章 266: Chapter 266: Patience Makes a Good Hunter; Otherwise, One Is a Dead Hunter
"I didn't expect Konoha to be so careless. Even though the information was leaked, they still let him carry out missions without even changing his code name."
"Heh, I've heard that this Sakamoto Tatsuma has a grudge against Sakumo Hatake. Sakamoto Tatsuma was almost killed by Sakumo Hatake before."
"Sakumo Hatake is the Konoha ANBU Chief. Could it be that he disagreed with Sakamoto Tatsuma changing his code name?"
"It's possible. Sakamoto Tatsuma is only about fourteen or fifteen years old and has already shown such powerful abilities. In a couple of years, Sakumo Hatake's position as ANBU Chief might really be in jeopardy."
"But Sakamoto Tatsuma is Princess Tsunade's disciple. No matter how foolish Sakumo Hatake is, he wouldn't openly target him."
"Look at the kind of missions Sakumo Hatake has been carrying out over the past few years. It's been a matter of life and death for him. Think about it: if the Second Mizukage had given you such missions, would you continue to serve him? Oh, wait, you wouldn't even need a life-and-death mission. You, coward, would run away at the mere mention of danger, hahaha~"
In a dark, damp, and slightly smelly bounty exchange point, a group of rogue ninjas were discussing the latest information. This was one of the few social venues for rogue ninjas.
Bounty exchange points are scattered throughout the Five Great Nations and many smaller countries. Here, not only can you exchange currencies from various countries, but there are also numerous bounty missions posted, targeting both active ninjas and rogue ninjas.
The rogue ninja brothers chatting today might become each other's bounty targets by midnight.
The recent bounty of fifty million ryo on Sakumo Hatake and his two companions was undoubtedly the focus of discussion. After all, it's rare to see such a large bounty posted at once.
Among the three, the one attracting the most attention is naturally Tatsuma, who has the highest bounty. After all, compared to the nearly unbeatable Sakumo Hatake, Tatsuma's bounty seems more attainable.
Tatsuma's age is highly deceptive; no one believes he can be that powerful. Even the God of Ninja didn't have as much fame in his youth as Tatsuma does now.
As for the information disclosed by the Land of Lightning? A fourteen-year-old ninja capable of fighting Raikage A, successfully escaping, and even causing A some injuries? Few people believe this. From the information revealed by the Land of Lightning, only two points are widely noted. First, Sakamoto Tatsuma and Minato Namikaze, codenamed Yaksha and Owl, are suspected of mastering the Flying Thunder God technique. Second, Sakamoto Tatsuma has profound expertise in Sealing Jutsu, to the extent that he could threaten the seal on the Tailed Beast Jinchuriki.
Considering Tatsuma's background, he would have had the opportunity to master these. The first point is because Tatsuma's earliest nickname was "Little Tobirama," though the exact origin is unknown, it was already in use at the beginning of the war.
For several years, Konoha has not only refrained from clarifying this but has also confirmed the rumor. This includes Tatsuma residing in the Senju Clan's territory and becoming the heir to the Second Hokage Tobirama's legacy—these things are not secrets within Konoha.
With such a background, it's not impossible for Tatsuma to have learned and mastered the Second Hokage Senju Tobirama's Flying Thunder God Jutsu. Moreover, based on the information disclosed by the Land of Lightning, in that situation, apart from the Flying Thunder God Jutsu, the three had no other way to escape.
As for the second point, it follows the same logic. As the heir to Senju Tobirama, the disciple of Konoha Sannin Princess Tsunade, and living within the Senju Clan's territory, it's well known that there is a Sealing Jutsu master in the Senju Clan's territory.
Unlike Kushina, the fact that Uzumaki Mito was the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails is not a top secret, nor is it even classified information. After all, she was the first Tailed Beast Jinchuriki, and the other four great villages, as well as the Land of Waterfalls, have all emulated this practice.
With Uzumaki Mito around, it is possible for Tatsuma to have learned advanced Sealing Jutsu techniques. Although it seems strange that someone as young as Tatsuma would have the ability to threaten other Jinchuriki seals, this is still something that those targeting Tatsuma must be wary of.
In this bounty exchange point, an analysis of Tatsuma's information has even led to the creation of a personal strength model for him. This model is based on information disclosed by the Land of Lightning and the war reports from the Second Shinobi World War.
According to this model, Tatsuma is nearly a ninja without weaknesses, mastering Taijutsu, ninja tool throwing, wide-range destructive Ninjutsu, and powerful single-target Ninjutsu. He also has the same summon beast as Princess Tsunade and a comparable level of proficiency in Medical Jutsu. This is derived from the Second Shinobi World War reports and the latest medical journals.
Additionally, Tatsuma's proficiency in Sealing Jutsu has been verified by the Land of Lightning, and he has demonstrated exceptional war command abilities. Apart from not having outstanding Genjutsu skills, Tatsuma is essentially a perfect ninja.
As for Tatsuma's Genjutsu proficiency, no one dares to claim it as his weakness. After all, just because Tatsuma hasn't demonstrated it doesn't mean he can't use it. Even if he is not skilled in using Genjutsu, his many years of experience on the battlefield and in the ANBU would certainly have given him a high degree of resistance to Genjutsu.
These days, they have been waiting for various factions to disclose more information about Tatsuma and hoping that when Tatsuma appears, some foolhardy individual will challenge him, allowing them to identify Tatsuma's weaknesses.
"Creak~"
At this moment, a hidden door in the bounty exchange opened, and a tall man, completely shrouded in a black robe, walked in. He went straight to the counter and asked the person behind it:
"Any interesting bounties lately?"
His arrival caused the chatter in the exchange to quiet down, and those looking at him had expressions of seriousness, even fear. However, the person behind the counter remained calm. He flipped through the bounty book in his hand and said casually, "Mr. Kakuzu, it's been a while."
"I was doing some missions in other countries. It seems your internal communication isn't very smooth."
Kakuzu's voice was also very calm. The person behind the counter did not argue and stopped flipping through the booklet. He pushed the booklet towards Kakuzu and asked, "How about this one?"
"The bounty is too low, 3,743,671 ryo. Who spent their life savings for this bounty?"
Kakuzu shook his head. The person behind the counter knew that Kakuzu didn't really expect an answer and simply said, "Then how about this one?"
On the next page, there was a portrait of a very young boy. Seeing the age, Kakuzu instinctively wanted to refuse. After all, how much bounty could such a young child have after being a ninja for only a few years? But before he could refuse, his green eyes noticed the string of numbers at the bottom, and he couldn't help but ask, "Thirty million ryo, are you serious?"
"Tap~"
The person behind the counter was about to confirm, but at that moment, a noise came from a shelf behind the counter. A letter appeared on the shelf, and the clerk hurriedly opened it, unable to respond to Kakuzu.
Watching the clerk read the letter, Kakuzu impatiently repeated, "Thirty million ryo, is this child's bounty real?"
"No."
The clerk denied it, and Kakuzu felt a bit disappointed. Looking at the string of numbers, he thought perhaps an extra zero had been added by mistake. He was about to ask the clerk for another recommendation when the clerk said:
"It's now 37 million ryo."
As he spoke, he raised his voice so everyone in the bounty exchange could hear clearly, "The latest bounty, Sakamoto Tatsuma, 37 million ryo. Besides the already disclosed information, he endangered himself by encircling and annihilating two Hidden Mist Village pursuit squads, killed two rogue ninjas that the Hidden Mist Village must recover. An additional 7 million ryo bounty has been added by Hidden Mist Village supporters."
Everyone in the bounty exchange knew there were no real Hidden Mist Village supporters, just the Hidden Mist Village itself adding to the bounty, but they didn't say anything. The Daimyos of the Five Great Nations had intentionally stabilized the currency values, making the exchange rates between their currencies very close and stable. Therefore, aside from the different issuers, the currencies were directly interchangeable without complex calculations.
Hearing the clerk's words, Kakuzu's green eyes began to shine. He slapped his hand on the bounty booklet and said, "37 million, huh? I..."
"Tap~"
Before he could finish speaking, another letter arrived. Kakuzu immediately stopped talking and closely watched the clerk. Although he knew the chances were slim, he hoped for another bounty increase on this child.
The clerk opened the letter and quickly said, "The latest bounty, Sakamoto Tatsuma, 45 million ryo. Besides the previous information, he risked participating in Konoha's operation against the Hidden Rock Village, involving a total of 87 Iwa ninja. He was a key figure, thus friends and relatives of the surrounded Iwa ninja have added an 8 million ryo bounty. Additionally, the bounty contributor has provided an extra piece of information: during the Second Shinobi World War, Sakamoto Tatsuma admitted in the Land of Iron that he is a descendant of Senju Tobirama."
"Senju Clan."
Kakuzu's eyes darkened. He had not been active in the Land of Fire for the past few years and was unfamiliar with the new ninja information there. However, upon hearing the Senju Clan, he instinctively felt some resistance.
While he was silent, the others, spurred by the successive bounty increases, forgot about Kakuzu's presence and began discussing fervently.
Kakuzu listened to the information being disclosed about this child named Sakamoto Tatsuma. He went from initial surprise to disbelief and then to thinking it was all nonsense.
"Senju Clan, Sealing Jutsu, Flying Thunder God, new category Medical Ninjutsu? Ha! Why not say he has mastered the First Hokage's Wood Release as well?"
Kakuzu couldn't listen any longer and directly mocked, but he noticed that these people didn't snap out of it. Instead, they looked at him with an extremely peculiar expression.
The clerk hinted, "Mr. Kakuzu, what they are saying is information disclosed by the bounty providers. The exchange has also verified it. There might be some discrepancies, but it cannot be entirely rumors."
Although the clerk's words were reserved, Kakuzu knew the information-gathering capabilities of the exchange. If this information had been reviewed and released by the exchange, it was likely to be mostly accurate.
His face darkened as he felt that his years away from the Land of Fire had completely disconnected him from the shinobi world. When did such a monstrous existence appear?
Seeing his silence, the clerk asked, "Mr. Kakuzu, were you intending to take on the bounty for Sakamoto Tatsuma?"
Kakuzu's eyes shifted, and he lifted his hand from the bounty booklet, saying, "I was considering it, but I didn't expect this kid to be a descendant of Senju Tobirama. I once fought fiercely against the First Hokage, and now, years later, I would go after his brother's descendant? Wouldn't that make me a laughingstock?"
Kakuzu wasn't foolish. A kid this young with such a high bounty must be extraordinarily dangerous. Without sufficient information, he wouldn't risk his life. He preferred to let others try first.
If Tatsuma was strong enough, Kakuzu would continue to observe and gather information. If he wasn't strong enough and someone else killed him, it wouldn't matter to Kakuzu. The one who killed Sakamoto Tatsuma might as well have been Kakuzu himself. For now, he'd let the shuriken fly a bit longer.
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