Naruto : Blazing Legend

Chapter 40: Bounty Hunter

The endless expanse of ocean stretched before them, its dark waters reflecting the overcast sky like black glass. The salt-tinged wind carried an ominous chill that made even seasoned shinobi pull their cloaks tighter.

"Why don't you just run across the water?" the boatman had asked with genuine curiosity, watching the five ninja board his weathered vessel. "I've heard stories about your kind walking on waves."

Minato had answered with a tired smile. "Two days without rest, crossing open ocean? Even if we survived the journey, we'd arrive half-dead. And in our line of work, arriving weak is the same as not arriving at all."

The boatman nodded knowingly. He'd ferried enough desperate souls to understand that the sea claimed the overconfident as eagerly as the unlucky.

Now, hours into their voyage, Rei sat at the stern with a fishing line cast into the churning wake. His shadow clones practiced chakra control exercises nearby, their movements skillful and precise. To any observer, it would seem like peaceful preparation for the mission ahead. But Rei's eyes held a darkness that hadn't been there months ago—the kind that came from too many battles, too much blood on young hands.

"The sea's calm today," Minato observed, leaning against the rail. "Seems we caught a break for once."

"Don't jinx it," Rei muttered, not looking up from his line. The hook disappeared into the depths, swallowed by waters that had claimed countless lives over the centuries.

Senzo tensed suddenly, his sensory abilities picking up something that made his blood run cold. "We've got company. Multiple chakra signatures approaching fast."

The words had barely left his lips when the entire vessel lurched violently to starboard. From the depths rose a massive serpent of churning water, its liquid fangs bared and reaching toward them with quick speed. The Water Dragon Bullet technique—executed with deadly precision.

Rei didn't hesitate. His hands flew through seals as he summoned his own dragon from the sea's surface, the two techniques colliding in a spectacular display of crushing water and spray. The boat pitched dangerously as waves battered its hull.

Four stone pillars erupted from the seabed far below, anchoring their vessel against the chaos. Rei glanced back at Daki, impressed despite himself. "Four hundred meters to the ocean floor, and you can still manage that technique. Remind me never to underestimate ANBU."

"Captain's opening move failed," called a voice wrapped in bandages from somewhere in the growing mist. "All units, converge."

The Mist Hidden technique began spreading across the water like a plague, thick and choking. But Minato's Wind Release tore through it like a blade, revealing three figures racing across the waves toward them—like predators closing in for the kill.

Rei leaped from the deck without a word, his feet finding purchase on the turbulent surface. The man who'd launched the first attack was a scarred veteran, bald head gleaming with sea spray, his eyes holding the cold calculation of someone who'd killed for money too many times to count.

"Just a kid," the bounty hunter sneered, forming seals for another technique. "This'll be easier than I thought."

The water spear that erupted from his mouth was massive, enhanced by the surrounding ocean. But when it should have pierced Rei's chest, the young Uchiha was simply... elsewhere. The bounty hunter's eyes widened as he registered the impossible speed, then widened further as he saw the Sharingan's crimson glow.

For just a moment—one crucial, fatal moment—his will wasn't his own. The blade slid between his ribs like it was always meant to be there, finding his heart with brutal accuracy. He died with confusion still etched on his face, his body hitting the water with a splash that was quickly swallowed by the waves.

When Rei returned to the boat, the other two attackers were already secured—a grass ninja and a rain ninja, both with the hollow look of men who'd chosen exile over death and found it wanting.

"Your purpose," Senzo demanded, his voice carrying the quiet menace of someone accustomed to extracting answers from unwilling subjects.

The bandaged man spat blood onto the deck. "Go to hell, Konoha scum. We've got nothing to say."

"I used to be ANBU interrogator," Senzo continued conversationally. "I know seventeen different ways to make you talk, and only three of them will leave you able to walk afterward."

"Let me handle this," Rei interrupted, stepping forward. The exhaustion in his voice made him sound older than his years.

The criminals sneered until they saw his eyes change. The three tomoe of the mature Sharingan spun lazily, almost hypnotically beautiful. Then the screaming started.

"Magnificent," Daki breathed, watching the genjutsu work. "Three tomoe at your age... the Uchiha clan must be proud."

"Last time I saw him, it was only two," Senzo noted. "Evolution through combat trauma. Classic Sharingan development, but I've never seen it progress so quickly."

Minato said nothing, but his expression was troubled. He knew what lay beyond the three tomoe—the Mangekyo Sharingan, born from the deepest anguish. He wondered what price Rei would pay for his growing power.

When the technique ended, both prisoners were broken things, reduced to whimpering animals by whatever horrors they'd experienced in Rei's illusion.

"They're bounty hunters," Rei reported, his voice emotionless. "Coming for me specifically. Nine million ryo on my head, apparently."

The silence that followed was heavy with implication.

"Who would put that kind of price on you?" Minato asked.

"That's what worries me," Rei replied. "And if these amateurs found us, others will too. Our mission's been compromised."

"Then we complete it quickly and get out," Senzo decided. "Any more bottom-feeders show up, they won't live to collect."

"What about these two?"

"Do what needs doing," Minato said quietly. He'd learned long ago that mercy toward enemies was often cruelty toward allies.

The execution was swift and silent. The bodies disappeared beneath the waves without ceremony, food for whatever scavengers prowled these depths.

Rei's prediction proved accurate. The moment they set foot on the remnants of Uzushiogakure's shores, a dozen more bounty hunters emerged from the ruins—desperate men and women drawn by easy money and easier killing.

"Stay back," Rei commanded his teammates. "They need to understand what they're dealing with."

What followed wasn't a battle—it was an execution. Rei moved through the attackers like death itself, his Chidori crackling with blue-white fury. The Sharingan tracked every movement, predicted every desperate strike. Bodies fell with quickly, their blood soaking into soil that had already seen too much death.

When the slaughter ended, only two samurai remained standing, their hands shaking on their blade hilts.

"Please," one whispered. "We surrender."

"Too late for that," Rei said coldly. Then, after a long moment: "But I'll make you a deal."

The calmer samurai stepped forward, recognizing the opportunity for what it was.

"Spread the word," Rei continued. "Tell every bounty hunter, every mercenary, every piece of human filth who thinks nine million ryo is worth their life: I am not prey. I am not a target. I am the nightmare that will find them in the dark. Send them to me—I could use the practice."

The samurai bowed deeply and dragged his terrified companion away, their boat disappearing into the mist that clung to Uzushio's cursed shores.

"You realize this means war," Minato observed. "Every hunter with a death wish will come for you now."

Rei's Sharingan flared once more, the three tomoe spinning with predatory anticipation. "Good. I've been getting bored with weaklings."

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