"Three hundred million... a whole three hundred million! Your head is worth ten times more than Chiriku, one of the twelve guardian ninjas of the Land of Fire!"

Witnessing his three companions being killed by Yu and knowing that he too faced an inevitable death, the black-clad ninja, whose throat was gripped by Yu, revealed a twisted and frenzied smile.

"Hahaha! It's not just us. Many others have set their sights on you this time. Sooner or later, stronger guys than us will come after you!"

'Three hundred million? So that's it...'

'So these are wandering ninja who came for the bounty mission in the underground black market? I didn't expect my head to be quite valuable...'

After hearing the words of the ninja in front of him, Yu suddenly understood everything. Just as he had speculated, ever since he killed numerous ninjas in the Great Ninja War, ninjas from the Wind, Earth, Lightning, and Water countries all wanted to completely eliminate him.

'Land of Lightning and Land of Earth, no need to say much. I killed so many of their ninjas on the battlefield, including the Third Raikage of Hidden Cloud and the Five Tails Jinchuriki Han of Iwagakure.'

'As for the Wind Country, it's because I infiltrated the Sand and stole their Puppet Scroll and Human Puppet Forbidden Jutsu. They have repeatedly demanded that Konoha hand me over for several years now.'

'As for the Water Country, even though Kirigakure is currently undergoing reforms and a transition in leadership, I recently killed their Fourth Mizukage and many other ninjas. The enmity has naturally been formed.'

'Due to the current situation of the Great Ninja War ending and the five major nations signing a peace treaty, they cannot openly attack me. However, they can put a bounty on my head by issuing bounty missions in the underground black market.'

'The black-clad ninjas who suddenly attacked me just now are probably between Chunin and Jonin in strength, freelancers outside the five major nations. In the ninja world, there are countless rogue ninjas like them, living on the edge and licking blood off their blades.'

'The bounty of 300 million is quite something, isn't it?'

You see, for a standard S-rank mission in any of the five major Ninja villages, such as assassinating a high-profile individual or stealing classified documents, the reward is usually over 1 million ryo.

To put it in perspective, even the legendary Orochimaru, one of the Three Sannin, had only executed 108 S-rank missions throughout his decades-long ninja career before defecting from Konoha.

In other words, the bounty on Yu's head right now is worth nearly a hundred times the reward for an S-rank mission. Although most ninjas are hesitant to act due to Scarlet Yu's reputation, it doesn't stop numerous ninjas lurking in the shadows from being drawn to it.

"Anyway... I still have to thank you for the information."

After understanding the whole situation, Yu looked at the black-clad ninja struggling to free himself from Yu's grip on his fingers. With a slight smirk, Yu said, "But as a supporting character, you shouldn't talk so much... I'll let Tyrant send you on a trip to another world!"

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Bang!

In the instant Yu finished speaking, he casually released his grip on his hand.

Standing beside him, Tyrant suddenly raised his enormous bear paw and slapped the air in front of him. The terrifying force sent the black-clad ninja flying, turning him into a shooting star disappearing into the night sky as darkness fell.

"Let's go, Haku, Kimimaro."

"We'll rest here for the night and head out tomorrow to find the nearest exchange center."

After dealing with the last wandering ninja, Yu retrieved Tyrant into the alternate space of Kaio's Door Door Fruit and woke up the two daydreaming little devils beside him.

The air around returned to calmness, as if nothing had happened, except for the three black-clad ninja corpses lying in the distance, a reminder of the recent events.

Although Yu didn't care much for these rogues blinded by money and self-interest in the darkness, he didn't want to endure endless assassination attempts and harassment every time he left Konoha.

They settled into a comfortable inn they found on a random street, spending a quiet night. When they opened their eyes again, it was already dawn.

...

Within the Land of Fire, about ten kilometers from Tanzaku Quarters .

Besides the vast forests on both sides, there are rows of solitary utility poles along the wide road, with a massive building situated beside the broad thoroughfare.

This is the very place in the anime where Hidan and Kakuzu killed Sarutobi Asuma. Beneath what appears to be uninhabited houses and public restrooms lies a massive underground black market unknown to most—the Exchange Center.

The Exchange Center serves as an intermediary organization in the Naruto world's underground market for laundering money and exchanging goods and props for missions. As long as someone can afford the price, they can publish missions here, offering rewards for others' lives.

In essence, the Exchange Center is similar to the institutions in the five great ninja villages, but the key difference lies in one being in the light and the other in the shadows. Furthermore, the individuals carrying out the missions shift from ninjas belonging to the five great ninja villages to defected ninjas, wandering ninjas, even ronin and samurai.

"Mr. Kakuzu, are you here to pick up another mission today?"

"It seems you brought back the heads from the last bounty quite quickly!"

Unlike a quiet and cold morgue, this massive underground exchange center also houses a bustling and noisy hall for mission announcements and reward transactions, filled with ninjas, warriors, and bounty hunters from all over.

The head of this Land of Fire exchange center branch is Doma, a middle-aged man with a shaved head, thick eyebrows, and a scar across his face. At this moment, Doma's gaze is fixed on a mysterious ninja before him.

Clad in dark, old-style ninja attire, the entire head is wrapped in a hood. Beneath the black mask, only a pair of terrifying eyes with emerald green pupils and dark red sclera are visible. Most notably, he wears the forehead protector of ninja from the Waterfall Village, a defected ninja from the Waterfall Ninja Village.

"Enough talk, time is money, and money is the lifeblood of a ninja."

"Hand over the last bounty, then show me the target with the highest reward currently."

The mysterious and towering defected ninja from the Waterfall Village, Kakuzu, impatient with idle chatter, simply tosses a ninja corpse he's carrying onto Doma's feet.

"It's Jonin Aodu from the Village of Iwagakure, the Land of Earth!"

"This guy... He actually took down an elite ninja from Iwagakure?!"

Seeing the ninja corpse thrown by Kakuzu, a group of wandering ninjas nearby, who were exchanging bounty missions, immediately recognized the identity of the corpse and couldn't help but gasp in astonishment.

"Shh... Keep your voice down! That guy is not to be trifled with..."

"I heard that most of the targets on the black market bounty list recently were killed by him..."

However, someone quickly lowered their voice and cautioned, casting wary glances at Kakuzu not far away.

"Oh... Speaking of the highest bounty mission..."

"Of course, that would be Scarlet Yu, whom all four major nations of the ninja world are currently offering bounties on in the black market."

Upon hearing Kakuzu's request, Doma, the manager of the exchange center, opened the black market bounty registry he held, and on the first page was a portrait of a young man wearing the forehead protector of the Konoha Village in the Land of Fire, A handsome and sharp-eyed youth.

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