Being a rogue ninja is worse than being Hokage.

It took several days to cross the sea from the Land of Snow, and many years later, I set foot on the land of the Land of Fire again.

Naruto headed straight to the underground black market to gather intelligence.

Karin, who was following behind Naruto, was skeptical of this.

The members of "Akatsuki" are all S-rank rogue ninja.

S-rank rogue ninjas generally have strength between Jonin and Kage levels, and some can even surpass Kage.

The Akatsuki, which operates in pairs targeting tailed beasts, are definitely not just Jonin in strength.

Once information about such a highly threatening rogue ninja is leaked, it will immediately be noticed by ninja villages in various countries.

Even if the chaotic black market could obtain information about "Akatsuki," it would likely be nothing more than hearsay and false information.

"It will happen."

Naruto spoke with certainty, but offered no explanation to Karin.

Karin was unaware of Kakuzu's personality, but Naruto knew it very well.

This rogue ninja from Takigakure, betrayed and sacrificed by the village, saw money—a concept he would never betray—as his new life truth after his loyalty to the village was trampled upon by the village's higher-ups.

He has an extraordinary obsession with money, and the Akatsuki organization also needs money.

After the Akatsuki organization began to openly pursue its goal of the Tailed Beasts over the past three years, Kakuzu's style of doing things also became arrogant.

In the original story, he killed many ninjas and received a considerable bounty before he and Hidan captured the Two-Tails Jinchuriki.

Afterwards, Kakuzu went to the Land of Fire and killed Jiriku, the head priest of the Fire Temple, who had a high bounty on the underground black market.

Since Naruto is prepared to take the initiative to attack Akatsuki, aside from Nagato and Konan who use Amegakure as their base.

Of the other members whose whereabouts are unknown, only Kakuzu and Hidan are the easiest to obtain information about.

Kakuzu will definitely appear in the black market somewhere, so as long as you gather information in the black market, you won't have to worry about not finding him.

Furthermore, Kakuzu and Hidan are both typical "information gap" ninjas.

It is indeed very suitable as Naruto's primary target when he takes the initiative to attack Akatsuki.

Kakuzu and Hidan, this immortal duo.

Hidan's true strength is at most at the level of a Jonin. The troublesome thing for him is that he is not familiar with Hidan's "shared death" method. If Hidan rashly obtains his blood, he will be cursed by the evil ritual.

But once he's out of the ritual formation, he has almost no other means of fighting.

Kakuzu is the most troublesome one.

The secret technique of Takigakure Village, "Earth Grudge Fear," not only granted Kakuzu near-immortality but also allowed him to master most of the advanced Five Elements techniques.

Decades of combat experience, an incredible vitality that allows him to survive even with his heart pierced, and a cunning ninjutsu style that makes it difficult to predict Kakuzu's next move, thanks to his mastery of numerous Five Elements techniques.

Kakuzu alone can take on a regular four-person ninja squad, or even more.

However, Kakuzu is not a problem for Naruto.

Even the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, which was still under development in the original work, was able to shatter Kakuzu's heart.

Moreover, Naruto is already proficient in using Wind Release: Rasenshuriken.

"Karin, you should also pay a little attention. Although I have already told you about their information, they are still members of 'Akatsuki'. If you are not careful, they will seize the opportunity to counterattack."

Before the gates to the black market appeared, Naruto gave Karin some pointers.

"Hey, are you worried about me?"

Upon hearing Naruto's words, Karin suddenly moved closer to him, leaning her body to the side and resting her shoulder against Naruto's, tilting her head to look at him.

"Yes, I'm worried about you."

Naruto responded generously.

Given Karin's current connection to Kurama, her life is even more important than Naruto's own.

Karin's Adamantine Sealing Technique is irreplaceable for Naruto now.

Naruto didn't want to suffer a setback because Karin underestimated him.

"I...I...I understand! Humph! Of course I won't underestimate my opponent!"

This was the answer she wanted to hear, but Naruto actually said those words, which made Karin feel awkward.

She quickly moved away from Naruto, stood up straight again, lowered her head, and raised her hand as if to adjust her glasses, hiding her flushed face.

Naruto paid no attention to the girl's emotions, because the gate to the black market hidden in the street had not yet given any response to Naruto, the visitor.

The anomalies exhibited by the black market prompted Naruto to unleash his senses, and he was immediately taken aback.

Although the movement was only momentary, Karin noticed it.

"Naruto?"

Karin looked at Naruto curiously.

"...It's that guy."

……

"It stinks..."

Choji covered his mouth and nose with one hand, and fanned the air around him with the other hand in a palm shape.

"Hey, Choji, don't let your guard down!"

Ino, who was holding the black market manager hostage, gave Choji a reminder.

Choji's current hand gestures would make it difficult for him to form hand seals and fight back immediately if an enemy were hiding in the shadows, even if he noticed them right away.

But Ino could also understand Choji's reaction.

Although she managed to keep her reaction from being as exaggerated as Choji's, Ino's brow remained furrowed ever since she entered the black market, showing no signs of relaxing.

It stinks so badly here, not the kind of stench that just lingers.

It is a sticky, foul-smelling substance that, although it has no physical form, can make people feel uncomfortable all over.

Once someone gets this stench on themselves, the stench will treat that person as a new source of odor.

The place reeks of corpses in varying degrees of decay.

Both Choji and Ino showed varying degrees of disgust at the strong stench of the corpse.

Sakura, however, maintained a normal expression, as if she hadn't smelled anything at all.

As a medical ninja, Sakura is surrounded by wounded people. Many survive, but many also die.

Sakura was already used to the corpses and the smell they emitted.

Where is the body located?

Sakura scanned the room filled with drawers. Judging by the sheer number of these square drawers, the black market morgue stored an astonishing number of corpses.

These corpses couldn't all be ninjas with bounties in the underground black market; there must have been some ordinary people as well.

"The cabinet in section E, number 36."

The black market manager, who raised his hands to indicate that he had no desire to resist, answered Sakura's question.

No. 36, Section E.

Sakura's eyes searched for the corresponding number on the drawer shelf.

"Let me open the cabinet!"

Choji stopped Sakura from stepping forward.

Who can guarantee that the information provided by the black market operator is accurate?

In the three-person team, Sakura's importance as a medical ninja is beyond doubt.

Choji, who possesses the Akimichi clan's secret technique for body expansion, already has a physical endurance that surpasses that of Sakura and Ino.

He should naturally be the pioneer who tests the danger.

If something really goes wrong, Sakura can cure Choji.

This is the most reasonable division of labor. Sakura stepped aside to make room for Choji to stand in front of the drawer.

The person in charge of the black market indeed had no ulterior motives.

He was already used to the intelligence battles between the "village" and the "rogue ninja" in the black market.

Black market operators, who juggle multiple roles as intelligence brokers, have no professional ethics whatsoever.

They were essentially engaging in intelligence trading, profiting from both sides.

If the rogue ninja arrives first, he will reveal information about the village to them.

If the village arrives first, he will inform the village of the rogue ninja.

Only by cooperating honestly and actively can we increase his chances of survival.

So when Choji pulled out the rectangular cabinet, inside lay a bald monk in his thirties. He was wearing a very distinctive robe from the Fire Temple, and a cloth embroidered with the character "fire" representing his status as one of the "Twelve Guardian Ninjas" was hanging from his waist.

"The time of death has exceeded 12 hours."

Sakura peered over Choji's shoulder to observe the condition of the monk's corpse and quickly drew a conclusion.

Having deduced the time of death, Sakura suddenly reached out and touched the stiff skin on the corpse's face.

"Sakura...?"

Ino was startled by Sakura's behavior.

"It is the Earthly Realm Himself."

Sakura's actions just now were to determine whether the corpse's "face" was real or a mask.

"Choji, could you please push the cabinet back?"

Sakura made her request to Choji, but her attention was already focused on the black market manager.

"The information the surviving monks of the Fire Temple told Konoha is that Jiraiya encountered the Akatsuki duo this morning, and the time of death matches... And this town is a bit far from the Fire Temple... Considering that the Akatsuki members were carrying Jiraiya's body and had to avoid conspicuous crowds... Akatsuki must have taken a detour, and they've been gone for an hour or two, right?"

When confronted by Sakura, the black market manager replied, "Actually, they were only gone for about thirty minutes... The man who brought the corpse of the Earth Demon to exchange for the bounty is called Kakuzu. He has a habit of repeatedly counting the amount of bounty during black market transactions."

The bounty on the ground by Jiraiya, who was personally bestowed the title of one of the "Twelve Guardian Ninja" by the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, is obviously quite good.