Chapter 68: An Acquaintance in Need
"It's too expensive!!"
Hyuga Mirai sighed deeply after emerging from the Grass Country's black market.
But there was no other way; to quickly gather the items and have them delivered to his doorstep, Hyuga Mirai could only purchase them from the black market.
Fortunately, after spending nearly one hundred million Ryo, he finally acquired all the mechanical parts and electronic components he needed. This was also thanks to the black market's extensive reach; many of the items Hyuga Mirai requested were his own designs, not available on the market.
However, the black market's principle was: as long as the money was in place, they would procure anything procurable for you.
After paying a deposit of thirty million, Hyuga Mirai handed over many blueprints for special mechanical prosthetics to the other party, agreeing on the delivery time and location. His outing was finally complete.
Moreover, Hyuga Mirai had also placed a bounty in the black market for the Star Ninja Village's star stone, with a reward of twenty-five million Ryo.
If he specifically entrusted Kakuzu, he would have to pay an additional sum, but Hyuga Mirai only had that much money. After paying the twenty-five million Ryo, Hyuga Mirai was left with just over two million.
Building his own laboratory was still a distant dream!
Although he spent a lot of money, things went smoothly. Hyuga Mirai completed his tasks in less than four days.
Next was to wait for the Shadow Clone to disperse, for Hyuga Mirai to retrieve his memories, and then he could return to the Land of Rivers Camp to report the mission.
If possible, Hyuga Mirai truly wished to explore the Ninja World properly. Since he arrived in the Ninja World, aside from leaving the village for missions, he had always been cultivating within the village. Although he was very clear about future events in the Ninja World, Hyuga Mirai felt incredibly unfamiliar with the details of this world.
He wasn't in a hurry to go back. Before the Shadow Clone dispersed, Hyuga Mirai had ample time to do other things.
Along the way, Hyuga Mirai passed through three towns and seven villages. Based on what he saw, he gained a general understanding of the Grass Country.
A pitiful country sandwiched between great nations, an official in a Grass Country town had to bow and curry favor with merchants from the Land of Fire. If they didn't appease them like this, the Land of Fire's merchant caravan might not transport goods to their town next time.
Under the observation of his Byakugan, there was almost nothing that could be hidden from Hyuga Mirai if he wanted to see it.
Konoha and the Rock Ninja already showed signs of friction and impending war, but merchants from the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth were still drinking and chatting like family, discussing their next trade time.
The ninja profession had too great a divide from ordinary people. The Konoha Ninja Village was very much like a country within a country; when they ran out of money, they asked the Daimyo for it. Except for the Hokage's succession, which would seek the Daimyo's opinion, the Daimyo had no say in anything else.
Even for the Hokage's succession, it was only because Konoha's internal opinions were not unified. If there was only one Hokage candidate, the Daimyo could do nothing but nod and offer congratulations.
Seeing the various 'sights' of the Grass Country, Hyuga Mirai thought of himself again. He was simply not suited to stay within Konoha Village.
If Hyuga Mirai's reputation grew, the Hyuga Clan would force him into high-level politics. But if Hyuga Mirai continued to hide his abilities, it would be difficult for him to obtain research funds, and his experimental progress would be repeatedly delayed.
The cracking of the Caged Bird Curse Seal was also a problem. Between him and the Main Family, there would be no room for compromise on this issue.
One side must be destroyed to resolve this problem.
On this point, even the Hokage could not get involved. The Hyuga Clan's Caged Bird Curse Seal was different from the Uchiha's Sharingan. Even if Uchiha Obito's Sharingan was given to Kakashi, it would only be a minor matter for the entire Uchiha Clan.
But if there was a way to release the Caged Bird Curse Seal, it would shake the entire Main Family's rule.
When the Caged Bird Curse Seal was created, it might indeed have had the intention of protecting the Byakugan, but today, the meaning of ruling the Branch Family definitely surpasses protecting the Byakugan Cell Lineage.
"Ninja? Is it a Kusagakure? No, this amount of Chakra, it should be that Vortex Clan I encountered a few years ago."
As Hyuga Mirai was traveling, several figures with Chakra suddenly appeared in his Byakugan's field of vision; then he saw a familiar individual.
Seven kilometers away, at such a distance, Hyuga Mirai could only discern the outlines of the human bodies and their Chakra pathways.
There were three individuals with ordinary Chakra levels, at the Genin to Chunin level, not worth mentioning. However, another one, who was pushed to the ground, had a Chakra volume almost seven or eight times that of Hyuga Mirai.
"Let's go take a look."
After making his decision, Hyuga Mirai directly leaped onto a tree, then headed towards the location of that Vortex Clan woman.
Kusagakure's ambition had always been considerable, but unfortunately, its strength did not match its ambition. Each time before war broke out, Kusagakure would waver between the two great nations, seeking to gain more benefits.
But by the time the war ended, Kusagakure would find that their losses far exceeded the benefits they had gained.
Konoha and the Rock Ninja were not so easily deceived. When the great storm arrived, the quickest to die would definitely be the fence-sitters.
Kusagakure's leader called himself the Kage of Kusagakure, the leader of a small ninja village. Not only did he call himself the Kage of Kusagakure, but he also wanted to gain recognition from Konoha and the Rock Ninja.
The last one to do so was Hanzo of the Land of Rain. He relied on his own strength to earn a title even more formidable than the Rain Kage: 'Demigod.'
But Kusagakure was different. Its leader was greedy, its ninja were arrogant, and Kusagakure liked to decipher other countries' Ninjutsu and rename them as their own, which reminded Hyuga Mirai of a certain 'stealing' country from his previous life.
In such an environment, Kusagakure naturally couldn't possess the same quality as Konoha Ninja. For the civilians within the Grass Country, sometimes Kusagakure were even more terrifying than mountain bandits!
"Hey, hey, hey, I didn't expect this dirty, broken mountain village to have a woman of such beauty!"
After kicking the door open, three Kusagakure originally intended to take half of the grain under the guise of collecting taxes. But they didn't expect to find a young woman with blood-red hair inside. Although the woman immediately smeared dirt on her face out of fear, she was still seen clearly by the three Kusagakure.
"Hey, Fukuzawa, give this one to me. You don't have to pay back the money you owe me!" One of the Kusagakure said, quite moved. He was also in his twenties and it was high time he settled down and had children.
The red-haired woman's appearance just now had greatly moved this Kusagakure, which was why he spoke to his two companions.
"What? Yoshiwara, you want to monopolize such a good thing..."
"I'll give you a copy of the Water Release: Water Trumpet Wave Jutsu that I earned with my merits. Let this woman be mine; I intend to start a family."
"Only one Water Release Jutsu?"
The discussion among these three Kusagakure filled Vortex Ayaka's heart with immense fear. She possessed a strange ability to sense the power belonging to ninja, but since Vortex Ayaka was only a few years old when she fled from the Land of Whirlpools, she had never learned ninja power and could only rely on her unreliable ability to hide everywhere.
Now, after finally settling down in this remote mountain village, she was found by Kusagakure again.
"Alright, come with us!"
The three Kusagakure had finished their discussion. The Kusagakure named Yoshiwara temporarily gained ownership of Vortex Ayaka, so he stepped forward, intending to take Vortex Ayaka back to Kusagakure.
"No, don't, I don't want to go back with you!" Vortex Ayaka kept curling up backward, but the room was so small that she was quickly grabbed by her hair by the Kusagakure named Yoshiwara and dragged out of the house.
"Just be obedient!" Yoshiwara mercilessly pulled her fiery red hair, lifted her, and walked out. As he pulled forcefully, the red hair quickly fell to the ground strand by strand.
"No, it hurts so much, let go, I don't want to go back with you..."
Between intense pain and fear, Vortex Ayaka could only repeat this sentence over and over. But for these three Kusagakure, her pleas brought no mercy from them.
Just as tension and fear constantly alternated in her heart, Vortex Ayaka could sense ninja power again: the power of the three individuals beside her, and the power approaching from a distance.
It felt very familiar, as if she had encountered it once a long time ago.
Intense pain constantly emanated from Vortex Ayaka, but this thought suddenly arose in her mind, and sealed memories in her brain slowly recalled some fragments through her senses.
Those pure white pupils instantly appeared in Vortex Ayaka's mind.
"Ninja-sama! Ninja-sama!! Please save me, we met a long time ago! Ninja-sama, please save me!"
Vortex Ayaka suddenly shouted loudly, but what came out of her mouth left the three Kusagakure somewhat bewildered.
"Still hoping someone will save you? I'd like to see who dares!"
Yoshiwara was furious upon hearing this. He kicked Vortex Ayaka violently under the eaves of a nearby house, then pulled out a Kunai and looked around. The only ninja nearby were the three of them. Was this idiotic woman trying to ask his companions for help?
"Who dares to interfere with this matter!?"
Some people in the mountain village were also hiding in their homes, watching Vortex Ayaka's plight through cracks in their windows, but they dared not make the slightest sound. They also dared not say anything about the Kusagakure's behavior of entering houses to search for money and valuables, only clenching their teeth and huddling in corners.
Upon hearing Yoshiwara's angry shout, the nearby villagers didn't even dare to approach their windows, quickly hiding in the corners of their houses, trembling occasionally.
"Hmph!"
Seeing that no one dared to provoke him, Yoshiwara felt a pleasant sense of satisfaction from his ninja status over these lowly villagers.
Then Yoshiwara walked towards Vortex Ayaka, fiercely grabbed her fiery red long hair, and asked viciously, "Haha, you tell me, who can save you! Who can you call out to!? Huh?"
"She's probably calling for me."
A calm voice sounded from behind Yoshiwara. At the same time, he seemed to hear two thudding sounds, which sounded like heavy objects falling to the ground.
When Yoshiwara instinctively turned his head to look, he only saw a pair of pure white pupils, and then he lost consciousness.
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