Naruto: The Sage Body of Konoha

The sea stretched endlessly before them.

Within the Land of Water, there were many islands. Some had rich natural resources; some lay along vital shipping routes; others held great military value.

In fact, it was precisely these hundreds of large and small islands that formed the ecological system of the Land of Water.

Even the remote islands—those barren, resource-scarce, and battered by harsh climates—still played their roles within this system.

In the southwest waters of the Land of Water lay an island—desolate and abandoned, constantly covered in thick fog, nearly impossible for ordinary people to locate.

These "unparalleled" conditions had made it the beating heart of Mist Village's underworld.

The Golden Exchange of the Land of Water was hidden on this foggy island.

Though Heiyan's team had never visited the Golden Exchange, during their previous battle against Sawemon and other bounty hunters, they had seized a map of the Mist Island Sea Area, allowing them to follow it directly and save valuable time.

Two days later,

Heiyan's squad rented a boat and successfully reached the coast of Mist Village Island, stepping onto its land.

At this moment, all three wore black cloaks and animal masks, concealing not only their faces but also their weapons.

After all, their weapons were far too conspicuous.

Such attire might have seemed suspicious elsewhere in public, but inside the Golden Exchange, everyone dressed exactly like them, wrapped tightly from head to toe.

If everyone looked shady, then nobody did.

As soon as the trio landed, they spotted a luxurious three-tiered cruise ship docked nearby on the shore, bearing a clearly visible emblem on its hull.

It was Gato Corporation's vessel!

"Heiyan said to Hiashi, 'Use Byakugan to scout ahead.'"

Byakugan activated!

Hiashi then used his vision ability to scan every corner of the cruise ship from top to bottom.

"What's the situation inside?" Fugaku asked.

"There's no sign of our rescue target, and Gato isn't here either."

Hiashi slightly frowned and withdrew his gaze. Still, since they had found Gato's ship, it at least confirmed he must be somewhere on this misty island.

"Hiashi, stay here and keep watch over the cruise ship."

After a brief pause, Heiyan issued orders, then turned toward Fugaku, "Fugaku, you're coming with me to the Golden Exchange."

"Alright." Both nodded in agreement.

Yet what surprised them both was that Heiyan didn't act immediately—he remained still, expression shifting strangely.

Because just now, he had sensed something unusual—an unexpectedly high concentration of natural energy on this barren fog-covered island.

While not quite rivaling the legendary power of the Three Sacred Places, it was stronger than most places across the ninja world.

The fog!

Finally, Heiyan realized—the natural energy was hiding within the ever-rolling mist around them.

"Heiyan, what's wrong?" At that moment, both Fugaku and Hiashi asked simultaneously.

"You two wait for me a second."

A sudden instinct stirring within him, Heiyan walked toward a quiet seaside grove nearby, ignoring the puzzled looks of the other two, searching out a secluded and secret spot.

Then, he took out the barrier scroll entrusted to him by Ashina Uzumaki and unfolded it.

Next step—

"Puff! Puff! Puff!"

Accompanied by three bursts of white smoke, Heiyan created three Shadow Clones. He said to them, "Let's begin."

The three Shadow Clones understood immediately. They sat cross-legged on the ground, closed their eyes, and began forming hand seals while absorbing natural energy.

"This way, everything will be perfectly secured."

Heiyan thought inwardly.

He had learned this technique from Naruto in the original story—using Shadow Clones to absorb natural energy. Once a battle occurred, as long as nearby Shadow Clones were dispelled, all the natural energy they absorbed would return to the main body at once, allowing him to instantly enter Sage Mode.

After making these preparations, Heiyan walked out of the woods and returned to his two teammates.

From the looks on Fugaku and Hiashi's faces, they clearly thought Heiyan had just gone off to take care of some personal stuff.

"Let's go."

Heiyan didn't bother explaining further—Sage Mode and Natural Energy weren't things you could easily convey in a few sentences.

Ten minutes later.

In front of a tall building at the center of Mist Island, many people were coming and going through its large entrance in great haste.

This was the Golden Exchange.

"Fugaku, wait outside. I'll go in alone," Heiyan decided after thinking for a moment.

"Be careful," Fugaku nodded and moved to hide around the corner, watching Heiyan step into the Golden Exchange.

Inside the first-floor hall of the Golden Exchange, crowds moved about busily, creating a cacophony of overlapping voices.

If you didn't know any better, you'd think you'd just stepped into a noisy vegetable market.

Except here, instead of vegetables, corpses were being traded.

As Heiyan entered the hall, he silently weaved through the crowd while scanning the area with searching eyes, looking for his mission target.

Suddenly, his pupils constricted.

Not far away stood an iron cage taller than a man, inside which were imprisoned a young mother and her daughter.

Both had eye-catching red hair. Disheveled and shackled hands and feet, they looked like animals on display.

Clearly, they were Uzumaki Haruna and Uzumaki Kiyomi.

Heiyan strode toward them, only to be abruptly stopped by a towering staff member.

"What is it?"

Heiyan asked quietly, lowering his voice.

"First time visiting the Golden Exchange?" 

The staff sneered, saying, "That direction leads to the West Hall, reserved exclusively for elite bounty hunters who have achieved bounties totaling at least one million gold. Are you even registered as a bounty hunter?"

Actually, the first-floor hall of the Golden Exchange was divided into two zones—the East Hall and West Hall.

The East Hall served as the public area where anyone could freely move around. It was characterized by dense crowds, overcrowded counters, and a generally messy environment.

In comparison, the West Hall was an "upper-class" zone specifically designed for elite bounty hunters who had achieved bounties totaling at least one million gold. It provided comfortable lounging areas, private service counters, and various other premium amenities.

"I haven't registered as a bounty hunter,"

Heiyan truthfully replied before pulling out three storage scrolls. Changing tone slightly, he added,

"But obtaining corpses worth one million gold won't be too difficult." 

"Heheh."

When he spoke, the staff assumed he was just bragging. They were about to mock him when suddenly three corpses dropped in the hall, arranged side by side.

What's more, these three corpses were people they recognized.

They were elite bounty hunters from the Golden Exchange, each carrying bounties ranging from several hundred thousand to one million taels of silver.

Their combined bounties totaled twenty million taels of silver.

"Enough?"

Heiyan glanced at the employee, who felt a chill run down his spine and shivered involuntarily. His expression shifted completely, switching his attitude toward Heiyan one hundred and eighty degrees.

"Noble guest, please come this way."

The employee bowed low, smiling obsequiously as he feared offending this ruthless individual before him.

"Help me exchange these corpses for their bounty money, then bring it over."

After dropping those words, Heiyan proceeded forward.

Soon, he arrived in front of an iron cage.

There stood two men dressed in suits wearing dark sunglasses—obviously Gato's subordinates—guarding the Uzumaki mother and daughter on either side of the cage.

In front of the iron cage was a line of more than ten people, most of them visibly injured.

Among them, the ninja at the very front of the queue now stepped forward toward the cage. Roughly seizing Haruna Uzumaki's arm, he viciously bit down hard.

Moments later, he wore a satisfied grin as his wounds visibly healed before everyone's eyes.

By contrast, Haruna Uzumaki looked barely conscious, her face deathly pale, appearing ready to collapse from exhaustion at any moment.

Her entire arm was covered with crooked, densely packed red bite marks—a truly disturbing sight.

Still, she clung to her child fiercely, shielding her from any danger.

Cuddled in her arms, Kiyomi Uzumaki curled into a ball, sobbing quietly like a scared little lamb.

"Thirty thousand taels [silver coins]."

One of the suited men spoke up.

"So expensive?"

Upon hearing this, the ninja couldn't help but complain. Yet eventually, he dared not try to evade payment, obediently settling the fee.

"Shit, I should've taken a couple more bites." After paying, he grumbled angrily as he walked off.

"Pay attention, everyone is allowed only one bite. The price depends on the extent of healing achieved."

The suited man explained to the waiting crowd.

"Hurry up!" People in line began urging.

This can't continue like this.

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