Chapter 81: The Man Who Fought the God of Shinobi, Yagyu's Silence

"Next, we'll leave it to you, Lord Yagyu."

"It's my duty."

Yagyu exchanged some polite words with the noble's steward, then both handed over their travel permits to the Chunin gatekeepers. After several days, Yagyu was leaving Konoha once again.

Yagyu never saw the noble throughout this entire process, and it seemed that the noble had no intention of meeting him either.

After some careful observation, Yagyu realized it wasn't the noble who had specifically requested him for the escort. Instead, it was the sharp-witted steward who had suggested Yagyu.

The steward was clearly adept at gathering information and must have caught wind of Yagyu's identity recently.

Or perhaps he had witnessed Yagyu's abilities during the official stage of the Chunin Exams and knew of the Phantom Body Flicker Technique.

He might even know about Yagyu's Team 8 and Team 3, which had members with the Byakugan, and thus directly requested both teams.

It could even be a combination of all three!

Otherwise, how could the noble be so ignorant of basic social etiquette?

Thus, Yagyu wasn't curious anymore about why he had been chosen to lead the mission. He commanded Team 3 and Team 8 to position themselves on either side of the carriage, the closest possible distance, and instructed them to activate the Byakugan occasionally or send out insects for remote and close-range sensing.

The Land of Birds is one of the neighboring countries of the Land of Wind.

According to the map of the ninja world, to its north lies the Land of Earth, to the east the Land of Rain, to the south the Land of Wind, and to the west the Land of Bears.

There are three possible routes from the Land of Fire to the Land of Birds.

The first is through the Land of Rivers, the second through the Land of Rain, and the third through the Land of Grass.

The first route requires traveling through mountainous terrain.

The third route goes across vast grasslands, and one would need to pass either the borders of the Land of Rain or the Land of Earth.

So, the most suitable route was to pass through the Land of Rain.

The noble, eager to return to the Land of Birds, directly requested that Yagyu and the others take the second route.

Yagyu didn't refuse; after all, the customer is always right, as long as it's not someone like Tazuna, who had no money, lied about the mission rank, and then tried to morally blackmail them after being exposed.

Thus, Team 8 resumed the tedious journey on foot.

The carriage was slow, and even with the favorable terrain of the Land of Fire, to reach the nearest border of the Land of Rivers, they had to travel non-stop without any breaks during the day, which took three days just to leave the Land of Fire.

For example, during Team 8's first C-rank mission, the merchant convoy had been in a hurry to return and distribute profits to the villagers of the Iron Ore Village. They had feared encountering trouble on the road, so they didn't stop anywhere.

But the noble from the Land of Birds was clearly not someone who could endure hardship.

In this world without cement roads, the noble could only handle a few hours of bumpy carriage rides before needing to rest.

When passing through bustling small towns, they always stopped to buy things, and whenever the sun began to set, they stayed at the nearest town.

Both Team 3 and Team 8 were exasperated but said nothing.

At least the noble was generous, covering the food and lodging expenses for both teams.

Every night, Team 8 and Team 3 took turns standing guard.

It took a full ten days for the convoy to finally leave the Land of Fire, triple the time it had taken the merchant convoy to reach the Iron Ore Village.

The thought of still needing to pass through the Land of Rain and walk a bit further in the Land of Birds made Yagyu feel like throwing up.

From now on, hearing about escort missions would probably trigger an immediate stress response for him.

He would rather go assassinate the Five Kage than take on this kind of mission again.

However, the real torture had just begun!

The ninja continent is a very unique landmass.

Each region on the continent has its own distinct climate and terrain.

The countries and ninja villages established in these places are named after these characteristics.

For example, the Land of Wind is known for its deserts and gales.

The Land of Earth is characterized by rocks and mountains.

The Land of Lightning is known for its towering peaks and the sound of thunder.

The Land of Rivers is known for its mountains, rivers, and streams.

The Land of Rain, as its name suggests, experiences rainfall year-round, with all four seasons being rainy.

Within the country, it's not too bad; there are quite a few sunny days each month.

But Amegakure, governed by the Akatsuki, is truly outlandish.

Except on Sundays when it clears up, the other six days of the week are constantly enveloped by Nagato's Rain Tiger at Will Technique.

However, Yagyu and the others weren't so lucky.

Shortly after the convoy entered the Land of Rain, the sky turned dark with thick clouds, and soon it began to pour heavily.

When the rainwater mixed with the yellow mud, the ground became like a swamp, making it impossible for the carriage to move.

The already slow pace became even slower.

The wheels would frequently get stuck in water-filled potholes, halting them for long stretches.

Team 3 and Team 8, now wearing raincoats, stood speechless.

Finally, the warm-hearted Lee couldn't hold back anymore and went to help push the carriage.

By the time the convoy finally left the Land of Rain, five days had passed.

A small country had taken them five full days to cross.

By this point, it had been half a month since they had left Konoha.

This further solidified Yagyu's resolve to never take on escort missions again.

As Yagyu and the others entered the Land of Birds and slowly made their way toward their destination…

On a desolate forest path in the Land of Birds, inside a roadside tea house, complaints could be heard.

"Hey, Kakuzu, we're almost back to the Land of Rain. Do you really need to take on another job?"

"If I don't work, where will we get money? Who paid for all your food and drinks on the way?"

"Even so, isn't it a bit much to hunt targets, work, and then work again on the way back?"

"You said your religion could make money, which is why I teamed up with you, but your religion hasn't earned a single cent. If your head wasn't worthless, I would have already sold it to the black market."

"Hey, hey… that's too much. I've given all the money I earned from work and hunting to you!"

"If not for that, you would've been dead long ago!"

"But, Kakuzu, you've got principles. You didn't kill the shopkeeper."

"His head isn't worth anything, and he pays me. Killing him isn't worth it. I might have the chance to work for him again in the future."

"…"

The scene zoomed in on a young man with gray slicked-back hair, dressed in plain clothes with a white apron tied around his waist, and a towel draped over his shoulder. He sat at the entrance of the tea house, looking bored as he tried to start a conversation.

His conversation partner was a middle-aged man wearing the clothes of a shopkeeper, with a black mask covering his face and an expression that didn't suggest he was a good person.

However, this fierce-looking man was diligently wiping tables and cleaning the tea house, creating a strong sense of contrast.

These two were none other than the Immortal Duo of the Akatsuki—Kakuzu and Hidan.

"Hey… Kakuzu, we've got company."

At that moment, Hidan, who had been picking his nose, suddenly noticed something and quickly shouted.

"Go welcome the customers. We get a commission for every job we complete."

"Got it, got it."

Hidan immediately walked to the door and began waving his towel at the approaching convoy.

"Lord Kikkawa, there's a tea house ahead. Shall we take a short break?"

The noble's steward saw this and promptly asked the noble inside the carriage for instructions.

"Alright, let's stop and rest for a bit."

With the noble's approval, the steward gave the order: "Pull over and rest for a while."

"Yes."

The coachmen and guards immediately pulled the carriage to the side of the road.

The plump nobleman, supported by the steward, got off the carriage and headed toward the tea house.

Team 3 and Team 8 followed closely behind.

When Hidan saw the headbands worn by Team 3 and Team 8, his eyebrow twitched, and he thought to himself, "That headband… Konoha's shinobi?"

Outwardly, however, he warmly greeted them, "Welcome, esteemed guests! Please, come in…"

He had to be enthusiastic, or Kakuzu would reprimand him later.

"Welcome! What would you like to eat?"

Once the nobleman was seated, Kakuzu came over with a teapot and politely asked.

However, when he saw Team 3 and Team 8 standing behind the noble, especially Hinata, whose forehead was smooth and clean with her headband hanging around her neck, a sharp gleam flashed deep in his green eyes.

Outwardly, though, he simply handed the menu to the nobleman, waiting for his order.

"Just bring some snacks. I don't like the other pig slop."

The noble barely glanced at the menu before responding disdainfully.

"Understood."

Kakuzu said nothing, turning to leave.

As he walked away, Neji Hyuga furrowed his brow slightly and made a few hand signs toward Yagyu—standard communication codes taught at the ninja academy.

Neji's message was simple: that man is not ordinary.

Yagyu responded with a series of hand signs, indicating that he knew, and that both the shopkeeper and the staff here were extraordinary, with powerful chakra inside them, so they should not act rashly.

At the same time, Yagyu began to speculate about their identities.

Unlike instantly recognizing Uchiha Itachi and Kisame Hoshigaki, Yagyu didn't immediately identify the Immortal Duo.

After all, neither of them wore the Akatsuki uniform or bore the headbands of rogue shinobi.

But their chakra was strong, no less powerful than elite Jonin like Sarutobi Asuma or Hatake Kakashi.

At the very least, they were elite Jonin-level shinobi, and there were two of them.

Why would such powerful shinobi be working in a small tea house in this tiny country?

Could they have retired and chosen to live in seclusion here?

Yagyu didn't know, but just as he had reminded Neji, they shouldn't make any rash moves.

Since the other party showed no hostility, it was better to pretend not to recognize them.

Otherwise, fighting here could endanger their client's life, which would be a significant failure.

They would not only lose half a month of effort, but they wouldn't earn any money either. Upon returning, Tsunade might give them a stern lecture, and their record would have a glaring negative mark.

Yagyu didn't want his first mission as a team leader to be tainted by such a failure.

So, he remained vigilant, keeping a close eye on Kakuzu and Hidan.

He discreetly activated his Sharingan to check if Kakuzu had tampered with the food.

Fortunately, the two seemed to be truly living in seclusion, as they didn't tamper with the snacks, which were soon brought out.

The noble from the Land of Birds ate the snacks and drank the tea while instructing the steward to purchase several jars of tea and a large quantity of snacks to be delivered to the coachmen and guards.

He also invited Yagyu and his team to sit down and eat, but they declined.

As shinobi on a mission, they typically only consumed military rations unless they were certain they were stopping to rest, in order to avoid any physical issues that could delay their mission.

The noble seemed to understand shinobi customs and didn't insist further.

After resting for half an hour, the noble's convoy resumed their journey.

"Safe travels! Please visit again!"

Hidan waved his towel as he saw them off, then sat back down on the bench at the entrance, sighing, "Man, working is way more exhausting than killing people."

"There's no such thing as an easy way to make money in this world."

Kakuzu suddenly pulled two bundles from under the counter, tossing one to Hidan as he spoke, "Put your clothes on. We've got work to do."

"Huh?"

Hidan blinked in confusion, asking, "Aren't we going back to work?"

"We've found our target. Why bother working anymore?"

Kakuzu replied in a low voice while putting on the Akatsuki uniform, "A Byakugan from the Hyuga Clan's main branch is worth a fortune. It's a priceless treasure on the black market."

"The main branch's Byakugan? You mean those Konoha shinobi with the white eyes?"

Hidan removed his apron and began putting on his uniform, asking curiously, "Then why didn't you attack them earlier?"

"Idiot, I'm an employee here. If we destroy the place, we'll have to pay for it, and we won't get our wages. Then these past few days would've been for nothing."

"Kakuzu, you're obsessed with money."

"…"

At that moment, far from the tea house, Yagyu's expression suddenly changed.

He quickly made a hand sign with one hand: "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

With two puffs of smoke, two shadow clones appeared.

Yagyu immediately turned to the steward and said, "Enemies are coming. You need to speed up and leave. We'll hold them off."

"Understood. Please take care of it."

The steward's face paled, and he quickly nodded, urging the coachman, "Faster!"

"Yes!"

The coachman snapped the whip, and the carriage picked up speed.

Yagyu's two shadow clones followed the carriage, while Team 3 and Team 8 stopped where they were.

Whoosh—

Not even ten seconds after they stopped, a sharp, whistling sound cut through the air.

Veins bulging from his temples, Neji Hyuga immediately shot a burst of distorted air toward the source of the sound.

"Eight Trigrams Palm—Vacuum Palm!"

With a metallic clang, a red triple-bladed scythe, its handle attached to a chain, fell to the ground.

A figure appeared next to the scythe, picking it up.

Another figure suddenly appeared on the opposite side of Team 3 and Team 8, blocking both their path forward and their retreat.

Seeing these two figures, Neji and Hinata, who had activated their Byakugan, began to sweat as if realizing something.

Even Lee, usually cheerful and carefree, along with the lively Tenten, became extremely serious.

It was clear they could all sense the overwhelming danger.

Yagyu and Shino Aburame's faces also grew solemn.

Upon seeing their uniforms, Yagyu finally recognized Kakuzu and Hidan.

He was speechless.

His first C-rank mission had involved facing Raiga Kurosuki, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

His second time leaving Konoha had led him to encounter Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki, the strongest duo in the Akatsuki.

Now, on his third mission outside Konoha, he had run into the Immortal Duo.

What kind of luck was this?

Could it be that when he unleashed Asura's chakra from Naruto, he also triggered Naruto's protagonist aura, drawing in all this unwanted attention?

Even when Naruto faced mission accidents, they weren't this extreme!

---

Read 40+ Chapters ahead of WN:

Patréon.com/RoseWhisky