Chapter 131: Chapter 131
Haruki smiled.
He could tell that the middle-aged man in front of him had no chakra and was supposedly a storyteller. Why would he need a ninja escort?
"Why us?"
The middle-aged man glanced at the silent Kakuzu.
He judged Haruki's group as ninjas because of Kakuzu. Firstly, Kakuzu had a cold and disdainful look, and secondly, he had an unusual outfit.
Ordinary civilians wouldn't dress like that.
"I saw that you all have a dignified aura, not like ordinary travelers, so I came up to ask."
The middle-aged man bowed respectfully and said with a smile, "Because of my profession, I've traveled to various towns and my eyesight isn't bad."
"If you want to hire us, you need to explain the task content. We will assess the task level to determine the remuneration."
Haruki thought that since they had nothing to do now, he might as well talk to this storyteller.
"Sigh."
The middle-aged man sighed and began to tell his story.
His name was Yanagi Dasuke.
He originally was a novelist, but since his books didn't sell, he had to switch to storytelling in inns to make a living.
However, he ran out of stories to tell.
In his distress, he met a young man some time ago who told him many secrets of the Hidden Waterfall Village.
He didn't think much of it and became good friends with the young man.
Because his stories involved ninjas, his business picked up.
Some readers even came specifically to listen to his storytelling.
However, this morning, he discovered that he had been deceived.
It turned out that the young man told him these stories to attract the attention of the Hidden Waterfall Village.
Now, the Hidden Waterfall Village's Hero Water had been stolen, and they tracked the female ninja here but lost the trail.
But a little inquiry would lead them to him.
After listening, Haruki was a bit surprised.
He didn't expect that last night's incident with the female ninja and the young man wasn't over.
But he basically understood the motives behind the young man's actions.
Probably, the young man lacked the talent to become a ninja. After getting involved with the female ninja from Hidden Waterfall Village, he developed malicious intentions.
"How did you know the follow-up events?"
Haruki pointed out the inconsistency in the story. Logically, the young man killed and left early in the morning, so Yanagi Dasuke couldn't know this clearly.
"It was a letter he left me."
Yanagi Dasuke said as he pulled a letter from his pocket.
"Huh, people are truly complex."
Haruki quickly read it and couldn't help but sigh.
The young man could heartlessly kill a girl who admired him but still felt pity for the framed Yanagi Dasuke.
But Yanagi Dasuke didn't feel grateful at all.
He was framed for no reason.
"If you leave now, it will only arouse the Hidden Waterfall Village's suspicion even more."
Kakuzu suddenly spoke up, "Stay here and let the Hidden Waterfall Village's Anbu interrogate you to prove your innocence."
Yanagi Dasuke was slightly stunned but immediately understood the reasoning and couldn't help but curse, "That little bastard!"
Haruki glanced at Kakuzu.
As expected of an experienced ninja.
A small head with great wisdom.
Actually, Haruki's suggestion wasn't too far off.
"Anbu's interrogation, will it affect my mind?"
Yanagi Dasuke's face changed as he hesitated and asked.
He knew Anbu was the most mysterious and terrifying part of the ninja world.
"It will have an impact."
"..."
Yanagi Dasuke fell silent.
If staying would risk brain damage, he was reluctant.
If he became a fool, what's the use of keeping his life?
"I'd rather hire you to escort me to the capital city of the Iron Country."
Yanagi Dasuke gritted his teeth and said.
The Iron Country's capital was dominated by samurais.
Ninjas wouldn't dare cause trouble there.
Especially ninjas from neighboring countries, as it could spark unnecessary diplomatic incidents.
Of course, ninjas from the Five Great Nations were a different story.
"A-rank mission, one million ryo."
Haruki raised a finger and said.
"One million?"
Yanagi Dasuke couldn't help but raise his voice. One million ryo almost reached the minimum standard for an S-rank mission.
But S-rank missions were the kind that could trigger wars between nations or villages.
How could a humble storyteller afford it?
Most importantly, he didn't have one million.
"We have three jōnin here, and it involves the Hidden Waterfall Village. One million isn't too much."
Yanagi Dasuke was stunned by Haruki's words.
Three jōnin?
Was his luck this good?
The ninjas he casually found were actually rare jōnin level.
If there were three jōnin, the price would be reasonable.
No, no, that's not the problem now.
Yanagi Dasuke smiled bitterly and said, "Can you lower the price a bit? I might not earn one million in my lifetime. I really can't afford it."
"No deal."
Kakuzu frowned. In the past, one million wouldn't even get him to move.
And you're trying to bargain?
Do you think I'm a vegetable vendor?
Haruki raised his hand and smiled, "How much can you pay?"
Kakuzu sighed and shut his mouth.
"Th… thirty thousand?"
Yanagi Dasuke raised three fingers, lacking confidence and tentatively asked.
"Okay, but you have to teach me how to tell stories."
"What?"
Yanagi Dasuke couldn't believe his ears but quickly nodded to avoid Haruki regretting it.
Although he didn't understand why Haruki wanted to learn storytelling, did he not fare well among ninjas?
That shouldn't be the case.
Yanagi Dasuke glanced at Tsunade. Having such a companion, he couldn't be doing poorly.
Haruki didn't say more.
They settled the bill, left the inn, and went to the local ninja mission center to take the task.
Even in the Iron Country, the influence of ninjas couldn't be ignored.
Ninjas could accept missions almost anywhere.
In the original story, many missions from the Land of Wind were given to Leaf Village ninjas.
The day after Haruki and his group left, the inn welcomed two teams of six Hidden Waterfall Village ninjas.
---
"Storytelling is primarily about the story itself, and secondly, the emotion."
Yanagi Dasuke started explaining his expertise with enthusiasm.
After all, the opportunity to showcase in front of three jōnin was rare.
"As for stories, in my years of experience, two types are the most popular. One is ninja stories. Although ordinary people can encounter ninjas, they rarely know about their specific lives and secrets. The other is stories about romantic affairs, especially noble scandals, which are extremely thrilling."
Yanagi Dasuke took a breath and smiled, "If you're interested, I can tell you some."
"Oh?"
Haruki became interested.
Since coming to this world, he had only read Jiraiya's "Make-Out Paradise."
But the next moment, his ear was pinched by Tsunade.
"What did you just say?"
"I meant vulgar!"
Haruki cleared his throat and said seriously, "Why would I want to know such vulgar stories? Okay, Yanagi Dasuke, continue about emotions."
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