Land of Water

"Part of the Chakra from the Three-Tails, Eight-Tails, and Nine-Tails was already in hand. Time to look for the others."

Since Xu Yue had now decided to push forward the Moon Eye Plan himself, he had temporarily shelved his original plan of entering Naruto again during the last Promotion Mission and launching a large-scale hunt for the tailed beasts.

But even if he did not capture them, he still needed to draw some Chakra from each tailed beast for research.

Just like how the Ten-Tails in the original plot had not been complete, yet could still display the characteristics of a Ten-Tails Jinchuriki.

Based on Xu Yue’s current research into Chakra and Sealing Jutsu, he could determine that fusing portions of Chakra from the ten tailed beasts would be enough to achieve the quality of Ten-Tails Chakra.

Then, if he carved off a piece of flesh from the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, creating an inferior version of a Ten-Tails Jinchuriki should not be much of a problem.

It would simply have less mana.

He was used to that anyway.

With a Sage Body, he would be able to replenish it sooner or later…

Land of Water

Aside from the current Fourth Mizukage, Karatachi Yagura, being the Three-Tails Jinchuriki, there was also the Six-Tails Jinchuriki, Utakata.

He had already obtained the Three-Tails’ Chakra from Rin last time, so this time, his target was only the Six-Tails.

According to Konoha’s current intelligence, Utakata did not seem to have become a rogue ninja yet.

And the Land of Water was currently in its most brutal era of suppression.

The Fourth Mizukage had fallen under a Mangekyo Illusion Technique, and his current policies heavily oppressed the bloodline clans within the village.

Several bloodline clans had already been massacred one after another under fabricated charges.

The Taketori Clan’s recent movements had been somewhat mysterious.

Based on the intelligence he had obtained, the Taketori Clan’s massacre should have occurred around the same time as the Uchiha Clan’s massacre.

The massacre of the Uchiha Clan had most likely provoked the Taketori Clan.

For the time being, that civil unrest was still quite some time away.

But with the plot having been interfered with by him, anything could happen.

Although he would not be staying this time for very long, he still needed to plant a Mole.

The Fourth Mizukage’s position within the village was still relatively stable. That cute Fifth Mizukage had not emerged yet.

It was very possible that all these events had occurred as a chain reaction…

Xu Yue’s original appearance was unfamiliar both in the current ninja world and among France’s Reincarnators, so traveling through the ninja world did not attract much attention or trouble.

However, after arriving in the Land of Water, Xu Yue still found an underground exchange and learned some more detailed information.

Akatsuki’s name had, unsurprisingly, already spread through the underground factions.

They specialized in taking on bounty missions that could not see the light of day, accumulating great wealth in the process.

Moreover, they completed missions with astonishing efficiency.

However, their members were mysterious. The underground exchange had no information on them, and overall, Akatsuki was merely regarded as a relatively efficient underground organization. No one yet knew how truly terrifying Akatsuki was.

Nor would anyone believe that any organization could challenge the rule of the Five Great Villages.

Xu Yue did not care much about that. He had merely confirmed that Nagato had ultimately been steered back onto the right track by Obito.

Come to think of it, quite a few members of Akatsuki had ties to him. Scorpion, who had stolen his beloved toy, Kakuzu, Orochimaru, and Nagato… these relationships were truly complicated.

But for now, Akatsuki had remained in hiding, so his collection of portions of the tailed beasts’ Chakra did not conflict with them for the time being.

Aboard the ferry headed for the Land of Water, Xu Yue casually chatted with the boatman about the current state of the country.

"Times are hard these days. Things are pretty chaotic at home, and the country has shut itself off from the outside world. Foreign ninjas aren’t allowed in at all. Merchants from other countries won’t go beyond the border even when escorted by ninjas, so business is getting worse and worse."

The boatman wore a deeply rueful expression.

People at the bottom like them felt domestic unrest most directly.

"That really is regrettable. The Land of Water’s unique geography means it actually has many local specialties."

Xu Yue played the part of a merchant looking to move goods perfectly.

Such people were also the most common in the Land of Water.

It was precisely because of the Land of Water’s unrest and isolation that its local products fetched greater prices and profits.

As long as the profits were high enough, people would naturally take risks.

Likewise, merchants were the ordinary profession that interacted most frequently with ninjas, and they also possessed the greatest influence among ordinary professions!

It was exceedingly difficult for an ordinary ninja to meet a Kage, but if a merchant became wealthy enough to issue a high-level mission, meeting the Kage of a village could not be easier…

"Isn’t that the truth? But generally speaking, as long as you hire ninjas from Kirigakure, safety is guaranteed. Kirigakure has quite the reputation when it comes to credibility and following the rules."

Kirigakure currently trained its ninjas in an entirely mechanical fashion, as though producing killing machines, and the ninjas prized efficiency above all else.

But the more it was like this, the more strictly its internal rules were enforced. It was closer to the true meaning of the word "ninja," and employers still welcomed it.

"But hiring ninjas would greatly reduce the profits. It simply isn’t worth making this trip."

Xu Yue wore a troubled expression.

"But no matter how you look at it, safety is more important…"

After disembarking and leaving the ferry, Xu Yue had formed a basic impression of the Land of Water’s surveillance.

Even an ordinary boatman had been incorporated into their intelligence network. It truly was quite difficult for foreign ninjas to infiltrate this place.

Although that boatman had been an ordinary person, some of his speaking techniques and guidance appeared to have received specialized training.

If Xu Yue had displayed anything out of the ordinary, Hidden Mist Anbu would likely have invited him for tea.

Huh? What if he showed nothing unusual? What if he said nothing at all?

Wouldn’t that be even more suspicious…

After arriving in the Land of Water, Xu Yue did not rush to intervene in anything. Instead, he first went around various towns inquiring about the prices of different corals and pearls.

These two goods could be said to be the Land of Water’s highest-priced and most profitable common commodities.

Having served as an Anbu consultant for so many years, Xu Yue had accumulated quite a fortune in this world. Although the space deducted other things, it had no intention of deducting the circulating currency of this world. He was an absolute tycoon.

Xu Yue’s outward appearance also perfectly conveyed that of a wealthy yet stingy merchant.

Only after paying deposits to several suppliers did he finally seem to make up his mind and grit his teeth before heading to Kirigakure.

Arriving in Kirigakure as an employer and financier, the reception he received naturally had nothing at all to do with the bloody title of "Bloody Mist."

Even the person assigned to receive him was a beautiful female ninja.

"Does your village have any hired ninjas who are cheap yet highly skilled?"

Xu Yue’s words left the young woman in charge of receiving him speechless.

The other party should have been quite wealthy, yet he was stingy to the extreme. He seemed dissatisfied with every escort package and mission available.

Either he thought their strength was insufficient, or he thought the price was too high.

And he was always trying to grope her. What an impossible person to serve.

However, he had ordered a great deal of goods, all of considerable value. He was indeed a merchant with substantial financial resources.

A single trade might not bring much benefit to the village, but judging from his penny-pinching behavior and his inquiries about channels, it seemed he intended to do business long-term. During their conversation, he had even asked whether there would be discounts for long-term arrangements.

Therefore, for a village that was also somewhat short on funds, this kind of customer could not be allowed to slip away.

Of course, since the goal was to make money from him, they certainly would not concede much on price.

After all, all trade escorts in the Land of Water were monopolized by the country’s own ninjas.

"My apologies, sir, but the strength and price of escort ninjas are directly proportional. And given the value of your goods, we cannot assign low-ranking ninjas to you either."

The beautiful female ninja in charge of receiving him gave another professional smile. She rejected Xu Yue’s suggestion of hiring genin purely for their name, while also smoothly evading his wandering hand.

Her irritation with this man had nearly reached its limit.

"Hmph, I know you’re just trying to swindle me! You want to cheat me out of my money! Your village’s commission must be sky-high. I won’t let you get your way."

After feeling that he had concealed himself well enough, Xu Yue began actively contacting several ninja clans within Kirigakure.

At the same time, he began subtly gathering information on Utakata’s movements through the intelligence he collected.

Kirigakure did not say anything about his actions. While those ninja clans publicly refused in accordance with village regulations, several still contacted Xu Yue in private.

They said that if they worked under the ninja clans’ names alone, without using Kirigakure’s name and secretly taking private jobs, the price could be much cheaper.

Under the bloody high-pressure suppression, there were naturally ninja clans dissatisfied with the village. Taking private jobs in secret was not uncommon.

And among them was the Taketori Clan…

Two updates complete.

The Nine-Tails’ Chakra came from when Kamui severed one of its tails during the Nine-Tails battle and absorbed it into the Kamui Space. It was sealed afterward.