At this moment, Ranzuki had already stepped into the Valley of Clouds and Lightning.
It was her first time traveling such a long distance alone.
Since gaining self-awareness, Ranzuki had lived a life of strict seclusion, rarely venturing beyond her quarters. Her only previous journey outside the castle was when Satsuki had taken her to the desert city.
At all other times, Ranzuki had devoted herself to training in sage arts and familiarizing herself with the abilities of the Tenseigan, with almost no firsthand experience of the current shinobi world.
"So this is the Valley of Clouds and Lightning? Peaks everywhere, thunderclouds all around… completely different from the terrain around Iga Castle. Fascinating."
Flying through the air with the illusion cast by her secondary Tenseigan concealing her presence, she had no fear of being discovered.
The border between Musashi and Iga had once been connected by trade routes, but after the great battle between Tajima Uchiha's Susanoo and Myōken Senju's Eight Gates Released Formation, a deep trench was carved into the land.
This disruption had made travel to and from the Valley of Clouds and Lightning much more difficult.
The valley itself had little arable land. Its weather shifted unpredictably, and though water was abundant, the complex terrain made large-scale farming impractical.
Previously, the Musashi lord, pressured by the Uchiha clan's presence, had been forced to provide substantial financial support each year despite his reluctance.
But after that battle, this funding ceased.
As a result, the Tachibana clan not only accelerated their assimilation of the Uchiha clan's holdings but also set their sights on the Kaguya clan.
Several fierce battles followed.
Though the Tachibana emerged as ultimate victors, their losses were significant, especially in manpower. Their one advantage lay in the wealth they gained from absorbing multiple shinobi clans, allowing them to post an exceptionally high bounty—45 million ryō for an S-class target. This was far beyond the inflated currency era of the later shinobi world, where even a minor monk like Chiriku was worth 30 million.
After flying for some time, Ranzuki used the heightened perception of her Sage Mode to locate her destination.
It had to be said—the Tachibana clan had a unique sense for choosing their headquarters. Perched atop a towering peak shrouded in mist and echoing with deafening thunder, it was a dramatic and imposing site.
Upon arriving at the bounty office, Ranzuki tossed the scroll in her hand to the shinobi in charge. "I want to take this bounty mission. What are the requirements?"
A woman?
The attendant glanced at her—golden hair tied in a high ponytail, sharp and confident, wearing a dark indigo haori with no clan insignia, yet radiating wealth and status.
Opening the scroll, the attendant was startled. "An S-class fugitive?"
His voice was quiet, but it still drew considerable attention within the bounty office.
Several shinobi who had come to accept missions looked over curiously.
"An S-class bounty? It's been a long time since anyone in the Valley of Clouds and Lightning had the guts to take on a mission like that."
A towering man—his afro hairstyle framing a face above a heavily muscled, dark-skinned body—stood up. "Don't throw your life away just to show off."
Standing nearly two meters tall, he was a giant by the standards of this era.
Ranzuki turned her head and gave him a brief glance, saying nothing.
"Hey, are you even listening?" said a short-haired kunoichi, who appeared to be one of the Tachibana's guards. Through the Tenseigan, Ranzuki saw that this woman's chakra was pulsing outward in specific frequencies, gathering information from the returning signals.
It seemed she specialized in intelligence gathering and sensory work.
However, because Ranzuki mainly cultivated sage arts and Tenseigan chakra, such probing was completely ineffective against her.
Ranzuki paid no mind to the tactic—her Sage Mode excelled in the same field. After giving the eager Tachibana shinobi a sidelong glance, she turned back to the desk attendant. "I want to take this bounty mission. What procedures are required?"
"If you have relevant mission records or recommendations, no special procedures are necessary."
"I have neither," Ranzuki replied casually. "This is my first bounty mission."
"What?" The ninja's tone shifted sharply. "You're not here to cause trouble, are you, kid?"
"You just said if I had records or recommendations, no special procedures were needed." Ranzuki's eyes flashed a brilliant blue as she cast a genjutsu on him. "I don't have either—so what special procedures are required?"
"If you lack proof of experience or ability, you'll need to go to our assessment chamber to test your strength. Only if you meet the standard can you take the mission."
Though still agitated, he revealed the necessary information.
"Assessment chamber, huh?" Ranzuki tucked away the scroll, ready to leave, but the towering Tachibana shinobi from before—Tachibana Taki—stepped in to block her path, his subordinate at his side.
Ranzuki looked up slightly at the man, who was more than half a head taller. "Big guy, something you want?"
Scratching his afro, Taki said, "Well, I wasn't going to say anything, but I heard you're going to the assessment chamber. Turns out I'm the S-class assessment officer—the one who decides if someone qualifies to take an S-class bounty."
After a moment, he added somewhat sheepishly, "Let's go together."
Ranzuki didn't know the way, so having a guide suited her.
The three of them left the bounty office, winding their way through the streets.
Along the way, Ranzuki looked around curiously, pausing often to poke at something or examine a stall—like a girl fresh from the countryside, fascinated by everything.
The locals were generally hearty and tolerant, shaped by years of enduring harsh weather. Her behavior barely raised an eyebrow.
The Valley of Clouds and Lightning's unforgiving environment had forged a community of strong personalities. It was no wonder it had produced hard-as-steel Raikage who could face Amaterasu head-on—this place was a cradle for real warriors.
Before long, they reached a remote mountaintop far from the bounty station.
Ranzuki glanced around. "This is the assessment site? Looks like just some random mountain platform."
"If this were for an ordinary outsider, it wouldn't be like this," Taki explained. "But S-class assessments are different from standard ones."
As he spoke, lightning and killing intent erupted from his body. The pressure cracked the stone beneath his feet, and his afro bristled into a mane of upright hair under the surge of electricity.
"You see, this is why we don't do S-class assessments indoors—place would be in ruins within minutes."
Standing amid the storm, he spoke in a tone that contrasted with his oppressive aura: "As for the content… honestly, I haven't decided yet. You're the first to undergo this test since I took over."
"Haven't decided?" Ranzuki flexed her wrists and stepped forward. "Then let beating you be the test."
At her deliberate provocation, Taki's playful expression vanished, replaced by a serious glare. A wave of pressure rolled toward her, accompanied by the rumble of thunder. His female subordinate had already retreated to a safe distance, notebook in hand, ready to record.
He cracked his knuckles like peals of thunder, rolled his thick neck, and fixed his sharp gaze on Ranzuki.
"Such big words… I can't just ignore a challenge like that."
Before the words had fully left his mouth, Taki's figure shot forward like a cannonball.
Sizzling lightning trailed him, the roar of his charge like a tiger descending the mountain—his momentum akin to a thunder god's descent.
But before he could strike, an even greater bolt of lightning flashed down, faster by far. From within the light came a booming voice.
"STOP!!!"