Chapter 77

### Late April.

### Tea Country, Canyon.

The steep and dangerous cliffs on both sides formed a natural barrier.

On the road in the canyon, two groups of people were engaged in a battle.

They wielded kunai and could use ninjutsu, indicating that both sides were ninjas.

One of the leaders was Worm Man, a high-ranking member of an organization under White Stone. They followed White Stone's orders, gathering intelligence in the ninja world and searching for talented individuals to absorb.

The identity of bounty hunters was undoubtedly very suitable for their five members.

While gathering intelligence and talent, they could also increase their additional income, expand their reputation, and attract more employers to commission them for tasks, allowing them to access more secrets.

This time, it was a mission commissioned by a merchant from Tea Country, requiring them to eliminate an illegal ninja organization within the country.

This ninja organization came from outside Tea Country, did not belong to the Five Great Nations, and was not part of any small ninja village. They became ninjas by chance and were wandering ninjas without a village.

They survived by robbing passing merchants, which led to the merchants in Tea Country placing a bounty in the underground black market to eliminate this wandering ninja organization and restore the stability of the trade routes within the country.

To be honest, this mission was not particularly challenging for the five of them.

Their average strength was at least Chunin level.

Not only were they granted powerful physical attributes, but they also possessed strong perception and self-healing abilities. Under White Stone's arrangement, they cultivated unique secret techniques.

The strength of their five-member team required at least three Jonin to defeat, and even then, they could not be killed.

The strength of the wandering ninja organization was primarily at the Genin level, with the leader being at the Chunin level. Jonin-level wandering ninjas were extremely rare in such a large group.

"What is this!?"

A ninja in green clothes with brown hair used his arm to choke a wandering ninja from behind, and his arm immediately burst into intense sparks.

More accurately, his entire arm turned into flames.

The throat of the wandering ninja was instantly burned to charcoal, and he fell to the ground, lifeless.

Another wandering ninja stabbed him from behind with a kunai, but it felt like he hit air, and the stabbed area turned into insubstantial flames.

The wandering ninja was immediately engulfed in a large fire, emitting a terrifying scream.

Finally, he returned to his original form, and the brown-haired ninja's face remained calm.

This battle could be described as a child's play.

"Fire Man, your ninjutsu is as cruel as ever," a ninja in purple and red clothes said with a smile as he walked over.

"There's no choice; each of us was granted a unique ninjutsu by the system," a ninja in yellow clothes with black hair said, appearing from the shadow of a rock, clearly very satisfied with his ability.

Fire Man's ninjutsu was a secret technique derived from the transformation of fire chakra.

His was a secret technique derived from the transformation of yin chakra, allowing him to move freely in shadows, making him an unstoppable assassin in the team.

The others also quickly dispatched their assigned enemies.

"Now the mission is complete. At this rate, we'll soon be famous in the underground black market."

"Once that happens, it will be much easier to absorb talent."

Completing the mission to eliminate the wandering ninja organization, commissioned by the merchant of Tea Country, added another achievement to their record in the black market.

If they continued to accumulate such achievements, they would soon be renowned in the underground black market, allowing them to attract more resources and talent.

"Be careful no matter who we face."

The leader, Worm Man, approached the bodies of the wandering ninjas and, as usual, searched them for items.

Sometimes, these wandering ninjas carried interesting items, though Worm Man had never encountered such a situation. He considered it a way to increase his personal stash.

After all, these wandering ninjas were already dead, and their wealth now belonged to them.

This was a lucrative mission.

"Oh?"

Worm Man's eyebrows raised as he felt a scroll on the body of a wandering ninja.

He remembered that this wandering ninja was the leader of the organization.

The scroll was cheap in quality but sealed with a jutsu, suggesting it contained some secret.

"What's inside?"

"Unknown. It could be a trap."

Worm Man pondered for a moment. Even if it was a trap, he had to open it to see what was inside.

However, precautions were necessary.

After undoing the seal, Worm Man immediately jumped back to avoid any potential traps.

But the scroll was empty, with only some scribbled writing, indicating that they planned to sell a certain 'secret' for a large sum of money.

Worm Man and his team were puzzled, unable to understand what 'secret' the wandering ninjas were referring to that could be sold for a large sum.

From the writing, it seemed they had already found a suitable buyer, and today was the day of the transaction.

Unfortunately, they were ambushed by the five of them, and the transaction was likely to be canceled.

"Boss, should we check out this so-called 'secret'?"

"Sure, let's take a look. It's not far from here. After all, we need to recruit many people, and even a small gain is a gain."

Worm Man's view was also shared by the other four.

Although the organization's salary was good, many areas required money since it was only a few years old.

Money was needed to recruit talent.

The talent required was not just ninjas but also experts in various fields: craftsmen, researchers, educators, and medical professionals.

They needed to quickly accumulate the necessary resources to establish a solid foundation for the organization, allowing it to develop rapidly.

Even the smallest gains had to be thoroughly exploited, leaving no detail overlooked.

### Inside the cave, the road was extremely bumpy and damp, and the air was filled with a dirty and foul smell.

This was the smell of poverty and death.

Worm Man and his team were very familiar with this smell, which was common in the past and present in the Rain Country.

This was the lair of the wandering ninjas, and the 'secret' they planned to sell to an unknown buyer was also here. According to the scroll, this 'secret' was significant and could be sold for a good price.

Worm Man and his team were naturally very interested in coming here to search for treasure.

They hoped this secret would not disappoint them.

Because the cave was too dark, Fire Man picked up a stick and set it on fire to use as a torch.

The cave was filled with food waste and debris, indicating that the wandering ninjas lived in very dire and impoverished conditions.

"Is this it?"

After removing all the traps on the path, Worm Man and his team arrived at a closed wooden door.

There was a rusted iron lock on the door, and a foul and decaying smell emanated from inside.

This was the only place in the lair that could hide the 'secret.'

Using their senses, they detected that there were people behind the door, eight in total.

In the room behind the door, there were eight living people.

They were locked inside, and it was unlikely that they were the wandering ninjas' companions or captives.

Were they captured by the wandering ninjas during an attack?

Worm Man hesitated for a moment but then broke the lock and opened the door.

The light from the fire illuminated the room, which had a weak, flickering light, indicating poor electrical conditions. However, it was enough for Worm Man and his team to see the condition of the people inside.

They were emaciated and appeared to have been abused for a long time.

There were men, women, and children, like a family.

Their lips were cracked, and their faces were pale, as the wandering ninjas provided them with the bare minimum of food and water.

They were all shackled with heavy handcuffs and leg irons.

Worm Man scanned the eight people, his gaze finally settling on a small child.

The child's eyes shone with hope and a desire to live, but there was also a hint of fear and anxiety.

"Boss, they seem different from ordinary people," Fire Man said softly.

"Even after such abuse and minimal provisions, their life force is still stronger than others, and they all have red hair..."

Worm Man squinted, noticing that all eight people, regardless of gender, had vivid red hair.

"Descendants of the Uzumaki clan..."

This must be the 'secret' that could be sold for money.

Indeed, they were excellent 'treasures.'

Worm Man took a few steps forward and approached the people.

They emitted an unbearable stench, their faces were covered in dirt, and their wounds were infected without any medical treatment. Cockroaches crawled on the food trays.

Here, they could only barely survive.

"Truly pitiful, the once glorious Uzumaki clan has fallen to this state."

Not only had their country been destroyed, but the clan members were scattered and wandered in the ninja world, living a precarious life.

"Why didn't you seek help from Konoha if you were alive? Why did you end up being captured by wandering ninjas and live a life worse than rats?"

Worm Man touched the head of the Uzumaki child and asked, puzzled.

The Uzumaki clan had a long-standing alliance with Konoha.

Even the Jonin uniforms of Konoha bore the Uzumaki clan's symbol, symbolizing the friendly relationship between the two.

Losing their country, their first reaction should have been to seek refuge in Konoha, not to live a beggar's life in the ninja world.

"We sent a distress signal... but they only took one person..."

A red-haired middle-aged man lowered his head and spoke, his voice trembling with sobs. Worm Man's question seemed to have stirred up painful memories.

The fall of Uzushiogakure had been less than ten years ago.

For the middle-aged man, it was a personal tragedy.

Bearing the name of a defeated nation, he wandered in the ninja world, being ostracized and captured.

At that time, he clearly remembered that Konoha did not offer any help.

Whether before or after, the distress signals sent were like stones thrown into the sea, and they always received despair.

The idea of seeking help from Konoha had long faded.

For the fall of Uzushiogakure, Worm Man could only offer a moment of silence.

Perhaps in the future, his former homeland, the Rain Country, would also follow this path, becoming a sacrifice to the great powers.

At that time, the people of the Rain Country would be like rats in the dark, unable to see the light.

People would call them the defeated of a fallen nation.

And the so-called alliance was just a piece of paper.

A worthless piece of paper.

"I sympathize with your plight. The pain of seeing your country ravaged is something everyone can understand."

Worm Man felt deeply.

"Our organization is recruiting talented individuals. If you are willing to join, we will be comrades. We will provide a clean environment, food, and security, but in return, we require your loyalty. If you refuse, we will not force you; you can live your own lives."

The people's faces were hesitant, filled with both worry and hope.

Their nerves were already fragile, and just a bit more despair after hope could drive them to suicide.

Worm Man smiled and said, "Our leader once said he would not save those who only pray for rain. There are no free lunches in this world. Doing good while gaining greater benefits is more motivating for us."

The Uzumaki clan could provide the benefits of their bloodline and the rich sealing techniques.

Even though they were defeated, they would eventually be of great use.

"Whether you live like a human or a dog, there's no need to feel ashamed. What matters is the future. As long as you are alive, there's a chance to change your fate. Your country is gone, and you have nothing to lose. Who hasn't been a homeless dog at some point?"

Worm Man sighed.

Because of the war, his family was destroyed, and he survived by robbing and killing. He was then captured and used as a tragic test subject. Thinking about those days still made him shudder.

Fortunately, after the storm, there was a rainbow. He had seen the world for what it was and was no longer naive.

He hoped these Uzumaki descendants would make a decision they wouldn't regret.

The most important thing was to get them to join the organization first.

Then, they would have money, women, and mansions.

This was his principle for doing good.

### White Stone's daily work was to arrive at the ninja academy before 3 PM to assist Tsunade in teaching the experimental class students medical ninjutsu.

Apart from that, he was occasionally pulled into the hospital to do manual labor.

Most of the time, he stayed in the laboratory, quietly conducting research.

Of course, at the academy, there was a troublemaker named Uchiha Obito who would often come to bother him.

Modern children are truly terrifying, showing jealousy at the age of five or six.

The key was that he hadn't done anything to the girl named Rin; he just taught her some medical knowledge after school.

The ninja world is not something that can be judged by common sense.

The more you speculate, the more absurd the answers become.

For example... the white humanoid creature lying on his lab table.

It was captured by Worm Man and his team while they were monitoring the Akatsuki. They killed it and sent it to him.

After dissecting the entire body and revealing its secrets, White Stone received an even more perplexing answer.

The energy extracted from this creature could rejuvenate a withered branch, making it sprout new buds.

Wood Release?

And it had a presence similar to the tailed beasts.

What was the origin of this creature?

A combination of Wood Release and tailed beasts?

Weak.

According to Worm Man, this creature had very weak combat strength, easily defeated with a single hand, without the need for ninjutsu.

"It seems there's a problem with the Akatsuki."

Although the creature's strength was weak, the secrets it held shocked White Stone.

Wood Release and tailed beasts, both of which have legendary reputations.

The former is the power of the God of Shinobi, which brought peace to the world.

The latter are ancient chakra beasts, immortal and beyond human control.

Anything related to these two must have a significant story behind it.

Who is behind this white creature?

Why were they monitoring the Akatsuki?

Is this creature really created using Wood Release and tailed beast power?

If so, where did the Wood Release come from?

Since the death of the First Hokage, Wood Release, which could suppress tailed beast power, had disappeared from the ninja world, becoming a legend.

White Stone had a significant suspicion.

The Konoha leadership!

They were secretly researching the revival of Wood Release.

Just like him, extracting hidden cells from corpses was not a difficult task for Konoha.

Because only a few people could access the First Hokage's body.

Extracting the cells containing Wood Release power from the First Hokage's body and using human subjects for experiments to mass-produce Wood Release ninjas.

The creature in front of him was their research result.

Then the question is, why monitor the Akatsuki?

An organization of only eight or nine people, mostly young teenagers, if they were truly a threat, the Anbu could be sent to eliminate them directly.

There was no need to monitor them so meticulously.

White Stone's head ached, as there were many contradictions, but based on the information he had, this was a reasonable deduction.

What are the Konoha leadership plotting?

While White Stone was pondering what the Konoha leadership was up to, the floor's soil loosened, and a mud figure with a yellowish-brown head emerged, its black, hollow eyes staring at White Stone.

A scroll appeared from the mud, placed on the ground, and the mud figure continued to act as a perfect communication tool, burrowing back into the ground.

White Stone didn't mind the 'stupid son's' unannounced departure, as he had no high expectations for its intelligence.

Using a jutsu to unroll the scroll, it was as expected, a message from Worm Man and his team.

The content was simple, and White Stone quickly understood the gist.

"Uzumaki clan? I thought they were all dead."

White Stone pondered for a moment, then immediately took out a blank scroll, wrote a few lines, rolled it up, and sealed it with a jutsu.

"Deliver this scroll to them."

He said this to the mud figure underground.

The mud figure reappeared on the surface, its hollow eyes seemingly filled with a human-like resentment.

Despite this, it obediently accepted the task White Stone entrusted to it.

At just half a year old, it had already accomplished the feat of traveling across most of the ninja world.

Undoubtedly, it was a perfect tool as White Stone had envisioned.