The damp air was filled with the scent of rust and mold, mixed with a thick, metallic tang of blood.
The largest underground exchange in the Shinobi World was hidden deep within an abandoned mine in the Land of Rivers. Flickering torches on the rock walls cast distorted shadows across the uneven stone surfaces.
"Is this really the biggest exchange in the whole Shinobi World, nya?"
Scar tilted his head toward Renya.
"Kid, don't tell me you got scammed."
Looking at the ragged, decayed surroundings before them, anyone would find it hard to believe this place was supposedly the largest exchange in the entire Shinobi World.
Renya stared at the expensive map he'd bought, his face hidden beneath the straw hat looking somewhat grim.
He had no idea where the exchange actually was, and since he needed to find Kakuzu—the walking ATM—he had no choice but to buy information.
And this map had been purchased at a high price from a merchant.
But judging by the current state of things, it looked like he'd been scammed…
Still, Renya couldn't let the fat cat know that, so he just put on a calm expression.
"We're already here. Let's go in and take a look."
After all, they'd come all this way. Might as well see for themselves.
Who knew—maybe the map was real, and this really was the biggest exchange in the Shinobi World?
"Fine by me."
Scar nodded.
He was actually quite curious himself whether Renya had been scammed. If it turned out he was, Scar would definitely tell Madara-sama about it later…
The man and the cat soon entered the cave. Fortunately, it really was an exchange.
Even if it wasn't the biggest one in the Shinobi World, as long as it was an exchange, that was enough.
The moment Renya stepped inside, dozens of wary eyes turned toward him from every corner.
From what he could see, there were rogue ninja with scarred faces, bounty hunters with shadowed gazes, and even several shinobi wearing forehead protectors from different villages—clearly taking on private jobs here.
In this place, anyone could be both a potential prey and a potential hunter.
"New face, huh."
Behind the counter, a one-armed old shopkeeper narrowed his cloudy eyes and tapped the table with his remaining three fingers.
"You know the rules? Entry fee's fifty thousand ryō, or something of equal value—weapon, gear, or… information."
Renya frowned, displeased. He hadn't even started, and he was already losing fifty thousand ryō.
Guess he'd have to get Kakuzu to reimburse that later.
He pulled out a fifty-thousand-ryō note and placed it on the counter. The old man took it and rasped,
"So, are you here to post a bounty or to take one?"
Renya didn't answer. His gaze had already fallen on the massive bounty wall beside him. Sheets of paper covered the entire stone surface—densely packed, ranging from low-level D-rank bounties to billion-ryō S-rank targets, all neatly arranged by value.
At the very top were several gold-edged bounty posters—the Kage of the Five Great Villages.
Among them, Senju Tobirama had the highest bounty: a full five hundred million ryō! No surprise—it was the bounty issued by the Daimyō of the Land of Lightning back in the day...
If Renya had to guess, that Daimyō's grave probably had grass three meters high by now.
In recent years, the Land of Lightning had been vigorously developing its economy. As for where the money came from—best not to ask too many questions.
"Hey, you deaf or something?"
A burly man with a savage scar running across his face stood up. The kunai on his waist jingled with each movement.
His nearby companions followed his lead, standing up as well and reaching for their weapons.
Clearly, they'd already marked Renya as prey.
In the bounty business, black-on-black killings were as common as breathing.
Because this was an exchange, they couldn't attack outright. Instead, they'd try to provoke him first—bait him into making the first move.
Once the newcomer snapped and made the first move, they'd all rush him at once, carve him to pieces, and take everything he owned.
The others around them watched with interest. Would the newcomer be beaten to death—or would he wipe them all out himself?
Renya remained silent, too lazy to deal with weaklings like them, and walked slowly toward the bounty wall.
He had just spent quite some time observing it and realized something extremely serious—
There was no bounty poster for him!
Thinking maybe he'd missed it earlier, he carefully scanned the wall again, but still couldn't find his own face.
Damn it. Were these people… looking down on him?
"Why isn't there a bounty on me?"
Renya's voice was full of confusion and bewilderment. It was quiet, almost like he was talking to himself—yet in the silent exchange hall, it carried clearly through the air.
He stood before the bounty wall, gazing up at the posters.
After a brief silence, a wave of harsh laughter erupted.
"Hahaha! Did this guy get his head stuck in a door?"
The scar-faced man slapped the table, laughing so hard he nearly fell over.
"You think you're somebody? A Kage-level rogue ninja? Not just anyone gets a price on their head!"
A tall, thin man wearing glasses sneered from the corner.
"Or maybe… he's just lived too long and wants to put a bounty on himself so someone comes to kill him?"
More laughter followed.
The old shopkeeper shook his head. He'd seen plenty of arrogant young fools like this before.Most didn't last more than three days.
"Had your laugh?"
Renya's icy voice cut through the room, and the laughter stopped abruptly.
Every one of them froze—because they suddenly felt themselves locked by a killing intent so cold it seemed to pierce their very souls.
"If you're done laughing..."
Renya slowly drew the blade from his waist.
"Then you can all get going."
He was already irritated that there was no bounty for him, and now these idiots had decided to mock him on top of it.
He, the proud "Poison Master" of Konohagakure, had spent decades honing his craft until he'd finally reached Kage level and yet not only did he not have a bounty poster, he was being mocked by a bunch of worthless trash?
An uncle could endure it—but a man cannot!
Since that was the case, the only option left was to send them on their way early…
"Bastard! I'll kill you! Everyone, together!"
The scar-faced man roared, gripping his kunai as he charged toward Renya.
His comrades reacted instantly, following close behind.
In the dim light, a flash of a blade gleamed and then a head flew high into the air.
When everyone's eyes focused, they saw it was the scar-faced man who'd been charging at the front.
Before anyone could even process what had happened, the rest of his underlings met the same fate—heads separated from bodies.
"Shit—he's killing people!"
The bounty hunters who had been watching panicked.
That scar-faced man was a regular here, known for surviving fights against three elite jōnin at once a solid elite jōnin-level fighter.
And yet, someone that strong had been killed in a single strike.
Anyone capable of instantly killing that man—and his team—could do the same to them.
The bounty hunters quickly lost any desire to watch further and bolted for the exit, desperate to get away from this nightmare.
Some kinds of excitement just weren't worth watching.
You might end up being part of it.
But Renya had no intention of letting this walking pile of money just run away.
With a flash, he appeared at the doorway, blocking their path.
"Keheheheh… where do you all think you're going?"
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
+100 chapters and support me on Patreon(.)com/Jixo