Freelancer in the Ninja World

Kisame could feel that the chakra fluctuations radiating from Uzumaki Senshi hadn't diminished in the slightest.

Not daring to let his guard down, he immediately tried to use the giant blade Samehada to absorb the lingering energy of Senshi's jutsu. Samehada could devour other ninjas' chakra without ever being sated, but if it tried to take in the Ten-Tails' chakra, there was a possibility it would be like a snake trying to swallow an elephant—bursting from overconsumption.

However, at that moment, Samehada was only absorbing a minuscule portion of Senshi's chakra. It wasn't anything close to all of it.

"Lightning Release: Hell Stab—Four-Finger Thrust!"

Samehada was still struggling to ingest the huge volume of energy contained in Senshi's "60-Million-Volt Thunder Dragon" when Senshi's figure appeared right in front of Kisame.

Boom!

Kisame couldn't make any move whatsoever before Senshi struck him directly, sending him flying!

If Senshi hadn't purposely avoided Kisame's vitals, if he hadn't held back the brunt of his power—and if he had used the even stronger One-Finger Thrust—Kisame at this very moment wouldn't be just gravely wounded; he'd have been torn to pieces.

Thud—

Kisame went soaring high and came crashing down hard, left completely subdued. If Senshi hadn't pulled back at the last moment, Kisame would have been cleaved in half by now.

"Samehada! Transfer chakra!"

Kisame gripped Samehada, his voice weak. His gaze, fixed on Senshi descending slowly in midair, couldn't conceal the lingering dread in his heart.

"Too strong… This guy…he's way too strong! It's just ridiculously overpowered!"

"He only used the Four-Finger Thrust, not even the One-Finger Thrust!"

"At the last second, he even avoided my vitals and intentionally drew back."

"Otherwise, I'd already be dead!"

At this point, Kisame truly had been scarred by the overwhelming might of Uzumaki Senshi. Meanwhile, floating gently down from midair, Senshi showed no signs of having spent any energy at all in the earlier skirmish—he was perfectly composed.

It was obvious that Kisame had fought with his full strength, whereas Senshi had used just a fraction of his power and handled him with ease.

By now, Terumi Mei had helped Chōjūrō break free of the Water Prison. She, along with Chōjūrō, Ao, and Gonbee, stood in stunned silence, watching Senshi land lightly on the water's surface.

Kisame, who had practically overpowered those four by himself, had now been beaten down by Senshi's unstoppable, crushing strength!

Terumi Mei stared at Senshi intently for a long while, her eyes eventually sharpening—

Uzumaki Senshi's appearance matched up perfectly with data on a certain high-profile individual:

"The so-called 'Task Butcher' in the Ame's black market… The unstoppable 'Mission Machine'…

The 'Mission Slaughterer!'"

Because Master Genji was advanced in years, Terumi Mei was essentially handling most of the village matters, so she was familiar with the intel on Senshi—though the rest of the Kiri might not know much.

"Uzumaki Senshi, the rising star in the Ame's black market. Possesses an unbelievable affinity for Lightning Release, supposedly having mastered nearly every lightning-style ninjutsu in the ninja world."

"His mission efficiency is extremely high, with a 100% completion rate. During those missions, he's defeated quite a few powerful opponents.

Kakuzu, Orochimaru…even Kisame, these S-rank rogues, have all fought him and lost!"

As she recalled that intel, the future Fifth Mizukage was forced to acknowledge how frightening Senshi's strength was. Throughout ninja history, from ancient times to now, the number of ninja who'd never once lost in battle could be counted on one hand. And here stood a seemingly very young Senshi who was one of those few.

"What terrifying power… And what terrifying talent…"

Wasting no time, Terumi Mei guided Chōjūrō, Ao, and Gonbee in offering sincere thanks to Senshi. They didn't really know why he had intervened to save them, but it was beyond doubt that without him stepping in, they likely would have suffered serious casualties.

As an S-rank rogue from the Kiri, Kisame's prowess was anything but ordinary. Besides monstrous strength by nature, his chakra reserve was unimaginably large; his Water Release was advanced to a near-perfect level, and wielding the giant sword Samehada made him even more dangerous. Even so, the four of them combined were no match.

Especially near the end, Kisame's Great Exploding Water Shock Wave had been about to crash down on them, and Terumi Mei wouldn't even have been able to break out of the lake. Chōjūrō, trapped by Water Prison, plus an already-wounded Gonbee and Ao, would have been promptly overrun. Deprived of their help, Terumi Mei wouldn't have stood a chance at beating or escaping Kisame.

Hence, her gratitude toward Senshi only grew. Thanks to his abrupt intervention—swift, crushing, unstoppable—he'd defeated Kisame and prevented all the dreadful outcomes that were about to happen.

"Sir, thank you for saving us just now. I am—"

But Terumi Mei abruptly broke off, realizing something so bizarre that words failed her. Sure, Senshi's sudden arrival was already astonishing, but what happened next was even more surreal.

Right after rescuing them, Uzumaki Senshi casually pulled out a stack of commission forms, checking them carefully one by one, as though it were the most normal thing in the world. First, he drew out one particular mission slip, studying the photo closely, then comparing it to Terumi Mei in detail. The deep-blue robe, the brown hair, the bangs covering one eye, that tall figure—it was a perfect match.

So this kunoichi in front of him was indeed the one pictured—Terumi Mei!

Having confirmed there was no mistake, Senshi nodded seriously:

"Terumi Mei—bounty is 20 million ryō!"

After confirming her identity, Senshi produced the second mission slip for a cross-check. This one showed a stern-faced middle-aged man, indeed matching the photo and description. He was none other than Gonbee, one of Genji's personal guards.

Glancing briefly at Gonbee, Senshi then looked back down at the slip:

"Gonbee—8 million ryō! Tsk, not a bad price."

He didn't have much impression of Gonbee, who remained in the Kiri most of the time, but the slip's detailed photo and write-up left no doubt. Next, Senshi turned his gaze on a third person whose features were quite distinct: typically sporting an eyepatch and possessing a Byakugan underneath. He'd already used that Byakugan during the fight with Kisame. This was none other than Ao, a Kiri jōnin.

Holding that slip, Senshi commented offhandedly:

"Ao—15 million ryō!"

After turning over Ao's assassination slip, he rifled through the stack for another. At last, he grabbed one that matched the bespectacled youth holding Hiramekarei a short distance away—Chōjūrō. Comparing him carefully to the photo and the descriptions, Senshi confirmed his identity:

"Chōjūrō—10 million ryō! Tsk, tsk, tsk. Chōjūrō, you need to work harder. Seems they only value you at 10 million!"

With Terumi Mei and her three companions all identified, Senshi's face lit with delight. He gave them a look like they were pieces of cargo, saying:

"Alright, if I snatch the four of you all at once, that's a combined bounty of 53 million ryō!

Even though your group's not too impressive, your total price is quite acceptable."

The excitement on Senshi's face was obvious as he slapped the stack of forms with satisfaction.

These four people were worth a great deal. If he took them down, who knew how many routine commissions it would equal? Many of the minor missions his Wood Clones finished paid only 10,000 or even less. Excluding the system's own compensation, normal fees alone would require thousands of small commissions to make as much. He was fortunate his chakra was unlimited—he could send Wood Clones on all sorts of menial tasks without personally leaving. That was how he'd managed to clear out so many black market missions singlehandedly.

While Senshi's thoughts raced in that direction, Terumi Mei, Ao, Gonbee, and Chōjūrō had no idea. But his last remarks instantly raised their alarm to maximum.

"We're in trouble. His target is us!"

"He's unbelievably strong—everyone watch out!"

Ao spoke with a mix of wariness, anger, and helplessness. Even the four of them together had struggled with Kisame, only to be thoroughly outclassed. Had Senshi not intervened at the last second, Kisame might have killed some of them. Now, here was someone far more terrifying than Kisame—someone who had downed Kisame in one blow, leaving him no chance to fight back. Knowing Senshi might intend to capture them, Ao couldn't think what they could do.

Beside Ao, Gonbee said nothing, but readied himself fully—resolved to die if need be.

Inwardly, Gonbee was puzzled: "Where on earth did such a formidable ninja come from? Even among the five great villages, there aren't many young geniuses this strong!"

~~~

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