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Chapter 51 - Chapter 51: Interlude

[Noon – 12:00 PM]

You hung the scrawny boy's nameplate around your neck and cast the Transformation Jutsu, taking on his appearance. Throughout the entire process, you relied solely on your own physical strength, never using a single drop of chakra—this was the trump card that allowed you to sneak out of Konoha undetected.

Once you confirmed through mental communication that both the scrolls and explosive tags had been sold and the two million ryō had been secured, you quickly asked Boss Black Cat to bring you a bundle of senbon. After everything was prepared, you headed to a deserted alley and summoned him.

Catching the bundle of senbon Boss Black Cat tossed over, you were just about to pick up the cash-filled box when a nearly invisible chakra thread silently hooked the box's handle and yanked it away before you could grab it.

You feigned shock at having the box stolen, while secretly activating your Sharingan. Under the cover of the Transformation Jutsu, you traced the source of the chakra thread and gave chase into the alley.

There, a tall middle-aged man retracted the chakra thread and grabbed the box containing your cash.

The man questioned you, asking which village you were spying for. He tried to pass himself off as a Konoha Anbu, using that identity to pressure you into assisting with his so-called mission.

But your Sharingan, hidden beneath the Transformation Jutsu, had already seen through the deception—he was just a puppet. The real body was hiding behind a wall on the adjacent street, controlling the puppet through a hole in the wall.

As he rambled on, believing that taking your money gave him leverage over you, you suddenly leapt into the air.

Crashing through the flimsy roof of a shack on the next street, you used the smoke from the impact to activate your Sharingan again, locking onto a small figure hiding behind several puppets.

Dodging a barrage of thrown ninja tools, you hurled three fire-chakra-infused senbon that pierced through the human-modified puppets with ease.

The scorching senbon struck the vital points of the real enemy. The small figure let out a pained cry, losing control over the puppet, which you then shattered with a single punch.

You pressed down on the injured body cowering in the corner and used a sealing technique to suppress his chakra completely.

Under the interrogation of the Sharingan, you learned that he was a reconnaissance ninja from Sunagakure.

Due to a specialized training regimen, these types of ninjas were skilled in crafting and controlling human puppets, but lacked real combat ability. During periods without missions, he had been hiding in this chaotic zone. A few days ago, he received an order from Sunagakure to draw a map of Konoha's terrain.

Given his own weakness, he sought help and took refuge in the slums, collecting and modifying the corpses of drunkards, the starved, and those who died in brawls, turning them into human puppets.

Today, while scavenging for corpses, he happened to witness you killing the scrawny boy. Mistaking you for a rookie spy from another village, he decided to follow you.

Using one of his puppets, disguised as a living person, to track your movements, he tried to intercept your deal with the black cat and steal your money, thinking it would be enough to blackmail you into cooperation…

You shook your head.

After extracting the techniques Chakra Thread and Basic Puppet Technique from his mind, you determined he was no longer of use.

You casually tore a plank from the wall, a nail still embedded in it, and finished him off.

Though the battle wasn't difficult, it did break the aura suppression you'd been maintaining. With the cover blown, you could only use a sealing technique to suppress your chakra fluctuations once more.

...

[1:00 PM]

Despite the minor incident, you still made it to the black market's headquarters on time, disguised as the scrawny boy and carrying the two million ryō. You located the vice-captain you'd spoken to earlier that morning.

Seeing your slightly pale face, the vice-captain asked if something was bothering you.

You hesitated for a moment, then figured there was no point in hiding it. You straightforwardly asked if the two people you'd killed earlier—whether their corpses would attract Konoha's attention.

The vice-captain waved his hand dismissively. After opening the box to glance at the contents, he took the wad of bills you offered and slipped it into his sleeve.

He said, "This place is a mess. Every day, people die in fights, from drinking, or from starvation. It's easily a few hundred each month. Other than the mid-ranked chunin tasked with corpse disposal, no one gives a damn about who dies. Besides, Konoha restocks this refugee zone every month anyway. It's a breeding ground. Killing one or two won't raise a single eyebrow."

...

[2:00 PM]

According to the vice-captain, if you wanted to smuggle a living person out of Konoha, the only viable option was to disguise yourself as a slave.

You looked over at several dog cages stacked beside a cart, each less than a cubic meter in volume.

Curled up inside were humanoid figures—slaves. Some were male, some female, but all had lost the ability to speak. They silently licked the mush from broken bowls, marked with prices ranging from ten to fifty thousand ryō scrawled across their backs like livestock.

A few workers, guarded by armored samurai, were loading them onto the wagons like cargo.

Some of the cages were slightly larger, lined with tattered blankets and straw mats. The slaves inside were clearly more valuable—starting at one hundred thousand ryō. The men were more muscular, the women displayed their seductive curves.

Finally, there was one spacious cage, rigged with an engine, its iron bars occasionally crackling with sparks. Inside was a man once belonging to Iwagakure, as shown by the headband still strapped to his head. Limbless and bound in iron chains, he had become the most expensive piece of merchandise.

You turned down the vice-captain's offer to sneak you into the higher-priced slave cages. After all, the cheaper ones carried refugee identity tags, making it much easier to blend in.

Taking a deep breath, you walked toward the pile of low-priced slaves. You tore your clean clothes to shreds, smeared yourself with a clump of mud, and pulled a cage toward yourself—climbing in.

The vice-captain took out a marker and scribbled a price of just over ten thousand ryō on your back, then ordered the workers to load you and the other low-value slaves into one of the wagons.

Soon enough, you were packed onto the cart. A massive black cloth was thrown over the cages, separating each one.

The confined space was filled with the pungent mix of sweat and urine, but this was the only way out of this hellhole.

...

[3:00 PM]

To resist the stifling air of the cage and drown out the slaves' muffled moans and groans, you shut your eyes and began practicing your clan's bloodline meditation technique.

You treated this wretched environment as a perfect trial ground to temper both your mental strength and ocular power.

In this cruel setting, you could feel your Spirit increasing far more rapidly than during ordinary training.

It wasn't long before you sensed the wagon begin to move. The shouts of the handlers and the occasional jostling of the road mixed together, making the conditions inside even harsher.

But you embraced the suffering.

If you couldn't even endure this much pain, how could you talk about living long enough to avenge your clan?

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