Inside the bounty station of the Land of Demons, everyone stared at each other.
It seemed like they were asking with their eyes: "Should we go for it?"
A row of black lines slid down Shinju's forehead. By now, it was too late to cover Naruto's mouth.
In the end, a burly man with a thick waist and broad shoulders stepped forward first:
"Brothers, let's all go together! We've got hundreds of men here—can't we capture this boy?!"
"Two hundred and fifty million! Split it up, and everyone gets a few million. That's enough for everyone to eat meat!"
At those words, the bounty hunters inside immediately echoed him.
"Fatty's right! Let's take them together!"
"Yeah! With so many of us, how can we not handle just two boys?!"
"I'm telling you guys, don't get ahead of yourselves. That boy singlehandedly captured dozens of Kumogakure elite jonin. Anyone planning to rush in, think twice first." One ninja kindly reminded them.
"I don't care! A dozen people weren't his match, but we've got hundreds!!"
"Brothers, anyone who wants to eat meat, charge with me!!"
With that, the fat man lifted his great blade and charged forward first!
Shinju shook his head slowly and drew the Kusanagi Sword from his lower back.
Swish!
In the next instant, the blade extended in a flash, sweeping across.
Thud!
The fat man's head dropped to the ground!
Instant kill!!
After finishing, Shinju slowly raised his head, his eyes cold and merciless as he swept them across the rest of the crowd.
"Oi, anyone else wanna try?"
Everyone shook their heads in silence, frozen in fear.
--003d͟͟͞͞(꒪ᗜ꒪ ‧̣̥̇)
Fatty, thank you for being the first to sacrifice yourself to show everyone just how dangerous this kid is!
Two hundred and fifty million bounty—turns out it really does come with a reason!
After killing him, Shinju and Naruto checked the bounty list and even found the fat man's portrait. Just like that, they happily pocketed over a million bounty ryo for free...
Once they collected the reward, the rest of the bounty hunters noticed the red-haired kid scanning through the list and then comparing it to their faces one by one...
Everyone instantly felt a chill run down the back of their necks!
Σ(っ °Д °;)っ
This kid—he's looking to make quick money!!
Within seconds, the remaining hunters in the bounty hall all bolted at once!
"Such cowards, and you still take bounty jobs."
Shinju sneered, then went back to scanning the list for new targets.
After looking through, he locked on two.
[Kakuzu, Takigakure rogue ninja, member of Akatsuki, master of the secret technique Earth Grudge Fear, extremely old in age.]
[Bounty: 80 million!]
[Hidan, Yugakure rogue ninja, member of Akatsuki, devout follower of the Jashin faith, possesses immortality.]
[Bounty: 55 million!]
Shinju realized that he'd seen the faces of these two somewhere before.
Thinking carefully, he finally remembered—it was during the mission in the Land of Wind to retrieve Gaara. He had fought them once back then.
"They'll do just fine!"
...
At the same time, in the Land of Lightning.
"Achoo!!!"
Kakuzu, already living eighty or ninety years, sneezed.
"What, don't tell me you caught a cold."
Beside him, Hidan slung his scythe over his shoulder, grinning like he was watching a show.
"No... it's just this ominous feeling in my gut..." Kakuzu's voice was hoarse.
Hidan frowned in annoyance.
"What ominous feeling? If anyone should be feeling that, it's me!"
"We were supposed to capture the Two-Tails' jinchūriki. And instead, you drag me across half the country just to do some bounty mission?!"
"You really put money above everything, huh?! (ꐦ ಠ 皿 ಠ) "
Kakuzu replied seriously: "I am the one who manages Akatsuki's finances. Money is a necessity. Otherwise, how do you think we fund our missions?"
"You think everyone can live like you, feeding off your Jashin faith? ㄟ(▔,▔)ㄏ"
Hidan went silent.
Kakuzu lifted his head: "We're almost at the target's residence.
I promise, once we kill this one, we'll go after the Two-Tails' jinchūriki. (￣⊥￣)"
...
Land of Demons.
After confirming his target, Shinju found an information broker and bought Kakuzu and Hidan's recent movements.
The broker looked surprised when he saw the Konoha headbands on Shinju and Naruto.
"Are you two Konoha rogues?"
Shinju and Naruto shook their heads.
"No, we're just traveling."
The broker nodded knowingly.
"No wonder."
Sensing something off, Shinju frowned and pressed further: "What do you mean?"
The broker held out his hand.
"If you want information, money is essential. (´◊ω◊｀)"
With pain in his heart, Shinju handed over twenty thousand ryo. The broker said:
"The Third Hokage's body was discovered yesterday. Today in Konoha, they're holding the funeral for the Third Hokage."
Naruto and Shinju stood frozen in place as if struck by lightning.
"Dead? How could he be dead?! How could he die so easily..."
Naruto lowered his head, disbelief heavy in his voice.
The tactless broker held out his hand again.
"If you want more info, money is essential."
This time, Shinju immediately drew the Kusanagi Sword.
"Say that again?!"
The cold blade pressed against his throat, and the broker could feel the chilling edge.
A thin cut had already opened on his neck!
"I-I'll talk, I'll talk!!"
"They say the death of the Third Hokage was Orochimaru's doing. Beyond that, I don't know..."
He shut his eyes as he spoke, and when he opened them again, the two boys in front of him had already vanished...
...
Konoha.
The Third Hokage's body had been returned yesterday.
Today, under the Fifth Hokage's orders, all shinobi gathered for the funeral of the Third Hokage.
Before the flame-shaped gravestone stood the black-and-white portrait of the Third Hokage.
The sky began to drizzle.
Beneath the gray, heavy clouds, the shinobi of Konoha, clad in mourning black, walked one by one to the grave, laying down white flowers.
All bowed their heads in silence. From the crowd came the occasional sound of quiet sobbing.
Amid this solemn atmosphere, Shinju and Naruto, dressed in mourning clothes, arrived.
As the crowd parted, the two walked slowly to the Hokage's grave.
Shinju placed a white flower down and bowed deeply...
The Third Hokage might not have been a perfect leader, nor a flawless Hokage.
But to Shinju and Naruto, he was a kind elder.
Even though he would loudly scold them for spray-painting the Hokage Rock.
Even though he once embarrassingly got beaten flat by his own grandson.
Even though he got nosebleeds from Naruto's Sexy Jutsu.
Even though he shamelessly recited a poem he had once written on a whim to children at school...
He was also the one who laughed with them.
The one who smoked his pipe while worrying about children who hadn't come home by dusk.
The one who cared for every budding "sprout" in Konoha.
The one who gave his life for the village...
...
The rain over the cemetery grew heavier, pouring down in sheets.
Then came strong winds.
Leaves, wet from the rain, were blown up and carried before Shinju, carried onto the Hokage's grave.
Shinju still remembered the poem the Third Hokage had recited back in the Academy:
[Wherever the leaves dance, the fire will never die. The fire's light will shine on the village, and once again, the leaves will bud anew...]