I'm doing Jujutsu Kaisen in the ninja world.

Although she decided to leave Kirigakure and temporarily set aside her identity as Mizukage, it doesn't mean she no longer needs Kirigakure's power.

On the contrary, without the intelligence sent by the members of the Dark Guard, she would never have been able to eliminate the cursed spirits so efficiently and accurately.

"Ten minutes. During these ten minutes, I will not say anything."

Mei Terumi paused for a moment, then laughed, her smile as bright as the sun despite her exhaustion.

"You said five minutes... Okay, okay, then I'll leave your safety for the next ten minutes to you."

"Unless I die, no one will be able to harm a single hair on Lord Mizukage's head in these ten minutes."

The ANBU members didn't get a reply from the other party because Mei Terumi was too exhausted and had fallen asleep leaning against a big tree.

The operative who had been kneeling on one knee immediately stood up quietly, turned his back, and warily observed everything around him.

Ten minutes passed quickly.

Although the Anbu members wanted the Mizukage to sleep a little longer, they selfishly didn't wake her.

But after ten minutes, Mei Terumi immediately opened her eyes.

"Phew~ I slept so well, so much so. I haven't slept this soundly in ages, all thanks to you, Tea~"

"No, it's this country, this village, that's been able to survive thanks to Lord Mizukage."

"How cheesy~ If Master Yuan finds out, that old man will get jealous."

Cha wanted to say something more, but was interrupted by Mei Terumi, "Now we should get down to business."

Tea nodded helplessly, and then briefly recounted some major events that had recently occurred.

"...Some people claimed to have witnessed a giant snake near Apex Creek, saying it was over fifty meters long. Afterwards, the village sent people to investigate and found signs of a fierce battle...According to the explanation of Jonin Hozuki Mangetsu, the elders finally determined that the person who attacked Hozuki Mangetsu's younger brother was Orochimaru, a Konoha rogue ninja, and that giant snake should be Orochimaru's summoning beast."

"...Some villages sided with the cursed spirits and secretly attacked outsiders who came to their villages, offering them as food in order to protect themselves. This had an extremely bad influence...After the incident, the cursed spirits were destroyed, and everyone in the village was taken into custody, awaiting the joint judgment of the elders and the daimyo."

"...A few days ago, three more villages were destroyed. None of the ninjas who went to investigate survived, and two Jonin were even killed. The elders' council hopes you can go there..."

"...Recently, a group of wandering ninjas appeared out of nowhere. There are only three of them, yet they've been efficiently killing cursed spirits. However, five of our ninjas have gone missing, and it's suspected they're connected to them..."

[144. Chapter 142 I'd rather not hit you, I'm afraid of getting my hands dirty (Two chapters combined, 4,000 words)]

Although I tried to keep the conversation brief, there were so many things that happened that it still took me quite a while to finish.

Mei Terumi became increasingly serious as she listened.

"The Land of Water is now on the verge of chaos, and we must use swift and decisive measures to eliminate all unstable factors."

"Continue to intensify the investigation on Orochimaru's side. If he's still hiding here, find him. Also, didn't Konoha send some people? Give them the information that Orochimaru is here. Since they're unwilling to fight those monsters to the death, they should at least do something to deal with the rogue ninja from their own village."

"Also, go back and tell the elders. I don't care what their attitude is, anyone who betrays the human camp will be killed without mercy! On this point, there will be no compromise! If anyone disagrees, you can have Master Yuan remove me from my position as Water Shadow."

"As for those wandering ninjas, let's not take any action for now unless we have concrete evidence..."

Once she got into work mode, Mei Terumi demonstrated through her actions what it means to be decisive and ruthless.

Of course, Hozuki Mangetsu did not disappoint, as he did not hand over much information about Shinji and the others.

As he took out paper and pen to take notes, he nodded frequently.

Don't be fooled by the fact that Master Yuanshi is still clinging to his power. In reality, there is no one in the entire Land of Water more suitable to be the Mizukage than Mei Terumi.

The reason they haven't relinquished power yet is because they're still afraid of what happened to the previous Mizukage, who was controlled by him.

That incident nearly led to the destruction of the Mist Village due to internal strife.

If this happened again, Kirigakure could be removed from the list of the Five Great Ninja Villages.

Furthermore, it takes time to train a qualified actor.

Genshi taught Terumi Mei almost every day how to become an excellent leader.

Therefore, it was almost a foregone conclusion that power would be transferred to Mei Terumi; it was only a matter of time.

Even though she ran away on a whim.

"I've accepted all these tasks. Don't worry, you know how fast I can go, it definitely won't delay you."

Cha Xin said, "I'm just worried you're pushing yourself too hard! What if something unexpected happens... ptooey, ptooey, ptooey!"

"Lord Mizukage is such a kind person, he will surely be safe and sound!"

. . . . . .

"This is the reward for the mission, please accept it. Also, these are all newly released missions, and the rewards will definitely be satisfactory."

At the temporary mission processing center set up in Kirigakure, Shinji tallied up his gains over the past few days before looking at the mission log.

Most of them are investigation and elimination missions, the latter of which are almost all of B or higher difficulty, and there are even two S-level missions!

Of course, this level of difficulty is not meant for these wandering ninjas, except for those who lack self-awareness.

Shinji originally wanted to keep a low profile, but after completing several B-rank and A-rank missions, he realized that keeping a low profile was really not an option.

The pay is low, the hassle is endless, and all the time is wasted on the road. I don't even earn a few Soul Points.

Then he realized, screw the low profile!

You have to specifically choose S-rank missions!

"These are all S-rank missions, so I'll need at least a hundred or so spirit beasts to farm them. I'm sure I'll get some level 1 spirit beasts, but I don't know if I'll get any special-grade ones. And if I do get a special-grade spirit beast, the price is..."

Just as Shinji was staring at the two S-rank missions with a conflicted expression, the staff member who had been in charge of settling his payment came over.

Is there anything wrong with these two tasks?

"Hmm, I think this compensation is still a bit low."

It's not that I think the task is difficult, but that I think the reward is not enough?

If someone else had said that, he would definitely think they were just pretending, and that they didn't even know what the value of an S-rank mission was!

But this person in front of us is no ordinary person; in just over ten days, he has completed several B-level and A-level missions.

Although it was taken on as a team, it was enough to prove the team's strength.

This not only greatly boosted the reputation of the wandering ninjas, but also left many Hidden Mist ninjas with mixed feelings.

Such a person wouldn't be so presumptuous as to show off just for a few words.

Thinking of this, he wanted to invite the other party into the room for a detailed discussion.

Whether it works or not, let's give it a try. Anyway, if we don't complete the task, we won't get a single penny.

But at that moment, several Hidden Mist ninjas overheard their conversation, and fueled by their pent-up resentment, they immediately launched an attack.

"How arrogant! These days, any Tom, Dick, or Harry dares to show their face, and they still complain that the reward for an S-rank mission is too low. Even if I gave you ten times the reward, you'd still have to be alive to complete it."

"Haha, who can argue with that?"

"Stop making fun of him like that. It's normal for a wandering ninja to be naive and inexperienced."

"Hey, you're Akagi, the one who's been making headlines lately, right? As a senior, let me give you a friendly reminder: S-rank missions aren't as easy as you think. Don't lose your life so easily. Also, the rewards for S-rank missions are determined after repeated discussions, and they're not something a wandering ninja like you can just change!"

"Exactly, where does a mere wandering ninja get his confidence from?"

Several Hidden Mist ninjas took turns making sarcastic remarks, mocking each other to their heart's content.

The other Hidden Mist ninjas around watched coldly, some even gloating, as they had long disliked this guy.

If a wandering ninja dares to show off like that, wouldn't it make them, the 'regular army,' look like trash?

They already looked down on these wandering ninjas, and now they've been outshone by them. Even those who were initially indifferent are now starting to have opinions.

The other wandering ninjas or mercenaries present all looked very unpleasant.

Although they are not the ones being mocked, isn't this a veiled attack on all of them?

Someone couldn't stand it anymore and took a step forward, but was stopped by his companion, who shook his head at him with a complicated expression.

This is, after all, Kirigakure's territory. If these wandering ninjas dare to cause trouble, they'll be in big trouble.

Even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake. It's not worth risking your life for a stranger.

Therefore, it can be seen that there is a reason why these wandering ninjas have never become a force to be reckoned with, and it is not just a matter of strength.

However, Shinji didn't care about any of that.

He even laughed, "Are you done?"

"What do you want? You don't dare hit me in front of all these people, do you?"

"Come on, I'll stand right here and let you hit me, do you dare?"

"You bug-like creature should go back to your stinking ditch!"

Shinji looked at the guy who was pressing his face close to his and constantly provoking him, and suddenly laughed heartily.

"I'd rather not hit you; I'm afraid of getting my hands dirty..."

The other party immediately showed a disdainful expression, as if they had known this would be the outcome.

"No eggs..."

puff!

Before he could finish speaking, his eyes widened, and everyone around him looked shocked!

"I just thought about it, and this way I won't get my hands dirty."

After saying that, Shinji still had a smile on his face, pulled out the snakeskin sword in his hand, and then stabbed it in again.

Hit you?

No, no!

All I want to do is kill you!

"You fucking want to die!"

"Go! Kill him!"

After the man fell into a pool of blood, his companions immediately roared and rushed forward, and the Hidden Mist ninjas who had been watching the scene also began to stir.

Such arrogant behavior shows they completely disregard them!

Even if we kill him now, there won't be any consequences, since this bastard attacked first.