The Heavens: From Naruto to sign in

Although Cardo had no intention of attacking Yoruha…

Yoruha definitely had plans for Cardo.

"You've got to be kidding me," Anko scoffed, folding her arms. "You wanna go raid that guy? Count me out."

She curled her lips in disdain.

"I already made a killing off Zabuza. I'm not risking my neck chasing pipe dreams."

Taking on a big fish like Cardo?

If it were really that simple to rob the rich, what was the point of being a ninja? Why bother risking your life on official missions, getting stabbed, burned, or blown up?

If powerful rogue ninjas could just waltz into a mansion and tie up some fat cat for cash, why haven't they all done it already?

"Wait... are samurai really that strong?" Yoruha asked curiously. "You're a jōnin from Konoha and even you don't want to mess with Cardo? What's the deal?"

Yoruha had always been curious about the samurai in this world.

Sure, Mifune from the Land of Iron had defeated Hanzo during the Fourth Great War—even when he'd been brought back by Edo Tensei.

But that guy was one of a kind.

On the whole, samurai seemed weaker than ninjas.

"Samurai aren't that strong," Anko explained bluntly. "Most of them, anyway."

"But there's a lot of them. If it came down to pure numbers? Sure, a ninja could blast a few dozen of 'em with one good jutsu. But even the strongest ninja only has so much chakra and stamina."

"If you get swarmed... no matter how strong you are, you'll get worn down eventually."

She gave him a side glance. "Besides... you think someone like Cardo doesn't have his own ninja?"

"There are plenty of unregistered shinobi out there who serve the highest bidder. Some of them are pretty damn strong. And since we don't know who or what we'd be up against... if we walk into that blind, it's game over."

Anko's voice turned serious.

"So once this bridge is finished, we're getting the hell out."

Yoruha fell silent, mulling over her words.

She made a good point.

Even ninja are still mortal.

Take an example:

Let's say a ninja is faced with a massive barrage of arrows.

Sure, he could throw up a defense with some ninjutsu—but how many times could he do that?

How much chakra does the average ninja even have?

Even the Third Raikage, with his lightning-forged body tough enough to rival tailed beasts...

Still died when overwhelmed by ten thousand Iwagakure shinobi.

So in a world like this—

Is raw power really what matters most?

No.

Tactics win wars.

Take Hidan for instance—an immortal, Jashin-worshipping lunatic with enough power to fight jōnin and even take on Kage-level enemies.

Yet he was outsmarted and buried alive by Shikamaru, a master tactician with average combat strength.

That was the difference between power and strategy.

So unless someone could evolve past human limitations...

Unless they broke free of their mortal shell...

No one was truly invincible.

"But how does someone do that?" Yoruha wondered, gazing off into the sky.

Would the system grant him that kind of growth one day?

Would he eventually absorb the bloodline of the Ōtsutsuki clan?

Who knew what kinds of rewards might be waiting in the future...

Sighing, Yoruha quietly left the edge of the bridge and slipped into the forest.

Time to train.

Now that he had mastered both Wind and Water Release, it was time to try something new.

"Let's see if I can create an Ice Shield..."

Activating his Byakugan, he traced the chakra meridians through his fingers.

He focused.

Pure Water Chakra... Pure Wind Chakra...

Converging in his palm...

Swoosh—!

A shimmering ice senbon formed in his hand—an icy shield and weapon all in one.

"Haha... it works."

"Now I can launch hidden weapons faster. Use them for defense or offense. Add in finger techniques—yeah, this mission's been totally worth it!"

The Land of Waves mission was a success.

Even though Dazuna had paid them with an IOU…

Anko and Yoruha still came out rich.

Zabuza might've been a rogue ninja from Kirigakure, but his bounty worked a little differently than those posted on the black market for names like Asuma or Chiryu.

For the Five Great Nations, most S-class bounty postings weren't just about the reward—they were warnings. Signals to other villages to watch out for those dangerous missing-nin.

That's why Zabuza's official bounty was just 10 million ryo—and only because they recovered the Executioner's Blade.

Still—

No middlemen, no commissions, no cuts.

Every ryo went straight into their pockets.

They'd made a killing.