Freelancer in the Ninja World

When the system notification popped up, Senshi was left dumbfounded.

[Why is the "Super Draw" this time only granted after finishing the task?? Is it because this mission has a clearly defined objective?]

"What a letdown…"

Shaking his head, he sighed. Still, capturing a Tailed Beast this time would be quite profitable—

one job, two paychecks.

With that in mind, Senshi lifted the drowsy, sleeping Karin onto his back, a maneuver he had down to a science by now. Then he headed, just as deftly, to Kakuzu's door—and kicked it in.

Bang!

With that single kick, his "harbinger-of-doom" voice reached Kakuzu's ears. Kakuzu, having glanced at the time and feeling fatigued, had just been settling down to sleep. Who would have guessed that the minute he lay down, this "task fanatic" Senshi would smash in his door?

For an instant, Kakuzu's heart nearly skipped a beat.

"Hey, Kaku!"

"No sleeping, no sleeping! We've got another mission!"

Kakuzu: "…"

After letting out a weary sigh, Kakuzu set his face grimly and said:

"It's rest time right now! Didn't we just finish a job?"

Senshi replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world:

"Sure we did. And that means we can now accept a new mission, right? This new one's got a very hefty fee! Kaku, how could you waste valuable job time on something as pointless as sleep?"

Kakuzu shook his head:

"No matter what you say, I'm resting this time! If I can't rest properly, I'm not going on any job."

Senshi sighed theatrically:

"Ah…well, it can't be helped."

Having said that, he slung Karin on his back and hefted Kakuzu onto his shoulder, then headed straight for the room where Uchiha Itachi and Kisame were staying.

Knock, knock, knock!

After some banging, Itachi opened the door, his face perfectly calm.

"What is it?"

Senshi answered offhandedly:

"Hey, Itachi-san. For our next mission, I need Kisame's help. I already cleared it with Pain."

At that, Itachi stepped aside, revealing Kisame seated unceremoniously on a sofa. Hearing Senshi and Itachi's conversation, Kisame let out a little chuckle.

"Heh! Looks like there's another exhilarating battle awaiting me. Who knew there'd be a job you found challenging enough to need me?"

Meanwhile, Kakuzu had extricated himself from under Senshi's arm. Upon seeing Kisame's eager expression, he couldn't help feeling a pang of sympathy.

Back when he first started working alongside Senshi, he was just as excited.

Wasting no more time, Kisame grabbed Samehada, his massive blade, and left together with Senshi's group.

…

On the road from the Ame to the Kiri, a merchant caravan was traveling along. In the last carriage, four figures could be seen: two middle-aged men, one easygoing handsome youth, and a curious young girl.

Of course, these four were Senshi's group. They were with the caravan because Senshi had, in passing, taken a guard mission for the journey.

"Heh, so that's how you travel? Even on the way to a job, you'll pick up a little escort assignment—

You've got a knack, Senshi, no wonder you rake in the money!"

Leaning against the carriage, Kisame gave a thumbs-up, clicking his tongue in amazement. After all, whenever he and Itachi performed missions, they mostly relied on their own two feet. Meanwhile, not a moment of Senshi's time ever went to waste.

In this four-person squad, the "newbie" gaped in curiosity, while the "veteran" simply sprawled out for some quick shut-eye, not missing a chance to rest. Because, well, working with Senshi was no joke. He was a "task maniac"— no, more like a "living mission machine." If there was a job to be done, he'd do it, endlessly. After all, he had near-limitless chakra and had no issue making Wood Clones do the work if needed.

"Kakuzu, do you always tackle missions like this with that brat?"

Kisame, exuding energy, chatted breezily with Kakuzu. Kakuzu initially ignored him, turning over and giving him the cold shoulder. But in the end, he offered a friendly warning:

"Take advantage of any downtime to rest."

With that, he fell silent. Partnering with Senshi meant running on a 24/7 schedule: at literally any moment of the day, there might be a new mission requiring both of them to deploy. Over the course of a week, that happened practically every day, at any hour—morning, noon, or night. It forced Kakuzu to form the habit of napping whenever possible. Otherwise, even someone like Orochimaru—famously distant from death—would get utterly worn down if forced to keep up daily.

Swish—

Just then, one of Senshi's Wood Clones appeared in the carriage, reeking slightly of blood. Senshi gave a nod and said casually:

"That escort job is done. Now we can just sit tight until we arrive at our destination."

Sure enough, he was correct. For the remainder of the trip, nothing of note happened, and before long the merchant convoy delivered the four safely to the Kirigakure.

…

After the death of the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, the "Blood Kirigakure" was gradually reopening itself to the world under the leadership of Genji (Elder). Otherwise, simply entering the Kirigakure would have been quite a hassle.

Arriving in the village, Senshi and his group found a hot-spring inn to stay in. Of course, Kiri's hot-spring accommodations couldn't compare to the Land of Hot Water's, but at least there was a place to sleep, which was already good enough.

Once at the inn, Kisame grinned:

"Been a long time since I set foot in the Kiri.

Before the mission starts, I'm heading out alone to look around and gather a bit of intel."

Kakuzu, on the other hand, spoke without hesitation:

"I need to recharge for the job; don't bother me with anything else."

Clearly, long-term exhaustion left him starved for rest. This time, Senshi didn't push the matter. He simply grabbed Karin and headed for the Kirigakure's black market.

…

Kiri's black market wasn't as brazen as the Ame's. Right now, the Ame was fully under Nagato's control, and Nagato simply allowed the black market to exist. After all, it not only boosted income for the Ame and its ninja, but also provided a channel for intelligence—a triple benefit. Of course he'd allow it.

In other villages—especially major ones—black markets existed more secretively, if at all, hidden in the gray zones. Some villages didn't even have a proper black market at all.

This made Senshi consider a small goal: becoming the boss of the entire shinobi world's black market, ensuring that everywhere, missions could be posted and accepted freely. That would mean no matter where he went, it'd be easy to pick up or turn in commissions.

Using the far-reaching detection of his "Mind's Eye" (or "Mantra") ability, Senshi spent quite some time roaming Kiri before finally locating the black market. Tucked away in a busy district, it was both hidden and right in plain sight.

When Senshi approached with Karin, the manager's eyes lit up. A red-haired hottie, a red-haired young girl, wearing black cloaks with red clouds— they matched perfectly.

Everyone in the black-market circles knew Senshi by now, a man called the "task-killing machine" who practically wiped out the Ame's black market backlog. Usually, his work radius centered on the Amegakure, so what brought him to the Kiri?

The manager guessed this could be big. He guessed right, as Senshi casually plopped a thick stack of mission slips onto the counter.

"These are…?"

the manager asked in confusion.

Senshi explained:

"Mission slips. I've completed all these tasks.

Each slip has the detailed mission report."

At the same time, he retrieved a box from his "storage," opening it to reveal an assortment of odd trophies.

"These are the proof-items confirming each job is done—feel free to inspect them."

The manager stared at the thick wad of mission slips in his hand, each one about as thick as a deck of playing cards, eyes dazed. Black markets among various shinobi villages were somewhat interlinked, and many tasks could be finalized in a neighboring village's market. Carefully, he reviewed the mission reports and inspected the proof-items. Satisfied, he nodded.

"The total fees for these jobs come to 2.2 million ryō. Would you like it in cash or a check?"

Hearing this, Senshi clicked his tongue.

"Only that much, huh? Well, guess I didn't run into any big fish on the way. All that menial labor barely adds up to the price of one decent bounty mission."

He said idly:

"Half in cash, half in a certified check."

The manager nodded and went to handle it. Right then, Karin, the "human adding machine," stepped up to count the money. Senshi patted her on the head:

"I'll look through the market's job slips. Could you handle the counting?"

Karin nodded firmly. Meanwhile, Senshi moved over to the board of available assignments and started browsing:

[Target: Genji (Elder)]

[Reward: Capture Alive – 30 million / Kill – 15 million]

[Details: Assassinate the Kiri's current de facto leader, Genji. Under his rule, the village has departed from the path set by the Fourth Mizukage. He will bring Kiri to ruin!]

Reading that, Senshi guessed it was posted by remnants loyal to the late Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, who wanted Genji gone. He soon checked the next slip:

[Target: Terumi Mei]

[Reward: Capture Alive – 20 million / Kill – 10 million]

[Details: A Kiri elite jōnin with great strength, a staunch loyalist to Genji, and his future successor. The village will be doomed under their leadership!]

Senshi couldn't help but grin at that one. It included Terumi Mei's photo and other details. She wore a loose-fitting blue robe with an open collar, a shapely figure, and long bangs covering her right eye, giving her both an elegant and seductive look.

He kept flipping through, finding that all the bounties targeted Kiri's top brass. Then, he almost burst out laughing at the next:

[Target: Chōjūrō]

[Reward: Capture Alive – 10 million / Kill – 5 million]

[Details: The toady of a toady! A Kiri prodigy, wielder of the double sword Hiramekarei, and a close subordinate of Terumi Mei.]

"He's the lackey of a lackey?" Senshi mused with amusement. They really weren't giving the future Sixth Mizukage much respect, if his bounty was only 10 million. But these definitely weren't just for laughs. He planned to take them all.

For these bounty missions, he'd likely put them under Kakuzu's name. Everything could be picked up that way.

~~~

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