Chapter 59 – You Can't Kill Me!
"You old geezer really are 'ancient in years, short on truth!'"
Shikamaru looked down at Tazuna and snarked, a rare sneer coloring his tone.
"Baka yaro!"
Kiba lunged, seizing Tazuna by the collar and hoisting the old man's upper body off the floor.
Akamaru bared his fangs, letting out a menacing growl.
"What do you take our lives for? You still expect us to help you? If you hadn't lied about the mission rank, Kurenai-sensei would never have been hurt!"
Kiba's roar echoed through the cramped room; Tazuna turned green as he was shaken, the shameless, bully-fearing old man left speechless for once.
"Kiba, let the geezer go."
A sharp reprimand cut Kiba short.
Everyone turned to Kakashi.
Kakashi innocently spread his hands—he hadn't been the one to shout.
Shino silently stepped aside as the door slid open.
Asuma Sarutobi stepped in, fury blazing across his face as never before.
The cigarette pinched between his fingers was crumpled; his eyes looked cold enough to freeze.
"Kiba, move."
Asuma's voice was frighteningly calm.
"Let me beat him to death."
If the old man hadn't falsified the mission rank, Kurenai would never have accepted it—never have been injured.
Kiba released Tazuna and stepped back; Akamaru, who had just clamped his jaws on the old man's leg, let go and obediently cleared the way for Asuma.
"You can't do this! I'm Konoha's client—you can't kill me!"
Tazuna sat sprawled, scrabbling backward on hands and feet, terror written across his face.
"Our assignment is to escort you to the Land of Waves."
Shino adjusted his sunglasses; the lenses flashed an icy glint.
"The moment you set foot there, our mission is complete."
"But we still have to settle the score for your deceit."
Asuma's voice sounded as if forced through clenched teeth.
He advanced on Tazuna, knuckles white.
Just as Asuma raised his fist, a long-haired woman burst from the inner room and threw herself around Asuma's leg.
"Please don't kill my father!"
The woman lifted her tear-streaked face, voice trembling yet resolute.
She was Tazuna's daughter, Tsunami.
Asuma froze.
He'd gladly pummel the old man for lying, but striking innocent women or children—Asuma couldn't bring himself to do it.
"I… I'll pay! Commission you to deal with that Demon and Gato—A-rank or even S-rank—once the Great Bridge is finished I'll have the money!"
Tazuna racked his brain for any way to survive, voice quavering with fear.
"You can cough up a Million Ryo?"
Kakashi raised a skeptical brow.
"Yes! Once the bridge opens, two million, three million—anything!"
Tazuna blurted the guarantee like a drowning man clutching driftwood.
"Asuma, let him keep breathing for now."
Kakashi turned to his still-seething comrade.
An extra commission fee made sparing the old man far more profitable.
In reputation as well as cash.
Killing him would only tarnish Konoha's name.
Kakashi's thoughts drifted to past events.
Reputation was something Konoha prized—yet it often tied their hands.
"You and Kurenai are about to marry, right? You two take seventy percent of the pay; I'll cover the mission desk's cut."
The offer cooled Asuma a little.
Konoha's cost of living was brutal; Ninja earned fast and spent faster.
Earnings in ryo, expenses in ryo!
Just Asuma's Chakra-Conductive Metal Chakra Blades cost tens of millions of ryo to forge.
After all, Chakra-Conductive Metal was sold by the gram—outrageously pricey.
Yet Kakashi's words didn't stop Asuma; he ignored Tsunami's desperate pleas, clamped a hand around Tazuna's neck—one squeeze away from death.
He cared nothing for the money; when he married, his estranged father would cough up funds all the same.
Seeing that, Kakashi gave up, lamenting the lost chance to earn double pay for one job.
"Kakashi-sensei, are you short on money too?"
Sakura whispered, curiosity piqued.
In her mind, an elite Jonin shouldn't fret over cash.
"Who isn't short on money?"
Kakashi glanced at her, exasperated.
He sighed. "Ninja-tool wear, Military Ration Pills, and—"
He cut himself off, remembering the freshly bought Side Story of the romantic ninjutsu tales of shimura.
"You'll each pocket at least fifty thousand ryo."
Kakashi smoothly changed the subject.
Sakura's eyes sparkled.
Fifty thousand ryo!
Her first mission had paid only seventy-five ryo!
Fifty thousand divided by seventy-five equaled six-hundred-sixty-six point six-six-seven.
This mission paid six-hundred-sixty-six times more!
She quickly tallied: new clothes for her parents, upgrading her ninja tool pouch, buying all the things she'd always wanted… "Asuma, don't do it."
Kurenai's weak voice drifted from the inner room.
Asuma's fingers loosened; after a moment's hesitation he abandoned the idea of killing Tazuna.
He released the old man and nudged his leg, signalling Tsunami to let go.
Tsunami hesitantly released him, supported her gasping father, and warily retreated to Kakashi's side.
Kakashi gave her a glance and subtly sidestepped.
"Kurenai's right."
Asuma drew a deep breath, forcing himself to calm.
"Right now we need a plan to deal with Zabuza."
Kakashi's dead-fish eyes nodded; he turned to Tazuna: "Since you promised S-rank pay, we'll treat this as an s-rank mission. However—"
His tone shifted: "If you can't produce the money afterward, you know the consequences."
Tazuna nodded frantically, cold sweat soaking his collar.
He dared not try any more tricks.
Forced marching had compressed the three-day trip into one; everyone was exhausted.
Even the stamina-monster Naruto looked weary.
Kakashi and Asuma decided to rest a day or two before confronting Zabuza.
Facing a strong enemy while drained was suicide.
When the time came, Kakashi and Asuma would fight Zabuza while the Genin mopped up the small fry.
The arrangement kept the main fighters fresh and gave the rookies relatively safe real-world experience.
"Kurenai and I will take one room; the rest of you sort yourselves out." Asuma turned inside to tend to Kurenai.
Kakashi surveyed the seven remaining Genin: "Two bedrooms left—one's Tazuna's bridge-design studio, the other's storage. Pair up. I'll bunk with Mr. Tazuna—convenient for 'protecting' the client."
He stressed the word "protecting," making Tazuna shrink his neck in fright.
"Big Sis Tsunami and her son Inari can share; the remaining two rooms—one for the boys, one for the girls—sound good?"
Kiba suggested.
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