Freelancer in the Ninja World

Senshi suddenly had an idea.

Karin's talent for medical ninjutsu was even better than Haruno Sakura's. Sakura had become a medical ninja because of her fine-tuned chakra control; meanwhile, Karin, a descendant of the Uzumaki clan, possessed a unique constitution with inherent healing abilities. She was practically born to be a medical ninja—especially since her healing power could even mend Tsunade if she were split in half.

Why not take Karin to find Tsunade?

If he had her train under Tsunade to pursue the path of a medical ninja, she might very well surpass the so-called "Princess Tsunade" in skill. And if it didn't seem possible at first, Senshi could figure out a way to make it possible.

…

Night fell. Sasuke soon turned in to rest. Karin wasn't picky about where she slept, and having Senshi by her side gave her a strong sense of security. Once bedtime came, she conked out immediately.

Buzz—

On the rooftop of the Konoha apartment building, a dark red vortex appeared. Senshi's figure emerged from it moments later.

"Mantra!"

Right after arriving, Senshi wasted no time and activated his Mantra. Gradually, his awareness spread over the entire Konohagakure. He wanted to locate Kakashi's position.

Truth be told, his one-eyed Sharingan was of mixed benefit to Kakashi; in the long run, it was probably more harmful than helpful. Because he only had one Sharingan, Kakashi couldn't use most of its true abilities. And the Sharingan consumed a huge amount of chakra—carving those dog heads on the Earth-Style Wall was his last act of defiance, so to speak. Without that eye, he wouldn't be stuck in a constant state of fatigue. He could use his natural gifts more effectively to develop his own ninjutsu.

Kakashi might have kept the Sharingan because it was Obito's legacy and will. Even if he realized it was both good and bad, he refused to part with it. But now Senshi intended to make that difficult choice for him.

"Hmm?"

Yet after Senshi swept the village with Mantra multiple times, he couldn't find Kakashi anywhere.

"He's not in the village? Maybe Kakashi's out on some Anbu assignment?"

At this point, Kakashi should be serving in the Anbu, often leaving the village on missions. Realizing Kakashi wasn't around, Senshi vanished once more. If Tsunade were in the village, he would have been keen to pay this Konoha "princess" a visit. But at this period in time, Tsunade was likely off somewhere gambling again, or maybe changing into a younger form to dodge her gambling debts or whatnot.

Thinking this through, Senshi mused that hiring Tsunade as Karin's personal teacher actually sounded feasible. He wasn't short on money, anyway; all the money from grinding missions was basically just a number at this point, and he couldn't spend it all if he tried. And it would be a good deed—helping Tsunade handle her debts while giving Karin a good mentor.

Of course, this would require more consideration. Tsunade currently had her hemophobia, and overcoming that wouldn't be easy.

Double-checking that Kakashi really wasn't in the village, Senshi used his space-time technique to return to his room.

…

At daybreak, per their agreement, Senshi took Sasuke and Karin to a clearing in the forest for ninjutsu practice. First, he explained certain hand-sign essentials to Sasuke.

"Pa!"

"Lightning Release: Lightning Ball!"

Senshi clapped his hands and called out a jutsu, bringing it into reality. Having the "ultimate version" of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit reinforcing his body, plus his years of extensive training, meant that he no longer needed hand signs for such a basic Lightning-Style technique. Simply clap and shout, and the jutsu was done.

Zzzt! Zzzt! Zzzt! Zzzt!

The Lightning Ball technique can condense a certain number of bright gold lightning orbs in front of the user to attack a target.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

With very little effort, Senshi generated nine brilliant golden thunder balls at once, sending them crashing into the distance. Even so, he still ended up knocking down part of the forest. But that wasn't really a problem; next he activated:

"Wood Release: Reforestation Technique!"

Clapping his hands again, Senshi let Sasuke witness the whimsical power of someone with a Sage Body and Wood Release. The trees he'd just destroyed regrew in almost no time at all, returning the forest to its original state.

Seeing the destructive strength of Lightning Ball, Sasuke was intrigued. But before starting, he had a question:

"Teacher Senshi, if you used this jutsu at full power…what would happen?"

Senshi didn't hesitate:

"Have you ever seen a sea of stars?"

Stunned, Sasuke went silent. He grasped Senshi's implication: if he unleashed Lightning Ball with his full might, he could conjure an entire skyful of radiant golden orbs, like shining constellations—a jutsu that might wipe out an entire hidden village or even a small country.

Senshi didn't know exactly what Sasuke was thinking, but he'd never intended to do anything like destroy entire villages or nations. Sasuke proceeded to try forming Lightning Ball, performing the necessary hand signs. His talent for Lightning Release was quite high—after several attempts, he finally managed to cast it once. He only produced a single orb, and he lost control fairly quickly, causing it to dissipate. But for someone his age, it was already impressive.

While Senshi and Sasuke were working on ninjutsu training, Danzo was also on the move.

Clutching his heavy cane, Danzo walked toward Konoha's treasury, mind racing:

"Damned Orochimaru! His experiments burn money like crazy. It was tolerable before, but now he wants me to fork over ten billion ryō all at once?! Apart from the village's treasury, where else can I get that kind of money? Damn…if only I'd kept that earlier haul instead of turning it in."

Muttering to himself along the way, after a while, he reached Konoha's vault. As Hokage's advisor, no one stopped him. Over the years, Danzo had seized a lot of funds in the name of protecting the village. Admittedly, he'd used the vast majority for official business. He didn't even have heirs—just look at the Sarutobi clan and how much they spent on daily life; it could dwarf his personal expenses for years. But ten billion was huge. If Hiruzen caught wind of it…

"Huff—"

Arriving at the treasury's entrance, Danzo paused once more, hesitating. One billion ryō equaled the combined wealth an entire group of elite jōnin might amass in a lifetime. And now Shimura Danzo was about to "borrow" it from the village. He vacillated a while, then made his choice:

"Once Orochimaru's research is finished, the village can once again command the First Hokage–level Wood Release. Then Konoha will be great again—exalted, the number one power in the ninja world. And I, Shimura Danzo, after transplanting Wood Release, then leading the effort to train new Wood-Style ninjas, can become the greatest Hokage in Konoha history."

At that thought, Danzo no longer hesitated. Pulling out the key, he opened the vault doors.

…

Like elsewhere in the ninja world, the Land of Fire also has extensive black markets. As the greatest "Mission Terrorist" and top black-market mercenary—one of the so-called "Three Great Intelligence Sages" (self-proclaimed)—Senshi couldn't resist visiting one while in Land of Fire. Leaving Sasuke behind to train in Lightning Release, Senshi took Karin and headed to the black market near Konoha.

In the lands around Konoha, not only is there a black market, but also supposedly one of Orochimaru's research labs. Maybe, while Konoha is searching high and low for Orochimaru, he's hanging out in some lab near the village, doing his experiments without a care.

Because Konoha is the biggest, most prosperous, strongest overall, so the black market near it is jam-packed with all sorts. The more people, the more conflicts, and hence more shady commissions that can't be handled via normal routes. And there's big money to be found in some of these… Senshi was flipping through request forms at the black market, brimming with interest.

[Bounty Target: Fukuda Kiyomu]

[Objective: Assassinate and bring back the corpse]

[Reward: 7.8 billion ryō]

Senshi eyed it calmly. He'd seen this one in other black markets as well. Being one of the "Three Great Intelligence Sages of the ninja world," he knew almost nothing about this big shot aside from the name and the 7.8 billion bounty. If he had intel, he would certainly have taken the job for that monstrous reward.

[Bounty Target: Yamashita Kenshin]

[Objective: Assassinate the Daimyō of the Land of Fire]

[Reward: 1 billion ryō]

"Tsk tsk, no wonder the Fire Daimyō's net worth is equal to thirty Asumas," Senshi mused. He knew where the Daimyō was, but if he killed him, he'd ruin any chance of future business with the Land of Fire. Killing the golden goose wasn't wise.

[Bounty Target: Utakata]

[Objective: Capture the Six-Tails Jinchūriki]

[Reward: 50 million ryō]

He'd seen that in other black markets too—someone wanting the Six-Tails. But 50 million was pretty stingy. A Tailed Beast's Jinchūriki ought to be at least 100 million, right?

[Bounty Target: Tsunade-hime]

[Objective: Find Tsunade-hime and help the employer collect her gambling debts]

[Reward: 100 million ryō]

"What the—? Tsunade's gambling debts must be colossal if someone's posting a 100-million reward to track her down. But from what I've heard, Tsunade wouldn't be easy to find, and even if you did, forcing her to pay might not go so well."

Shaking his head, Senshi kept scanning job requests. Meanwhile, he lamented:

"If Kakuzu was here, I could do the old left-hand, right-hand trick of awarding my own bounties. But alone, I can't. Sigh… Kakuzu, you're letting me down!"

After complaining, he and Karin left the main black market building.

…

Meanwhile, at the Akatsuki base, Uchiha Itachi reappeared before Kisame. Not long before, the leader had assigned him a solo mission; he'd just returned. Usually, Akatsuki operated in pairs, but there were exceptions. Seeing Kisame, Itachi asked casually:

"Anything unusual happen while I was away?"

He was really asking for intel on Senshi—he hadn't seen that guy since coming back. From the time Senshi joined Akatsuki, Itachi's evaluation of his danger level had kept rising.

"Something special?" Kisame repeated, face impassive, then grinned, "Well, Uzumaki Senshi left Amegakure. Does that count?"

Itachi frowned faintly: "Do you know where he went?"

"Konoha!"

Kisame snorted. "He even tried to trick me into going with him. But I'm not stupid enough to let him get me killed for the organization."

Hearing that, Itachi's face remained unreadable, but inside he was roiled by a storm of worry.

"!!!!!"

What on earth?! That guy went to Konoha?!

Itachi knew all too well about Senshi's methods. Even Kisame, an ally, had nearly been sold off in Kirigakure. Senshi was a dangerous individual who'd do anything for a job. So now that he'd gone to Konoha… Itachi, a former Anbu elite, had lots of intel. He knew the area around Konoha was unsettled—some folks in the black market had been wanting to abduct children with kekkei genkai. Normally, Konoha's great name deters small-time mercenaries from messing with them, but Senshi wasn't just any mercenary. He was strong to the point of lawlessness, with no scruples.

Given Senshi's overshadowing skill—maybe even super-Kage level—he'd do whatever he wanted, fearlessly. Realizing all this, Itachi's brow furrowed slightly, and his expression shifted.

~~~

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