Yuhara's ghost-like speed and that hoarse, hellish voice left everyone in Hoshigakure stunned.
They knew any ninja willing to take on a war-for-hire job wouldn't be easy to mess with—but this level of dominance blew past their expectations.
The man Yuhara had restrained was named Akaboshi. He was considered powerful and influential in Hoshigakure.
Yet here he was, subdued like a baby, looking like he'd be killed the second he blinked wrong.
Everyone in the room was struggling to process it.
Especially the Third Hoshikage, whose anger flared fast. He didn't like Akaboshi, sure—but as Kage, he had to protect his own.
Taking a deep breath, he said coldly, "Aren't you taking things too far? We have no grudge with you."
"Whether it's too far or not... I'm the one who decides that."
Yuhara calmly glanced at him, then with a slight sway of chakra, disappeared in an instant.
Akaboshi felt the pain vanish from his neck just as everyone's vision flickered—Yuhara had reappeared in his original spot.
"Remember this well. It's important for all of you."
Before they could speak, Yuhara continued coolly:
"You're the ones who need us to complete a mission that's way above your pay grade. We don't need to take this job.
So fix your attitudes. Know your place. Don't do things you're not meant or qualified to do, or you'll get yourselves killed."
His tone was so blunt it even made Shisui glance over in disbelief—let alone the Hoshinins. Every face turned grim.
But no one dared move.
Even the Third Hoshikage swallowed his pride. "Your lesson is noted."
He took another breath. "Before the mission starts, we'll pay 40% upfront in gold. We'll also hand over our intel and target."
"Good. I knew you were a sensible Kage."
Yuhara finally retracted his chakra, though he realized now that he really didn't get along with any "Third Kage" types.
Not that it mattered. He only cared about getting paid—and now that he was, his tone softened.
"Well then, let's have a good partnership."
"Sure... a good partnership," came the clenched-teeth reply.
Shunk!
With the sound of a kunai piercing flesh, a shinobi from the Land of Bears fell dead.
The attacker wore a conical hat and a red cloud cloak. Three others stood beside him in the same attire.
A breeze stirred the bells on his hat, revealing a pale man with long black hair, golden slit pupils, and purple eyeshadow streaking down to his nose.
Blue magatama earrings hung from his ears. His very presence was chilling.
If Yuhara and Shisui were here, they'd immediately recognize him—the Legendary Sannin of Konoha: Orochimaru!
Orochimaru flicked blood off his kunai, licking his lips.
"So these were the guys? What a waste of my time."
"Total waste. No thrill at all." The red-haired young man beside him spoke coldly and flatly—like a puppet.
This was Sasori.
Sasori didn't like Orochimaru—he had opposed his entry into Akatsuki.
But this time, he supported the mission. Still, it felt too tedious to bother with.
"We build wealth through time and effort. Without it, where would you get the money for your experiments?"
This came from a man with green eyes—Kakuzu, the Akatsuki's treasurer.
Kakuzu had lived so long, he'd seen everything. Emotions meant nothing to him anymore. Only money was real.
He didn't care about ideals or the future. He joined Akatsuki because Pain let him earn and manage money.
And right now, Orochimaru and Sasori were slowing that down—which pissed him off.
He glared at Orochimaru and sneered.
"Without cash, how will you reattach your arm? Or study how to deal with that one-eyed brat?"
That instantly darkened Orochimaru's expression. The atmosphere chilled.
That "one-eyed brat" was clearly Uchiha Itachi.
Everyone in Akatsuki knew Itachi's story—he'd claimed to wipe out his own clan to prove his "resolve" (his words), only to get wrecked.
Had someone not helped him escape, Itachi wouldn't just have lost one eye.
When Itachi joined Akatsuki, many objected. Wiping out the Uchiha sounded impressive—until they realized the clan was fine and Itachi was half-blind.
How did that qualify him to join?
Despite objections, Itachi was accepted—but only as a provisional member.
Still, no one denied the kid had skills. Orochimaru had his eye on his Sharingan—and paid for it with an arm.
They joked about it now, but everyone knew—Itachi wasn't someone you messed with. And neither was Konoha's Uchiha clan.
Just one eye, and Itachi had nearly killed Orochimaru.
How terrifying must a Uchiha be, to not only survive Orochimaru's ambush unharmed—but even gouge out one of his eyes? If he hadn't run fast enough, he'd be dead.
This question haunted the Akatsuki, but they weren't eager to find out firsthand. For now, their orders were clear: stay away from those Uchiha.
"What, did I hit a nerve? Feeling itchy to fight?"
Kakuzu snorted, sensing Orochimaru's rising tension, and instantly released his own chakra pressure—he wasn't about to let Orochimaru get uppity.
Beside him, the silver-haired Hidan locked his eyes on Orochimaru. His scythe was already in battle stance, chakra surging around him.
Hidan and Kakuzu were teammates, and they got along well. Naturally, he backed Kakuzu without hesitation.
Sasori, on the other hand, stayed silent. He had no intention of getting involved.
Orochimaru frowned at the scene. He wasn't afraid—not exactly.
He knew that even if he couldn't win against these two, he'd still make it out alive.
But he didn't want to fight people he couldn't kill outright—especially not in his current state.
Itachi's genjutsu had wrecked him. Losing an arm was no small thing.
Normally, such genjutsu wouldn't have affected him so badly, but he had just performed Living Corpse Reincarnation. His soul and new body weren't fully synchronized yet.
That mismatch made him vulnerable—something he hated to admit.
"If you want to fight genjutsu, the best counter... is having eyes like his."
Since being reversed by Itachi, Orochimaru's mindset had shifted. Hard.
In the original story, this would've been the point he left Akatsuki and hid in the Land of Rice Fields—founding the Sound Village.
But now, the Uchiha hadn't been wiped out. Sasuke wasn't the last of his bloodline.
Instead, the Uchiha were more powerful than ever.
Orochimaru, a rogue from Konoha, had left many pawns behind—so he knew this well.
There was no way he could take on the Uchiha alone. That's why he stayed in Akatsuki.
And if he was going to stay, he couldn't afford to stir up more trouble.
He sneered, then reined in his chakra.
"Yeah. You hit a nerve."
Orochimaru licked his lips, calmly admitting it. That kind of honesty was rare.
But this was Orochimaru. He stared coldly at Kakuzu and Hidan, then smiled.
"A man needs weaknesses. It proves he's still alive.
If someone builds their entire existence around things that aren't even them... they might as well be dead.
What's the point of living if you don't even know why you're alive?"
"Oi, snake freak, what the hell are you on about?" Hidan wasn't the brightest. He didn't get it at all and yelled.
"If we're fighting, just fight! Quit yapping!"
"Typical meathead. People like you die early."
Orochimaru didn't even bother looking at Hidan, keeping his gaze on Kakuzu. Then he turned and walked away.
"I'll go handle my target. Boring or not, at least I'll be quicker on my own."
With that, he left without a glance back. Sasori scoffed and walked off in the opposite direction.
Soon, only Kakuzu, Hidan, and a field full of corpses remained.
Meanwhile, Yuhara and Shisui were leaving the Star Kage's office and heading toward the defensive zone.
"Yuhara… weren't you a little too aggressive back there?"
Shisui couldn't hold it in anymore. Yuhara had gone way beyond what he expected.
Even when Uchiha was in crisis and Yuhara had to seize power, he hadn't been that domineering.
The contrast threw Shisui off hard.
"Being aggressive was the whole point. We couldn't let them know we needed this job—or their money."
Seeing Shisui's confused look, Yuhara laughed and pulled a scroll from his pouch.
"Act dominant, and they'll believe we don't care. And if they believe we're not desperate—they'll trust us."
"Plus, the bigger the contrast with our usual selves, the less likely anyone connects us."
In Konoha, their personalities were nothing like this. Even someone who knew them might not recognize them now.
Shisui nodded. He couldn't deny it—Yuhara's play worked.
The pay had doubled.
Originally, the job offered just a "small target" fee—but in gold, which had room to increase in value.
Hoshigakure wasn't broke. They had a decent gold mine in a toxic canyon—only accessible by using the Peacock Method.
The mine was untouched only because it was too dangerous for outsiders. But the village was still locked down—rich, but with nowhere to spend it.
Yuhara's show of power had unsettled them—but also boosted their confidence.
With that kind of power, maybe they could actually win this war.
So the Third Hoshikage quietly raised the reward.
Yuhara wasn't about to say no. They now had 50 million ryo in gold, sealed across twenty scrolls.
"Alright, fine. You were right. Still feels a little weird though," Shisui muttered, rubbing his head.
"So, what's next? Do we move in now?"
"Of course. Best to get it done quick."
Yuhara looked ahead.
"That old guy may have been generous, but this mission's no joke. And we can't stay away from Konoha too long.
The sooner we're done, the better."
He hadn't forgotten—he'd snuck out. His Shadow Clone wouldn't last forever.
But just as they moved forward, a figure appeared in the distance—wearing a black cloak with red clouds.
_______________
P/S: If you are interested, you can read up to 30+ at patreon.com/Emik01.