Freelancer in Naruto

The next day, at the Tsuchikage's building, inside the Tsuchikage's office.

Ōnoki glanced doubtfully at Rōshi and Han, both looking rather listless, and asked, "What's with you two?"

Han hesitated, wanting to say there might be something wrong with his Tailed Beast. But that would be too huge a matter, and even he wasn't certain the Beast truly had a problem. If he brought it up now, it could well be the last straw to crush Iwagakure.

After pondering, he shook his head. "I'm fine. Just overthinking the village's issues, that's all."

Rōshi merely snorted. "I'm fine."

Unlike Han, he didn't bother explaining because he himself still had no clue what exactly had happened.

Seeing neither of them speak further, Ōnoki didn't press. He did feel Rōshi and Han seemed a bit off, but there was no time to dwell on it in their current predicament.

Once everyone had arrived, Ōnoki looked toward Akatsuchi. "Tell everyone the intel you've gathered."

"Yes, Sensei!" Akatsuchi held up a sheaf of documents and addressed the group gathered in the meeting room:

"These days, a pair of bandits has been rampaging around the Land of Earth. Iwagakure's ninja can't locate them at all. At the scene of each robbery, there are no clues showing how they left. Yet their raids continue unabated."

Hearing Akatsuchi's words, everyone frowned deeply. Right now, Iwagakure was in a tumultuous situation, stumbling into trouble at every turn.

Kitsuchi asked in great puzzlement, "Why can't we find any trace of their departure?"

Ōnoki replied offhandedly, "If they're using space-time ninjutsu or flying off, they naturally won't leave tracks. And because we can't catch these two, Iwagakure and the Land of Earth are constantly incurring great losses. If this isn't resolved soon, the Daimyō and the other Land of Earth officials will surely blame the village."

Everyone's expressions, already grim, grew even darker. Akatsuchi continued his briefing:

"From what survivors among the caravan members have reported, these two bandits adhere to what they call 'Three Don't-Robs.'"

"'Three Don't-Robs?' What does that mean?" Rōshi asked in confusion. Having roamed the outside world for so long, he'd never heard of such a bizarre notion.

Akatsuchi's look turned somewhat awkward. "First, they don't rob caravans from Amegakure, because that's the village Senshi is originally from.

"Second, they don't rob caravans from Land of Grass, Land of Waterfall, or Land of Rivers—those are allied with Senshi's village.

"Third, they don't rob caravans from the Land of Water, the Land of Fire, or the Land of Lightning, because those three nations are all considered Senshi's friends."

Ōnoki and the rest immediately grasped the point: the pair of bandits rampaging around the Land of Earth was simply bullying the weak while avoiding Senshi's connections. They dared not lay hands on any power related to Senshi, so they singled out the Land of Earth instead.

"Outrageous!"

Rōshi slapped the table and shot to his feet. But recalling that his Tailed Beast was having issues, he lowered himself back down under everyone's gaze and added, "What they're doing is immoral! Even as a ninja, you should have at least some baseline morals!"

He let out an indignant snort and sat down again. It wasn't that Rōshi himself was weakened—rather, it was his Tailed Beast that was failing him. With no way to use the Beast's power, he no longer had his usual confidence.

His behavior left everyone in the meeting room rather astonished. Initially, Ōnoki had assumed Rōshi might volunteer to lead a team and go after the two bandits. Now it turned out to be…just moral indignation?

However, Ōnoki didn't linger on the matter. He soon spoke again: "We have to find a way to handle this. Any ideas?"

Akatsuchi hesitated but said, "Sensei, why don't we simply cooperate with Lord Senshi? If we team up and announce it publicly, that alone would solve the bandit problem."

Rōshi firmly objected: "No way! If we get rid of this problem now, why would Senshi make any concessions to us? From what you've told me, joining Senshi's mercenary corps offers many benefits, but only if our ninja can actually be accepted. Otherwise, the training fees are just wasted."

For once, Ōnoki and Rōshi found themselves on the same page.

Ōnoki then turned to Rōshi: "Rōshi, you'll lead our village's elite to resolve these two bandits. You're quite correct—if the bandit problem isn't settled, we'll be even more passive in our talks with Senshi."

Rōshi: (O_O)???

When had he ever said he wanted to fight them? Those thieves could appear and vanish at will, making fools of Iwa's Anbu—clearly they were very powerful. If Rōshi's Tailed Beast was still intact, he might've risked it.

But now, with that Tailed Beast issue… He couldn't even go Tailed Beast Mode, so how was he going to fight? Didn't they fear the phrase "RIP Jinchūriki"?

But logic was logic—Rōshi couldn't just back down. Flatly refusing would make him seem weak in everyone's eyes. Thus he decided he would accept the task but do the bare minimum. Under everyone's watchful gaze, he nodded. "All right, if I can track down those two, that solves it."

Pleased, Kitsuchi said, "As expected from old Rōshi, always in favor of combat—truly bold!"

"Hahaha…" Rōshi gave a hearty laugh, but inwardly he was nervous. He could only pray he wouldn't actually run into those two unknown, frightening bandits.

Elsewhere, Madara and Obito had been happily robbing for days on end. As their amassed funds grew, Madara let out a trademark Uchiha laugh.

"Hahaha! Indeed, robbing caravans is faster than any other way to stockpile wealth. In this short period, we've already nearly broken 300 million ryō."

Obito cocked his head proudly. "Of course! We just rob whoever has money—makes it impossible to stay poor. Though these caravans are profitable, organizations with vaults would yield even more. Too bad so many factions have ties to Senshi, so we can't act against them."

Madara couldn't help a sigh. The best era for unbridled plundering was already gone. Otherwise, with his and Obito's might, it wouldn't be just 300 million—maybe even 3 billion.

These days, when they identified targets, they only went after caravans from the Land of Earth or Iwagakure. Anything related to Senshi was under his protection. If they decided to rob them anyway, who knew how much they could amass? But in that case, they'd have to be ready once more for "Giant Mecha vs. Big Buddha."

As they waited for their next target, a White Zetsu suddenly emerged halfway from a tree trunk nearby. Spotting Madara and Obito, it said, "I've got good news and bad news. Which do you want first?"

Madara said casually, "In order."

Obeying, White Zetsu answered, "Good news is that Iwagakure still can't pinpoint your whereabouts and can't do anything to you. What's more, they just deployed a Jinchūriki you'd be very interested in to hunt you down."

Madara was thrilled. "Excellent. Even though we can pay Senshi with money to capture Tailed Beasts, if a Jinchūriki voluntarily comes to us, we can nab him at zero cost."

Obito agreed with Madara's notion of a cost-free Tailed Beast. Indeed, traveling around robbing caravans was also a "zero-cost" endeavor—and the entire point was to acquire the Tailed Beast from the Jinchūriki's body. If some Jinchūriki came on his own, it'd save them the trouble.

While Obito and Madara were inwardly pleased, White Zetsu said awkwardly, "But that Jinchūriki from Iwagakure is acting a bit odd."

"How so?" Madara asked coolly.

White Zetsu explained truthfully, "That Jinchūriki is called Rōshi. He brought along some elite Iwa-nin specifically to catch you. But he avoids every place you appear, and his movements are suspicious, like he's deliberately trying not to run into you."

Madara cursed angrily, "Spineless coward! A Jinchūriki who's so useless!"

Clearly, Rōshi didn't even dare confront them, instead doing everything possible to steer clear. Obito, displeased as well, still commented, "Honestly, we shouldn't worry too much about Iwa's Jinchūriki. With Senshi's mystical Tailed Beast Partition, maybe that Jinchūriki already lost his Beast. Let's keep up our robberies, gather as much capital as possible, and then hire Senshi to do a bunch of stuff."

After Obito's analysis, Madara offered another angle: "You might be right, but there's also a possibility the Beast remains inside him. If we ever get the chance, we should check whether his Tailed Beast is still there— one Beast would be worth more than raiding many caravans."

Obito understood perfectly. Yet he figured Senshi wouldn't let them profit so easily.

Just then, another White Zetsu emerged from underground. "Found a new target," it said. "It's an Iwagakure caravan mixed in with some others."

"Lead on," Obito commanded instantly. But instead of following, Zetsu glanced at Madara first. Madara nodded lightly. "Show the way."

At that, White Zetsu moved out immediately, guiding them to a collection of caravans. In short order, they singled out and stopped the Iwagakure caravan. Furious, the caravan leader demanded, "Who are you people? Why do you hold such a grudge against Iwagakure? And why single out our caravan? There are loads here!"

The other caravan leaders: (O_O)???

He's complaining about getting robbed alone? So we all ought to get robbed, too?

Madara refused to answer. Obito, on the other hand, jeered, "Because the rest of these caravans belong to Senshi's village, or his village's allies, or are from nations that are Senshi's friends. You in Iwagakure have nothing to do with him, so if we don't rob you, who else?"

Hearing that, the Iwa caravan boss was livid. This is plain bullying! He retorted coldly, "I heard things near the village weren't peaceful, so I paid through the nose for a Special Jōnin escort. Are you certain you want to make trouble for us?"

Madara merely said, "So where's your Special Jōnin? Let's see him."

A so-called "Special Jōnin" was typically stronger than a Chūnin but still hadn't reached the level of a standard Jōnin. Madara and Obito, treating it like cat-and-mouse, were amused—who would be the poor soul forced to confront them?

But under their watchful gaze, once that supposed Special Jōnin emerged from the wagon—revealing an older man in Kumo attire—he promptly turned tail and dashed away at top speed.

He was no fool. There was no chance he'd actually fight such a terrifying ninja. In truth he wasn't a Special Jōnin at all, just a Chūnin-level rogue. Because his rank was too low, Kumogakure never bothered pursuing him, letting him swindle clients at large.

With him fleeing, the caravan's fate was sealed. Before long, news of this raid also reached the Tsuchikage's office. Summoned once again, Iwagakure's higher-ups returned in a group. They were on the verge of cracking—everything they'd tried so far against those two bandits had been fruitless.

Ōnoki scanned the room, then said, "This can't continue! Now every aspect of Iwagakure is suffering. These problems have to be fixed at once. But before that, I have a question."

He paused, looking sternly at Rōshi. "We told you to hunt them, so why such a halfhearted effort?"

Rōshi already had his excuse ready. Calmly, he answered, "You don't understand—my strategy for pursuing them is well thought out. With the way they come and go leaving no trace, going to the spots they've been won't help. Going to places they haven't been might. Notice how each time they show up, it's a place they have never visited before?"

Ōnoki: (O_O)???

Kitsuchi: (O_O)???

Everyone else: (O_O)???

Rōshi's explanation left the entire office stunned, though in a certain sense it contained a sliver of logic. Kitsuchi tried to smooth it over: "Let's not get stuck on that. Our top priority is to finalize cooperation with Lord Senshi. We have to solve the mission-center crisis and the bandits, then move on to the rest."

"Agreed," Han said with a nod.

"I agree," Rōshi quickly added.

After a bit of thought, Ōnoki made the call: "Invite Senshi for a final negotiation."

While Iwagakure's top brass reached that decision, Senshi had already learned about Iwagakure's woes. He found it hilarious that Madara and Obito were looting near the Land of Earth— previously he was worried that Ōnoki would stall to extract every possible gain from Iwa's talks.

But now, Madara and Obito had given him a huge assist, intensifying the pressure so that Ōnoki & Co. could no longer hold out.

Indeed, they couldn't endure. They invited Senshi again for negotiations. Once the message reached him, he came to the Tsuchikage's meeting room.

Unlike before, this time Ōnoki didn't beat around the bush: "Senshi, our Iwagakure wants to be your most loyal friend, too! After serious discussion, we believe the plan you offered before is perfectly reasonable—we accept!"

Senshi: (O_O)???

Karin: (O_O)???

They were both surprised at how abruptly Ōnoki had done a 180. Senshi knew they'd caved, but he hadn't expected them to give in this drastically. Still, it was a good thing. He said, "Then let's conclude our cooperation happily."

Ōnoki nodded. "Right. But if Iwagakure becomes your friend, we'd like it on the same level as Konoha, Kumo, and Kiri, yes?"

In other words, after paying, could they also get help resolving the bandit crisis? Those two bandits apparently had space-time ninjutsu, so even if Iwa-nin cornered them, it might be pointless. Senshi grasped Ōnoki's meaning perfectly. He patted his chest and said, "Tsuchikage-bro, leave it to me! Once we sign this deal, Iwagakure and I are friends."

Ōnoki and the other high-level officials breathed a collective sigh of relief. Perfect. They'd pay some money, sure, but it would fix both the mission-center fiasco and the caravan raids. Doing nothing would cost them even more in the long run.

Not wasting any time, Ōnoki declared, "Senshi, for four hundred million ryō, I hire you to be a solid partner for Iwagakure—mutual benefit, shared success, paving the way for further cooperation."

[New Mission Accepted!]

[Client: Ōnoki]

[Goal: Per the agreement, become Iwagakure's firm partner!]

[Reward: 400 million ryō]

[Mission Rank: S-Rank]

[Bonus: 400,000 Employment Points!]

After Ōnoki issued the mission, Senshi grinned broadly. Four hundred million ryō had come quite easily. Acting as a high-level advisor just meant leaving some Wood Clones behind. As for training Iwa shinobi— if they built enough bonds to join his mercenary corps, why would he refuse? The only question was which ninja would get the first 100 million training slot.

Even as he wondered, Ōnoki handed over four checks (each for 100 million) and said, "Lord Senshi, the first ninja from Iwagakure to receive training is Kurotsuchi. If she fails to reach your corps' standards, we'll consider sending a second. Also, about the matter of Iwagakure becoming your friend, we'd like you to make a public statement and help us, your new ally, overcome these hardships."

Beaming, Senshi took the checks. "Kurotsuchi is a very promising ninja. I expect she'll finish training successfully and join my corps. And of course, I'll publicly declare my friendship with Iwagakure, and your current troubles will soon be solved."

So cooperation between Senshi and Iwagakure went smoothly, while Madara and Obito's "business" in the Land of Earth proceeded just as well.

Other businessmen talk about returns on investment, overhead, and risk— none of that concerned Madara and Obito.

The "industry" they were in was zero cost and all profit. Usually, the main pitfall of that line of work is danger. Many "bandits" unknowingly end up like Louis XVI—losing their heads before they know it.

But for Madara and Obito, that wasn't really a problem. They could come and go freely even against a Kage, let alone typical caravan guards. The only precondition is that the Kage in question actually be strong enough; otherwise, they might not come back.

As their operation prospered and grew, Obito had another idea. "You know, in all these caravans we're robbing, we don't actually have to let everyone go. We can kidnap the caravan bosses for a huge ransom. That'd bring even more revenue."

Madara: (O_O)???

Hearing that, Madara stroked his chin in thought. This kid Obito really is a money-making genius, he mused. Seeing the plan was feasible, Madara said, "Great idea. Let's do it."

With that upgrade in their methods, the merchants around the Land of Earth were in even deeper trouble. Before, these two prowling bandits only took cargo.

Now they were capturing caravan owners, too. In fact, many merchant-lords had tried to fight back in various ways, but none of it worked. Some even hired Jōnin-level mercenaries to stop Madara and Obito—only for those mercenaries to disappear without a trace.

In the end, many merchant bosses were at wit's end. If this continued, they'd have no choice but to abandon their trade in the Land of Earth altogether.

~~~

Patreon(.)com/Bleam

— This Fanfic is Completed in Patreon!