Passing back through the Land of Rain, Yagami felt a lingering itch. He felt as though he was terrifyingly strong now, and he desperately wanted Yuka to witness the rhythm and precision he had so thoroughly mastered. Unfortunately, with Umeka Nara riding shotgun beside him, he had to rein it in to avoid exposing his double life.
Upon entering the Land of Earth, Umeka located a branch of the Underground Exchange. It was situated within an abandoned sheepfold on a high plateau, the ground covered in dried dung.
After switching into their civilian disguises, they slipped inside. Following a sequence of rhythmic knocks against the wall, a massive chunk of soil fell away, revealing a cavern tunnel.
Inside was a basement identical to the one in the Land of Fire—a long counter dividing the room, four guards posted at the corners, and a middle-aged manager who carried the unmistakable presence of a Special Jonin or full Jonin.
"We're here to collect a bounty," Umeka stated.
Yagami unraveled the medical bandages, exposing Tade's corpse. The manager inspected the body meticulously, comparing it with a ledger. He even flipped the wrist to verify a specific scar on the back of Tade's hand.
The Exchange's network was remarkably thorough to have documented such a minor detail.
Yagami mused that a Wind Lord had likely sold out the info. 'How fascinating,'
he thought. One Village, One Country—the system was never as harmonious as it appeared on the surface. When a ninja village got angry, they assassinated nobles; when the nobles got angry, they put bounties on ninjas. They maintained a polite facade while secretly viewing each other as parasites.
"Correct," the manager grunted. "Tade, the Sand Jonin, master puppeteer. The bounty is 16 million Ryo. I'll fetch your money."
He produced a briefcase from under the counter. "Here is 5 million Ryo. You will have to visit two more locations to collect the remainder."
Umeka frowned. "Why can't you pay out the full amount here?"
"In the past, bounty hunters tried to rob the Exchanges," the manager replied smoothly. "To prevent that, no single branch holds too much cash. You'll have to put in some legwork and visit the other two drop points."
The current Exchange was still cautious. Twenty years from now, Kakuzu would walk away with Chiriku's entire multi-million Ryo bounty in a single payout.
They left the sheepfold, and Umeka waved a hand in front of her nose.
"Ugh, everything smells like sheep dung. It's repulsive." She checked a small slip of paper.
"The next drop is a town in the Land of Waterfalls, and the last is the Capital of the Land of Grass. 16 million Ryo is a fortune, so it's worth the trip."
"Let's find an inn first," Yagami suggested. "Traveling this far is exhausting."
Umeka leaned in closer, a slight smirk playing on her lips. "Are there any other positional techniques you want to look into?"
"Frontal and rear angles—I've completely mastered those. I wonder if there are any unique subtleties to a lateral approach?"
He had picked up quite a few new "positions" and insights along the way. However, Yagami consciously utilized his Contraceptive Ninjutsu scroll. He had no intention of letting Umeka get pregnant; he couldn't risk her deducing his identity through an unexpected child.
...
They collected the second cash case from a hidden cabinet in the Land of Waterfalls. Yagami then told Umeka, "The Exchange has eyes everywhere. For the final drop in the Land of Grass, I'll scout ahead and lie in ambush to see exactly who leaves the case."
Slipping into the maze of tents in the Land of Grass Capital, Yagami staked out the location listed on the paper.
'Hmm?'
He watched a young child slide a briefcase beneath a sheepskin rug. Once the boy walked away, Yagami shadowed him, pulling him into an empty tent when no one was looking.
Using a basic Genjutsu on the civilian child, he extracted a simple piece of intel: a young man had paid the boy 50 Ryo to place the case under the rug. The boy had happily accepted, knowing nothing else about the stranger's identity.
Releasing the Genjutsu, Yagami left without any real answers. Umeka retrieved the final case and remarked:
"Fox, there's no need to obsess over the Exchange's internal loop. It's an organization built by the Daimyos to eliminate rogue elements with money. It's just grown massively over time, to the point where the Great Villages are utilizing it too. The underlying details don't matter, as long as the Leaf can weaponize it for our own ends."
Since this entire operation was directed by Shikaku Nara, if they said the details didn't matter, Yagami wasn't going to lose sleep over it.
...
The full moon hung in the sky like a silver platter.
This month had been spent entirely on the road—from the Leaf to Rivers, Wind, Rain, Waterfalls, Grass, and finally back to Fire. On the night of the full moon, in a quiet town within the Land of Fire, Umeka collapsed breathlessly off Yagami, resting softly against his side. Her eyes were slightly unfocused as she looked at him.
"Once we're back in the village, you'll be stationed at the ANBU base. Our paths won't cross very often. I've taught you the last of my repertoire, so I have no regrets."
Yagami wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "If I don't have a mission, I'll come find you. Think carefully—are you absolutely sure there aren't a few minor nuances you forgot to mention? If you can't think of them now, take your time. I'll be dropping by to discuss angles and frequencies with you regularly."
Umeka's face flushed. "My experience isn't *that* vast! I only know the mechanics because I've experienced it firsthand!"
"We are ninjas," Yagami said softly. "We live on a knife's edge and could die tomorrow. I don't subscribe to the absurd moral codes of the nobility, so there's no need to overthink it."
...
Back in the Hidden Leaf, Umeka and Yagami handed in their mission report. In the Hokage's office, Shikaku Nara addressed the Third:
"Lord Hokage, Umeka and Fox have successfully established the pipeline for utilizing the Underground Exchange to target enemy shinobi. We can interlock our assassinations with bounties. The ANBU can take out a few targets from the manual, then pivot to the Exchange. This keeps our black ops completely obscured and makes it incredibly difficult for other villages to anticipate."
Hiruzen smoked his pipe. "And what if the other villages begin utilizing the Exchange against us?"
"The Land of Fire is the wealthiest of the Five Great Nations," Shikaku countered confidently.
"Our tributary states—Rivers, Grass, Hot Springs, and Whirlpool—contribute massive wealth. The reason normal ninja mission payouts are kept modest is to keep the ranks hungry, disciplined, and focused on duty rather than luxury. But the Hidden Leaf's fiscal surplus is exceptionally high. If other villages try to play the Exchange game, we can simply drown them in capital. We hold the absolute financial advantage. I've verified the ledger; our treasury can easily sustain it."
Yagami was briefly stunned.
'So the high command knows the average Leaf ninja is struggling financially.' The village was swimming in cash, yet the rank-and-file were kept poor just to "motivate" them to take more missions?
As expected of Shikaku Nara; he had the entire system mapped out. It was a classic administrative tactic—keep the populace lean so they remain dependent on the state machinery.
Leaving the Hokage's office, Yagami fabricated an excuse and slipped away toward the training grounds of Root. He wondered if Danzo's new recruits had missed him.