The Charlatan Business (First Update)

Qi Xieyuan usually kept a low profile and preferred underhanded methods.

But with this newcomer before him, there was no need for much pretense.

The gap between them was simply too great!

Even when dealing with ordinary natives of the Space, one had to be wary of whether some big shot stood behind them.

But there was no need to worry about Reincarnators at all!

Before, he might have thought that a powerful plot character stood behind him.

But now that he had discovered that person was likely Zhang Zuolin, there was no question that he should deal with him using the methods of Reincarnators.

Still, Qi Xieyuan did not intend to make things difficult for him this time. Even if he did not respect the monk, he had to respect the Buddha. In the end, this man was a piece Zhang Zuolin had placed here. Although Qi Xieyuan could barely count himself among those watching the game, last night’s experience had made him realize just how vast the gap between himself and Zhang Zuolin was.

This time, he merely intended to make use of him for something!

Clearly, after Zhang Zuolin had made such a grand move, he could no longer remain in Konoha. Without Zhang Zuolin as his backer, this fellow could now be freely manipulated by him.

Oh?

It seemed he had entered under the name of some merchant caravan.

It did not matter. With his Comprehensive Reputation, his initial identity was that of a bona fide Konoha Chunin. No one would recognize him from last night’s operation, so it would have no effect whatsoever on his identity.

With a Chunin’s authority, checking the goods of a small merchant caravan would be no problem at all.

Heh, transporting so much cargo in one go, it was probably low-profit grunt work. Still, for an official Reincarnator to be able to organize a merchant caravan was already quite impressive…

Yet at that moment, a lovely and seductive woman stepped in front of Qi Xieyuan and looked at him coldly.

Though he appeared to be nothing more than a Konoha Chunin, he inexplicably gave Mei Terumi a faint sense of pressure and threat.

Moreover, Qi Xieyuan could not be bothered with a detailed disguise this time, and his attitude was far from pleasant. Mei Terumi immediately moved to intercept him protectively.

"Heh, you even hired a bodyguard. You do have an eye for people."

Seeing no ninja headband on Mei Terumi, Qi Xieyuan brazenly looked her up and down before speaking in his uniquely effeminate voice.

His mockery was unmistakable.

Even after coming to the Mission Space, he was still thinking only about women. Hiring such a beautiful woman as protection was all style and no substance.

If he really wanted women, why not go to the Pleasure Space? He could even become an emperor there!

The undisguised contempt and the disdain in his tone toward women made Mei Terumi’s eyes turn cold.

When he raised a hand toward her, she immediately struck with a swift, fierce series of taijutsu attacks.

Palm, elbow, throw.

She directly flung the caught-off-guard Qi Xieyuan to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Qi Xieyuan had never expected this woman to be so strong. Already injured and somewhat weakened, he had been caught completely off guard and failed to put up even the slightest defense.

Mei Terumi was likewise wary of the current situation in Konoha, so she merely punished him with ordinary taijutsu. Afterward, she calmly said,

"We have proper official travel permits. Is this how Konoha treats its guests?"

After beating him up, she even turned around and pinned a charge on him. Even Xu Yue could not help viewing her in a new light.

The long row of official seals on Xu Yue’s documents, along with the escorting ninja from Sunagakure’s allied nations beside him, truly put them entirely in the right.

Several ninja immediately appeared and apologized to Xu Yue.

"My apologies, Mr. Yue. He has only just started handling this sort of mission and lacks experience."

"It’s nothing. Since he has already received a little punishment, I’ll be magnanimous and let it go. But after such a major incident, one of your people actually tried to drive a wedge between Konoha and its allies. I really don’t know what he was thinking."

Xu Yue waved his hand with great magnanimity, casually saying that he did not mind.

But Qi Xieyuan, who was being helped to his feet nearby, had a whole string of fucking complaints to make…

Sure enough, the Chunin helping him up noticeably tightened his grip around Qi Xieyuan’s wrist, then turned back and examined him with a scrutinizing gaze…

As a super merchant who had brought back such an enormous quantity of goods, especially while Konoha was going through difficult times, Xu Yue was granted an audience with the Third Hokage.

After dismissing everyone else, the Third Hokage looked at Xu Yue and sighed.

"It has truly been hard on you. The S-rank missing-nin warrants for you and Itachi have already been issued. Under normal circumstances, there will not be any pursuit squads."

S-rank missing-nin also represented an extreme level of danger. Ordinary squads could not deal with experts of that level, and even major villages did not have the manpower or resources to keep pursuing them indefinitely. As a result, there would actually be much less trouble.

"Actually, Third Hokage, you’re the one under the greatest pressure. A heartless person like me doesn’t really care. I’ll just sell my goods and rent out Jinchuriki."

Xu Yue maintained a sufficiently respectful attitude toward the Third Hokage, though his words remained rather casual.

"By the way, why have you rented Jinchuriki twice in a row?"

Konoha’s intelligence work was quite good. They might not receive news immediately, but they had certainly learned of the One-Tail’s rampage and Utakata’s earlier appearance in the Land of Fire.

"Because the organization Itachi joined seems to be interested in Jinchuriki, so I thought I’d make contact with them all in advance."

Xu Yue smiled and spoke lightly.

Yet this drew the Third Hokage’s full attention. They were interested in Jinchuriki? Did they intend to release the Tailed Beasts?

Even with Yue’s assistance back then, the Nine-Tails’ rampage had caused tremendous losses.

"I will keep an eye on this as well. You must also be careful when gathering intelligence. Openly, the village will not provide you with any support."

The Third Hokage’s voice carried a trace of gravity and melancholy.

No matter what, he was a man in power. Regardless of his own interests or wishes, his foremost consideration had to be Konoha!

"Relax. If I want to leave, no one can keep me. Oh, right, that guy who stopped me at the gate seemed to have something wrong with him."

Xu Yue seemed to recall something else.

"Hmm?"

The Third Hokage took Xu Yue’s words seriously and would not treat them as ordinary intelligence.

"Although he was dealt with easily enough, I keep feeling that he was hiding something. His strength is probably quite formidable. At such a critical time, I suspect he is connected to that mysterious force targeting the Uchiha Clan."

Such a grand move by the Reincarnators would naturally draw Konoha’s attention. Xu Yue casually gave them a shove, intending to force them out of Konoha first.

"I will arrange for someone to investigate them thoroughly. I will not let them off easily."

Even someone as mild-tempered as the Third Hokage had a flicker of killing intent flash through his eyes. The air in the office visibly grew heavier.

With Konoha badly wounded, this was precisely the time to make an example of someone and establish authority!

Because of a single remark from Xu Yue, Qi Xieyuan and the few others who had concealed themselves rather well through Comprehensive Reputation no longer had any place in Konoha…

"Oh, right, there is one more thing I think might be quite meaningful. The Land of Water is in considerable chaos right now. I estimate the Fourth Mizukage will not be able to hold his position for much longer. As for that person I hired, I think she has quite the potential to become the future Fifth Mizukage…"

At the end, Xu Yue seemed to think of something else and continued his charlatan business…

Three updates today.

The first update is an extra chapter in return for everyone’s average subscriptions. Thank you all for your support along the way!!

I know the updates have been weak lately, and I’m sorry, but I really need to keep things steady and avoid breaking the streak. It’s the end of the year, and whenever something suddenly comes up, there may be fewer updates that day. I can only use the days with three updates to make up the shortfall. Even then, it has been a struggle, and several times I nearly lost the streak. I hope everyone can understand…