Chapter 28: How is this any different from selling me out!
Shizuka shook his head and sighed deeply; it seemed the plan to sell Kisame had fallen through. He glanced regretfully at Mei Terumi.
“What a pity! I can’t sell Kisame to you. Are there any other missions?”
Terumi had already recovered from her initial shock. Shizuka Uzumaki’s strength was terrifying. She had feared he might attack without warning, but after verifying information about him, she realized he was open to communication. Whether or not they captured Kisame wasn’t crucial; retrieving the Samehada sword was also acceptable.
She spoke again, “Lord Shizuka, the Hidden Mist Village wishes to hire you for a reward of five million ryō to help recover Samehada.”
[New Contract Available!]
[Client: Mei Terumi]
[Objective: Recover Samehada for Hidden Mist Village!]
[Reward: 5,000,000 ryō]
[Rank: S]
[Bonus: 5,000 Contract Points]
Only 5,000 points? Still, that was equivalent to five ten-rolls—practically free.
Shizuka smiled broadly. “This is easy.”
He strode directly toward Kisame, seriously extending his hand.
“Hand it over!”
“You heard the mission: Hidden Mist Village wants Samehada back.”
“And it belongs to the village originally, so you’d better return it.”
Kisame blinked in confusion.
Without Samehada, wouldn’t he just be a dried persimmon demon?
Many of his powerful ninja arts required Samehada to execute.
Kisame quickly spoke up. “Samehada is part of my strength. Taking it like this is no different from selling me!”
Shizuka frowned. “Your standards for selling yourself are pretty low! Is this really selling you?”
Seeing Kisame clutch Samehada desperately, as if their lives were intertwined, Shizuka was at a loss.
This complicated matters.
Yet, despite the difficulty, he couldn’t just throw in the towel. He was always professional when it came to missions.
Pondering, he realized the problem seemed to lie with Terumi and the Hidden Mist Village.
He asked, “Why does the Hidden Mist Village want to recover Samehada?”
Mei Terumi answered honestly, “The current situation in Hidden Mist Village is unstable.”
“Some clans that advocate the Blood Mist policy are still stirring in secret.”
“On the surface, the village appears calm, but it’s like a bomb waiting to explode.”
“The village plans to retrieve lost ninja swords to form a new Seven Ninja Swordsmen, strengthening the clan and suppressing instability.”
“I see! You should have said so earlier!” Shizuka’s face lit up with enthusiasm.
“Forming a Seven Swordsmen unit is a waste of effort.”
“Even the old Seven Swordsmen weren’t strong enough.”
“However, you can hire me to suppress these unstable elements.”
“Guaranteed 100% success. Everyone praises my work!”
Terumi, Kankurō, Ao, and Chōjūrō looked at each other, bewildered.
Introducing such a powerful external force to resolve the village’s crisis—was that truly feasible?
But if Shizuka Uzumaki could quell the rebellion, peace would return instantly.
Still, would Shizuka accept the contract and help the Hidden Mist Village?
All of them harbored doubts.
Yet, it was worth a try.
After speaking, Shizuka awaited their reply.
With his lightning-style ninjutsu and Raimei Fruit power, handling rogue Hidden Mist ninjas would be child's play.
Even if the First Mizukage rose from the grave, Shizuka could subdue him.
After brief thought, Mei Terumi decided to give it a shot.
They had no better option.
If successful, the benefits to the village would be immense.
She and the Mizukage had long struggled with these hidden threats.
Mei Terumi looked seriously at Shizuka. “Lord Shizuka, we accept your proposal to hire you to solve our current troubles.”
“But what are your demands regarding payment?”
Without hesitation, Shizuka replied, “One hundred million ryō.”
Chōjūrō jumped in shock.
“What? One hundred million ryō? That’s exorbitant!”
Terumi, Kankurō, and Ao’s expressions shifted repeatedly.
Such a price was unbelievable.
The Hidden Mist Village’s funds were tight, stretched in every direction.
Where could they find that amount?
Terumi sighed. “The village is just emerging from the shadow of the Blood Mist. Expenditures are enormous.”
“We don’t have that kind of money right now.”
Shizuka’s smile vanished instantly.
“No money? That complicates things.”
“You may lack funds, but the forces you want to fight are well financed.”
He pulled out the contract papers.
“The Blood Mist faction has placed bounties on most of Hidden Mist’s high-ranking members.”
“Mizukage-sama: 30 million ryō.”
“Mei Terumi: 20 million ryō.”
“Ao: 15 million ryō.”
“Chōjūrō: 10 million ryō.”
“Kankurō: 8 million ryō.”
Already shy and insecure, Chōjūrō felt even more inferior upon hearing his bounty.
Only ten million ryō. Although not the main point, it wounded the pride of the future Sixth Mizukage.
Shizuka ignored this and began tallying with Terumi’s group.
“Charging you one hundred million ryō is already a friendly price.”
“Let’s be reasonable; I can’t go any lower!”
Shizuka felt his quote was generous.
But Terumi’s words were true.
After the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, fell, the village was engulfed in the terrifying Blood Mist, halting progress.
Only after Yagura’s death did the village improve under Mizukage-sama.
Yet remnants of the Blood Mist faction occasionally stirred trouble.
The village had to spend money both suppressing them and repairing damage.
Hidden Mist simply couldn’t produce one hundred million ryō to hire Shizuka now.
From Terumi’s perspective, she genuinely wanted to pay handsomely to have him resolve the issues once and for all.
From what she knew, Shizuka had taken countless missions on the Hidden Rain Village’s black market and completed them all efficiently.
To this day, his success rate remained perfect.
The biggest problem was that Hidden Mist had no funds to freely pay one hundred million ryō.
Of course, there was risk.
If hired, Shizuka might solve the problems, no question.
But what if he took the money and ran?
Or worse, played both sides—accepting payments from both Hidden Mist and Blood Mist factions, striking them both?
Though unlikely, it was possible.
Seeing Terumi and the others silent, Shizuka sighed.
He was very interested in the Hidden Mist contract.
But if they couldn’t or wouldn’t pay, interest was pointless.
With a sigh, he said, “If your New Mist faction can’t come up with that much, I’ll have to take missions elsewhere.”
His words made Terumi, Kankurō, Ao, and Chōjūrō’s hearts skip a beat.
Hiring Shizuka wouldn’t be cheap.
But losing him to the enemy would cost far more.
Terumi quickly responded, “Can we pay your fee in installments? Ten million ryō per month for one year?”
“Besides payment, we’ll lift restrictions on the missions you can accept within Hidden Mist.”
“You can take black market jobs and official Hidden Mist contracts. After all, Hidden Mist is one of the Five Great Ninja Villages with plenty of missions.”
[New Long-Term Contract Discovered!]
[Congratulations! You have earned the recognition of Hidden Mist Village! Mei Terumi, on behalf of Hidden Mist, issues you a long-term contract!]
[Client: Hidden Mist Village]
[Objective: Assist Mei Terumi in suppressing internal instability]
[Payment: Ten million ryō per month for one year]
[Bonus: Upon completion, one super draw from the lottery!]
[Long-term contract payments double contract points earned!]
Shizuka blinked in surprise.
“Hmm? Such a good deal?”
He laughed. It had turned into a long-term contract?
Could he start requesting installment payments more often?
Most importantly, Terumi was granting him permission to accept missions within Hidden Mist?
That was a perfect catch.
Fearless in every way, Shizuka only dreaded a lack of missions.
And in Hidden Mist, there was no shortage.
He swiftly made up his mind.
Terumi’s generous offer sealed the deal; he would work with her.
Working with Blood Mist was a one-time deal—once the payment was taken, that was it.
Besides, they lacked foresight; otherwise, Terumi wouldn’t have cleared them out in the original timeline.
Cooperating with Terumi and her group promised steady income.
Once agreed, he would receive ten million ryō monthly.
Moreover, connecting with Hidden Mist opened access to other long-term contracts.
In short, collaboration with Terumi and company was the wisest choice.