Three hours later, while flying at high speed, Ryan descended onto a remote path within the borders of the Land of Birds.
He had just spotted a large city in the distance from the sky—a city not any smaller than Leafshade City—so he decided to land in advance to avoid drawing unnecessary attention.
Hundred Blossom City—despite its name, there wasn't a single flower in sight. Why it was named that had long been lost to history.
The streets bustled with people. Ryan casually asked a passerby for directions and soon found the local branch of the underworld—another familiar black bar.
Much like the one in Leafshade City, this branch was packed with bounty hunters. And just like his first visit before, his young appearance drew snickers and disdainful glances from some of the crowd. Ryan ignored them. He directly approached the surprised receptionist, paid for intel, and followed one of the underworld's escorts out of the bar under a storm of confused, mocking, and reverent stares.
"You must be the 'Peacock King'—the one who took down the rogue Iwagakure jonin, Yamashima Kaze, just yesterday?" the escort asked with a friendly smile.
Ryan gave a nod, his expression calm. "Looks like your underworld network spreads news fast."
The escort beamed proudly. Clearly, he held a lot of pride in the organization. "Of course! We may not rival the great hidden villages in military might, but when it comes to intelligence gathering, we're second to none. Even those villages have to buy intel from us sometimes!"
They chatted idly along the way until they reached a small village outside the city.
"Sir, Blackwood Taichi is residing somewhere in this village. That's all we know… I'll take my leave now," said the escort with a bow.
"I know your rules. You can go." Ryan waved him off.
Blackwood Taichi. Once a respected jonin from Sunagakure, he had long since betrayed the village and disappeared. In the years since, he had surfaced only sporadically—each appearance involving bloodshed. The man was known for brutal assaults and sexual crimes against women, often slaughtering entire witnesses. Naturally, he had a massive bounty on his head.
Although he'd survived many ambushes from hunter-nin over the years, Taichi never let his guard down. If a place ever became too quiet or the locals too cautious, he would vanish the very next morning without a trace. That paranoia had kept him alive this long.
Still, his twisted cravings hadn't diminished. His depravity made him seek pleasure even more obsessively—especially knowing he could be killed at any time. Since he couldn't enjoy the comforts of a village anymore, he poured his hunger into lust. His victims were always women—he had no interest in anything else.
He avoided the big cities where ANBU might show up and targeted small villages instead. He'd stay in one for about ten days before fleeing. On several occasions, Sunagakure's hunter-nin got close, but he killed them instead. And so, for years, no one had dared to accept the bounty on his head again.
Ten days ago, Blackwood Taichi arrived at a village near Hundred Blossom City. When he realized the place had no strong protectors, he immediately took over. After showing a bit of his murderous strength, the villagers caved. Now, Taichi ruled the village.
The very first order he gave was to have the village's most beautiful women brought to him.
Faced with the threat of death, some villagers were quick to sacrifice others to save themselves. The village chief was one such man. He had several young women rounded up—including his newlywed daughter-in-law—and offered them to Taichi.
Under the fear of death, the trembling women were helpless. Taichi had his way with them all. In the past several days, he had indulged himself thoroughly.
Now, tossing aside the women he'd grown bored of, Blackwood Taichi stepped out of the small home he'd taken for himself. His skin was pale from excessive indulgence, and his expression was twisted with boredom.
He glanced toward the village entrance and the quiet road beyond, vaguely sensing something unusual—though he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
He'd stayed here longer than usual, but it wasn't because of comfort. It was simply that the women here had been… particularly satisfying.
"Lord Taichi, why are you out already? Did those wenches displease you?" the fat village chief hurried up to him with a greasy smile.
"They weren't too bad… But your attitude's better. Have you prepared the money I asked for?" Taichi said lazily, brushing back his wild hair.
If this had been another village, the villagers might've secretly sent word to a ninja village. But this guy? He'd offered up his own daughter-in-law to save his skin. Taichi genuinely felt the man deserved some praise. If only more people were this "cooperative."
"Yes, yes! Thank you, Lord Taichi!" the village chief groveled shamelessly—acting like Taichi was his own father. Or worse—he'd never shown even his own father this much respect.
He pulled out a bundle of bills—mostly in five-hundred-ryō notes—so the stack didn't look too thick, but it was ten thousand ryō in total. For a small village like this, that was no trivial amount. The chief had clearly squeezed the villagers dry, probably committing more vile acts in the process.
"Well then, I'll be leaving now. You can have the women in the house. Consider it a reward." Taichi waved casually and walked away.
Even if the women had been somewhat enjoyable, he never lingered. A rogue like him couldn't afford to get attached to any place. Staying too long meant death.