Chapter 50: Ninja Mercenaries
Over the next few days, Takahashi pushed himself even harder, taking on more missions. After being "donated to" by Tsunade, he was even poorer. After all, it was hard to say no when someone had just helped you.
So, he had no choice but to push himself like a workhorse, constantly taking on missions. His motto was to work until he dropped, as long as it didn't literally kill him.
Who doesn't know how to grind? he thought. I'm a man who aims to be the top earner in Konoha. How could I be defeated by a little difficulty like this?
Even though a large chunk of his money had been "borrowed" by Tsunade, he still had considerable savings left—the benefit of his relentless hard work.
It's just that his hard work might have been a little too obvious. On one mission, he was tasked with tracking a spy from another village who had been held by Konoha. The spy had escaped, and Takahashi didn't know how he had contacted his home village. A total of forty people showed up to support him, including over a dozen Jonin. This lineup was very strong, and notably, none of them wore their village's headband.
Takahashi didn't even know which village the escaped spy was from. He felt the situation was a bit strange, but the reward was generous, so he didn't ask too many questions.
He accepted the mission directly and set out under the cover of darkness. The target was seriously injured, leaving many traces along the way. The rendezvous point was at least a hundred kilometers from Konoha. Even if the support team was coming, they couldn't get there immediately.
Takahashi wasn't in a hurry. He followed steadily. The target was very clever, setting many explosive tags and shuriken traps along the path. He probably assumed someone important like him would be pursued by a large team. He never expected only one person, Takahashi, would be following him.
Takahashi still remembered the strange expression on the Third Hokage's face when he accepted this mission. Originally, this mission was meant for an Anbu team, but Takahashi had insisted on taking it. The Hokage had no choice but to agree, though he warned Takahashi to be careful.
Just which village's spy could make the Third Hokage so concerned? Takahashi wondered. Is this guy lucky or unlucky?
What was even more unlucky for the spy was Takahashi relentlessly chasing him from behind. The spy had been running for nearly three hours by the time Takahashi set out from Konoha.
The ninja fleeing for his life was terrified, panting wildly. He felt his lungs were about to explode, but for some reason, no Konoha ninja seemed to be chasing him.
Even so, he felt a constant sense of dread, like a sharp sword hanging over his head. After running for another half hour, he finally couldn't go on.
Stopping on a tree branch, he stared intently behind him but found no traces of pursuit.
"Was I just being paranoid?"
"I guess so."
Hearing a voice agree, a chill shot down his spine. He frantically threw shuriken in all directions. "Who's there? Show yourself!"
Takahashi appeared, hanging upside down from a branch right in front of him. "I have to say, you're pretty jumpy for a ninja. Just who are you, to be so valued by the Third Hokage?"
The man didn't answer. He quickly backed away, his hands flying into a sequence of hand seals.
But Takahashi was faster. Before he could finish, Takahashi flashed to his side and, with a single swipe of his sword, severed one of the man's hands. He then planted his sword in the ground.
"Talk. Who are you?"
The two were locked in a stalemate on the ground when Takahashi suddenly sensed presences closing in from all directions.
He instantly turned his body into light particles, just as four kunai passed through the space he had occupied. These four individuals were incredibly fast, at least Jonin level. It seemed this was the rescue team the Third Hokage had mentioned.
However, Takahashi soon realized the intel was wrong. Nearly a hundred people appeared on the scene—twice the expected number. Thankfully, the extras were all lower-level Genin and didn't pose much threat.
Takahashi frowned. Which village had such resources to send so many ninjas? Even for Konoha, losing this many Jonin at once would be a heavy blow.
None of these people wore headbands, but some had distinct tattoos on their necks and chests. Takahashi quickly flashed his way to the rear of the enemy force. In an instant, he cut down half of the fifty-odd ninjas.
This display of speed and power terrified them, scattering their spirits. He noticed the markings on these people were all different. They weren't from a single village at all, but rather a mixed group from several different, complicated backgrounds.
It was impossible for multiple official villages to jointly send their own ninjas to target another village unless they wanted to start another great ninja war. That left a simple conclusion.
These guys were either acting privately, doing these stupid jobs behind their villages' backs to earn some extra money on the side, or they were rogue-nin, or what some called "mercenaries." These people would do anything for money, without any other loyalties.
In other words, the spy's home village wasn't supporting him directly. Instead, they had paid a lot of rogue-nin to intercept and rescue him.
The leader was a man with three scar-like gashes on his face. He said coldly, "If we can't save him, then kill this kid."
When the one-handed man heard this, he panicked. "No! You can't kill me! I brought back very important information from Konoha! Lord Nagato would never allow you to kill me!"
Hearing him directly shout their employer's name, the scarred man's eyes turned icy. This idiot, he thought. If he hadn't said that, he might have lived. But by saying that, he's signed his own death warrant.
Immediately, over a dozen different attacks—fireballs, water dragons, wind blades—all converged on the one-handed man. The area of effect was so large it nearly covered the entire space they occupied. Although Takahashi managed to pull him out in time, the man was still gravely injured. It was clear he wouldn't last long.
However, hearing the name "Nagato" made Takahashi frown. He hadn't expected the Akatsuki to already be infiltrating Konoha this early.
Although Pain relied on the power of the Six Paths, he was still a leader with many ninjas under his command. Infiltrating various villages to gather information was essential for supporting their next plans.
It seemed the Third Hokage had known something, which was why he had imprisoned this man so securely. He must have known the man was from Amegakure and could estimate how many people would come to rescue him.
What an old fox, Takahashi thought. But was there any need to hide this from me?
Now the informant was dead. His mission was complete, whether by killing the target or bringing him back.
He looked at the mercenaries in front of him, his mood a little complicated.
"Leave," he said. "I don't want to kill you all."
(End of Chapter)
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