Chapter 144: Seven Treasures Town
Seven Treasures Town…
The sun shone brightly, birds sang, and flowers bloomed. The town thrived with prosperity and peace, a picture of flourishing stability.
"This town is pretty nice."
Li Jiexuan stretched lazily, looking perfectly at ease as he bought a candied hawthorn skewer from a street vendor, every bit the tourist. Orochimaru, however, stayed close behind him, tense and on guard.
"Relax, Orochimaru…"
Li Jiexuan smiled and shook his head. "If you stay like that the whole time when traveling, it'll wear you out."
"But…"
Orochimaru frowned, casting wary glances around. "There's something wrong with this town."
Killing intent—faint in some places, stronger in others—lingered everywhere throughout the town.
Before Orochimaru could finish speaking, Li Jiexuan had already laughed and stepped into a nearby tavern, pulling out banknotes and spending freely.
"Master…"
Orochimaru tried to persuade him again, but Li Jiexuan waved him off with a smile. "From the moment we came ashore, we've been under surveillance. In a town this big, it's hard to find someone. Better to let them come find me…"
An entire day passed in indulgent revelry inside the lavish tavern. When night fell like ink and the tavern doors slammed shut with a thunderous boom, the courtesans around Li Jiexuan silently withdrew almost at the same time.
"Looks like they're here."
Li Jiexuan sat up with a smile. Seven ninja had appeared before him without a sound.
"The so-called Pirate Slayer is just a child?"
The leader of the Seven Treasures Pirates sneered as he drew a strangely shaped sickle. "Coming to cause trouble for us means you've reached the end of the road!"
Pirate Slayer…
That was the title Li Jiexuan had earned along the way. He had destroyed not dozens but nearly a hundred pirate crews, and even triggered a side quest.
Side Regional Quest: Eliminate the Seven Treasures Pirates.
Mission Content: As the pirate leaders of the Land of Water, the Seven Treasures Pirates commit every imaginable atrocity. As a righteous ninja, eliminating them is your duty.
Duty, my ass. Try not giving me the reward and see what happens.
Mission Reward: One Kage-tier Treasure Chest, the title Pirate Slayer, 10,000 points.
A Kage-tier Treasure Chest!
When he first received this quest, Li Jiexuan had been somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected the legendary Seven Treasures Pirates to be worth a Kage-tier treasure chest.
After all, every quest that rewarded a Kage-tier chest was fraught with danger—never easy.
Could the Seven Treasures Pirates truly be that powerful?
"Surging Wave Sickle!"
The strangely rippled sickle slashed down fiercely, and a terrifying tide materialized out of thin air, surging toward Li Jiexuan.
"Hahaha! What do you think of my Surging Wave Sickle's power?"
Lang Jingtāo, leader of the Seven Treasures Pirates, laughed arrogantly. "You can die in peace now—"
He choked on his words.
In Dragon Sage Mode, Li Jiexuan stood as if in a shallow swimming pool, planted steadily amid the roaring waves. He raised an eyebrow in puzzlement. "With only this level of strength, why are you worth a Kage-tier treasure chest?"
"You brat! How dare you look down on the Seven Treasures Pirates!"
The other six members drew their various weapons and attacked together.
In an instant, wind, fire, lightning, and more erupted in dazzling succession—lively as a grand festival performance.
However…
Even their strongest attacks barely shattered three layers of Li Jiexuan's defenses. Combined, the seven might have reached the level of a single jonin. From that perspective, they could indeed be considered the Seven Ninja Swordsmen—if the seven of them counted as one seat.
The entire tavern was blown to pieces. Li Jiexuan and the Seven Treasures Pirates burst out of the ruins together. But the moment he stepped outside, Li Jiexuan froze.
"I see now…"
The reason killing intent permeated Seven Treasures Town was because the entire town was the pirates' lair. More precisely, the entire town was the Seven Treasures Pirates!
Like a rising tide, the townspeople surrounded them in layers upon layers, weapons in hand. The kind, approachable faces from daytime twisted into savage and terrifying expressions.
"Hahaha! No matter how strong you are, can you fight the power of an entire town?"
Lang Jingtāo laughed wildly, swinging the Surging Wave Sickle and summoning a towering tsunami dozens of meters high.
"Earth Style—Earth Flow Wall!"
Blocking the tsunami with an earthen wall, Li Jiexuan shook his head helplessly. "Looks like this Kage-tier treasure chest won't be easy to claim."
"Lord Jiexuan, what should we do now?"
Orochimaru, still very young, found himself momentarily uncertain in the face of thousands upon thousands of enemies.
"If they can receive the Cursed Seal, give it to them. Those who can't…"
Li Jiexuan frowned and said coldly, "Kill them all."
At his command, Manda, the Great Roc, and nearly a thousand pirates he had gathered along the way surged forward in a frenzy…
The destruction of Seven Treasures Town was imminent.