Chapter 19: The Ultra-High-Priced Commission!

It is fortunate that he earned a substantial amount through the Uzumaki Sishia organization this month; otherwise, he truly would not have been able to afford this commission.

Nagato looked up and said to Uzumaki Sishia, "The organization is now hiring you to subjugate the Hidden Grass Village for a reward of 36 million ryo."

[New Commission Mission Discovered!]
[Employer: Akatsuki Leader Nagato]
[Mission Objective: Subjugate the Hidden Grass Village]
[Mission Reward: 36 Million Ryo]
[Mission Rank: S-Rank]
[Mission Bonus: 36,000 Commission Points]

Uzumaki Sishia was delighted. 36,000 commission points—that was thirty-six ten-pulls in one go. Once this mission was completed, he would be absolutely loaded.

Although he had grinded a lot this month, the Hidden Rain Village was only a small village, and S-rank missions were pitifully scarce. They were all tasks like assassinating the Daimyo of the Land of Fire or protecting the Twelve Guardian Ninja or the Third Hokage. He would have liked to take them, but Kakuzu wouldn't allow it, claiming that the Akatsuki organization was still in a dormant phase and shouldn't act too conspicuously. As a result, his missions had quantity but were severely lacking in quality.

It was infuriating! The Akatsuki organization was just too conservative. When would he ever encounter an employer who was ruthless, wealthy, and single-mindedly intent on wreaking havoc upon the ninja world?

Thinking of this, Uzumaki Sishia shook his head. "Don't worry, Boss. Leave this mission to me; it will definitely be done without a hitch!"

Pain nodded. "Go."

Uzumaki Sishia, naturally, did not waste any time. He took Karin by the hand, walked over to Kakuzu, and patted him on the shoulder. "Little Kaku, stop spacing out. It's time to move."

Upon hearing this, Kakuzu let out a sigh. He would rather execute missions alone than run around with Uzumaki Sishia on commission tasks. Although there were benefits to working with Uzumaki Sishia—his efficiency was high, and his success rate was one hundred percent—Kakuzu felt his body becoming increasingly overdrawn even as his income continued to climb.

Ultimately, Kakuzu did not dally, and he departed with Uzumaki Sishia. Before long, Uzumaki Sishia was walking along the road out of the village with Kakuzu and Karin, in high spirits.

Knowing they were returning to the Hidden Grass Village, Karin could not help but feel nervous. In the Hidden Grass Village, she and her mother had been used as human medical kits. Whenever the village's ninja were injured, they would bite her to draw upon her restorative constitution for healing. Consequently, her experiences there, like those of her mother, had been dark and agonizing.

Uzumaki Sishia seemed to sense this. Under Karin's protesting gaze, he reached out and ruffled her hair, flashing a handsome smile while waving his fist. "Don't be nervous. Once we get to the Hidden Grass Village, I'll personally beat up every single person who ever bit you."

Karin realized instantly: compared to those people in the Hidden Grass Village, in some ways, Uzumaki Sishia was actually far more terrifying!

Once he completed this mission, his strength would become even more formidable. After the Hidden Rain and Hidden Grass villages were united, he would be able to take on even more missions, allowing him to use the Ninja World Mercenary System to level up rapidly. Moreover, there was a major mission waiting for him in the Hidden Grass Village: Mui of the Hozuki Castle faction wanted to capture a jinchuriki to obtain a massive amount of chakra to unlock a ninja tool known as the Box of Ultimate Bliss. Mui only needed the chakra; he did not need the Tailed Beast, so his goals did not conflict with those of the Akatsuki at all.

In a sense, he and the Akatsuki organization shared the same goal. Since they had mutual objectives, Lord Mui could serve as both an ally to the Akatsuki and an employer who could issue him tasks.

This mission to subjugate the Hidden Grass Village! Even though it had just begun, he had already struck gold!

...

The Hidden Grass Village was a small ninja village located between the major powers like the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth. For these nations, its location served as a crucial strategic buffer. For the village itself, however, being situated there was far from a blessing; during the first three Great Ninja Wars, the Hidden Grass Village had served as one of the primary battlefields.

Because the village was small and its internal ninja power structures were complex and factionalized, it did not have a "Grass Shadow." The nominal leader was simply the village chief, while the actual rulers were the high-ranking members of the "Fruit of Grass" and "Flower of Grass" factions.

On the road to the Hidden Grass Village, three figures clad in black cloaks with red clouds appeared. Walking in the lead was a young man with red hair, his handsome face displaying a look of lazy indifference, as if they were not on their way to subjugate a ninja village, but merely out for a stroll.

This person was, of course, Uzumaki Sishia. Karin followed beside him, looking somewhat anxious. Although she knew Uzumaki Sishia was an incredibly powerful ninja, returning to the Hidden Grass Village brought back the dark memories of her childhood, filling her with a sense of oppression.

"Sigh," Karin thought to herself as she walked. "I've come back to this heartless place again. Those animals in the Hidden Grass Village always used my mother and me as human blood bags to heal their wounds."

Her fists tightened at the thought. Both she and her mother possessed a healing constitution; most injuries could be cured by a single bite. Whenever the village's ninja were injured, they would bite them to recover. To protect her daughter, her mother had been forced to provide continuous treatment until her chakra was completely depleted, leading to her death. Before she died, her mother had been filled with sorrow and helplessness, fearing that Karin would face the same fate.

Uzumaki Sishia noticed Karin's mood becoming increasingly depressed. He immediately patted her head and said, "Don't be nervous. We'll head to your house first when we reach the village. I'll take care of those who don't know their place along the way and avenge you and your mother."

"Thank you," Karin whispered, her voice choking up.

Had Karin been older, Uzumaki Sishia might have considered letting her deal the final blow to her enemies herself. But as she was only a ten-year-old girl, it was better to spare her from such things.

Behind them, Kakuzu, who had been silent throughout the journey, asked a question: "How do you plan to subjugate the Hidden Grass Village?"

Subjugating a village was not an easy task. In all the missions Kakuzu had performed over the years, he had never once been tasked with taking over an entire village.

Uzumaki Sishia kept walking and spoke casually. "It's simple. We go straight to the village chief and the elders. Those who can be brought to our side will be, and those who can't will be eliminated."

Kakuzu heard this and pondered for a moment, finding no reason to argue. Keep the obedient ones to do the work and slaughter the ones who wouldn't listen—the plan was crude and simple, but also highly efficient.

After walking for a while longer, Uzumaki Sishia's gaze shifted. His "Heart Web" had been covering the surrounding area; any movement, no matter how slight, could be sensed. After a month of grinding missions, his mastery of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit had reached the S-rank, and his sensory range was immense.

At that moment, Karin, possessing the Mind's Eye of the Kagura, also detected an anomaly and immediately warned Uzumaki Sishia and Kakuzu. "A group of ninja is approaching, and there is an ambush in the woods further ahead!"

Upon hearing this, a look of seriousness crossed Kakuzu's face. Having partnered with Uzumaki Sishia for so long, he was already aware of Karin's abilities and was not surprised by her discovery. What truly surprised Kakuzu was that Uzumaki Sishia possessed such formidable sensory capabilities as well. Previously, whenever enemies approached, it was always Karin who gave the warning, and Kakuzu hadn't paid much attention to Uzumaki Sishia. But just now, he clearly noticed that Uzumaki Sishia had sensed the enemies even earlier than Karin.

Kakuzu couldn't help but marvel inwardly. "This guy not only has an incredible talent for Lightning Style, but he also possesses a sensory constitution even stronger than Karin's?"

While Kakuzu was lost in these thoughts, the Hidden Grass ninja were rapidly closing in. Although no one else appeared on the tree-lined road, all three of them knew that the ninja had arrived.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Suddenly, a massive barrage of shuriken rained down from all directions, sealing off all paths of retreat.

"Swish—"

Uzumaki Sishia instantly teleported away with Karin, and Kakuzu vanished with a Body Flicker as well. The Hidden Grass ninja were stunned; they hadn't seen what had just happened at all.

"BOOM!"

A clap of thunder echoed, and a flash of lightning streaked across the battlefield, leaving the group of Hidden Grass ninja in total disarray.

"Ah!"
"Mercy!"

Screams rang out one after another. Some ninja didn't even have the chance to scream before they were struck down.

"Clang!"

Uzumaki Sishia's figure reappeared beside Karin. Kakuzu stood not far off with his arms crossed and asked, "Why didn't you leave one alive to interrogate for intelligence?"

Uzumaki Sishia replied dismissively, "Do these small fries look like they would know any important information?"

A cold sneer played on Kakuzu's lips, and he said nothing more. If it had been him, he would have at least kept the leader alive to extract information before proceeding.

With these ninja dispatched by Uzumaki Sishia, the ambushing party further ahead sensed the situation. Karin, sensing the movement, spoke up immediately. "The ninjas ambushing in the woods ahead are retreating. They're probably running back to the Hidden Grass Village to report. What should we do?"