Freelancer in the Ninja World

A temporary lull fell over the rippling surface of the lake.

Terumi Mei, Gonbee, Ao, and Chōjūrō all simultaneously swallowed hard, sweat beading on their foreheads.

If Uzumaki Senshi accepted Terumi Mei's proposal, then everything would be fine.

But if he rejected this long-term employment plan, the four of them would be done for today.

Senshi's power went far beyond the Kage level—one could say he had reached that realm but then surpassed it by a wide margin. Among the historic Kage-level ninja of the Five Great Nations, there likely weren't many who could defeat him.

At this point, Senshi wasn't really hesitating—he was just double-checking his "mission panel." The previous long-term assignment he'd worked so hard to acquire. Yet this time, a new one had come along quite easily.

Recalling that, his face broke into a professional smile.

Not only did he possess unquestionable combat power, but his ability to handle tasks was just as solid.

"I accept your village's hiring proposal!"

"Once your village pays the first part of the commission, we can talk mission details."

Hearing that, Terumi Mei's heart finally settled. Gonbee, Ao, and Chōjūrō all breathed a deep sigh of relief as well.

In the past few minutes, they had managed to avert a massive crisis for the village! All thanks to Terumi Mei—if not for this beautiful, brilliant, and (in truth) still-unmarried lady's quick thinking, the four of them would already have been "packed up" by Senshi and handed over to the Blood Mist faction.

After calming herself, Terumi Mei retrieved a check from her wallet—one that could be cashed for 10 million ryō—and gave it to Senshi.

[You have successfully accepted a new long-term commission!]

[Client: The Kirigakure]

[Objective: Assist Terumi Mei in suppressing the village's internal instability]

The moment he took the check for 10 million from Terumi Mei, Senshi heard the system's prompt in his mind. Just like with the previous mission, this one also only awards the Super Draw after completion, which was quite vexing.

Still smiling, Senshi looked at Terumi Mei and her group.

"We can discuss the mission details now."

Those words sparked excitement in Terumi Mei, Gonbee, Ao, and Chōjūrō. For now, they had only paid 10 million and already hired a ninja whose strength rivaled that of an entire village's Kage to help them solve a problem—quite a bargain for them. One side was happy to hire, the other side happy to be hired.

And it certainly helped that Uzumaki Senshi took on missions with total commitment. If he did accept a job, he never failed.

Terumi Mei inhaled deeply, steadying her excitement. She gazed at Senshi earnestly:

"Lord Senshi, my idea is for us to locate the Blood Mist upper echelon. If you could show your strength in front of them... if you can personally take down a major ninja on the Blood Mist side, that'd be perfect."

After Terumi Mei's suggestion, Ao stepped in to add:

"Yes—if you can strike a blow against the Blood Mist followers, they'll have to think twice about making any move later. They might be so intimidated by your power that they'll just stay in line."

As soon as they finished, they looked at Senshi with anticipation. If Senshi agreed, it really would be money well spent for them. But Senshi just shook his head:

"That plan's no good. Do you even know where these people are hiding?"

Sure enough, none of them—Terumi Mei included—could answer. If they'd had clear intel, they would have already targeted the key figures. Unfortunately, such information was far too scarce.

Terumi Mei sighed, regret etched on her lovely face:

"I'm sorry… The Kiri currently doesn't have enough intel."

Gonbee, Ao, and Chōjūrō shared in that disappointment. Now that they'd hired an ultra-powerful ninja like Senshi, it was a shame not to capitalize on it fully.

But as they were feeling down, Senshi gave a little chuckle and rubbed his hands as though he had an idea:

"I actually have a way to track them down."

Terumi Mei blurted out almost reflexively:

"What is it?"

Right after speaking, she realized it might be dangerous—she knew Senshi well enough now to suspect he had his own motives. Gonbee, Ao, and Chōjūrō could not guess what hidden trouble might lie here, so they simply waited.

Senshi didn't keep them guessing: he took out the same stack of commission slips from before. The very first one was the "Wanted: Terumi Mei" slip.

Terumi Mei: "???"

Gonbee: "???"

Ao: "???"

Chōjūrō: "???"

All four were stunned—did he think their money wasn't enough? Had he taken the payment and refused to do the job? Seeing their looks of shock, Senshi quickly realized they'd misunderstood. Sure, his moral lines in mission-taking were quite "flexible," but he wouldn't just pocket their money, skip the job, and kill them.

Clearing up the confusion, Senshi spoke:

"My method is very simple: I'll capture all four of you alive and hand you over to the Blood Mist. Then I'll follow in secret to see where they take you. With your status, if they manage to seize you, they definitely won't handle you at some low level. They'll bring you to their top brass. At that point I show up and take them down in one blow. How's that sound?"

Hearing this, Chōjūrō instantly jumped:

"No way, no way! If they kill us immediately instead of taking us to their leader, we'd never see them. Not to mention they'd seal our chakra, and we'd have no chance to fight back."

Chōjūrō finished, and Senshi patted him firmly on the shoulder:

"Kid, you don't trust my strength, huh? If I'm in the shadows, what could possibly go wrong? Besides…"

Just as he trailed off, he showed them a type of Lightning Release the four had never seen.

Zzzt-zzzt-zzzt!

Suddenly, his body crackled with pure lightning chakra. In a blink, he transformed into electricity and seeped into a ring on Terumi Mei's hand.

"Th-this…?!"

Terumi Mei stared at the ring on her hand, eyes wide, cheeks flushed with disbelief. Gonbee, Ao, and Chōjūrō were likewise utterly slack-jawed. Senshi had converted his entire body into lightning—something typical only of living chakra forms like Tailed Beasts. Or was his lightning affinity on the same level as a Tailed Beast's? Moreover, to hide inside the ring without any visible chakra flow… If she hadn't seen it herself, she would never believe it.

With that little demonstration, Senshi used the ability from his "Rumble-Rumble Fruit": fully turning his body into lightning-chakra and moving/hiding in a conductor. Having fully mastered his own powers, he could do so without harming Terumi Mei in the slightest.

Seconds later, that bolt of lightning emerged again and reformed into Senshi in front of them. Even with his chakra subdued as much as possible, its immensity still shocked the four from the Kiri. In their eyes, Senshi's chakra reserves must be close to that of a Tailed Beast. Unbeknownst to them, Senshi had already stepped into the Ten-Tails range, doubling the usual Tailed Beast capacity or more.

Witnessing this, Terumi Mei's team finally somewhat agreed to Senshi's plan. Then again, in Terumi Mei's mind: even if they refused, he'd force them to comply anyway. She could see how he was constantly glancing from them to the bounty slips.

Terumi Mei pursed her lips in resignation:

"Fine, Lord Senshi, we accept your plan."

Right after—

Crack, crack, crack!

Tree branches sprouted, and several Wood Clones familiar from the Konoha style emerged. With Senshi's near-infinite chakra, each clone still carried high-level power. Many jōnin from smaller villages wouldn't even beat one of his clones.

Splitting off a few Wood Clones, Senshi said breezily:

"Stay here for now—don't wander off. I'll go grab my companion, then we'll head to the black market and 'deliver the mission.'"

Though unsettled, Terumi Mei's group nodded after some thought. Their hearts still pounded with anxiety. Meanwhile, Senshi left the lakeside to rejoin Kisame, who looked dazed. Senshi patted him on the shoulder:

"C'mon—got another job to do."