NOVEL WEB Chapter 26 – Rescuing the Children
"Everyone, grab that Konoha ninja and take him to Lord Gato for a reward!"
Having been exposed, the thugs no longer bothered pretending. After all, most of the village was made up of the old, the weak, and the sick. If they just worked together to take out the interfering ninja, who would be able to stop them afterward?
"You're courting death."
Nagi glanced at these nobodies—none of whom were even proper ninja—and casually slapped the lead thug flying. The man tumbled over ten meters before skidding to a stop.
"Wh-Wh-What!?"
The remaining thugs froze, terrified, staring at Nagi like they'd seen a ghost.
"Anyone else want to step up?"
Nagi's cold voice sliced through their pitiful nerves. Honestly, if he hadn't wanted to leave a few alive for questioning, he would've wiped them out with Wood Style already. There was no reason to show mercy to traitors like these.
"Spare us, sir! Please, have mercy!"
The thugs dropped to their knees faster than a collapsing shack, all of them begging with trembling voices. The arrogance they'd shown moments ago was completely gone.
"I'm going to ask questions, and you're going to answer. If I hear even one lie..."
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions echoed over the ocean, and the resulting spray soared dozens of meters high. Nagi hadn't even used jutsu on them yet—he just didn't feel like wasting the effort.
"Understood! Sir—no, grandpa! Ask whatever you want!"
Nobody dared argue after seeing what he'd done.
"Who's behind the kidnappings? And where are the children now?"
"It was us! I mean—it was the mafia working under that bastard Gato! We gave them the intel!"
"But we don't know where the kids are exactly! Just one of their hideouts!"
The thugs kowtowed so hard their foreheads started bleeding, but Nagi remained indifferent. They weren't repenting—they were just terrified of dying.
"Ninja-sama!!"
Shff! With the village chief in the lead, the entire village dropped to their knees in front of Nagi.
"Please, we beg you to save our children!"
Before Nagi could even respond, the village chief added urgently, "We won't let you go unrewarded. We're willing to offer you our village's treasure!"
He knew full well that what he was asking far exceeded a simple C-rank mission. After all, a C-rank mission would never justify taking on Gato directly. So he gritted his teeth and offered up the only thing of value the village had.
"No matter the outcome, we're prepared to give you our treasure."
"A village treasure?"
Nagi was a little surprised. He hadn't expected the Land of Waves to even have something like that. But then again, even the Hokage couldn't possibly be aware of every hidden corner of the ninja world. The Land of Waves had existed for generations—it was only natural that it had its own legacy. After all, even obscure shinobi villages like Hoshigakure, Lock Village, or the Yuki-nin had their own heritage.
"I accepted the mission, so I'll see it through."
Nagi replied coolly.
His goal from the start had been Gato—he had no intention of letting the man off the hook. As for the so-called village treasure, he wasn't all that interested. With the system on his side, it was only a matter of time before he stood at the top of the world. The only question was when.
More importantly, Gato and his shady shipping company had been pissing him off for a while.
Nagi's words gave the village chief a huge sense of relief.
After getting the black market hideout's location from the thugs, Nagi planned to go deal with it alone.
"Ninja-sama, should I call a few of the younger men in the village to go with you?"
The chief offered hesitantly, but Nagi simply shook his head.
A small-fry zone like the Land of Waves? He could clear it with his eyes closed.
Activating his full sensory range, Nagi quickly pinpointed the location the thugs had described. Inside were about a dozen mafioso keeping watch.
"Who's there?!"
They quickly noticed Nagi's approach, but he didn't bother hiding. Why should he? He was just going to bulldoze straight through.
"Boss, this guy's a ninja!"
The men started to panic as Nagi closed in step by step. His aura was too overwhelming. Even knowing he looked like a kid, none of them dared to strike first.
"D-Don't come any closer! If you do, I'll hurt these kids!"
Desperate, the mafia boss grabbed the children and used them as hostages.
"Hmph. You're dead."
"Forbidden Secret Technique: Shun Goku Satsu Formation."
Nagi's form flickered and vanished. In the next second, he appeared behind them.
Before the mafioso even realized what had happened, they were already unconscious.
"So cool!!"
The children's eyes sparkled in awe at Nagi's flashy entrance, momentarily forgetting their fear.
"I was sent by your village chief to rescue you."
Nagi smiled warmly as he explained, and then—another flash. He used Shun Goku Satsu Formation again to bring all the children back to the village in an instant.
The more he used it, the more he appreciated just how useful it was. It could teleport like the Flying Thunder God, kill without being seen, and vanish without a trace.
Meanwhile, back at the shipping company…
Gato had just received word that the children had been taken back.
[End of Chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]