Freelancer in the Ninja World

On Amegakure's streets.

While Karin and her two companions were busy, Musen and his teammates were also occupied. At that moment, Lanyu and Lanwu were both glaring at Musen like they wanted to eat him alive.

Not long ago, Musen thought a villager's house was being rebuilt too slowly, and he had a bold idea: Use Wood Style: Villa Technique to help that villager rebuild.

The result? Musen's Wood-Style skills didn't extend to the "Villa Technique," and the "villa" he created was flimsy, practically paper-thin. Worse, he completely wrecked the half-finished structure the villager had been rebuilding. The elderly villager, seeing the destruction, turned pale and collapsed, nearly dying on the spot.

Seeing Lanyu's and Lanwu's icy stares, Musen scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "It was an accident, all right? Don't look at me like that."

Lanyu spoke with a level tone. "Musen, I've warned you many times not to act rashly, or it'll only lead to disastrous outcomes."

Lanwu's voice was cold as ice. "So far, every time you do something on your own in our three-man operations, something goes wrong. I'm making this absolutely clear: if you pull another stunt, I won't help you. You can clean up your own mess together with Lanyu!"

Hearing this, Lanyu immediately said, "Lanwu, how can you say that? We're a three-person team."

Musen was quick to chime in, "Exactly—teammates share both the good times and the bad, right Lanyu?"

Lanyu, looking serious, replied, "That's what I mean—while we share everything equally, we also need fairness. If you go causing more trouble, you'll deal with it by yourself. I'm with Lanwu on that. I'm not helping anymore."

Back at the Uzumaki clan's settlement, Senshi was using his Mantra to keep tabs on everything in the village. Seeing what just happened, he nearly spat out his tea in laughter. Luckily, Uzumaki Tousen—sitting across from him—was skilled enough to evade with a quick Body Flicker, or it would've been awkward.

After Musen stirred up trouble with the rebuilding, the three of them proceeded to the police department to help with interrogations. After all, even if Musen caused a stir there, at worst he'd just leave criminals more psychologically scarred. It wouldn't lead to any real disaster. And who knows—his "talent" might actually be well-suited to interrogations.

When Musen's trio entered the police department, they passed multiple interrogation rooms where many of the ninja academy's younger graduates were at work. Without disturbing them, the three headed to an interrogation room about to begin a new session.

During Amegakure's recent turmoil, plenty of opportunists assumed the village wouldn't restore order anytime soon and so joined in the chaos.

In truth, Amegakure calmed things down far faster than anyone expected, leaving those rioters caught in one swoop. Both the village's prison and the police department were packed with detainees.

Noticing Musen's group arrive, a police ninja stationed outside the interrogation room walked up courteously. "Lord Musen, have you three come to help with interrogations as well?"

Musen nodded. "Yes. Open the interrogation room; I'll take over this criminal."

Hearing that, the police ninja swiftly opened the door. "Lord Musen, these two suspects are likely spies from another village—both were ringleaders in the riot. They're extremely tight-lipped. Multiple interrogation teams have tried and failed to get any useful information."

Musen paused in his steps. So this is our unlucky day, huh? They walked right in and got stuck with the toughest case. If the other teams couldn't manage, there was no guarantee they'd succeed either.

At that moment, however, Lanyu calmly stepped into the room. Inside sat two ninjas with brutish faces, eyes full of menace. Their chakras were sealed, and they were locked to their chairs, yet when they caught sight of Lanyu's trio, their looks were mocking. As trained spies, they had confidence no interrogation method would make them talk.

Lanyu wasted no time and began right away:

1. "You can choose to come clean right now. If you do, both of you get leniency."

2. "We'll split you up and interrogate each of you alone. Whoever confesses first gets off lightly, and the other one dies."

3. "If neither of those works, we'll ask Lord Senshi to question you personally. In the ninja world, there's nothing he can't do—so by then, both you and your families would face the severest retribution from Amegakure. Take your pick."

The two criminals: (O_O)???

Musen: (O_O)???

Lanwu: (O_O)???

The ninja standing guard: (O_O)???

Lanyu's rapid-fire threat combo left everyone stunned. They knew full well the name "Uzumaki Senshi" and his capabilities. They dared not brush it off, so they rushed to spill everything they knew:

"We started as mercenaries in the Land of Earth's black market, then we got spy training from some secret group in Iwagakure. We figure it was probably Iwa's Anbu."

"Our mission was to stay hidden in Amegakure, gather all sorts of intel about this place and send it back. Meanwhile, we'd sabotage the village whenever possible, slowing its development."

"That's all we know. You have to keep your promise—shinobi don't trick shinobi. Show us mercy!"

…

Police Department – Head Office

Inside, several uniformed police ninjas were busy organizing the latest interrogation records. Suddenly, the door was pushed open, and a cool figure appeared at the entrance.

"Angel-sama!"

Seeing Konan, all the ninjas immediately set their work aside and bowed respectfully, voices tinged with awe.

Konan gave a slight nod, scanning the room. She spoke directly: "How far have the interrogation results been compiled?"

A middle-aged ninja with a square face stepped forward and reported in a serious tone: "Angel-sama, more than ninety percent of the criminals have confessed. Among those who triggered the recent chaos in our village, the largest group by far has ties to Iwagakure. Some are Iwa spies, others are mercenaries hired by Iwa. They played a crucial role in instigating the riots; many of them served as ringleaders, causing grave harm to the village."

Hearing this, Konan's face darkened. A cold light flickered in her ice-like eyes; her slender fingers clenched slightly.

"Show me the detailed report."

The middle-aged ninja quickly handed her a thick file. It was full of detailed information on each criminal: their backgrounds, crimes, and their connections to Iwagakure.

Konan opened the file and read line after line. The more she read, the graver her expression became. The report indicated that the main instigators in the riots were all intimately linked to Iwa. Though there was no direct proof they were sent by Iwa's upper echelon—like Tsuchikage Onoki—there was no denying Iwa's involvement lurking behind their actions.

"Iwagakure… they actually dared to sabotage Amegakure's development!" Konan's voice carried a simmering rage.

Her mind pictured the turmoil and suffering Amegakure had endured under the schemes of "Uchiha Madara," and how these Iwa spies and mercenaries had fanned the flames and become his greatest accomplices.

"Truly outrageous!"

With a snap, Konan closed the file.

"Iwagakure must pay for this!"

"Regardless of whether these rioters were acting under Onoki's direct orders, Iwagakure can't escape blame. If they're brazen enough to strike Amegakure from the shadows, they better be ready to face our anger!"

…

Iwagakure, Tsuchikage's Office in the Tsuchikage Building

"Achoo!"

For some reason, Onoki suddenly sneezed. He wasn't sure why; it came out of nowhere—followed by a vaguely ominous feeling. Right then, Akatsuchi came in. Onoki glanced at him. "Any news from Amegakure?"

Standing behind Onoki was Kurotsuchi, who was also curious. Iwagakure had recently gotten intel that Amegakure—rising like the sun—had been hit by a string of incidents.

Despite the Land of Rain being small and Amegakure's lack of deep foundations, they'd grown astonishingly quickly and had many powerful ninjas. This was enough to draw the serious attention of every major ninja village. More so because Amegakure had the very unusual ninja, Uzumaki Senshi.

By now, everyone had noticed that whenever Senshi got involved in something, if you ended up on the opposite side, trouble would surely follow. Plenty of people even believed that if he weren't so addicted to "grinding missions," the bigwigs of each nation and village would have an even bigger headache.

Since Amegakure was Senshi's village, nobody had expected anyone to strike it. Yet in the end, there was chaos enough to throw Amegakure into turmoil. So clearly, the place wasn't quite invincible or unassailable yet. If necessary, the various sides might indeed be able to do something about it.

Hearing Onoki's question, Akatsuchi replied gloomily, "Sensei, from the intel I got, we've run into a tiny bit of trouble."

Onoki frowned. "Trouble? What do you mean?"

Akatsuchi explained, "We sent a small number of spies to Amegakure to stay there long-term and bring us updates. But apparently, some other upper-level folks in our village had the same idea."

"Among these higher-ups, there are some radicals. Through various means, they ordered the spies we sent not only to gather intel but also to sabotage. After the riots were quelled in Amegakure, it appears those spies and mercenaries all got captured."

As soon as Akatsuchi said that, Onoki, who'd been floating with his arms behind his back, wobbled and nearly crashed to the floor. Fortunately, Akatsuchi, quick on his feet, saved the elderly Tsuchikage from making a complete fool of himself.

Steam practically blew from Onoki's ears. It was normal for Iwagakure to send spies to Amegakure, but giving them (or mercenaries) explicit orders to sabotage was ludicrous. Amegakure was no easy target. Almost certainly, Iwagakure was now going to face all sorts of random problems.

Seeing how furious Onoki looked, Akatsuchi hastily said, "Sensei, it should be fine, right? Those spies and mercenaries carry the Will of Stone within them. For Iwagakure's sake, they'll stand firm to the end!"

Of course Onoki didn't believe that nonsense about the Will of Stone. That was just a slogan he used to inspire underlings. Sighing, he said, "Summon the higher-ups for a meeting. I want to know exactly how many spies and mercenaries they sent. Next, we have to get ready for Amegakure's retaliation."

Seeing the Tsuchikage so serious, both Akatsuchi and Kurotsuchi realized this was no minor issue. In many respects, Onoki was a capable leader—he acted swiftly once he heard. But it wouldn't help much; Konan had intended from the start to hire Senshi for the job, and if he personally took action, Iwa's defenses would hardly matter.

Within Amegakure, Konan had spent two days wrapping up the post-riot tasks. Then she sought out Senshi to discuss Iwagakure—and Nagato.

Nagato used to be like this (⊙_⊙)!, but now he'd turned into that (O_O)?? That obviously wouldn't do.

Amegakure's tower, in the conference room.

Once Senshi arrived, Konan got right to business: "We've compiled all the interrogation results. The spies from Iwagakure and the mercenaries they hired caused immense damage during Amegakure's riots. I've decided we have to retaliate."

Hearing that, Senshi immediately perked up. So did Karin, who'd been assisting Nagato earlier. Senshi rubbed his hands together in excitement, while Karin clenched her little fists in eagerness. It was obvious: they had a new mission.

Senshi asked cautiously, "Sis Konan, do you want all the masterminds eliminated? Sure thing—fair prices!"

Then Karin added, "Or do you want the Tsuchikage taken out? Senshi could handle that too!"

Konan: (O_O)???

Those two lines left Konan momentarily speechless. If they really traced everything back, they would end up wiping out Iwa's entire leadership.

But her plan was to retaliate, not to go to war. And Karin's line about killing the Tsuchikage sounded equally alarming. If Onoki were assassinated, a war between Amegakure and Iwagakure would be unavoidable.

Before Senshi or Karin could say anything else outrageous, Konan explained her own idea: "My plan is to do a proportionate retaliation on Iwagakure. Maybe somewhat more than 'just proportionate,' but not too excessive. First, we're not going to massacre their leadership. Second, we definitely won't kill Onoki. If we undermine a major village's very foundation, the other four great ninja villages would come down on us."

Karin drooped at that. If that was the case, the mission sounded dull to her. She'd have preferred to send "Killer Queen" sneaking around Iwagakure with random explosions and reawaken the fear once wrought by Deidara.

Understanding Konan's stance, Senshi likewise found it less thrilling—clearly it wouldn't be difficult, whether he used his Wood-Clone army or Karin.

Nevertheless, Senshi cleared his throat. "Sis Konan, it's not so easy a task."

Konan: (O_O)???

Karin: (O_O)???

Konan was stunned. Just a second ago, Senshi's expression implied it was too easy, meaning few profits. Now he was saying it was tough. She was a bit dizzy.

Karin, meanwhile, mentally praised Senshi: He's so shameless, spouting serious nonsense without even blinking! Previously, I felt guilty just conning Nagato a bit…

After pausing in confusion, Konan rubbed her temple. "Senshi, where exactly is the difficulty in retaliating against Iwa?"

With a look of professional earnestness, Senshi said, "There are plenty of difficulties. For one, Iwagakure's infiltration ability is obviously strong enough to send all those spies and mercenaries into Amegakure. Unless we deploy the Human Path technique to check every villager and ninja in the village, we'll never know which of them might be Iwa's spies or who else they bribed."

Initially, Konan had assumed he'd just be making excuses, but she realized he was making valid points. Still, she wasn't sure how that complicated revenge on Iwa. "Even if those issues exist, they shouldn't really hinder us in retaliating. Right?"

Senshi corrected her immediately. "Actually, it does matter, Sis Konan. Look, no other Kage in the ninja world has been in power as long as Onoki. He's been Tsuchikage for decades, so he's got the experience. Once he learns what Amegakure's found out, do you think he won't prepare for our retaliation? You yourself said we only plan to retaliate, not fight a total war. Under that constraint, and with Iwa on guard, it's obviously harder to pull it off."

Konan found herself lost in thought. She had to admit that made sense, though it was also likely a tactic for bigger fees.

As the second-in-command in a financially struggling village, she couldn't let him scam them too hard. Then again, with Nagato bedridden, Amegakure was vulnerable, and Senshi had done a lot for them. She decided on some "special-case special treatment."

After pondering, she suddenly lit up with an idea. "Senshi, there's actually a single perfect solution: it solves your commission fee, solves the mission problem, and furthers the village's development. Nagato's still recuperating and won't return to work anytime soon. What if you reconsider becoming the Acting Amekage—ah, I mean, acting leader?"

"Think about it: if you became the acting leader, you could arrange tasks yourself, allocate fair commissions, and always act for the village's best interests."

Konan's gaze was fixed on him. Beyond Nagato, only Senshi could handle the leadership of Amegakure's seven departments alone. Karin blinked, then said, "Well—uh—Konan-nee, you're so sweet! But with Senshi's moral standards, he'd never misuse the budget. He'd make sure every ryo goes to its best use!"

Senshi patted Karin's head, messing up her hair. He was thinking, Yes, she knows exactly what to say. The next time he visited the local bookstore, if they didn't have a "Karin's Writings" shelf, he'd be angry.

That said, there was no way he'd accept Konan's proposition. Because "Nagato down, Senshi crowned" wouldn't fly—the system wouldn't recognize missions he assigned to himself. Otherwise, he wouldn't have started a "Senshi Bank." He'd just farm tasks on himself all day.

So while ruffling Karin's hair, he said to Konan, "Sis Konan, sure, with my lofty moral standards, if I were acting leader, I'd never do that 'left hand hires right hand' routine. But management isn't really my strength, so I'll pass. Let's get back to the sabotage mission on Iwagakure."

After that big speech, Konan sighed. Nagato was unavailable, and realistically only Senshi could have replaced him, but since he refused, there was nothing she could do. She thought about it a moment. "Okay, how about 50 million ryo for a sabotage mission against Iwa? Could that work?"

Senshi thought briefly. "Sis Konan, while it won't be easy, my ability can handle it for, say, 10 million. But if we really want to make them remember, maybe it should be damage worth 100 million ryo."

He finished, and Karin jumped in, "Yes, exactly, Konan-nee! We're not saying you can't afford it—we're saying 100 million yields the best value. If Iwagakure dares harm Amegakure, we have to cause them 100 million ryo's worth of damage to teach them a real lesson!"

Konan felt at a loss. Indeed, without Nagato around, she couldn't hold her own in bargaining with these two swindlers. But if the sabotage mission was just 100 million, it wasn't too high—and given that Senshi's analysis suggested it wouldn't be entirely straightforward, perhaps that was acceptable. However, regarding the Rinnegan matter, she couldn't even imagine how high the cost might be. Nagato would have to participate in that conversation about fees.

Hence, Konan told Senshi, "All right, we'll set it at 100 million. The village hires you for 100 million ryo to inflict damage on Iwagakure at least equal to what they caused us—maybe worse."

With the mission locked in, Senshi was satisfied. But before he could fully enjoy it, Karin raised her hand. "Konan-nee, after we're done, do we announce that it was Amegakure who attacked them?"

Senshi: (O_O)???

Konan: (O_O)???

Senshi was dumbfounded. Where is Karin learning all this? Sure, she had "Killer Queen" for bombs, but she wasn't literally a terrorist, right? Konan promptly shut it down. "No need to proclaim that the hit came from Amegakure. Once Iwa takes the damage, they'll know perfectly well who did it."

With that, she turned and left the conference room. "Wait here, you two. I'll bring Nagato in his wheelchair so we can continue."

Konan thought to herself, I can't handle these two scam artists by myself. We're spending 100 million on the sabotage, and who knows how much more for the Rinnegan mission… We have to have Nagato present, or we'll never settle on a fair price.

Shortly after she left, she returned, pushing Nagato in a wheelchair. Seeing Nagato wearing dark sunglasses, Senshi paused, then teased, "Leader, while you're recuperating, you could learn the guitar. Next time you show up, just strum a slow chord and say, 'I wrote this when I was at my lowest—nobody gets me, man.' That'll really help the world feel your pain, understand your pain, accept your pain."

Karin nodded wildly. "That's so true! Those lines alone convey intense suffering."

Nagato: (O_O)???

He sighed inwardly. Seriously, at a time like this, do we really need to talk about making the world feel pain? Maybe once I've recovered…

Konan parked the wheelchair near the meeting table and asked, "Senshi, any ideas about Nagato's eyes?"

Senshi thought for a moment. "Our only immediate option is a temporary Sharingan or Byakugan."

He spoke as he pulled a glass jar from his system storage, containing a pair of three-tomoe Sharingan. Then he produced another jar with a pair of Byakugan.

Nagato: (O_O)???

Konan: (⊙_⊙)??? …Huh?

Konan stared at the jars, pondering: should they implant Sharingan or Byakugan so Nagato can get back to work, or should they see if there's a way for him to regain the Rinnegan itself?

While Konan was still mulling it over, Nagato refused. "While both the Sharingan and the Byakugan are great kekkei genkai, my health has deteriorated lately, and I'm still in recovery. It's not appropriate for me to 'support' a new pair of eyes right now. I'd rather wait until my body's healed, then see what's realistic."

He had no intention of returning to work—he was exhausted from his earlier grind, and now that his Rinnegan was gone, he slept well and ate well, feeling better than ever.

Compared to this, the old days felt like pure hardship. So for now, he didn't even want to address eye treatment. With both Amegakure and Akatsuki being managed by Senshi and Konan, he didn't have to worry. Their ultimate plan for Akatsuki was still moving along steadily without him.

If his eyes were fixed, he'd be swamped again, the same old drudgery. Better avoid that for as long as I can!

Konan, on the other hand, had the opposite view. To her, Amegakure couldn't do without Nagato. Even if it cost more money to hire Senshi, they needed him to have Rinnegan again. Otherwise, there was nobody to handle the large workload of Amegakure and Akatsuki.

She turned to Senshi. "Can we get Nagato's Rinnegan back from Uchiha Madara? Or find another way for him to obtain the Rinnegan?"

Senshi looked troubled. "The Rinnegan… it's not exactly easy to secure."

This time, he was being sincere: it really wouldn't be simple. Hearing that, Nagato was secretly delighted. Great, if it's too hard, I can keep resting longer! But outwardly, he said, "That's rough… without the Rinnegan, I really can't manage as Amegakure's leader. And I'm too used to the Rinnegan—I'd cough using any other eyes."

Konan frowned worriedly. "Is it really that hard to get another Rinnegan through other means?"

Senshi thought for a moment. "Sis Konan, acquiring a new Rinnegan via alternative avenues would be a long process. I can't say how long it'd take."

He was telling the plain truth. Via his system's draw, he'd only drawn items like Sharingan or Byakugan. Even an Eternal Mangekyō—a step below the Rinnegan—required a "super" draw. For something on the Rinnegan's level, the current was impossible, and likely advanced too.

Konan fell silent for a bit, then asked with knitted brows, "What if we just took back the Rinnegan from 'Uchiha Madara'? Would that also require a long time?"

~~~

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