived.

Spies from various countries also began to move secretly. If it was just an elite ninja, they would only investigate, but someone with high-level medical ninjutsu is a different story.

Such people aren't just treasures of the Five Great Ninja Villages but also of the smaller villages. Why would they suddenly appear here? It's not impossible for a rogue ninja with exceptional talent to reach this level, but the chances are slim.

Back in his room, Sesshomaru looked indifferently out of the window at the bustling town, as if nothing could stir his emotions. However, he had already begun to ponder his next mission.

Is it the Land of Lightning that wants to muddy these waters, and get more people involved? The more I think about it, it does seem to fit the Land of Lightning's character.

"Meow~"

Just then, a meow is heard, and a ninja cat appears, bowing respectfully before dropping a scroll from its mouth.

Ninja cats are spiritual beasts with deep ties to the Uchiha clan.

"Go back."

After softly speaking, the ninja cat nods respectfully and vanishes in a puff of white smoke, leaving only a green scroll on the table.

Upon opening the scroll, a flash of crimson crosses his lowered gaze, and the scroll's true contents emerge into view.

"As expected, my guess was right. The First Hokage's weapons have long been lost, and people have even forgotten that the First Hokage ever had weapons, only remembering the legend of his Wood Style."

Compared to the village and clan, he trusts his clan more. So after executing this mission, he secretly contacted both the clan elders and the clan leader. As expected, being the oldest clan and also the most powerful in the ninja world, they sent over the information in just a week.

The intel from the clan clearly states that the Land of Whirlpools suddenly produced the First Hokage's great sword, suspected to be the Land of Lightning's scheme. Even the final instructions from the great elder were a bit excessive, suggesting that if there's an opportunity, get close to Tsunade and try to take down the Senju clan.

"So that means there is a big setup here." Sesshomaru ponders calmly. It seems that things here are even more complex than he initially thought.

The Land of Water, the Hidden Leaf, and the Land of Lightning who wants to cause chaos, not to mention countless smaller countries, rogue ninjas, and renegades.

Hundreds of kilometers away from the town, in the Hidden Leaf's base, Sarutobi Shinzō has almost stabilized the frontline. But when he hears the news from the town, his eyebrows furrow.

"Uchiha Yoru, using the identity of Sesshomaru, has entered the town and made no major moves? Just using medical ninjutsu for financial gains?"

Seeing this intel, Sarutobi Shinzō's face becomes serious, "What are you planning to do?"

"Shinzō, we cannot let Uchiha Yoru run wild." Just then, Sarutobi Umeko appears on one side, showing her displeasure after looking at the information from the town.

"As long as we can retrieve the First Hokage's great sword, it would be a great merit for you. The return of the First Hokage's weapon to the village would be your glory alone."

When there was no obstruction in Konoha, Sarutobi Umeko immediately revealed her ambition, openly discussing the benefits of this matter.

"What are you planning to do?"

Sometimes, Sarutobi Shinzo considered his ambitious wife as his right-hand woman, as her wits could genuinely help him in some matters.

Sarutobi Umeko sneered, "The front lines are gradually stabilizing. We just need to have a few skirmishes with the Hidden Mist Village to probe their real strength, and then we can turn from defense to offense, achieving several significant victories. Then people in the village will naturally sing our praises."

"But we can't delay the task for that Uchiha brat. Indecision will lead to chaos; we should secretly leak his identity."

As she spoke, a cold light flashed in Sarutobi Umeko's eyes. She sneered, "The temptation of human experimentation in collaboration with Orochimaru should be enough to lure certain people."

"Sesshomaru! Orochimaru! Hmph, since this brat can't forget his snake-like teacher, we'll push him along. I don't believe that the greedy people of the Hidden Cloud Village won't take the bait."

Although Sarutobi Umeko's methods were somewhat extreme, Sarutobi Shinzo had to silently nod in agreement. "You're saying to expose the identity of Sesshomaru and use human experimentation as bait?"

"Exactly. The human experimentation that almost made Orochimaru defect must have long been speculated upon by the Four Great Ninja Villages. It's at least an S-level forbidden jutsu, otherwise, it wouldn't be worth it. And the always greedy Cloud ninjas can't resist the bait."

"And this time, the trap for the First Hokage's weapons was probably set by the Hidden Cloud Village." At this point, Sarutobi Meiko sneered, "First, let this brat lure out the Cloud ninjas, and after defeating the Mist ninjas on the battlefield, we directly take over the Land of Whirlpools. Then I don't believe we won't find the First Hokage's weapons."

"If the Cloud ninjas dare to release this information, it must be true."

It has to be said that Sarutobi Umeko, once the head of the Anbu, is truly remarkable in intelligence and wisdom.