"Why did you lie to him?"
After leaving the marketplace, Hizure wore a puzzled expression.
He saw no reason for it.
Besides, during wartime, which village would bother taking in a child?
"Better than letting him die," Kin replied, glancing back at the distant marketplace. "That man had already given up on life. I just gave him hope."
"But when he learns the truth, he'll only despair more."
"Then that's none of my concern."
Kin couldn't care less about the outcome, good or bad. His momentary kindness didn't mean he'd go out of his way to help. Even if things turned worse, it had nothing to do with Uchiha Kin.
"By the way, Kakuzu, is there an Underground Bounty Exchange in the Land of Rain?"
Kin changed the subject.
He'd long been curious about the Underground Bounty Exchange in the Naruto world.
Kakuzu pondered for a moment. "There used to be one, but with the war, it's unclear if it's still operational."
He'd only visited the Land of Rain once before and wasn't entirely sure.
"Let's head there directly for clues," Kin decided.
The Rain ninja had suffered heavy losses and retreated. Finding them while they were in hiding would be difficult. Without Konoha's intelligence network, even locating an ordinary person was tough, let alone a ninja.
"Understood," Kakuzu nodded.
The Underground Bounty Exchange was located in the city where the Sannin had once battled Hanzo.
"Truly reduced to ruins," Kin remarked, surveying the shattered city. Not a single structure remained intact—only debris.
The broken city bore no resemblance to its former self.
Following Kakuzu, they arrived at a secluded, collapsed area.
"Seems it's still here."
Even Kakuzu was surprised. Before them stood an undamaged underground gate, with a cleared path beside it.
Kakuzu stepped forward and opened the gate.
Darkness enveloped the interior. The group ventured inside, feeling their way through the pitch-black passage.
"Are you sure anyone's here?" Hizure couldn't help but ask. The endless dark corridor held not a glimmer of light.
Kakuzu didn't respond. Soon, a faint glow appeared ahead.
As they advanced, they found themselves in a vast underground space. A massive wall assembled from iron containers dominated the area.
Surprisingly, the place was populated with oddly dressed ninja—none bearing the insignia of any village, nor even forehead protectors.
The four of them, cloaked and concealed, didn't stand out at all.
"These are Rogue Ninja—unaffiliated with any village, merely individuals who stumbled into becoming ninja. During wartime, they hide in the Underground Bounty Exchange, acting as guards for a living," Kakuzu explained.
"Plenty of missing-nin also frequent this place."
The Underground Bounty Exchange gathered all ninja outside the villages. However, aside from the missing-nin, these Rogue Ninja were hardly formidable.
"Stumbling into it" meant they'd never endured the hellish training of a ninja academy.
The academy's curriculum, deceptively relaxed, pushed children to their physical limits from a young age, molding them into village ninja.
This was the key factor separating major villages from the rest.
Those raised under such extreme training naturally grew strong.
Kakuzu led them straight to the receptionist.
"Are you here to post a bounty or complete one?" The attendant, a tall woman, brushed her hair aside as she addressed them.
"How about a date?" Kin leaned in with familiarity.
"You jest, sir," the woman chuckled. "We don't form deep connections with clients here."
"What a shame." Kin clicked his tongue. She had a nice figure.
"Then, I'd like to know Hanzo's location. Can you provide that?"
"A capable client, I see. For Hanzo of the Land of Rain, we do have some leads—though we can't confirm if it's him. We'll sell the information at 50% of the bounty price. Would you like it?"
"Sure, whether it's real or not."
"Such a rip-off."
Kin stared at the scroll in his hand. Two and a half million ryo—just for a location.
Even robbery wasn't this swift.
"The Underground Bounty Exchange's intel is usually accurate, but the prices are steep," Kakuzu explained.
"I'm curious—where do they get such classified information?"
What intrigued Kin more was the force behind the Underground Bounty Exchange. This was a multinational organization.
The Five Great Villages had long sought to dismantle it but never found the opportunity.
Even within their own territories, they couldn't pinpoint its locations.
At times, the Underground Bounty Exchange even collaborated with villages.
Theoretically impossible, yet it happened.
The only entities capable of this were the nominal rulers of the Five Great Nations—the daimyo.
"No one knows for now. They also collect corpses, but there's no intel on what they do with them," Kakuzu admitted. Despite his long life, the Underground Bounty Exchange predated even him, existing since the Warring States period.
"Shouldn't we deal with our 'guests' first?"
Hizure's eye twitched as he watched the two chat casually.
Ever since they left the Bounty Exchange, they'd been followed.
Now, their pursuers were approaching openly.
"Hey! Hand over your money—or your lives!"
A group of Rogue Ninja emerged from the ruins, surrounding them.
"Are they always this bold?"
Kin asked Kakuzu curiously.
To ambush them without knowing anything about their targets—how reckless.
"Most Rogue Ninja are like this," Kakuzu replied, unfazed. In the past, he'd encountered such people every time he left the Bounty Exchange. After gaining some notoriety, the ambushes stopped—only to resume periodically when Rogue Ninja tried to rob him.
"Rogue Ninja mostly prey on civilians. They rarely engage in battles with village ninja," Hizure added.
Village ninja fought covertly, rarely noticed.
Rogue Ninja, on the other hand, made sure everyone knew.
"Are you even listening to me?!"
The lead Rogue Ninja's face darkened as they ignored him.
"Tsk." Kin sighed. "Always stirring trouble. Was living not good enough for you?"
"Kill them."
...
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(End of Chapter)