Alone and Infinite

The voice was sincere:

"Our small country is in dire financial straits, and we hope that Konoha can lend us a helping hand."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze shifted slightly downwards, fixing on the money in the tray—enough to cover even the travel expenses.

He sighed as if he had a toothache, but still sat up straight.

"The Land of Birds and my Konoha are on good terms, it is only right that way."

The Third Hokage waved for the guards to take the person away, picked up his pipe, took two puffs, and a wisp of smoke rose into the air.

His face was completely covered.

The higher you climb, the colder it gets; perhaps this is the price Konoha pays for being the strongest ninja in the world.

In order to maintain Konoha's influence, some missions must be accepted even if they result in losses.

Like this task

"Lord Hokage, are we really going to accept this mission?"

The secretary, who had been standing silently beside him, finally couldn't help but ask.

It sounds troublesome; it killed 49 wandering ninjas in an instant, with the damage extending over a hundred meters, possibly caused by a slash.

Although the wandering ninja was weak, his ability to survive was not to be underestimated; he was able to kill 49 people without any resistance.

Just thinking about it sends chills down my spine.

Someone capable of this level of skill is no ordinary ninja; they must be at least a Jonin!

"We have to accept it. The relationship between the Land of Birds and Konoha has been going on for a long time. As a buffer country, they have done a good job."

After pondering for a moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi said:

"I remember Team Kai was on a mission?"

The adjutant nodded: "Yes, a noble family in the Land of Fire has hired Kai and Rock Lee as bodyguard instructors, and the job is in progress."

"Bring Asuma over here. His Team 10 will be in charge of this mission, and Neji Hyuga will also be included in the mission!"

The adjutant was taken aback and hurriedly whispered, "Sir, this mission is at least A-level. Isn't it a bit too risky to send the 10th Squad?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at him, a slight smile appearing on his aged face:

"We will accept the mission, but the decision of how to do it is up to us."

"understand!"

The adjutant disappeared from the office, and Sarutobi put his straw hat back on his head.

A powerful and mysterious ninja?

who can that be?

This old man, who had served as Hokage for decades, keenly sensed the impending storm.

I'm so tired, I want to retire.

The gates of Konoha Village

Asuma recalled the details his father, the Hokage, had just told him with a solemn expression:

"This time, I'm sending you there not to apprehend the murderer, but to see if what the Bird Country said is true."

Secondly, it's also to give the Bird Country some face; you need to find the right balance yourself.

Never put yourself or your students in a dangerous situation.

Your three students

The hand patting his shoulder was heavy, as if it were about to place a heavy burden on his shoulders.

"Teacher Asuma, it's time to go."

With his backpack on, Hyuga Neji calmly looked at Asuma, who seemed to be lost in thought, and said softly.

Asma snapped out of his reverie and glanced at the students' faces.

As expected, Shikamaru, who had just read the mission briefing, looked at him with a serious expression and a question in his eyes.

Asuma nodded affirmatively and let out a long sigh of relief.

"set off!"

"We've finally arrived at Otogakure!"

Li Xia stood on a branch of a large tree, leaning against the trunk as she looked at the village in front of her.

In the original work, the Sound Village is a complete mystery, and its original appearance has never been shown.

Every time it appears, it's in Orochimaru's underground base, but in reality, there are also villages in Otogakure that are exposed to sunlight.

This is also why Li Xia dared to come here to find Orochimaru.

As a ninja village, it is essential to accept employment and commissions; this is a fundamental function of a ninja village.

Without this, it wouldn't be a proper ninja village, and it would be absolutely impossible to participate in the Chunin Exams held by Konoha.

More importantly, it is also necessary to take on quests from the ninja village to earn funds, as the entire village was built by Orochimaru single-handedly.

Even if he were incredibly wealthy, he couldn't sustain a large-scale experiment and support an entire village.

Therefore, Orochimaru needed a place like this to help him earn funds.

In terms of layout, Sound Village is practically a carbon copy of Konoha.

The tall archway was open, and the emblem of the Sound Village—a musical note—was carved on the lintel.

The ninja guarding the gate leaned lazily against his post, seemingly unconcerned about any enemy invasion.

Even when Li Xia, who was wearing a straw hat and a mask, entered, they only asked him a few simple questions.

When they learned that the person had come to post a request, their attitude immediately became friendly.

The village wasn't very big, only slightly larger than the small town in the Bird Country.

But the standard of living here seems pretty good, and it exudes a vibrant atmosphere.

The ground was paved with large slabs of bluestone, and the houses on both sides were arranged in a staggered pattern. The wooden roofs were covered with dark gray tiles, and wind chimes hung from the eaves.

Whenever a gentle breeze blows, the wind chimes sway in the wind, playing delicate musical notes.

The villagers walking on the street had rosy complexions and smiles on their faces.

Li Xia walked along the main street and soon arrived at the three-story tower at the end of the street, with each floor surrounded by vermilion-painted corridors.

Above it was a huge sign that read: "Task Assignment Office"

"Meow?"

The charcoal-colored creature, hidden inside a straw hat and covered by a curtain, let out a strange cry.

Li Xia paused in her steps:

"Indeed, the layout is exactly the same as Konoha Village, but who cares?"

He scratched the kitten's chin with his finger:

"Konoha's attitude towards rogue ninja is that they have no attitude, and this place is close to the Land of Fire, so it's very safe."

Hei Tan nodded thoughtfully, then jumped off Li Xia's shoulder and followed behind him.

Those round eyes stared curiously at everything around them.

As a small ninja village, it doesn't receive many requests; only those looking for cheap deals come here directly.

But this doesn't mean the Sound Ninja are idle.

Besides directly issuing missions, these small ninja villages actually rely on mission subcontracting for survival.

In other words, once the major ninja villages take on all the commissions, they subcontract the ones with lower pay or insufficient manpower to the smaller ninja villages.

By extracting a handling fee, they can achieve a de facto monopoly on missions and control the small ninja village.

Kill two birds with one stone.

"Are you here to post a commission?"

The logistics staff in charge of reception greeted him with a smile. This kind of direct commission doesn't involve taking a cut, so the potential profit is higher.

First, he asked a colleague to pour him a cup of green matcha before sitting down and picking up his calligraphy brush.

"Please give me a brief description of the commission and the remuneration you can offer."

Next, I will hand over the commission to a specialized commission rating specialist for task rating.

After a brief introduction to the entrustment process, the receptionist sat up straight and became much more serious:

"However, there are some things I need to explain to the gentleman first."

When issuing a mission request, there must be no concealment; it must be truthful and valid. If our ninjas discover during the execution of a mission that the difficulty level does not match the mission request, we have the right to terminate the mission.

In addition, a penalty of 50% to 100% will be charged.

If you conceal anything, we will pursue the matter further; please remember this.

At the same time, the panel of the Hall of Light suddenly popped up.

[Executioner, you are using the Naruto-themed commission system.]

[Since this is your first time using this system, please note the following]

[1. Payment for this world's rewards can be made by posting a request in the Ninja Village]

2. The scope of the commission can be determined by the client.

3. After a character in the story accepts a commission to kill an enemy, you will not receive rewards such as treasure chests or opportunities for transcendence.

4. Proceeds obtained through stealing, robbing, or deception via story missions can only be used within this world and cannot be taken out of the world.

5. Please explore the details yourself.

Li Xia glanced at it casually and then closed the notification. These things were aimed at those apostles who wanted to take shortcuts and exploit loopholes.

This is to prevent them from hiring powerful ninjas to help them kill and obtain rewards.

This is clearly not in line with the original intention of the Hall of Light, because the effort and the reward are not proportional.

But he himself was not like that; for Li Xia, entrusting someone was more like a means to achieve his goal.

Therefore, under the receptionist's expectant gaze, he said calmly:

"Objective: Find 'Orochimaru'."

The receptionist, who was about to write it down, paused, realizing that Orochimaru was a familiar name.

Wait, one of the legendary Sannin?

He gaped in astonishment, almost laughing in exasperation. "A mission of this caliber coming to a small ninja village like ours?"

Is this some kind of amusement for us? How much are you going to pay us?

But the receptionist's expression changed again the next second.

"Reward: 400 million!"

Four million??

Not only him, but the entire task allocation center's attention was focused on this place.

What does four million mean?

The maximum reward for an A-level mission is only 100 million taels.

Only S-rank missions offer rewards of 1 million taels or more; 4 million taels is already considered a high-difficulty S-rank mission!

As a small ninja village, Otogakure has taken on S-rank missions before, but those were all low-level S-rank missions with a payout of just over a million.

Li Xia watched the receptionist holding a calligraphy brush, letting the ink drip and spread on the paper.

"What are you doing standing still?"

"Huh? Oh, oh—" The receptionist suppressed her surprise and unease and quickly wrote down the request.

His job is only to record things; whether or not to accept them is not his job, but rather the job of task rating.

Li Xia watched the receptionist rush away.