Might Guy and Rock Lee were both the type of ninja who never worried over minor details.
Having already improved themselves through mission farming in the past, the two of them—now training under Senshi—were nearly at the required bond value threshold for joining his mercenary group.
Not long ago, the system had upgraded, reducing the bond-value threshold by five points to 45%. Guy and Lee were already close to that requirement, and by the end of today's mission grind, both should reach the mark.
Guy's bond value soared for several reasons, beyond just following Senshi's mission-farming plan and indeed benefiting from it.
On one hand, he trusted Kakashi. On the other hand, he believed in Lord Hokage and was loyal to Konoha.
Moreover, his dearest friend and eternal rival—Kakashi—had already joined Senshi's mercenary group and was improving under Senshi's training methods, so it made no sense for Guy not to do the same.
All those factors, combined with Senshi's formidable reputation in the black market, meant that Guy easily recognized Senshi's methods and accepted the practice of mission farming as training.
Rock Lee's situation was nearly the same, with one additional factor:
He knew not only that Karin and the other five Ame ninja were Senshi's students but also that Naruto and Sasuke had trained under him. This made him place absolute faith in Senshi's training methods.
After all, it was only recently that Sasuke, in just half a month, had achieved results in taijutsu that had cost Lee several years of effort to attain. That blow was tremendous.
Upon learning Sasuke was training under Lord Senshi's system and had joined his mercenary group, Lee was itching to join as well.
That evening, Senshi didn't bring them back to the village.
Instead, under their astonished gazes, he clapped his hands. "Wood Release: Villa Technique!"
Boom… Rumble…!
An endless tangle of wooden beams burst from the ground, growing at a furious pace and morphing into various pillars, planks, frames, windows, and doorways. In almost no time, a luxurious three-story villa stood before them.
Though they'd witnessed Musen use Wood Release during the Chūnin Exams, his version was nothing compared to Senshi's—smooth and seamless—Wood Release ninjutsu.
After taking care of their accommodations, Senshi turned to Guy and Lee. "Guy, Lee, from what I've observed, you both have reached the standard for joining my mercenary group."
"Now I formally invite you two to become part of it."
Guy and Lee were overjoyed. Both happily agreed to join Senshi's group.
[Might Guy has accepted your invitation and joined your mercenary group!]
[Rock Lee has accepted your invitation and joined your mercenary group!]
Guy said, "Lord Senshi, I accept your invitation. That means the mission Lord Hokage gave me is fulfilled, right?"
Lee spoke up as well. "Lord Senshi, I accept your invitation too!"
With Guy and Lee now members of Senshi's mercenary group, Neji and Tenten felt a bit down. They even had trouble sleeping that night.
Nothing more happened until morning. The next day, all four of Guy's team set out again with Senshi to take on a slew of missions. With Senshi leading, it took little time for them each to earn two million ryō.
Upon reaching that two-million mark, Neji and Tenten both instinctively glanced at Guy-sensei and Lee. They watched, wide-eyed, as something extraordinary occurred in front of Guy and Lee.
Vmm—
A faint transparent ripple spread out, and a scratch-off card appeared right in front of them!
Might Guy: (O_O)???
Rock Lee: (O_O)???
Neji Hyūga: (O_O)???
Tenten: (O_O)???
The day before, Senshi had told them: once Guy and Lee earned two million each, they'd understand the perks of joining the mercenary group. But witnessing this marvel still didn't tell them exactly what the "perks" were.
Guy picked up the floating scratch-off card and studied it carefully, yet couldn't see what it did. So he looked at Senshi. "Lord Senshi, what's the purpose of this scratch card?"
Senshi smiled. "Go ahead and scratch it. You'll find out."
As soon as Senshi said so, Guy began scraping off the card's silver coating. Neji, Tenten, and Lee watched the motion without blinking, hearts pounding.
Once the shiny layer was peeled away, a line of text popped into view:
[Ninja Tool from the Land of Crafts: Nunchaku x1]
In the next instant, the scratch-off card vanished and reappeared in the form of a finely-made nunchaku right in front of Guy.
That scene left all four of them speechless. Now they finally realized what Senshi meant by "the perks of joining his mercenary group." The benefit was access to these magical scratch-off cards—capable of awarding all manner of prizes.
Though Guy's face still showed amazement, his eyes shone with excitement. Snatching the nunchaku in one hand, he said enthusiastically, "These are nunchaku from the Land of Crafts! Their ninja tools are always excellent. With this gear, my Twin Fangs will be even better!"
Then he looked eagerly at Rock Lee. "Lee, check your prize too!"
"Sure thing, Guy-sensei!" Lee had been itching to scratch his card; with Guy's go-ahead, he wasted no time.
Shortly thereafter, Lee revealed another line of text:
[One Year of Training Results x1]
Rock Lee: (O_O)???
Guy and the others: (O_O)???
Next moment, a mysterious power flooded Lee's entire body. In that instant, his strength rose dramatically— as if he'd just gained the results of an entire year of grueling training in one second!
Guy and the rest sensed a sudden surge of aura from Lee. They were stunned. How on earth had Senshi managed such a thing?
Though Guy's and Lee's rewards were starkly different, Neji and Tenten both nearly cried with envy. Gaining in one second what ordinarily took a year of hard work was definitely hitting the jackpot. Lee not only got stronger but skipped a year of suffering.
Noticing their longing stares, Senshi grinned. "Don't worry, you two. If you keep at it a bit longer, you'll qualify to join too. Then you can get a scratch-off card every time you earn two million ryō, just like them."
His words altered Neji and Tenten's moods a bit. Unlike the oblivious Guy and Lee, they didn't fully trust Senshi yet— they planned to observe him a while longer before they were willing to trust him.
Meanwhile, Guy and Lee were thrilled. With such perks, they absolutely had to spam missions, earn money, and rack up scratch-off cards from now on.
As Senshi busied himself training the four of Team Guy, Kakuzu was furiously farming missions with Fū elsewhere. Recently, Kakuzu had turned the Land of Fire's black markets into his second home. He spent day after day farming points like mad, using the lottery draws like mad, earning a pile of money all while growing stronger.
Even before the mercenary group had scratch-off cards, Kakuzu was avid about doing missions. Now that these cards existed, he was entirely hooked.
Currently, Kakuzu and Fū stopped at one of the black markets in the Land of Fire. Kakuzu pulled out a thick stack of scratch-off cards to start drawing his prizes. High-paying tasks in the black market often brought huge commissions, like 20 million ryō for a single mission—enough for ten scratch-off cards at once.
As Kakuzu scratched card after card, Fū looked on enviously, only able to watch. He did a bulk draw of ten scratch-offs:
[Scroll of Multiplying Explosive Tags x1]
[Earth Release: Rock Gun Technique x1]
[Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!]
[Chakra +1 Unit!]
[Expired Milk x1]
[Tri-Colored Dango x1]
…
After finishing, Kakuzu's face lit up in delight.
His Earth Grudge Fear (Jiongu) was potent; it allowed him to use most of the original owner's ninjutsu from any heart he seized. But it couldn't teach him a brand-new jutsu instantly. Meanwhile, the magical scratch-off cards from Senshi's mercenary group could.
He was already at an advantage when it came to mission-farming, and with these scratch-off rewards, it turned into a virtuous cycle, making him stronger and stronger. In that quick moment, he'd learned two new ninjutsu and gained additional chakra. Moving forward, he wouldn't be stuck relying on the particular hearts he possessed; as long as he had enough scratch-off cards, he could master most of the jutsu in the shinobi world!
Dreaming of such a bright future, Kakuzu moved on to deal with the other items. He casually tossed the expired milk aside, stored the "Multiplying Explosive Tags" scroll, then handed the Tri-Colored dango to Fū.
Fū: (〃'▽'〃)
She accepted the dango from Kakuzu and thanked him. "Thank you, Lord Kakuzu!"
Kakuzu nodded slightly. "Let's take a short break, then keep farming missions."
"Sure thing, Lord Kakuzu!" Fū answered with enthusiasm.
Nibbling her dango, Fū's mind wandered to Karin. She knew Karin Uzumaki had also joined Lord Senshi's mercenary group.
That in itself was fine, but Karin happened to be Fū's biggest rival in her goal of becoming the greatest "ninja assistant" in the world.
And if Karin were spamming missions and drawing scratch-off rewards like Kakuzu, Fū would never catch up. The thought left her disheartened.
She'd wanted to join Senshi's mercenary group for a while, but it seemed very difficult to do so, so she'd only pondered it privately, never bringing it up to Kakuzu.
Kakuzu was quite satisfied with Fū as a sidekick. He'd noticed her reactions; every time he earned a scratch card, she cheered for him, while her gaze also showed how envious she was. He was well aware. Especially whenever Karin's name came up—Karin also being a black-market devotee—Fū's distressed expression made Kakuzu feel some pity.
But these past days, he hadn't run into Senshi; he'd been too busy working missions day and night with Fū to address it. Now, taking a breather, he considered it and finally spoke decisively, "Fū, you want to join Senshi's mercenary group, don't you?"
Mouth full of dango, Fū still nodded eagerly.
Kakuzu chuckled. "From what I know of Senshi, along with how you handle missions, you should be fully qualified to join his group. We've been in the black market for a while; let's go find Senshi and see if he'll let you join."
Fū: (〃'▽'〃)
She was ecstatic. After all, if Lord Kakuzu said it was fine, it had to be fine.
But as Kakuzu took Fū to look for Senshi, problems arose. They first went to the inn where Ame ninja stayed—no sign of him. Then they staked out the black market where Senshi was often seen—still nothing.
Kakuzu: (O_O)???
Fū: (O_O)???
They were both baffled. Kakuzu frowned. "Weird. He's not at Konoha, nor at the black market he usually haunts. Where did he go?"
Fū nodded in agreement. "You know, it's been quite a while since we last saw Lord Senshi."
Though it surprised Kakuzu that they couldn't find Senshi at either place, he wasn't especially worried. There were lots of black markets in the Land of Fire. Senshi farming missions somewhere else was entirely plausible.
He thought about it, then said to Fū, "Let's try other black markets nearby. He might be somewhere else doing missions."
"Okay, Lord Kakuzu!" she replied, cheerful as ever.
Imagining she could soon earn the same scratch-off cards as Kakuzu and Karin, Fū hummed happily all along the way. They eventually visited two more black markets and finally caught sight of Senshi.
But when Kakuzu spotted him from afar, he froze.
What was Senshi up to? He seemed to be leading four unknown Konoha shinobi… on missions?
How dare he!
I'm the second-ranking mercenary in the ninja world— I should be Senshi's best partner!
Kakuzu was livid. When Senshi previously enlisted Hidan and Sasori as teammates, Kakuzu had been annoyed, but not this angry.
Hidan was immortal and Sasori had the Hex Core; both had natural advantages for mission-farming, which Kakuzu begrudgingly acknowledged. They were all from the same organization, more or less "on the same side."
But now? Who were these unfamiliar Konoha shinobi, and why was Senshi running missions with them instead of Kakuzu?
Fū frowned at the sight too. She murmured, "Lord Kakuzu, what's Lord Senshi doing? There's no reason he'd need Konoha's ninja to handle missions, given his own strength."
Kakuzu answered coldly, "He can't really be mission farming in earnest, or those shinobi wouldn't even qualify to accompany him."
Fū nodded. "Exactly! Only you are fit to be Lord Senshi's top partner!"
Seething, Kakuzu marched over to Senshi's group with Fū in tow. The moment he arrived, he angrily chastised Senshi:
"Senshi, you've changed! Look at yourself—what are you doing right now? Think about how long it's been since you farmed missions seriously! And here you are, messing around with these Konoha ninjas and wasting precious time that could be spent on missions!"
Fū joined in, "Lord Senshi, you really haven't farmed missions wholeheartedly in a while!"
Senshi: (O_O)???
He was startled to bump into Kakuzu and Fū here. Even more so by Kakuzu's angry outburst, complete with an exasperated look, as though disappointed in Senshi's lack of dedication.
But times had changed. He no longer needed "traditional" mission farming—he wasn't interested in ordinary tasks anymore, which could be handled by his Wood Clones or anyone from his mercenary group. If he wanted to earn more commission points passively, what he really needed to do was expand the group.
As Kakuzu continued berating Senshi, Guy and his three students eyed Kakuzu, brows furrowed. Guy rubbed his chin, sure he had seen Kakuzu and Fū before but unable to recall more than that.
Neji studied them more carefully and thought, "Isn't that the Takigakure jōnin from the Exams? What's he doing in the Land of Fire, dressed like Lord Senshi? So they're from the same organization? But why is he so mad—did he and Lord Senshi argue?"
Lee and Tenten were equally curious about the sudden tension. They recognized Kakuzu as the Takigakure jōnin from the audience stands in the Exams, but they had no idea what his connection to Senshi was.
Lee turned to Senshi. "Lord Senshi, who is this gentleman?"
All eyes turned to Senshi, wanting to know Kakuzu's relationship with him. Senshi chuckled, patting Kakuzu's shoulder, and said, "Let me give a grand introduction. This man is an important mainstay of our mercenary group—Kakuzu. Moreover, he's my sworn brother, and my most trusted, most reliable partner— Kaku!"
Might Guy: (O_O)???
Rock Lee: (O_O)???
Neji: (O_O)???
Tenten: (O_O)???
Hearing that, the four of them were astonished. After a long stretch of missions with Senshi, they'd learned a lot about him. They knew that merely joining his group was already proof of excellence, so hearing Senshi lavish such praise on someone meant he was practically legendary.
Kakuzu: (O_O)???
He felt like a bolt of lightning had just hit him. Never did he expect Senshi held him in such high regard— actually calling him his finest partner.
Where Kakuzu was momentarily stunned, Fū was overjoyed (〃'▽'〃), her face beaming with pride on his behalf.
She thought, "Wow! Lord Kakuzu has once again gained Lord Senshi's recognition. As expected of the ninja I respect—he's amazing!"
Collecting himself from the initial shock, Kakuzu felt somewhat embarrassed by the high praise. He'd assumed Senshi's lack of invitation for joint missions meant a low opinion of him. But who would have thought Senshi would now call him his most trusted partner?
Clearing his throat, Kakuzu said, "Ahem… Senshi, what did you just say?"
Senshi smiled. "I said you're my most trustworthy, outstanding partner."
That made Kakuzu very happy, though he played coy. "Am I really that trusted?"
Again, Senshi gave his shoulder a reassuring pat. "Kaku, of course you're trusted!"
He was telling the truth, not just flattering him. Kakuzu had displayed exceptional performance in the mercenary group— as perhaps the ninja with the longest "work history," he excelled at task completion and was extremely efficient. He'd teamed up with Senshi in the past, always with reliable results. He'd never once caused trouble after joining. If Senshi couldn't trust Kakuzu, who else could he trust?
Guy and his team were amazed at Senshi's regard for Kakuzu. Guy studied him closely again, determined to memorize the face of a ninja so highly praised. Neji wondered how strong Kakuzu had to be to garner such admiration from Senshi. The thoughts of Lee and Tenten were the same. They'd been around Senshi for quite a while now but had never heard him praise any other ninja like this.
While Senshi and Kakuzu were talking, Kakashi arrived from another part of the black market with the "eight little black sheeps" (Naruto's squad). Spotting Senshi, Naruto and the others dashed over excitedly.
"Sensei!"
"Headmaster!"
"Lord Senshi, are you here farming missions too?"
That last question came from Kakashi, who was responsible for Naruto and Sasuke's safety. Wherever those two went, he went, so after they finished the tasks at their last black market, they came here—and once again ran into Senshi. But it turned out that the Takigakure jōnin and a Jinchūriki were also present. They seemed to be chatting with Senshi just now; he wondered what about.
As Kakashi mused, Senshi answered calmly, "Yeah, we just got here, though, so we haven't done many tasks."
Once Senshi spoke, Karin ran over and asked, "Senshi, what are you all doing here?"
He replied casually, "I brought Guy's team to farm missions in this black market, but we hadn't been at it long when we bumped into Kakuzu."
Then, turning to Kakuzu, Senshi asked, "So, Kaku-bro, you stopped me—something on your mind?"
By now, Kakuzu's head was swimming from all the praise, and he hadn't been paying attention to Senshi's words. "Huh? Senshi, what'd you say?"
Senshi sighed in mild exasperation. "I asked whether you needed something from me."
Snapping out of his daze, Kakuzu recalled why he'd come. He patted Fū's shoulder. "Senshi, Fū is a capable ninja. I believe she has what it takes to join the mercenary group. What do you think— can she?"
Senshi glanced at his group's interface and saw Fū's bond value was already well over 45%. Without hesitation, he answered, "If you vouch for her ability, then absolutely!"
He then turned and extended an offer to Fū: "Fū, would you like to join my mercenary group?"
Fū: (O_O)???
That invitation stunned her. Even though Lord Kakuzu had reassured her, she still wasn't entirely confident. She never expected that thanks to Kakuzu, Lord Senshi would instantly approve her entry. It felt so unreal. Still, she wasted no time, nodding like a baby chick. "Lord Senshi, I'd be honored to join your mercenary group!"
Senshi nodded. "Then we're set. Starting now, you can earn scratch-off cards from mission-farming too."
Fū: (〃'▽'〃)
She was overjoyed, bowing her thanks. "Thank you, Lord Senshi!"
He waved it off. "No need for thanks. You're Kakuzu's assistant, which makes you one of us by default."
That made Fū even happier, because he was effectively validating both her and Kakuzu. Next to her, Kakuzu still kept a straight face, but beneath his mask, he was smiling ear to ear. Senshi had given him tremendous respect.
Truthfully, Kakuzu hadn't been sure Senshi would let Fū join so easily, since Senshi had never revealed the precise conditions for membership. He'd figured there might be a trial period. But to his surprise, Senshi agreed straight away.
Off to the side, Karin's eyes went round with shock. She gazed at Senshi. "Senshi, Fū wasn't already in the mercenary group?"
Senshi shook his head slightly. "No, she wasn't in it before. But her abilities are more than sufficient now."
But Karin's question had a motive beyond the obvious.
Clatter!
The small box in her pocket suddenly slipped to the ground. The lid, which wasn't firmly shut, flipped open upon impact, revealing over fifty scratch-off cards she had stockpiled, all in plain sight for Fū.
"Oh dear, how clumsy of me…"
~~~
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