Freelancer in Naruto

Black Zetsu had no objection, so he took Madara and Obito to another seven or eight tombs.

But just like the first tomb, they either had as little as that one or simply held nothing at all.

This left Madara and Obito thoroughly exasperated. Madara even started to suspect Black Zetsu.

When Black Zetsu once again lugged a chest out of a tomb, Madara didn't hesitate – he immediately activated Susanoo and dug up the unknown person's ancestral grave.

He and Obito then discovered that Black Zetsu really was doing everything he could. Any valuables within the tomb had already been gathered up, yet over the long ages these tombs seemed to have been visited by many grave robbers.

What remained was just a bunch of worthless odds and ends.

Frowning, Obito said, "This method won't work. It's a total waste of time."

Madara gave a slight nod. The ninja world's tomb robbers were far too rampant; they'd gone to so many places and come away almost empty-handed every time.

Then Obito had a sudden idea: "Let's just go out and steal. With our strength, anywhere we go we should be able to get plenty of loot."

"An excellent idea," Madara remarked appreciatively. Compared to scouring underground for treasure, zeroing in on certain forces' vaults or robbing merchant caravans was probably the best approach.

After thinking it through, Madara said to Obito, "Let's rob Konoha. We're more familiar with Konoha, so it'll be easier."

"All right." Obito nodded, then used Kamui to take Madara to Konoha.

Neither of them directly stormed into the village. Instead, they waited outside Konoha, ready to ambush any caravans from Konoha. Seeing Obito wearing a mask, Madara paused for a second and asked, "Do you have another mask?"

Obito nodded and handed him a white mask. He felt that, honestly, it wouldn't make much difference even if Madara wore one—between his Warring States–era armor and that extremely recognizable hairstyle, a mask wasn't going to hide who he was.

But it didn't matter as long as they got the funds to advance their plan.

Staking out caravans proved fruitful. Konoha, being one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, often had large merchant caravans traveling between it and other villages. They didn't wait long before encountering one.

Swish! Swish!

Without wasting any time, Madara and Obito appeared right in front of the caravan, blocking its path. Slowly lifting his gaze, Madara exuded a dominating air as he said, "Disappear from my sight immediately, or die."

Yet the people in the caravan didn't seem very scared. In earlier days, they might have been highly nervous, but times had changed – they were from a major Konoha caravan, which had one of a certain person's Wood Clones standing guard.

Still puzzled as to why no one looked afraid, Madara and Obito saw the compartment on one of the wagons open, and out stepped one of Senshi's Wood Clones.

Seeing Madara and Obito, Senshi's clone beamed. "Madara-bro, Obito, we meet again so soon! Did you manage to gather the funds?"

Madara shook his head. "No, we're in the process of getting them."

Senshi was briefly surprised, but quickly understood. He commended them: "That is indeed a quick way to raise money. But right now, I'm friends with Konoha. So I'll have to ask you two to spare Konoha's caravans."

Madara: …

Obito: …

Madara had thought they'd finally figured out a reliable way to make money, but bad luck struck on the very first job – they ran into a caravan watched over by one of Senshi's Wood Clones. Still, at least now that they knew Senshi was on good terms with Konoha, they could go rob other caravans.

Without hanging around, Madara and Obito simply turned and left. After pondering for a bit, Madara said to Obito, "Let's head to Iwagakure or Sunagakure. Senshi doesn't have much connection with those two."

Obito shook his head. "Not Suna. It's stuck out in the desert, poor as can be. The caravans that go there won't have much worth taking."

Madara: (O_O)???

Seeing Obito say that so casually, Madara looked at him oddly. Honestly, Obito seemed like a born criminal. The idea to ambush caravans was his, and on top of that he could instantly tell which convoys were worth robbing and which weren't. That was actually a good thing: they needed money, and Obito's skill happened to be useful.

Thus Obito led Madara toward the vicinity of the Land of Earth. Upon arriving, Madara noticed right away they'd come to a great spot. He asked in confusion, "Why are there so many merchant caravans around the Land of Earth? There's at least five times more than we saw around Konoha—maybe even more."

Obito shook his head. "No idea, but it sure looks like a good place to do 'business.'"

In fact, the flood of caravans in the Land of Earth stemmed from Senshi's actions. He and his mercenary corps had been furiously completing missions at the local black market, drawing throngs of wealthy patrons into the country.

Many merchants also headed there for trade and to hire Senshi's group for high-level assignments. Plenty of trade guild leaders and deep-pocketed magnates had originally been heading happily to the black market in the Land of Earth, only to have their cheer dashed when two masked figures abruptly blocked their way.

Madara halted them coldly: "You have three seconds to vanish, or you die!"

Seeing his arrogance, the merchants flew into a rage, yelling out in anger:

"Which mercenary gang is this, blocking our path? All guards—cut them to pieces!"

"Idiots! Just two hired hands think they can stop so many of us? Kill them!"

"Go away! Don't waste our time. I'll have you know there's a Chūnin with my caravan! Stay here any longer and you won't even know how you died!"

None of these merchants realized how dire the threat actually was. Plenty of caravan guards, too, rushed forward to "teach Madara and Obito a lesson." Obito didn't hesitate. He formed seals with both hands and launched a jutsu: "Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

A huge fireball swept across them. Some caravan guards were ninja, and upon seeing Obito's fire technique, they silently thanked their luck, thinking: At least he's a fire user. We've got plenty of water users—maybe we can handle this.

But they were still forming the many seals needed for Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet when they heard a terrifying shout. Not far away, Madara quickly performed seals and said coolly, "Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation!"

In an instant, a sea of fire engulfed the entire force of caravan guards. Many merchants had come to the Land of Earth hoping to strike it big.

Those who arrived early really did make money; some even managed multiple round trips. But the ones coming later were out of luck. Because not far from the Land of Earth, two fierce masked "brutes" appeared, robbing day after day.

Plenty of these merchants had been expecting that once they wrapped up their business, their lives could get a notch better.

Instead, they ran into these two unstoppable bandits on the road, using massive, destructive Fire Style. Even if the caravan guards fought their hardest, they still lost. If the merchant was lucky, he only lost his cargo but kept his life. If not, he lost everything.

Back in Iwagakure, inside the Tsuchikage's office, Ōnoki and the other village higher-ups were still figuring out how to bargain with Senshi.

Ever since learning about the mercenary corps' mystic scratch cards, they'd all agreed they'd be willing to pay training fees if Senshi guaranteed acceptance—otherwise, no matter how much they paid, Senshi could simply say none of Iwa's ninjas qualified, and Iwagakure would be throwing money away.

The Four-Tails Jinchūriki, Rōshi—who'd never gotten along with Ōnoki—suddenly spoke as they intensely debated. "You know, can't you just think of a different angle?"

His words made Ōnoki, Kitsuchi, Akatsuchi, Kurotsuchi, and Han all look over. They were curious about Rōshi's ideas. Rōshi took his time and said, "If Iwagakure's ninjas can't guarantee they'll be accepted by Senshi's corps, then why not make Senshi's corps into Iwa-nin?"

Upon hearing that, Kurotsuchi nearly blurted out "Are you out of your mind?!" Why would the mercenary corp's ninjas join Iwagakure? Doing so would be tantamount to betraying Amegakure, so what about Iwagakure could possibly lure them over?

Before anyone could retort, an Iwagakure Anbu appeared at the entrance. With no time to spare, the Anbu said directly, "Lord Tsuchikage, an emergency: Seven caravans heading to the Land of Earth, and to Iwagakure from other places, have been robbed."

"What?!" Ōnoki slammed his desk in anger. One or two caravans robbed could be chalked up to chance, but losing so many in a row was clearly a direct provocation to Iwagakure. Composing himself, he asked, "What's going on exactly? Which powers did these caravans belong to?"

Hesitant, the Anbu finally answered, "They were all from Iwagakure or the Land of Earth. In some cases, caravans from Konoha traveled together with ours, but the Konoha caravans came out fine while ours were robbed."

Hearing this, everyone in the Tsuchikage's office fumed, for it obviously targeted Iwagakure. This was intolerable!

Kitsuchi asked doubtfully, "Could it be Lord Senshi pressuring us into cooperation?"

After he said so, the Anbu added, "That's unlikely. The two ninja looting everywhere are extremely adept with Fire Style. Lord Senshi's mercenaries mostly specialize in Lightning Style, and neither their looks nor their ninjutsu preferences match those two. It doesn't fit at all."

When the Anbu finished speaking, a brief hush fell. If that was the case, it probably had nothing to do with Senshi. Ōnoki promptly gave orders: "Iwagakure isn't a place for small-time thugs to run rampant. Have the Anbu increase the search at once—find those two bandits. I'll let them try out zero-distance Detachment of the Primitive World."

Kurotsuchi: (O_O)???

Kurotsuchi was taken aback. Dust Release up close? Is that…something you can watch at close range? The other veteran ninjas in the room also clenched their teeth, incensed. If they couldn't handle Uzumaki Senshi, surely they could still deal with two Fire Style bandits.

Having received Ōnoki's command, Iwa's Anbu stepped up their investigation into the caravan robberies. That, however, only uncovered more grim reports.

While Iwagakure was rushing around on that front, Senshi wasn't sitting idle either.

Under a faint moon and distant crows, night had fallen by the time Senshi and Karin set out to find the two "unlucky souls" in Iwagakure.

First they went after the Five-Tails Jinchūriki, Han. Han was already asleep, but as a ninja, he was extremely alert.

The moment two presences appeared on his rooftop, he sensed them. Angered, he thought, Could it be that those two marauders are stupid enough to target me? Great—saves the village the trouble of hunting them. I'll finish them here and now.

With that, he acted promptly. A flicker of movement put him on the roof via the Body Flicker Technique. Initially, he planned to go half–Tailed Beast mode the instant he arrived and brawl with them. But once on the roof, he froze in shock.

Thud!

A dull blow struck the back of his neck. Han had no idea what had happened and collapsed unconscious then and there. The two intruders on his rooftop, of course, were Senshi and Karin.

The moment Han appeared, Senshi wasted no time, delivering a single karate chop and knocking him out cold. Then he began performing the Tailed Beast Partition technique on him.

With plenty of successful attempts under his belt, Senshi was by now quite practiced. Placing a palm on Han, he unlocked the seal and started extracting the beast. The Jinchūriki's sudden loss of consciousness confused Kokuō (the Five-Tails). It had no clue what was happening, but felt someone yanking it out—and at once recalled something very unpleasant.

"Dammit! It's those two red-haired devils. I'm done for!"

Realizing exactly what was going on, Kokuō was powerless to stop it. In mere moments, Senshi hauled it out.

"One Finger Nukite!"

Whoosh—

A flash of lightning: Kokuō was split into large and small halves. The smaller portion fled back to the Jinchūriki's body, transforming into a mini–Kokuō and panting heavily.

Inwardly, it thought, That was terrifying! They nearly scared me to death. At least part of me is still intact, so even if the other half meets trouble, my consciousness won't be completely lost. I won't have to endure centuries of waiting for chakra to reassemble.

Outside Han's inner world, Senshi had Karin store Kokuō in her Kamui dimension.

The moment Shukaku spotted Kokuō show up, he gloated, "Number Two, Number Six, come look—Kokuō's been caught too!"

Matatabi and Saiken, who'd been sleeping in a corner, hurried over to see. Indeed, Kokuō had been seized by the same two red-haired villains.

Spotting the mini version of Kokuō standing blankly, Saiken—who'd been in that space longest—tried to reassure it, "Kokuō, don't look so out of it. You're a Tailed Beast, so being happy is the main thing. Think about it: you might be trapped here, but you're completely safe. Those red-haired punks are unbelievably strong. Once you're here, no one else can do anything to you."

He finished, and Matatabi added, "Number Two's right! And check it out, we can live here in comfort. Poor Isobu had it rough—he got caught ages ago and got sold right after!"

One had to admit, Matatabi was decent at cheering up Tailed Beasts. If any Tailed Beast felt stifled, it should just think of those about to be killed, and then the gloom would lift.

When Shukaku saw this, he grumbled, "When I got brought in, none of you tried to console me. You two got some problem with Lord Shukaku?"

Matatabi: (O_O)???

Saiken: (O_O)???

Matatabi paused and said, "You didn't need consoling. You looked pretty pleased when you got here, ate up all the specialty snacks in one go!"

The lively conversation inside the Kamui dimension didn't concern Senshi or Karin. Having successfully captured Kokuō, Senshi then went after Rōshi.

He was feeling really good: nabbing Kokuō meant an extra five hundred million ryō in commissions plus the corresponding employment points.

As soon as Madara and Obito gathered enough money, that sum—and those points—would be his.

Taking Karin along, Senshi reached Rōshi's place, only to find Rōshi leaving just as they arrived. Somewhat surprised, Karin asked, "What's up with that? Does he know we're coming?"

Senshi shook his head. "Shouldn't be. I told Kokuō not to say anything earlier, and Shukaku & the rest have been really cooperative lately—they wouldn't give us away. He's also a wandering monk, so maybe he likes training at night. Let's go see."

So saying, Senshi used his Kāma space-time ability to follow Rōshi. If Rōshi had some nighttime activity, Senshi was ready to watch from the shadows. But upon seeing that Rōshi was simply out for some late training, Senshi decided not to hold back either.

Inside Rōshi's mind, the Four-Tails Son Gokū wore a serious look. "I don't know why, but I've got a really bad feeling."

Rōshi asked, "What bad feeling?"

Son Gokū answered gravely, "Uzumaki Senshi is capturing Tailed Beasts. I don't know the reason. You've come back to settle the village's troubles, but Iwagakure is in the middle of negotiations with Senshi now. My advice is you leave quickly—stay away from him."

Rōshi snorted. "What, I'm supposed to fear him? Sure, the village intel paints him as terrifying, but I don't believe he's that strong. If he really was everything the reports say, would he have even accepted negotiations with Iwagakure? If he leaves me alone, fine, but if he comes after me, I can see how good his Lightning Style actually is!"

Thud!

Just as he finished, he was struck at the back of the neck. No matter how much he wanted to test Senshi, he had no chance.

With a casual chop, Senshi knocked Rōshi out and began extracting the Tailed Beast from him. Inside Rōshi, the Four-Tails was baffled: What's going on? Since when did the Jinchūriki sleep so soundly he just keels over? Wait, the seal's been opened? Someone's pulling me out? This isn't right! Hang on, I've seen this all before. Could it be…?

While the Four-Tails was consumed by these thoughts, Senshi yanked it out. That worst-case scenario played out before its eyes.

Whoosh—

"One Finger Nukite!"

Senshi chopped the Tailed Beast neatly into a large and a small portion. Turning an icy gaze on the Four-Tails, he said, "What happened here—don't tell the Jinchūriki or anyone else. Understand?"

As he spoke, an immense, boundless pressure enveloped the Four-Tails. Naturally, it dared not utter a word. It could only nod meekly, like a little chick pecking grain. Without further delay, Senshi said to Karin, "Pack this one up too."

"Got it!" Karin nodded and stored Four-Tails in Kamui. At this point, she had One-Tail, Two-Tails, Four-, Five-, and Six-Tails in there, an entire set of "top taste testers."

Once she stashed the Four-Tails, Senshi remarked casually, "All right, let's finish up. Once Ōnoki and the others agree to my demands tomorrow or whenever, this trip will be perfectly wrapped up."

Still, Senshi guessed that with Ōnoki's caution, they might not decide quickly. Even after a second round of negotiations, there might be a third. Senshi had to figure out how to avoid going around in circles forever.

Under normal circumstances, that concern was sensible. Ōnoki had been Tsuchikage for many years, weathering countless storms.

Especially with the question of his ninjas joining Senshi's corps, he was reluctant to yield—he wanted to pay minimal training fees while guaranteeing acceptance.

In the higher-level talks within Iwagakure, he intended to fight for every advantage. If the second round didn't yield a deal with Senshi, they would go for a third.

But neither Ōnoki nor Senshi expected an accident.

Iwagakure was already stressed enough dealing with Senshi, and before they had fully worked that out, one shocking report after another arrived at the Tsuchikage's office about Obito and Madara robbing caravans around the Land of Earth.

This only compounded Iwagakure's dire predicament.

~~~

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