Escape from Konoha.

While gathering intelligence and talent, they can also increase their extra income, expand their reputation, attract more employers to find them, entrust them with missions, and gain access to more secrets.

This time, they were tasked by a merchant from the Land of Tea to clean up an illegal ninja organization within the Land of Tea.

This ninja organization originated outside the Land of Tea. It is not affiliated with the Five Great Nations, nor is it from any other small ninja village. Instead, it became ninjas by chance, essentially wandering ninjas without a ninja village.

They made a living by robbing passing merchants, which led the merchants of the Land of Tea to offer a bounty on the black market to eliminate this wandering ninja organization and restore stability to the trade routes within the Land of Tea.

To be honest, this kind of task was not too difficult for the five of them.

The average strength of the five of them is above Chunin.

Not only were they granted powerful physical attributes, but they also possessed exceptional perception and self-healing abilities. Under Shiraishi's guidance, they also cultivated their own unique secret techniques.

Their five-person team was so strong that it would take at least three Jonin to defeat them, and even then, they wouldn't be able to kill them.

The strength of ninjas in wandering ninja organizations is mainly measured in Genin, with the leaders mostly at the Chunin level. Jonin level ninjas are very rare among the enormous number of wandering ninjas.

"What...what is this?!"

A ninja in green clothes and with brown hair wrapped his arm around the neck of a wandering ninja from behind, and sparks flew from his arm.

More accurately, his entire arm turned into flames.

The homeless man's throat was instantly burned to a crisp, and he collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

Immediately afterwards, a wandering ninja stabbed him in the back from behind with his ninja sword. It felt like he had hit thin air; the part that was stabbed turned into a flame that had no substance.

The wandering ninja was instantly engulfed in flames, letting out a terrifying scream.

He eventually returned to his original appearance, a calm expression on the brown-haired ninja's face.

This kind of battle can be described as extremely childish.

"Fire Man, your ninjutsu is as cruel as ever."

A ninja dressed in purplish-red clothes walked over and laughed.

"There's nothing we can do; we've all been given a system of ninjutsu."

Emerging from the shadow of the stone, a person dressed in yellow with black hair appeared, seemingly very satisfied with the abilities they had gained.

Fire Man's ninjutsu is a secret technique derived from the nature transformation of fire-style chakra.

His technique is a secret art derived from Yin-attribute chakra nature transformation, allowing him to move freely in the shadows, making him an unpredictable assassin in the team.

The others also took care of the enemies they were assigned.

"Now the mission is complete. At this rate, we'll soon be famous in the underground black market."

"That would make recruiting talent much easier."

The completion of the mission to eliminate the wandering ninjas commissioned by the merchants of the Land of Tea means that their team has added another achievement to their record in the black market.

If this continues, within a few years, it will become famous in the underground black market, attracting more resources and talent.

"No matter what kind of guy you're facing, just be careful."

The leader, Insect Man, approached the corpses of these wandering ninjas and, as usual, began to plunder them.

Sometimes, these wandering ninjas would carry some interesting items, although Insect Man had never encountered such a situation, simply considering it as adding to his personal stash.

Since these wandering ninjas are already dead, all their wealth belongs to them.

This is a very lucrative task.

"Oh?"

The insect-man raised an eyebrow and found a scroll on the corpse of a wandering ninja.

The wandering ninja insect man remembered that he was the leader of this wandering ninja organization.

Judging from the material of the scroll, it is very cheap, but it is sealed with a magic spell. What secret is hidden inside?

What's inside?

"I don't know. It could be a trap."

The insect-man hesitated for a moment, deciding that even if it was a trap, he should open it and see what was inside.

However, preventative measures should still be taken.

After deciphering the spell above, the insect man immediately jumped back to prevent any trap spells from being hidden inside the scroll.

However, the scroll was empty except for some hastily written words that roughly stated they planned to use a certain 'secret' to make a large sum of money.

The five insect-men were completely baffled, unable to understand what the 'secret' these wandering ninjas were talking about was, which could be sold for a large sum of money.

Judging from the handwriting, they have found a suitable buyer, and today is the day of the transaction.

Unfortunately, they've been ambushed by the five of them beforehand, so the deal is probably off the table.

"Boss, shall we go check out this so-called 'secret'?"

"Let's go take a look while we're at it. It doesn't seem to be too far from here. After all, we'll need to recruit a lot of people in the future, and every little bit helps."

The four agreed with the insect man's view.

Although the organization offers good salaries, it has only been established for a few years and needs money in many areas.

Money is essential to attracting talent.

The talent specified above is not limited to ninjas; it encompasses talent in all aspects of life.

Craftsmen, researchers, educators, medicine, and so on.

They need to complete the initial accumulation in this area as soon as possible, and firmly establish the basic framework of the organization before they can develop rapidly.

Even the smallest detail, like a mosquito's leg, must be thoroughly searched. Not a single needle or thread can be overlooked.

◎

Inside the cave, the road was extremely bumpy and damp, and the air was filled with a dirty, foul smell.

This is the taste of poverty and death.

The five insect men were very familiar with this smell; in the past, and now in the Land of Rain, this smell was ubiquitous.

This is the lair of those wandering ninjas, and the 'secret' they want to trade with the unknown buyer is also here. The scroll says that this 'secret' is of great importance and can fetch a very good price.

Naturally, the five insect-men were very interested in this and came here to search for treasure.

I just hope this secret won't disappoint them too much.

Because the cave was too dark, the Fire Man picked up a wooden stick, lit it, and used it as a torch for lighting.

The cave was filled with food scraps and remnants, which suggests that these wandering ninjas must have lived a very miserable and impoverished life.

"Here?"

After removing all the traps along the way, the five insect-men arrived at a closed wooden door.

There was a sealed iron lock on it, and the lock itself was covered in rust.

An indescribable stench, along with the smell of decay, emanated from inside.

This is the only place in the nest that can be used to hide 'secrets'.

According to the five of them, they didn't know what the 'secret' inside was, but there were still many living people behind the door.

There are eight in total.

There are eight living people in this room.

Locked inside, could they be fellow members of those wandering ninjas, or prisoners?

Were they attacked and captured by those wandering ninjas and brought here?

After a moment's hesitation, the insect-man broke the lock on the door and opened it.

The firelight shone in, and the room inside was also lit, though very faintly and flickeringly, indicating that the power supply was not very good, but it was enough for the five insect men to see the situation of these people.

He was skin and bones, looking like he had been abused for a long time.

There were men, women, young and old, just like members of a large family.

Their lips were chapped, their faces were pale, and the food and water the wandering ninjas gave them were minimal.

They were all burdened with heavy shackles and handcuffs.

The insect-man glanced at the eight people, and finally fixed his gaze on a child who was only a few years old.

That shining light of hope and longing is a testament to the tenacity for life.

There was also a slight sense of tension and unease.

"Boss, they seem a bit different from ordinary people."

Fireman said softly from the side.

"Even after being subjected to such abuse, provided with only the bare minimum of water and food, their vitality still surpasses that of others, and all of them have red hair..."

The insect-man squinted and noticed that all eight people, regardless of gender, had incredibly bright red hair.

"The remnants of the Uzumaki clan..."

That's the secret to making money from it.

It is indeed a very outstanding 'treasure'.

The insect-man took a few steps forward and came to stand in front of these people.

They emitted an unbearable stench, their faces were covered in dust, their wounds were infected and untreated, and cockroaches crawled on the lunchboxes next to them.

Here they can only eke out a living.

"It's truly pathetic that the once glorious Uzumaki clan has fallen to such a state."

Not only did the country perish, but the clansmen also scattered and wandered the ninja world, living a precarious existence.

"Since you're alive, why didn't you go to Konoha for help? Instead, you were captured by rogue ninjas and forced to live a life worse than that of underground rats?"

The insect-man stroked the little head of the vortex clan child and asked in confusion.

The Uzumaki clan and Konoha have had an alliance since ancient times.

Even the uniforms of Konoha's Jonin bear the mark of the Uzumaki clan, signifying the friendly relationship between the two sides.

Having lost their country, their first reaction should have been to seek refuge in Konoha, not to live a life of wandering like beggars in various parts of the ninja world.