Chapter 111: Baffled

Senshi and Karin performed a double act that left Orochimaru utterly at a loss. While they had some logic to their arguments, jacking the price of chakra up to a sky-high one hundred million ryō was a level of outrageous he wouldn't have expected from anyone else.

Despite his swift mental calculations, Orochimaru still decided to shell out a large sum to buy Senshi's chakra, so he could make these two red-haired troublemakers (one big, one small) be on their way. With an obvious pang of regret, he pulled out a hundred-million-ryō check and handed it over to Senshi.

Simultaneously, he gave Senshi a new commission: "I'll hire you with a 100-million-ryō fee to provide me with chakra for my research."

The moment Orochimaru issued the commission, Senshi's mind received the system's notification:

[Mission Accepted!]

[Client: Orochimaru]

[Goal: Provide Chakra so Orochimaru can conduct experimental research!]

[Reward: 100 million ryō]

[Rank: S-Rank]

[Mission Bonus: 100,000 Employment Points!]

Senshi had actually shown up prepared simply to deliver the Two-Tails, collect a hundred million, and leave. Who would have thought that, with Karin's help, he'd first rake in another fifty million for "holding and feeding fees," and then have Orochimaru personally present him with yet another one-hundred-million-ryō job?

Having pocketed Orochimaru's check for one hundred million, Senshi was practically grinning from ear to ear. Given that Orochimaru was being so straightforward, Senshi decided he'd show equal generosity in return. Tucking the check away, he casually said, "So, 'Snake-Bro,' we're good? Where do I put the chakra you want me to provide?"

Hearing that, Orochimaru got to his feet, leading Senshi over to a peculiar device used for storing chakra. The contraption looked fairly simple: a cube-shaped base connected to a spherical container overhead. Once they arrived, Kabuto got right to work on the nearby control panel, operating the apparatus. Orochimaru had designed this piece of equipment precisely for the long-term storage of Senshi's chakra.

Mounted on the device was a chakra "storage tank" of considerable capacity. Simply put, in Konoha, not even twenty Kakashis, drained completely of their total chakra, could fill that tank. Once Kabuto had the machine up and running, Orochimaru led Senshi up to it and said, "You just need to send your chakra through that inlet above the base, so it can go into the storage tank."

Orochimaru hoped that this time Senshi would really give him a large amount of chakra—enough to let him mass-produce his product as well as do a deeper analysis on Senshi's chakra itself. In theory, this storage tank could hold the total volume of twenty Kakashis.

When Orochimaru finished explaining, Senshi placed a hand on the chakra inlet. "So all I have to do now," he asked, "is pump in my chakra in one long, heavy stream?"

Orochimaru gave a raspy laugh. "Yes, just pump it all in."

He was actually still worried Senshi might be stingy, given that he had spent so much—Senshi might deliver only a trickle. But if Senshi was upfront enough to ask, "Is it alright if I vigorously channel my chakra in?" why should Orochimaru say no?

Having confirmed Orochimaru's nod, Senshi commenced channeling his chakra in huge amounts through the inlet. This time, after all, he had indeed been paid one hundred million, which was plenty to buy even a Tailed Beast, so his plan was to be fairly generous with "Snake-Bro."

Orochimaru and Kabuto, at first, sensed no looming problem. Then, within a single second, the device's danger alarms started blaring, and a bright red light began to flash wildly on the storage tank. Only then did Orochimaru and Kabuto realize the seriousness of the situation.

Orochimaru: (ΩДΩ)!!!

Kabuto: (ΩДΩ)!!!

Orochimaru let out an urgent cry: "Stop! Stop right now! No more chakra—you'll blow the tank!"

For a moment, he froze. Internally, he was shouting: "Is Senshi some kind of monster? In just an instant, he's poured so much chakra that the tank almost burst! That tank is sized for no less than twenty Kakashis' worth of chakra!"

Even more terrifying: Senshi had unleashed all that chakra in the blink of an eye and still looked completely unphased, showing not the slightest sign of having lost a tremendous amount of energy.

After this stunt, Orochimaru and Kabuto had no choice but to upgrade their assessment of Senshi's strength yet again. Indeed, every time they didn't see him for a while, Senshi's power soared to a level they could hardly imagine. By now, Orochimaru couldn't even guess how strong Senshi truly was.

At Orochimaru's panicked call, Senshi withdrew his hand. Just previously, Orochimaru had personally confirmed, "Yes, pour in as much as you can!"—yet that was all the tank could manage?

Senshi gave the device an evaluating glance. He'd imagined Orochimaru's apparatus would store quite a bit. He had barely injected a small portion of his chakra before nearly blowing the tank. And so Senshi shook his head and said, "Snake-Bro, your tank's capacity is a little lacking."

"Urgh…" Orochimaru forced out a sinister chuckle. Honestly, what could he say? Which normal ninja can afford to lose enough chakra to fill twenty Kakashis, only to be none the worse for wear?

He felt a twinge of regret, wishing he'd built multiple backups. Had he realized Senshi could (and would) give so much, he'd have lined up three or four tanks, or even more.

After looking at the now-cracked container, Senshi turned back. "Well, that's that, right? My mission here is done, so I'll head out. If you get any other juicy jobs, just let me know."

Orochimaru nodded. "Yes, no problem."

Having finally acquired enough of Senshi's chakra, Orochimaru just wanted the big and small red-haired devils gone. He had only recently started making a tidy profit from his new hustle in Konoha, but in no time, Senshi had drained him of a total of 250 million. The lone silver lining was that now Orochimaru possessed enough of Senshi's chakra to carry out extensive research.

After obtaining the "Yamata no Orochi Fruit," the path to genuine immortality was no longer a matter of using the Living Corpse Reincarnation. Investigating Senshi's chakra became a crucial step. Senshi's chakra, after all, was more extraordinary than anyone realized. If Orochimaru could fully decipher its secrets, his ambition for an "Eternal Chakra Elixir" might not be so far-fetched.

Soon after Senshi and Karin vanished, Orochimaru casually said to Kabuto, "Kabuto—draw a small sample of Senshi's chakra for immediate study."

"Yes, Lord Orochimaru." Kabuto meticulously extracted just a tiny bit from the giant reservoir of Senshi's chakra, running it through another analyzing machine. Gazing at the readouts, both Orochimaru and Kabuto showed unconcealed shock.

Unable to hold back, Orochimaru exclaimed, "Senshi's progress is ridiculous—so much more advanced than last time! The chakra he gave us now is on a completely different level from what we used to have."

Kabuto nodded. "It's astounding indeed. Senshi's chakra has become far, far denser and richer."

Observing the swirling data on his monitor, Orochimaru's lips curled into a wicked grin. "If this keeps going, there may come a day we complete a true 'Eternal Chakra Elixir'!"

Such words thrilled Kabuto, who, as a fellow researcher, grew excited merely at the thought that this new technology could be feasible. Orochimaru soon continued, "I'll monitor the readings here. You go rest, and we'll swap in a while."

"Understood, Lord Orochimaru!" Kabuto nodded before retreating to his own quarters. In the time since Orochimaru started his business in Konoha, things had been going so well that both had already earned large sums. As Orochimaru's right-hand man, Kabuto also took a decent cut. Settling in his room, Kabuto knelt down by a sizeable pile of money, gleefully counting the bills. While counting, he mused inwardly:

"A hundred million is nothing huge, but I'm still very far from my dream of a hundred billion. I, Kabuto, was never meant to be average; I too have my own artistic pursuits."

Initially, Kabuto's plan had been to gather merely a hundred million. Now, however, he realized that as long as he worked under Orochimaru, more money was always better. Thus, his resolution to help Orochimaru's research and business only deepened.

Meanwhile, back in Kirigakure, Senshi and Karin emerged from Orochimaru's lab via Kāma, returning to their rooms in the hot-spring inn. After one good night's rest, Karin awoke brimming with energy, urging Senshi at dawn to go out and tackle commissions together.

Senshi never slacked off in the matter of missions. Even if his true body was physically in the inn, his Wood-Style clones were out there, working tirelessly day and night to complete tasks. The moment they exited the inn, they spotted an old fellow squatting gloomily by the entrance. The man looked drained and downcast, as though haunted by some unsolvable crisis that had led to deep mental exhaustion.

Seeing Senshi and Karin from not far away, the old man's eyes flashed with hope. Up until that second, he had looked half-dead; now, he sprang up like someone sixty years younger, face bright with excitement. He opened his arms, took two giant steps, and rushed right up to Senshi!

"Thump!"

He fell to his knees before Senshi without a single word.

Senshi: (O_O)???

Karin: (O_O)???

What's going on? This is all too sudden. Senshi hurriedly bent forward, helped the elder up, and asked, "Sir, is something wrong?" He found that this disheveled, bespectacled man with a mustache looked vaguely familiar—yet he couldn't recall who, exactly.

Once Senshi lifted him, the old fellow cut straight to the point:

"Lord Senshi, allow me to introduce myself: my name is Harusame. I have a student, Utakata, in whose body a dreadful 'monster' is sealed. This monstrous curse torments him without cease, and I beg you, Senshi, please help my student!"

Harusame, though technically a Kirigakure official, seldom participated in village affairs, devoting himself instead to solving Utakata's "curse." He'd tried countless methods but never found a truly workable solution. With nowhere left to turn, Senshi's presence felt like a godsend: after all, Senshi had performed countless miracles for the village. If anyone might fix Utakata's Tailed Beast issues, it would be Senshi.

At first, Senshi did not recognize the man, but once Harusame spoke of the Six-Tails Jinchūriki, everything clicked. The "curse" was just the inability to fully control the Six-Tails, causing Utakata to spiral out of control at times, bringing serious disasters. Now it all made sense. Senshi feigned a worried expression: "Ah… So your student's 'monster' is a Tailed Beast. That can be tricky."

Harusame wasn't shocked that Senshi knew. He had read enough about Senshi to guess Senshi's "intel" uncovered nearly everything. If Senshi understood that Utakata housed a Tailed Beast, that felt perfectly normal.

Unbeknownst to Harusame, Senshi was giddy inside: This old man was effectively dropping another Tailed Beast right into his hands, and Senshi excelled at Tailed Beast matters! After all, the Two-Tails was already sitting in Karin's Kamui dimension. Another one would only sweeten the deal.

On the outside, Senshi maintained that uneasy frown. Harusame, seeing this, did not panic. He was well aware that if Senshi said something was "tricky," it meant, "It can be done, it's just not easy"—not that it was impossible. He seized the moment and pounded a fist to his chest, sounding very polite: "Yes, yes, we all know you have your set terms. But I implore you, Senshi, take my mission. I beg you—only you can do it."

So saying, he produced several checks summing to 100 million ryō and handed them over:

[Mission Accepted!]

[Client: Harusame]

[Goal: Resolve the Tailed Beast's tormenting hold over his student, Utakata!]

[Reward: 100 million ryō]

[Rank: S-Rank]

[Mission Bonus: 100,000 Employment Points!]

Senshi, tucking away all those checks, heard the new system chime and was overjoyed. Another well-paid job, plus a free Tailed Beast cameo! One day Nagato would inevitably post a "capture Six-Tails" mission, and Senshi would simply conjure it on the spot. Perfect. As a bonus, the Six-Tails could even keep the Two-Tails company in Karin's dimension so that the poor Matatabi wouldn't be so alone.

Accepting the job, Senshi marveled anew at how Kirigakure was full of such generous folks. First, they practically gifted him the Three-Tails, and now the Six-Tails.

If one compared that to Konoha, it was a stark difference: Naruto hadn't received half the courtesy from his village. Indeed, in Konoha, certain people even gave Naruto a hard time. Meanwhile, Kirigakure worried over its Jinchūriki's emotional health and took steps to rectify the problem. Sighing with the realization that such fortune was not going to replicate across the Five Great Nations, Senshi said nothing further about it.

He took the checks, and Harusame inquired politely, "Lord Senshi, would you have time to see Utakata tomorrow and fix his curse?"

Senshi waved a hand: "Harusame, you don't really know me, do you? If a task can be finished today, I'd never push it back to tomorrow. If it can be done this morning, I won't wait until afternoon. I've accepted your job, so why wait?"

Though he spoke of it being a tricky matter, in truth—like Karin said—it was easier than slicing onions. Naturally, he wouldn't tell the client that.

Utakata lived on a small island near Kirigakure. A few wooden huts, plus a cave, served as his entire dwelling. Together with Harusame and Karin, Senshi headed out, soon arriving on that island, where Utakata—wearing a pale-blue robe, carrying a special bubble-blowing tool—spotted them from afar.

Since Senshi and Karin had come with Harusame, Utakata at first didn't react too strongly. Despite the so-called "curse," he trusted his teacher unconditionally. Harusame introduced everyone: "Utakata, this is Lord Senshi—he's performed countless miracles for Kirigakure. The young lady is Karin, Senshi's assistant. All attempts to lift your 'curse' have failed—only Lord Senshi has a shot."

Because Utakata had barely any contact with the village, he had no idea about Senshi's reputation or feats. So upon hearing that someone would "remove" his Tailed Beast, his first suspicion was that his kindly master had been tricked. If ridding oneself of a Tailed Beast were so easy, the village would've done it long ago.

Nevertheless, he stayed polite: "Master, I'm not sure it's so simple."

Harusame, Senshi, and Karin all heard the implied doubt. Before either teacher or Senshi could speak, Karin insisted proudly: "You're overthinking this—Senshi's super amazing! Handling Tailed Beast problems is simpler than chopping vegetables!"

Her adorable face brimmed with sincerity—yet ironically, it only made Utakata doubt more. "We're talking about a Tailed Beast, not a dinner salad," he thought. "And these two redheads look very…young. Is this for real?"

Harusame coughed softly; clearly, even he felt that "chop vegetables" was going too far. Sure, he believed Senshi could do it, but describing it in such trivial terms made it sound absurd. All the same, Harusame simply attributed it to the girl's youth. He turned to Utakata seriously: "Utakata, trust me—Lord Senshi can handle this. Go along with what he says."

Utakata was uneasy. "Master…"

This was his life and the village's safety at stake. If the Tailed Beast truly broke loose…disaster loomed. Yet Harusame gently patted Utakata's shoulder, smiling kindly:

"Utakata, I believe in you, and in Lord Senshi. It's going to be fine."

Senshi chimed in, "No need to fret. I perform a 'Tailed Beast Extraction Operation' all the time. After we remove it, you'll never worry about the Tailed Beast going on a rampage again. Plus you'll even keep some portion of its power."

Karin nodded vigorously to affirm. Indeed, she had personally witnessed Senshi do a near-identical procedure with the Two-Tails. Harusame and Utakata, for their part, were totally baffled by the phrase "Tailed Beast extraction Operation…" which means surgery. Tailed Beasts…can be surgically extracted? Without forcibly letting it rampage first? But seeing Senshi so confident and relaxed, they finally agreed to let him try.

Since Utakata cooperated fully, Senshi didn't bother knocking him out. Instead, he found the seal directly and went to work. The moment the seal was released, Utakata and Harusame both tensed up—unsealed Tailed Beasts were like bombs. Freed from the seal, the Six-Tails soon realized it could escape. But as it tried to scramble out, Senshi was already forcibly dragging it. Their seesaw lasted only a few seconds before the entire beast had emerged. It scarcely had time to exult before seeing a brilliant blue flash—

"Hell Stab One-Finger Nukite!"

Senshi's knife-hand descended, cleanly slicing the slug in two. One tail remained in Utakata's body, morphing into a pint-sized version of the beast that scuttled away, terrified. The bulk of the slug, short one tail, manifested outside.

Utakata: (ΩДΩ)!!!

Harusame: (ΩДΩ)!!!

They both stood there dumbfounded. Now they knew Karin's words were no bluff—Senshi really had made it look like chopping veggies. Next question: with the Tailed Beast forcibly removed, how do we contain it? It was a powerful, violent creature. Freed from any seal, it could ravage everything. Sure enough, the slug realized it had lost a tail and roared furiously:

"Rrrawwwrr—!"

Poised to strike Senshi, it was greeted by his calm response:

"Raijin!"

A colossal thunderbolt slammed down onto the slug. In that instant, the beast's eyes became dull. It collapsed. After a moment, Senshi sent another jolt to reawaken it forcibly. This time, the Six-Tails realized it was outmatched—this red-haired human was unbelievably strong. One more defiant act and it would be toast.

At last it quieted down. Senshi tapped Karin's shoulder. "Karin, collect it." She nodded, instructing the slug to shrink its body to save space. Terrified, the slug complied, letting Karin stash it inside her Kamui dimension.

Within that dimension, the Two-Tails Matatabi had long been crouched in one corner, not daring to wander—especially not near Karin's "kitchen." Now a swirl of transparent energy appeared, delivering the Six-Tails plus one small red-haired troublemaker. After a brief scolding from Karin—"That place is off-limits. Go stand in that corner or else!"—she popped back out, leaving the Two-Tails and Six-Tails to lament their fate together:

"Huh? You got caught too…?"

"So you were telling the truth all along!"

"Those two redheads… They're no joke…"

And so they sobbed shoulder-to-shoulder.

…

Outside, Harusame and Utakata stared in dazed surprise. Harusame hastily scanned Utakata's physical condition, verifying that there was no harm done. The "curse" that had tormented him for years was fully resolved, replaced by a small fraction of the Tailed Beast's chakra under Utakata's total control. Indeed, Utakata felt a newfound sense of relief, with only a bit of fatigue from losing so much chakra at once.

Both mentor and student were overjoyed. Was it truly that simple? They'd never have imagined that "unsealing and removing the Tailed Beast" could be done in the blink of an eye.

They then expressed their utmost gratitude:

Harusame: "Lord Senshi, I can't thank you enough! We've tried every method to break this dire curse, all in vain. Without you, it might never have been lifted."

Utakata: "Lord Senshi…you gave me new life. The source of my suffering is gone, so I can finally live as a normal person, not holed up on an isolated island."

Senshi casually waved them off. "No need to be so formal. Completing the client's job is my duty." Then he adopted a serious tone. "But regarding the Tailed Beast: best if nobody else hears about what happened here. Things could get complicated."

Both Harusame and Utakata promised, "Rest assured, we'll remain silent." Utakata in particular never wanted new troubles, nor did he want to implicate his benefactor. He would keep the matter under wraps and figure out how to reintegrate into daily life.

With that mission concluded, Senshi mused on whether he ought to go capture all Tailed Beasts outright. They were scattered around the world, with unpredictable locations and Jinchūriki. If they were all stashed away in Karin's Kamui dimension, then any future Tailed Beast–related job would be trivial. But he had yet to make a firm decision.

Meanwhile, in the Land of Fire's black market, Naruto and Sasuke were tirelessly racking up missions, working nonstop. Kakashi, on orders from the Third Hokage, accompanied and supervised them at all times. Despite carefully observing them for a while, Kakashi found no evidence that they were in league with outside forces.

However, certain happenings around them did baffle him. Namely, the two displayed inexhaustible stamina, plus absurdly rapid growth. When they first stepped into this black market, they had only qualified for D-rank tasks. Within a few days, they were already taking on B-rank. At this rate, might they soon be eligible for A-rank?

Kakashi, acclaimed as a genius in Konoha, was astonished at how quickly Naruto and Sasuke were advancing—far beyond what he'd ever matched at their age.

At one point, Kakashi was outside the black market building, taking a breather, when Naruto dashed over. "Kakashi-sensei, why are you resting again? You should do some commissions too! Just sitting around is no good!"

Those words made Kakashi sigh inwardly. Keeping an eye on these two was exhausting enough; he hardly had the time or energy to do missions of his own, and now Naruto was urging him to get to work as well. Naruto teased him once and then joked, "Anyway, sensei, I bet I beat Sasuke this time. I've done all the missions on my plate—he hasn't come back yet, right?"

Before Kakashi could reply, a calm voice from a side wall said, "Naruto, what makes you think I'd finish slower than you?" They turned to find Sasuke leaning with folded arms, presumably having arrived earlier. Once again, Naruto realized he had lost. He pouted, "Darn it! If only I had some Lightning Style or a space-time jutsu, I'd definitely beat you, no contest."

Sasuke shrugged. "My Sharingan and Lightning Style are part of me; it's natural I use them to raise efficiency. Nothing wrong with that."

Naruto continued grousing, "Argh, if we both had the same conditions, I'd have outdone you so many times."

Meanwhile, Kakashi's gaze shifted into recollection. Naruto's mention of a space-time jutsu reminded him of his teacher, the Fourth Hokage, who had indeed used the Flying Thunder God technique. If Naruto inherited that, Sasuke wouldn't stand a chance. However, Konoha currently had no one capable of teaching him. Let alone whether Naruto could master it.

Dropping that train of thought, Kakashi noticed the two kids were back inside the black market to get more tasks. He stood up, determined at least to ensure they didn't accept anything too dangerous. But stepping in, he quickly realized something alarming: Naruto and Sasuke weren't heading for B-rank commissions. Instead, they were marching straight to the A-rank section.

He quickly called out, "Wait, that area is for A-rank commissions!"

Naruto turned around with a grin: "Kakashi-sensei, we're up for A-rank now!"

Kakashi: (ΩДΩ)!!!

Naruto's announcement shocked Kakashi like a thunderbolt. Seriously? Already? The only way they'd be allowed to handle A-rank jobs here was if the black market had judged them fully capable, based on the large number of prior commissions they'd completed with exemplary marks. No time to process it—Naruto and Sasuke were happily browsing the A-rank listings, leaving Kakashi reeling with questions.

He slumped, bewildered, watching their backs. He couldn't fathom how these two had accomplished so much so quickly. During this time, they had done nothing but run missions—they hadn't spent dedicated time training or asked for ninjutsu lessons. Yet their raw power soared fast enough that the black market had granted them A-rank privileges.

"So… simply grinding mission after mission is the fastest way to become stronger? That can't be…right… Can it…?"

He was no longer certain. Possibly everything he knew about training had been upended.

~~~

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