Tokuhei smiled and said, "The reward for completing the mission should already be handed to Konoha. As for the bounties, Lord Daimyo will send them to Konoha as soon as he can."
Fujin asked, "What bounties?"
Tokuhei replied, "Due to the chaos that this group created, Lord Daimyo had put bounties on their heads. Mitsuzuka had a bounty of 20 million Ryo. Any Jounin in the rogue group had a bounty of 10 million Ryo, while the chunins had a bounty of 2 million each."
He looked at the kids and said, "Fujin, you killed 2 chunins. Mieko and Hoka, you two killed one each. And you three helped Shusaku in killing his opponent. So the reward for that kill would be split among you four."
Fujjn was stunned, 'The hell? 4.5 million Ryo for such an easy job?'
Tokuhei smiled on seeing Fujin's reaction.
Hoka and Mieko didn't react much.
Fujin looked at Renjiro and thought, 'He killed Mitsuzuka. In addition, he killed the 2 gatekeepers and 4 more chunins before the fight began! He'll get a freaking 32 million Ryo!'
Renjiro noticed Fujin's gaze but didn't react. Tokuhei said, "I will lead my team to collect the dead bodies from under the debris."
Renjiro said, "Alright. We will take our leave then."
Tokuhei asked, "You don't want to rest for a bit in the town?"
Renjiro answered, "No, we had some rest. Besides, the borders of the Land of Fire are closer to here than the town."
Tokuhei nodded and said, "Alright. It was good working alongside you."
Renjiro smiled and said, "It was good working alongside you as well."
Tokuhei left. Renjiro looked at his squad and said, "Pack up, we are leaving."
The trio nodded and immediately packed up the tent.
After gathering everything, they left. As they moved through the forest, Fujin asked, "Sensei, do rank A missions pay so much?"
Renjiro replied, "It depends on how critical the mission is for the ones who issue it. This time, the Daimyo was under a lot of public pressure. That is why he issued those bounties."
Fujin nodded. Mieko asked, "Sensei, how difficult are the rank S missions?"
Renjiro answered, "Well, imagine having to do this mission with just a squad of 4 ninjas. So if this wasn't a joint mission, it would have been close to a rank S mission.
Usually, rank S missions aren't labeled as such due to difficulty. Rather, it is the critical nature of the missions. If it is labeled rank S due to difficulty, then our opponent would be an Elite Jounin. Someone who could go up equally against me."
Mieko, Fujin and Hoka paid attention to Renjiro's words. Since this one would probably be their last mission together, they asked Renjiro a lot of questions. Renjiro answered them patiently and resolved their queries.
While they were moving, Fujin occasionally activated his chakra field, while Hoka activated his Byakugan. During one such occasion, Fujin sensed something that shocked him!
Fujin shouted, "Halt! Two huge chakras are incoming. One has slightly lower chakra than sensei. While the other one has more than twice sensei's chakra!"
That shocked them. Hoka immediately activated his Byakugan, while Mieko activated her Sharingan. Renjiro also became serious. He thought, 'My chakra was naturally high due to being a Senju. The ones who had chakra equal to or higher than me are usually S ranked ninjas!'
Renjiro spoke, "Hoka"
Hoka answered, "One is a shinobi from Kumo while the other is from Taki. Both are rogue ninj…"
Suddenly, Hoka stopped speaking. There was a stunned expression on his body. Renjiro asked, "What did you see?"
Hoka answered in a shocked voice, "The one with the higher chakra has a different body… It's disgusting!"
This surprised them. Fujin thought, 'Disgusting body?'
A few faces appeared in his mind.
Around 800 meters from Team Renjiro, two ninjas were travelling at a rapid speed. One of them was 5 feet 6 inches tall and very slim. The other one was over 6 feet tall and had a well-built body.
The slim one asked, "Are you sure that cash cow will be travelling from here?"
The tall guy answered, "My sources are never wrong. Now shut up and keep moving."
Suddenly, both their eyes widened. The slim guy chuckled and said, "Looks like you were right, freak. Let's go quickly."
Both of them sensed Fujin sensing them and moved rapidly towards Team Renjiro.
Team Renjiro waited to see who was approaching them so quickly. Fujin had a very bad feeling. In a few seconds, two silhouettes appeared in front of them.
Fujin watched as his eyes kept widening. They both wore long black cloaks with red clouds, red interiors, and chin-high collars. Fujin didn't recognize one of them. But the other, he recognized very well.
Fujin was scared! No, he was horrified! Only one thought ran through his mind, 'Motherfucking Kakuzu!'
Renjiro looked at them. He didn't recognize Kakuzu but recognized the other one. He was surprised. He said, "Kaminari. I heard that you had disappeared from the Land of Lightning. Didn't know that you became a rogue ninja. Looks like Kumogakure did a good job of hiding your details."
A scowl formed on Kaminari's face. He didn't like anyone recalling his days when he was in Kumogakure.
Though Renjiro spoke casually, he was on full alert to start a fight. Fujin looked at Mieko and made eye contact. Mieko noticed his gaze and understood what he wanted. Meanwhile, Hoka kept observing Kakuzu's body. He was very surprised at seeing the 5 hearts inside Kakuzu's body.
Kakuzu said, "Senju Renjiro. I have heard a lot about your war exploits. Today, I will claim the 45 million Ryo bounty on your head."
Kakuzu wasted no time and moved forward to attack. Kaminari joined him. Renjiro grabbed his sword to confront them. However, Mieko and Fujin were faster.
Mieko made hand signs immediately.
'Fire Release : Great Fireball jutsu'
She released a giant ball of fire.
At the same time, Fujin launched his supercharged jutsu
'Wind Release : Great Breakthrough jutsu'
Both jutsus combined. The Fireball dispersed and spread out throughout the Great Breakthrough jutsu. Kakuzu and Kaminari, who were focused on Renjiro, were surprised. Kakuzu had used such a combination several times in the past. He understood its lethality. So did Kaminari.
Both flickered behind. Kakuzu made a hand sign. An Earth Dome appeared and covered them both.
Renjiro noticed the earth dome and smirked. He made a hand sign and was about to slam his hands on the ground. Mieko and Hoka were prepared to go on the assault too. However, Fujin yelled, "Formation Nine!"
As soon as they heard it, their eyes widened.
Kakuzu and Kaminari were protected by the earth dome. However, soon needles began forming on the inside surface of the dome. Kakuzu noticed them and snorted. He made a hand sign and all the needles crumbled into dust and soil.
They felt that the combination jutsu had already passed and hence lifted the earth dome. But, instead of a clear battlefield, they were met by a 20 feet tall Sloth who attacked them with its giant claws. They both flickered in opposite directions.
Realizing that Kakuzu would be the bigger threat, he flickered in front of Kakuzu and attacked with his swords. Kakuzu saw Renjiro and made a hand sign.
'Earth Release : Iron Skin jutsu'
Kakuzu's skin blackened. He raised his fist and blocked Renjiro's sword. Chakra flowed through Renjiro's sword. It hit the back of Kakuzu's fist. The attack left a small slash on Kakuzu's fist.
Kakuzu was surprised. He said, "It's been a long while since someone could hurt me. I will enjoy killing you!"
Renjiro and the Sloth were about to press on the attack, but they suddenly withdrew backwards. Renjiro looked at Kakuzu. It seemed as if there were monsters under his clothes, or perhaps under his skin, that were trying to break out.
Four black monsters appeared around Kakuzu. Each had a mask of different color on them.
Renjiro, despite all his experience, was stunned. He thought, 'What the hell is this? And who is this guy? And why was there no mention of such a strong ninja during the previous wars?'
Kakuzu and the 4 monsters attacked Renjiro and his summon with perfect coordination. Renjiro kept his distance from them and tried his best to defend himself. He often resorted to diving into the ground to protect himself.
