Chapter 30: Star! There's a New Mission!

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The injuries on Kisame’s body had completely healed.

Even so, he still felt rather speechless whenever he thought of Sika.

That fellow had attacked him far too brutally. If Samehada had not been able to transfer chakra and help heal his wounds, he might well have died in the Hidden Mist Village after suffering injuries that severe.

And yet Sika now acted as though nothing had happened, treating him once again as a partner on a mission.

It was almost as if the person who had struck without hesitation not long ago and nearly beaten him to death on the spot had not been Uzumaki Sika at all.

Afterward, Sika took Karin by the hand and led her to the hot-spring inn where they were staying.

At the inn, Kakuzu enjoyed a relaxing soak in the hot springs before preparing to go to sleep.

“Ah! It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to fall asleep comfortably after soaking in a hot spring.”

Kakuzu lay on the bed with a look of utter satisfaction.

He felt both grateful and sympathetic toward Kisame.

Since Uzumaki Sika was not tormenting him at the moment, he had clearly gone off to torment Kisame instead.

At the thought, a trace of amusement appeared in Kakuzu’s gray-green eyes.

Once he had settled himself comfortably, Kakuzu slowly closed his eyes.

For some reason, however, the moment he did so, he could not help opening them again and glancing toward the door.

He had discovered a pattern: every time he finally lay down comfortably and prepared to get some proper rest, that mission-obsessed madman, Uzumaki Sika, would burst through the door.

Fortunately, this time Sika really had gone to torment Kisame.

He had not appeared in Kakuzu’s room at the precise moment when he was least welcome.

Kakuzu immediately relaxed completely, closed his eyes, and prepared to drift into dreamland.

Bang!

The blissful satisfaction on Kakuzu’s face had not yet faded when Sika expertly kicked the door open and vanished in a flash, appearing beside Kakuzu’s bed.

With practiced ease, he reached out and grabbed Kakuzu.

Kakuzu’s gray-green eyes flew wide open!

He could even imagine what Uzumaki Sika was about to say.

It would be nothing more than:

“Little Kakuzu, Kakuzu, there’s a new mission. Why are you still sleeping?”

“Get up and come carry out the mission with me!”

“How can you waste your limited life on something as meaningless as sleep?”

“Kaku! There’s a new mission!”

“Why are you still sleeping?”

“…”

As Sika grabbed Kakuzu and shook him, he repeated the very lines Kakuzu had already memorized.

Kakuzu even knew that if he refused to get up, Sika would simply carry him off to the mission.

“Phew…”

Kakuzu let out a long sigh before asking, “Where’s Kisame?”

“Can’t you go on the mission with him as your partner?”

Sika replied with a cheerful grin, “Of course he’s coming with us.”

“Hm?”

Upon hearing that, Kakuzu immediately felt considerably more balanced.

At least he would not be the only one being tormented by Uzumaki Sika.

Though deeply unwilling, Kakuzu still left his comfortable bed.

Ever since he had embarked upon the path of a ninja, he had said farewell to comfortable beds. Could this be his ninja way?

Kakuzu sighed inwardly.

Under Sika’s leadership, the four of them soon made their way to the black market in the Hidden Mist Village.

It was already nighttime. They traveled beneath the stars, and Karin had grown rather sleepy.

That was not a problem, however. Sika soon carried her on his back, where she began to drool and dream sweetly.

When Sika and the others passed a fork in the road—

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A wood clone arrived as well, bringing Mei Terumi and the others whose chakra had been sealed, and joined them.

In the hall of the Hidden Mist Village black market, the market administrator confirmed that Mei Terumi and the others were indeed the correct individuals and that their chakra had been sealed. He then pulled a card from his coat pocket and handed it to Sika.

“Take them to the address marked on the card. Wait there for the employer to come and collect them, and you’ll receive your payment.”

Sika picked up the card and examined it carefully before nodding slightly.

The location indicated on the card was in a valley outside the Hidden Mist Village, quite close to it.

After carefully determining the direction, he led everyone toward the valley.

“Wait. We’re just going to walk in there openly?”

“What if it’s a trap?”

Ao spoke up at that moment. With his chakra sealed, he felt extremely insecure.

Sika replied indifferently, “If it’s a trap, you can simply issue me a rescue mission and have me help you escape the danger.”

Ao immediately fell silent.

If he said much more, he was afraid he would lose even his underwear.

Following the route indicated on the map, Sika approached the valley.

There were many valleys like this one surrounding the Hidden Mist Village.

The Blood Mist’s people in the valley had already received word and were preparing to take possession of their targets and complete the transaction.

The Blood Mist’s representative in charge was Kondo Ryu, a jonin of the Hidden Mist Village.

Two ninja swords were strapped to his back, and his gaze remained fixed on the entrance to the valley.

Whoosh!

A Blood Mist ninja flashed into existence behind Kondo Ryu with the Body Flicker Technique and knelt on one knee as he reported, “Lord Kondo, the targets are almost here!”

Kondo Ryu nodded slightly and asked, “How many people are with them? Were the four of them—Mei Terumi and the others—really captured?”

The reporting ninja answered truthfully.

“There are four of them in total: three powerful ninja and one young girl.”

“Of the three ninja, one is Kisame, an S-rank missing-nin of the Hidden Mist Village.”

“Of the remaining two, one is Kakuzu, a frequent customer of the various black markets. The other is Uzumaki Sika, who has recently risen to fame in the black market of the Hidden Rain Village.”

“As for the four targets, Mei Terumi and the others have indeed fallen into their hands, and all four have had their chakra sealed.”

Upon hearing this, Kondo Ryu relaxed completely.

He could not even help baring two rows of shark-like teeth in a wide grin.

“So it’s the Sika and Kakuzu duo? No wonder they’re known as a team with a one-hundred-percent mission success rate.”

“They captured Mei Terumi and the others so easily.”

“Bring them to me.”

The ninja behind Kondo Ryu replied, “Yes, sir!”

With that, he vanished in a flash.

At the entrance to the valley, Sika had already spread his sensory network over the entire area.

He was aware of every movement, no matter how slight.

He had even detected the Blood Mist’s biggest fish hiding there.

But he was in no hurry to act. He intended to follow the trail and wipe out the Blood Mist’s higher-ups in one stroke.

Swish!

A Blood Mist ninja used the Body Flicker Technique and appeared in front of Sika.

“Lead the way.”

It was as though he had known the man was about to appear. The instant the Blood Mist ninja arrived, Sika’s voice reached his ears.

After a moment of surprise, the man led Sika and the others to meet Kondo Ryu.

Kondo Ryu had witnessed what happened at the entrance to the valley as well.

When he saw Sika’s group, he became even more courteous.

As he walked toward Kakuzu, he had already handed over a box.

“Kaku, the payment for this mission is inside. Count it.”

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Sika waved and called out to Kakuzu.

He was so familiar with this procedure by now that he could not have been more familiar with it.

Once again, the mission had been accepted under his name.

Then they would split the payment fifty-fifty.

Kakuzu could never understand why Sika, that shameless swindler, insisted on dragging him along when he could handle everything himself.

He quickly counted the money twice.

Once he had confirmed that there were no problems, the sheer impact of seeing such a large sum of money laid out before him still struck him deeply.

He was going to get quite a share!

The resentment he had felt at being dragged out of bed by Sika instantly vanished.

Meanwhile, Kondo Ryu and the others stepped forward to check Mei Terumi and the others.

After confirming that all four had indeed had their chakra sealed, Kondo Ryu decided to take them to their base.

There were numerous islands, large and small, scattered around the Hidden Mist Village.

The Blood Mist’s base was located on an island beside the village.

Once Kondo Ryu had confirmed that there was nothing wrong with the four captives, he took Mei Terumi and the others to the Blood Mist’s stronghold.

At the stronghold, Karatachi Ryuichi and Hozuki Muzuki were waiting for good news from Kondo Ryu.

In the Hidden Mist Village, the Hozuki and Karatachi clans were both great clans.

The Hozuki clan had produced Hozuki Gengetsu, the Second Mizukage.

The Karatachi clan, meanwhile, had produced Karatachi Yagura, the Fourth Mizukage.

Karatachi Ryuichi and Hozuki Muzuki were not only high-ranking members of their respective clans; they were also elders of the Hidden Mist Village.

However, the Hidden Mist Village of the present was largely controlled by Elder Genji.

On the surface, Karatachi Ryuichi and Hozuki Muzuki possessed little real authority.

Both men were staunch supporters of the Fourth Mizukage and enthusiastic advocates of the Blood Mist policy.

During the period when Karatachi Yagura was being controlled by Tobi, they had been brainwashed as well.

They believed that the Blood Mist policy represented the true Will of Water, that it was the only way to make the Hidden Mist powerful, and that the Blood Mist must be carried through to the very end.

Elder Genji and his lackeys—including Mei Terumi, Gonbei, Ao, and Chojuro—were, in their eyes, seriously obstructing the rise of the Hidden Mist.

Therefore, he intended to eliminate Genji’s lackeys, and even the lackeys of those lackeys—ninja such as Chojuro.

Karatachi Ryuichi and Hozuki Muzuki had complete confidence in Kondo Ryu’s abilities.

Within the Hidden Mist Village, Kondo Ryu was considered an elite jonin. His strength and his steady, reliable manner of handling affairs both inspired confidence.

At that moment, of course, Karatachi Ryuichi and Hozuki Muzuki had no idea that Kondo Ryu had brought them a “father” of their own.

Before long, Kondo Ryu appeared in Karatachi Ryuichi’s office.

“How did it go?”

The moment he saw Kondo Ryu, Karatachi Ryuichi immediately asked the question.

Kondo Ryu bowed slightly and said courteously, “Lord Ryuichi, everything went very smoothly.”

“That ninja from the Hidden Rain Village is indeed extraordinarily capable.”

“I have already verified that the identities of Mei Terumi and the other three are genuine.”

“The chakra within all four of them has also been completely sealed.”

“I have brought them here. Would you and Elder Muzuki like to see them?”

Karatachi Ryuichi was overjoyed upon hearing this.

“Bring them in!”

“Yes, sir!”

Kondo Ryu nodded and went outside to make the arrangements.