"Finally, it's over." Kin sighed, plopping down onto the ground.
This battle had cost him dearly.
Most of the chakra he had accumulated over the years was now reduced to less than a fifth.
It was a devastating loss.
Moreover, he had come to understand the gap between himself and a jōnin. The enemy's combat style was a series of interlocking tactics—one misstep, and without a powerful ability to turn the tide, it would mean certain death.
This kind of combat method was something Kin couldn't replicate yet.
It was something honed through years of experience.
And experience was something his "Golden Finger" (System) couldn't simulate.
It was frustrating.
"Why would we encounter Iwa-nin here?"
Kushina couldn't understand it.
"Probably infiltrating for some purpose," Kin replied, eyeing the charred, motionless body of the jōnin standing ahead.
He stepped forward, intending to search for anything useful.
"Wait, Jiraiya-sensei said not to touch corpses carelessly," Namikaze Minato warned.
"Relax," Kin waved his hand dismissively. "In this state, he couldn't have hidden any explosive tags, nor would he have had time to set traps."
He valued his life too much.
If there was even a hint of danger, he would've sent a shadow clone first.
After slicing through Nakato's body with his kunai, he found nothing useful aside from a few scorched tools.
However...
"This guy is probably the one responsible for what you wanted to stop, Kushina."
Kin used his blade to flip open the tools. Once they cooled, they could still be used—though he wasn't particularly interested in them.
"What?" Kushina rushed over, examining Nakato closely.
"It was them?"
When they had passed through the village on their way to the outpost, it had been wiped out—no humans or livestock left.
Only a single girl had survived.
The incident had nearly driven a wedge between the three of them.
Even now, Kushina still held a grudge against Kin.
Minato remained silent, lost in thought as he pieced together the details.
"But where are the things they stole?"
Kushina was puzzled. Kin had mentioned that the village's valuables had been taken when he searched earlier.
The girl hadn't been searched by Kushina, and Minato hadn't considered looting corpses.
Yet, there didn't seem to be any valuables here.
"You'll have to ask the village chief about that."
Money didn't just grow legs and walk away.
Kin smirked, though his Sharingan eyes held no amusement.
He was a firm believer in fairness.
Anyone who crossed him—whether a shinobi or a civilian—would pay the price.
Even the Hokage... though he'd wait until he was strong enough to challenge him.
The village chief sat up in bed, the faint light from outside telling him dawn was near.
He hadn't slept well all night.
Pouring himself a cup of tea, he raised it to his lips—
"Still in the mood for tea?"
A voice suddenly spoke.
He spat out the tea in shock and hastily lit the oil lamp.
The light revealed three figures who hadn't been there before.
Kin stood by the door, arms crossed. Kushina hung upside-down from the rafters. Minato stood by the window, blocking any escape.
"What brings you three here so late at night?" the chief asked with a forced smile.
But the cold expressions on their faces made his smile falter.
They weren't here for a friendly visit.
"If you're here for money, our village isn't wealthy, but we'll do our best to gather what we can," the chief stammered, his eyes trembling like a civilian coerced by shinobi.
"Still pretending?"
Kin sneered.
Even Kushina had been swayed by the act, but Minato and Uchiha Kin remained unmoved.
Kushina would believe anyone who seemed pitiful enough.
Minato, however, wouldn't overlook the bigger picture.
"You're the one who leaked our whereabouts to the Iwa-nin, aren't you?"
Kin didn't mince words.
"You're wrong! I know nothing about this!"
The chief fell to his knees, kowtowing violently, his forehead slamming against the floor in a display of innocence.
"I've never even seen any Iwa-nin!" he wailed.
Kin crouched in front of him and spoke slowly.
"From the start, I found it strange. How could a village like yours survive in such a critical location?"
"Because—"
"Don't feed me excuses."
Kin cut him off.
"Shinobi don't care about your survival. You know that."
In the wars of the shinobi world, civilians always suffered the most—a sin the shinobi could never erase.
During the Warring States Era, the death ratio between the sparse shinobi population and civilians was nearly equal. What did that say about how shinobi viewed civilians?
That mindset hadn't changed even now.
Shinobi fought without regard for civilian lives.
"For a village to survive here, it must be because the shinobi have a use for you. If you can't provide jutsu or money, then it must be information."
"Among the Five Great Shinobi Villages, Konoha treats its people the best. Normally, Konoha wouldn't drive out or slaughter civilians in the Land of Fire, which is why you've been allowed to stay."
"But why would Takigakure, Kusagakure, or even Iwagakure let you be?"
On such a crucial route, other villages had no reason to spare them.
Whoever controlled this place would gain a strategic advantage. Konoha's retaliation might be fierce, but it was better than letting rivals have it.
"There's only one way they'd let you live."
Kin's face darkened.
"Selling out Konoha shinobi."
"Your hospitality was just a way to gather intel on shinobi and sell it to other villages."
"Your so-called 'rogue ninja' were just buyers who didn't meet your price. You used the threat of Konoha's investigation to extort higher payments."
As Kin laid it out, Kushina began connecting the dots.
"The Iwa-nin attacked that village because they didn't have enough money, so they looted the others!"
"After they got the money, you sold our location to them immediately!"
Minato added from behind.
What other information had been traded wasn't something the three of them could guess.
This village had openly sold Konoha shinobi intel for profit.
And to gather funds, they'd doomed nearby villages.
Under Kin's analysis, the chief gave up.
"We just wanted to survive! What's wrong with that?!" the chief roared.
"This is our home! Why do you shinobi get to destroy it as you please? If you can take our home, why can't we use you to ensure our survival?"
Kin had no rebuttal. Relocating the village wasn't an option.
The Daimyō's decree, the Land Compliance Act, mandated that civilians protect the land granted by the Land of Fire.
They weren't allowed to leave without permission.
This law, initially meant to restrict shinobi during the village's founding, had failed to curb them.
Instead, it had trapped civilians on the battlefield with no way out.
"But you shouldn't have let the Iwa-nin destroy other villages!" Kushina shouted angrily.
The horrors of that village still haunted her nightmares.
"We just wanted to survive," the chief repeated, head bowed.
At the very least, he felt some guilt for the villages that had perished because of the shinobi.
"Unfortunately, you won't survive anymore."
Kin sighed. Though part of him wanted revenge, these people had also been backed into a corner.
He wouldn't waste energy on the dead.
"What do you mean?"
The chief looked up, face twisted with fury, eyes bloodshot.
"You didn't really think betraying Konoha would go unpunished, did you?"
Kin shook his head.
Glancing at Minato and Kushina's somber expressions, they too understood what fate awaited this village.
"Spare the others! Take it all out on me!"
The chief lunged for Kin, only to be kicked in the face and sent crashing into the wall.
"You can't shoulder this alone."
Kin turned and opened the door, looking outside.
"By now, they're already here."
Before arriving at the village, they'd had Minato send a message back via reverse summoning.
The sun peeked over the mountains.
A sliver of light illuminated the forest at the village's edge.
Shinobi in green flak jackets stood atop the branches, surveying the village below.
A woman with markings on her face, perched on a black wolf-dog, licked her dark nails.
"Leave no one alive."
"Kill them all."
The slaughter began.
At Konoha's newly established outpost, hidden deep in the forest...
Kin stood inside the mission tent, unloading scrolls onto the counter.
"Kin, what are you doing?" Minato asked, puzzled.
"Exchanging them for mission credits, of course."
The clerk stared at the scrolls in disbelief. Though few in number, they were all newly created jutsu.
But this was a frontline outpost, not Konoha's jutsu research department.
Why exchange them here?
"Can I not?" Kin asked curiously.
"You can, but these need to be sent back to the village for evaluation first," the clerk replied with a strained smile.
He'd seen plenty of people trading bloody heads for credits, but trading jutsu? That was a first. And the village did allow it.
It was absurd.
Minato watched in awe. Even he coveted these techniques.
"These are just the useless ones. If you want to learn, I have a catalog. You can pick any you like."
Kin shrugged.
In truth, these were jutsu he had no use for. He planned to trade them for credits and resources while solidifying his reputation as a jutsu-creating genius.
It was a triple win.
Though getting reassigned to the rear might be difficult.
"How's Kushina holding up?"
"She still hasn't recovered from that night. Even the promotion to chūnin didn't lift her spirits."
Kin sighed.
That night had shaken Kushina deeply.
But because they'd taken down a jōnin, they'd all been promoted to chūnin.
...
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(End of chapter)