Kisame could feel that the chakra fluctuations radiating from Uzumaki Senshi hadn’t diminished in the slightest.

  Not daring to let his guard down, he immediately tried to use the giant bde Samehada to absorb the lingering energy of Senshi’s jutsu. Samehada could devour other ninjas’ chakra without ever being sated, but if it tried to take ien-Tails’ chakra, there ossibility it would be like a srying to swallow an elephant—bursting from overption.

  However, at that moment, Samehada was only abs a minuscule portion of Senshi’s chakra. It wasn’t anything close to all of it.

  “Lightning Release: Hell Stab—Four-Fihrust!”

  Samehada was still struggling to ihe huge volume of energy tained in Senshi’s “60-Million-Volt Thunder Dragon” when Senshi’s figure appeared right in front of Kisame.

  Boom!

  Kisame couldn’t make any move whatsoever before Senshi struck him directly, sending him flying!

  If Senshi hadn’t purposely avoided Kisame’s vitals, if he hadn’t held back the brunt of his power—and if he had used the even stronger One-Fihrust—Kisame at this very moment wouldn’t be just gravely wounded; he’d have been torn to pieces.

  Thud—

  Kisame went s high and came crashing down hard, left pletely subdued. If Senshi hadn’t pulled back at the st moment, Kisame would have been cleaved in half by now.

  “Samehada! Transfer chakra!”

  Kisame gripped Samehada, his voice weak. His gaze, fixed on Senshi desding slowly in midair, couldn’t ceal the lingering dread in his heart.

  “To… This guy…he’s way to! It’s just ridiculously overpowered!”

  “He only used the Four-Fihrust, not even the One-Fihrust!”

  “At the st sed, he even avoided my vitals and iionally drew back.”

  “Otherwise, I’d already be dead!”

  At this point, Kisame truly had been scarred by the overwhelming might of Uzumaki Senshi. Meanwhile, floatily down from midair, Senshi showed no signs of having spent any energy at all in the earlier skirmish—he erfectly posed.

  It was obvious that Kisame had fought with his full strength, whereas Senshi had used just a fra of his power and handled him with ease.

  By now, Terumi Mei had helped Chōjūrō break free of the Water Prison. She, along with Chōjūrō, Ao, and Goood in stunned silence, watg Senshi nd lightly oer’s surface.

  Kisame, who had practically overpowered those four by himself, had now beeen down by Senshi’s unstoppable, crushing strength!

  Terumi Mei stared at Senshi ily for a long while, her eyes eventually sharpening—

  Uzumaki Senshi’s appearached up perfectly with data on a certain high-profile individual:

  “The so-called ‘Task Butcher’ in the Ame’s bck market… The unstoppable ‘Mission Mae’…

  The ‘Mission Sughterer!’”

  Because Master Genji was advanced in years, Terumi Mei was essentially handling most of the vilge matters, so she was familiar with the intel on Senshi—though the rest of the Kiri might not know much.

  “Uzumaki Senshi, the rising star in the Ame’s bck market. Possesses an unbelievable affinity fhtning Release, supposedly having mastered nearly every lightning-style ninjutsu in the ninja world.”

  “His mission efficy is extremely high, with a 100% pletion rate. During those missions, he’s defeated quite a few powerful oppos.

  Kakuzu, Orochimaru…even Kisame, these S-rank rogues, have all fought him and lost!”

  As she recalled that ihe future Fifth Mizukage was forced to aowledge hhtening Senshi’s strength was. Throughout ninja history, from aimes to now, the number of ninja who’d never once lost in battle could be ted on one hand. And here stood a seemingly very young Senshi who was one of those few.

  “What terrifying power… And what terrifying talent…”

  Wasting no time, Terumi Mei guided Chōjūrō, Ao, and Gonbee in sihanks to Senshi. They didn’t really know why he had interveo save them, but it was beyond doubt that without him stepping in, they likely would have suffered serious casualties.

  As an S-rank rogue from the Kiri, Kisame’s prowess was anything but ordinary. Besides monstrous strength by nature, his chakra reserve was unimaginably rge; his Water Release was advao a near-perfect level, and wielding the giant sword Samehada made him even more dangerous. Even so, the four of them bined were no match.

  Especially he end, Kisame’s Great Exploding Water Shock Wave had been about to crash down on them, and Terumi Mei wouldn’t even have been able to break out of the ke. Chōjūrō, trapped by Water Prison, plus an already-wounded Gonbee and Ao, would have been promptly overrun. Deprived of their help, Terumi Mei wouldn’t have stood a ce at beating or esg Kisame.

  Hence, her gratitude toward Senshi only grew. Thanks to his abrupt intervention—swift, crushing, unstoppable—he’d defeated Kisame and prevented all the dreadful outes that were about to happen.

  “Sir, thank you for saving us just now. I am—”

  But Terumi Mei abruptly broke off, realizing something so bizarre that words failed her. Sure, Senshi’s sudden arrival was already astonishing, but what happened was even more surreal.

  Right after resg them, Uzumaki Senshi casually pulled out a stack of ission forms, cheg them carefully one by one, as though it were the most normal thing in the world. First, he drew out one particur mission slip, studying the photo closely, then paring it to Terumi Mei iail. The deep-blue robe, the brown hair, the bangs c one eye, that tall figure—it erfect match.

  So this kunoichi in front of him was ihe one pictured—Terumi Mei!

  Having firmed there was no mistake, Senshi nodded seriously:

  “Terumi Mei—bounty is 20 million ryō!”

  After firming her identity, Senshi produced the seission slip for a cross-check. This one showed a stern-faced middle-aged man, indeed matg the photo and description. He was her than Gonbee, one of Genji’s personal guards.

  Gng briefly at Gonbee, Senshi then looked back down at the slip:

  “Gonbee—8 million ryō! Tsk, not a bad price.”

  He didn’t have much impression of Gonbee, who remained in the Kiri most of the time, but the slip’s detailed photo and write-up left no doubt. , Senshi turned his gaze on a third person whose features were quite distinct: typically sp ad possessing a Byakugan underh. He’d already used that Byakugan during the fight with Kisame. This was her than Ao, a Kiri jōnin.

  Holding that slip, Senshi ented offhandedly:

  “Ao—15 million ryō!”

  After turning over Ao’s assassination slip, he rifled through the stack for another. At st, he grabbed ohat matched the bespectacled youth holding Hiramekarei a short distance away—Chōjūrō. paring him carefully to the photo and the descriptions, Senshi firmed his identity:

  “Chōjūrō—10 million ryō! Tsk, tsk, tsk. Chōjūrō, you o work harder. Seems they only value you at 10 million!”

  With Terumi Mei ahree panions all identified, Senshi’s face lit with delight. He gave them a look like they were pieces of cargo, saying:

  “Alright, if I snatch the four of you all at ohat’s a bined bounty of 53 million ryō!

  Even though yroup’s not too impressive, your total price is quite acceptable.”

  The excitement on Senshi’s face was obvious as he spped the stack of forms with satisfa.

  These four people were worth a great deal. If he took them down, who knew how many routine issions it would equal? Many of the minor missions his Wood es finished paid only 10,000 or even less. Excluding the system’s own pensation, normal fees alone would require thousands of small issions to make as much. He was fortunate his chakra was unlimited—he could send Wood es on all sorts of menial tasks without personally leaving. That was how he’d mao clear out so many bck market missions singlehandedly.

  While Senshi’s thoughts raced in that dire, Terumi Mei, Ao, Gonbee, and Chōjūrō had no idea. But his st remarks instantly raised their arm to maximum.

  “We’re in trouble. His target is us!”

  “He’s unbelievably strong—everyoch out!”

  Ao spoke with a mix of wariness, anger, and helplessness. Even the four of them together had struggled with Kisame, only to be thhly outcssed. Had Senshi not interve the st sed, Kisame might have killed some of them. Now, here was someone far more terrifying than Kisame—someone who had downed Kisame in one blow, leaving him no ce to fight back. Knowing Senshi might io capture them, Ao couldn’t think what they could do.

  Beside Ao, Gonbee said nothing, but readied himself fully—resolved to die if need be.

  Inwardly, Gonbee uzzled: “Where oh did such a formidable ninja e from? Even among the five great vilges, there aren’t many young gehis strong!”

  Bleam