Since ancient times, keeping one's wealth hidden has been the safest approach; once exposed, it attracts the covetous gaze of countless greedy individuals.
While Uchiha Nagi was purchasing supplies, several rogue Ninja secretly watched him. When they saw him effortlessly produce over a hundred thousand ryo, their eyes widened. The group exchanged glances and tacitly departed first.
Little did they know, after awakening his Mangekyo, Uchiha Nagi's sixth sense was incredibly sharp. Moreover, after learning the Buddhist Heaven's Eye technique from the Stone Pillar, his perception of those around him became even more acute.
He left the town in the Land of Hot Water, heading towards the Land of Water. Because the border of the Land of Hot Water is coastal, he could reach the Land of Water after sailing out to sea.
Although the Land of Water is isolated overseas, it cannot completely cut off all trade in terms of supplies. At least for food, they frequently trade with the mainland, with the majority coming from the Land of Fire.
Therefore, Uchiha Nagi planned to travel to the Land of Water on a merchant ship. With his Mangekyo Sharingan, it was too simple to infiltrate a merchant ship silently. Walking into a small grove, Uchiha Nagi suddenly stopped and calmly called out to his surroundings, "Come out, I know you're ambushed there."
A gentle breeze swept through the grove, creating a rustling sound, as if nothing had happened.
"Hmph~ In that case, let me flush you out." Uchiha Nagi took out several kunai and threw them.
In the grove, the few individuals hiding with various stealth techniques immediately jumped out. Why? If they didn't jump away, the Exploding Tags would directly kill them.
The rogue Ninja quickly left their original positions. After the kunai with Exploding Tags struck their locations, several explosions immediately occurred.
"Oh dear, I didn't expect to be discovered. It seems this fat sheep isn't so easy to eat," a rogue Ninja with two scars on his face said, drawing his katana.
"Hey, hand over your money obediently, and we'll let you go, how about it? We have two Chunin here," another bald, burly man sneered.
In their opinion, where would they be so lucky as to encounter a Jonin? Jonin are welcome presences in Ninja Villages or with the daimyo of smaller countries. Moreover, this rogue samurai in front of them didn't even have a forehead protector.
That's right, without his forehead protector, Uchiha Nagi was mistaken for a rogue samurai. Generally speaking, rogue samurai aren't weak, but most are like the people from the Land of Iron—specialized.
Their close-quarters taijutsu and sword skills are very strong, but they don't have as much of an advantage against more versatile Ninja, unless they've mastered taijutsu and sword skills to their peak, like Might Guy or Konoha White Fang.
"Water Release..." "Fire Release..."
"Shuriken..."
"kunai..."
The several impoverished rogue Ninja didn't even bother to attach Exploding Tags to their kunai and shuriken.
A few fireballs, a Water Release, and a pile of recoverable shuriken and kunai—Uchiha Nagi couldn't even be bothered to deal with them.
He placed his right hand on his sword, took a deep breath, and exhaled with a hint of lightning… "Thunder Breathing First Form, Thunderclap and Flash Eightfold."
Boom!
A peal of thunder echoed from his original spot. Uchiha Nagi's body transformed into a golden flash of lightning and streaked past. The rogue Ninja didn't even react, only seeing the golden lightning flash by, followed by a sharp pain in their necks.
"Ugh… my neck?!" The scarred rogue Ninja who spoke first clutched his neck and fell down in disbelief.
"So… so strong!!" The second bald Ninja barely managed to utter a sentence before gurgling and losing his breath, also falling down with a look of unwillingness.
"What… what kind of sword technique is this?! Why couldn't I dodge it?" The last samurai-like rogue Ninja, who was a Chunin among the group, saw it but couldn't avoid it.
"Just be more careful in your next life~" Uchiha Nagi said calmly, then sheathed his sword and left.
He couldn't even be bothered to loot the bodies. Such utterly poor rogue Ninja surely wouldn't have much money, and people in the Ninja World are trap fanatics.
They might even have Exploding Tags tied to their bodies after death, waiting to ambush those who come to loot… So, the first thing new Ninja learn is not to be greedy and loot bodies. Experienced Ninja use Shadow Clones to test for traps when looting.
Not long after Uchiha Nagi left, a second group arrived—several rogue Ninja with scratched forehead protectors. They had originally planned to be the 'oriole' (the one who profits from others' struggles), but they didn't expect to find a ground full of corpses.
"Tsk tsk, it seems they encountered a formidable opponent. Each one was killed with a single strike." One of the Ninja remarked after a look, breaking out in a cold sweat.
If they hadn't waited longer, they might have ended up dead alongside these rogue Ninja.
"Hmm, not just that. Look at each person's position, their respective directions, and how they died. It proves they were all killed facing their enemy head-on. Terrifying sword skills, not even enough time to escape?" The leader Ninja took one look and drew a conclusion: this group was all killed in a single strike.
As for how one strike could consecutively kill several people distributed in different places, he couldn't fathom who possessed such sword skills, apart from the deceased Konoha White Fang, there was only Hanzō… At this moment, a burly man nearly two meters tall excitedly squatted next to a Ninja and opened his pouch, looting the body… "Idiot, don't touch anything carelessly." The leader immediately cursed when he saw this.
Boom!!
With a loud bang, the rogue Ninja who were too poor to use Exploding Tags to kill Uchiha Nagi had actually hidden traps in their own pouches.
The two-meter-tall strongman was already blown to a bloody mess, on the verge of death.
"Hmph, that idiot. It's better he's dead. We'll recruit fewer fools like him in the future," the leader said angrily.
"But boss, brainless idiots like him make good cannon fodder…"
"..."
— — — —
Although there was a small interlude, it didn't affect Uchiha Nagi's mood. That's just how it is in the Ninja World; anything can happen when you're out and about.
Ninja are actually a relatively decent group. The most miserable are the commoners. Some Ninja, filled with malice or lust, would vent their desires in remote Villages.
Although commoners in large countries face heavy taxes and live extremely difficult lives, it is still much better than in small countries. At least their lives are relatively safe.