Chapter 26: Hiruzen Sarutobi
Time rewinds to two months ago.
The Shadow Clone, or rather, Naruto himself.
After transforming into an ordinary young man and saying goodbye to his original body, he didn't leave Konoha immediately.
Because he discovered a serious problem.
He had no money.
Such a large backpack, yet it didn't contain a single ryo.
Based on his knowledge of himself, there was a 10% chance he forgot and a 90% chance it was intentional.
Damn, he really is a capitalist.
He wouldn't even let his own Shadow Clone off the hook.
But he soon had an idea.
In the southern part of Konoha, there was a merchant guild district.
As one of the Five Great Villages in the Ninja World, many merchant guilds from the Land of Fireor other nations came here to do business.
However, due to the wars in previous years, a large number of displaced people had appeared.
They became bandits on foot and robbers on horseback, posing a serious threat to passing caravans.
When traveling for business, merchant guilds usually hired appropriate guards based on the value of the goods.
The guards were divided into two types: Ninjas and samurai.
But Ninjas were expensive, especially Jonin, so samurai made up the majority.
Moreover, ordinary Genin or average Chuninweren't much stronger than samurai.
Take Gato from the Land of Waves, for example; he was considered a top-tier tycoon, but aside from the Zabuza he hired, his main guards were still samurai.
After all, samurai were enough to deal with these unorganized, untrained displaced people.
Naruto scanned the recruitment information on the bulletin board.
A moment later, he had a target.
Ripple Merchant Guild.
They sold aquatic products.
They came from Omi City.
Omi City is located in the eastern part of the Land of Fire and is one of the largest cities, adjacent to the sea with a developed fishing industry.
But there were quite a lot of water bandits and pirates.
Naruto looked at their return information; they would take a boat along the Omi River and head south.
It perfectly met his requirements.
According to his plan, he wouldn't stay in Konoha.
Because there were too many big shots in Konoha.
If he caused trouble here, in less than a day, he would be invited by Danzo Shimura to the Root for tea.
Dying before the mission is accomplished.
He feared he would be mocked by his original body for a whole year.
Naruto went out to accumulate combat experience.
But he couldn't just fight everyone he saw.
Originally, Ninjas could obtain experience through missions.
However, he was an undocumented person, and forging an identity was too troublesome, so he could only choose another path.
Black market bounties.
Fighting and making money at the same time.
A good job for a Ninja.
Kakuzu would call him an expert.
"Hello, I'm here to apply for a guard position."
Naruto found the person in charge of the Ripple Merchant Guild.
A "brilliant" middle-aged man.
He rubbed his balding head, sized up Naruto, and smiled, "What skills do you have?"
"I come from the Land of Iron."
Naruto lied through his teeth.
Almost all the most famous samurai in the Ninja World come from the Land of Iron.
General Mifune even fought against the demigod Hanzou.
He is the last glory of the samurai.
Though in his eyes, they weren't really samurai anymore, but more like Ninjas who used sword techniques. (っ◔◡◔)っ
"Oh?"
The middle-aged man's eyes narrowed slightly, showing respect.
The Land of Iron was indeed intimidating.
"In the Land of Iron, I am known as the Gale Swordsman, and I possess a ultimate technique: Moving Forward with E."
"Moving forward with determination? That name certainly has a samurai style. Could you please demonstrate it, sir?"
"Of course."
Naruto stepped back a few paces, creating a distance of nearly three meters. "Boss, watch closely!"
The middle-aged man tried his best to widen his small eyes.
Almost instantly, he only felt a gust of wind blow past, and a long sword was already at his neck.
Cold sweat trickled down.
So fast!
He hadn't seen his movements at all.
"How about it? Boss, do I qualify?"
Naruto withdrew his sword and sheathed it with a stylish flourish, perfectly clicking it into the scabbard.
"Qualified, of course you're qualified."
The middle-aged man smiled and gave a thumbs up. "Among the samurai I know, your speed is second to none. It didn't even take a second. You truly live up to the title of a swordsman with the name 'Gale'."
Of course it was fast.
Wind Release at the Jonin level.
Directly accelerating his body, aside from Mifuneand a few others, no samurai could be faster than him.
"So, what are your rates, sir?"
The middle-aged man rubbed his thumb and forefinger together. "Our Ripple Merchant Guildonly does small business, so..."
"I understand."
Naruto didn't plan on making money from this; he just wanted a free ride.
"5,000 ryo for the day. Overnights are a bit more expensive since I'm sacrificing sleep, so 10,000 ryo. If there are other special services, I can take those on too, but it'll cost extra."
He winked and said.
As they say, he could use a pen to fight green tea girls and a horse to settle mistresses; he was proficient in all eighteen styles of Ah Wei.
In a word, professional.
"No, no!"
The middle-aged man waved his hands in a panic. "We are a respectable merchant guild."
Naruto said with a serious face, "I meant if the guild has other tasks, I can do them."
"..."
The middle-aged man's mouth twitched.
Then why did you make it sound so outrageous?
To think he actually believed it.
He was even planning to introduce him to a few friends.
"Ahem, it takes two days and one night from Konoha to Omi City. I'll pay you 20,000 ryo."
The middle-aged man paused and added, "Our guild provides food and lodging, so we won't mistreat you."
Not bad.
Naruto's eyes lit up.
This guild is quite conscientious.
After all, it's like ancient times; most people are relatively simple and honest, without so many schemes, and can be straightforward with each other.
The middle-aged man took out a contract and said, "Please take a look, sir. If there are no issues, please sign it."
Naruto quickly scanned it.
The content was quite simple.
Aside from the agreed amount, the rest basically said the contract was signed under the witness of such-and-such laws of the Land of Fire, and what would happen if it were breached, and so on.
At the end of the contract, Naruto saw the name 'Ryuji Ishiyama'.
He took the pen and wrote down his name, Yasuo.
Ryuji Ishiyama put away the contract and smiled, "Lord Yasuo, it's a pleasure doing business with you."
"A pleasure."
Naruto waited for about another half hour before the merchant guild set off.
Besides him, there were three other guards, fifteen people, and four large wagons.
They safely boarded a ship and arrived at the port city, Omi City, along the Omi River.
Naruto couldn't help but find it strange that nothing happened at all.
As the Child of Prophecy personally certified by the Great Toad Sage, shouldn't he be like the little Shinigami student Conan—wherever he goes, people die?
It was a pity; he had thought he could see the samurai of the Ninja World.
After saying goodbye to Ryuji Ishiyama, Narutoentered this water city, which was similar to Venice.
After some inquiries, he found the location of the black market.
Naruto looked over the various bounties.
He saw quite a few familiar faces.
For example, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo Shimura, Hiashi Hyuga, and so on.
Oh, and Asuma Sarutobi.
35 million ryo.
Naruto estimated that his strength was a bit inferior to Asuma Sarutobi's.
After all, he was the Hokage's son and, overall, an elite among the Jonin.
He was just a Shadow Clone; he definitely couldn't win.
He locked his target on bounties under 30 million.
"Oda Nobuaki, Governor of Omi, bounty 25 million."
The so-called Governor of Omi was the lord of Omi City.
Naruto considered it for a moment and decided to assassinate him.
As the Governor of Omi, he would certainly have a large number of guards, including Ninjas and samurai.
These are all mobile experience packs.
Black market pricing is generally reasonable.
25 million ryo meant there were likely no famous Jonin.
On the way, he had also heard Ryuji Ishiyamacomplain about Oda Nobuaki preying on the people.
As a partner of justice, Naruto declared that restoring the glory of the chivalrous hero was his inescapable duty!
The first Shadow Clone had a bug due to my own design issues; let's just treat it as the system's effect. I've patched it later.