Chapter 13: Scheme
"Young master, I've pretty much introduced everything. What do you think…?"
The woman looked at Mingyu expectantly. The alcohol here was quite expensive. If he bought a lot, she could make a nice profit.
"Hmm, not bad. But my father is a heavy drinker, and many people in our family love alcohol too. So the quantity we need might be quite large. I'm not sure if you can supply it."
"Oh? How much are we talking about?"
"Probably a few hundred tons or so."
"Nani?!"
The woman cried out in shock.
A few hundred tons?!
Are you drinking water?! Even a cow couldn't drink that much!
"Kid, are you here to cause trouble?"
Her expression instantly turned hostile. As soon as her voice rang out, the other patrons in the tavern all turned their gazes toward Mingyu.
"Hehe, congratulations. You got it right!"
Mingyu grinned. In the next instant, he leaped forward and charged straight at a man who was drinking.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Several kunai flew from his hand, heading straight for the man.
"Bastard!"
The man roared in anger and immediately counterattacked. The others also sprang into action at the same time.
"Wind Style: Wind Blade Dance!"
Mingyu rapidly formed hand seals. Violent gusts of wind howled through the tavern, filled with sharp, deadly wind blades.
After breaking through to Chunin level, his strength had improved dramatically. On top of that, he had fused a Ninjutsu Card before entering, boosting his ninjutsu power by 100%.
"What?!"
The man's face changed drastically. He instinctively began forming seals.
"Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique!"
A massive waterfall appeared in front of him, blocking the incoming wind blades.
"So you're from the Hidden Mist Village," Mingyu said with a faint smile.
This was exactly the reaction he had been aiming for.
No matter how well someone hides, they will always reveal something under sudden pressure. He had deliberately acted like a naive young master to lower their guard, then launched a fierce surprise attack. Under reflex, people almost always use their most familiar jutsu.
"Shit!"
The others realized their identities had been exposed. Without hesitation, they all attacked Mingyu at full force.
"Hmph, is this all you've got?"
Mingyu sneered. With a flip of his right hand, a cyan card and a purple card appeared.
Ding! Power Card activated — Strength increased by 100%.Ding! Speed Card activated — Speed increased by 100%.
"Eight Inner Gates, Fourth Gate — Open!"
After fusing the cards, Mingyu directly opened the Fourth Gate. His strength and speed skyrocketed instantly.
Of course, he only shouted the activation in his mind. He wasn't stupid enough to announce he was from Konoha.
Boom!
He stomped the ground, creating a powerful shockwave, then charged forward like a wild beast.
"Nani?!"
Mingyu's speed was terrifyingly fast. The Mist ninjas couldn't react in time.
Bang!
In a flash, he appeared in front of one man and sent him flying with a single punch. Then he kicked another one away.
In just a few seconds, everyone in the tavern had been taken down.
"Th-this…"
The middle-aged woman's face turned deathly pale. She was just an ordinary person and had never witnessed such a scene. Thinking back to how she had tried to lecture Mingyu earlier, her heart pounded wildly.
"Who… who the hell are you?" one of the fallen men asked, his eyes filled with terror.
Their strength wasn't the strongest in their village, but they were at least Chunin level. Yet they had been effortlessly defeated by this small kid.
"Easy. I am Kabuto Yakushi. I was sent by Lord Orochimaru to meet with Lady Terumi Mei," Mingyu said calmly.
He decided to borrow Kabuto's identity to lay groundwork for future visits to the Hidden Mist. Given the current situation, the five great ninja villages were hostile toward each other. Orochimaru, as a rogue ninja from Konoha, made the enemy of an enemy a potential friend.
He believed that approaching the Land of Water as Orochimaru's subordinate would make them more willing to talk. He might even extract useful information.
"Orochimaru?"
The men's expressions turned serious. Of course they had heard of Orochimaru — one of the legendary Sannin, incredibly powerful. Many Hidden Mist ninjas had died at his hands during the Third Great Ninja War. They had also heard that he had defected from Konoha.
"How can you prove it?"
"Your lives are in my hands right now. Do you really think I need to lie to you?" Mingyu said coldly.
He casually brushed his hair aside, revealing a strange tattoo on the side of his neck — something he had gotten at a tattoo shop before leaving.
"Is that… the mark?" a bearded man asked in surprise.
As Hidden Mist ninjas involved in secret operations, they naturally knew about Orochimaru's experiments.
"So? Do you believe me now? Lord Orochimaru harbors deep hatred toward Konoha, so he's very interested in your plan. He also has a major business deal he wants to discuss with the Mizukage."
"What kind of deal?"
"That's not for you to know. Just tell me — when do you plan to make your move?"
Mingyu appeared perfectly calm on the surface, but inside he was slightly nervous.
"You… you already know about it?"
The bearded man looked shocked. Their mission was supposed to be extremely secret. Only a few people in the village even knew about it. How could Orochimaru have found out?
"What do you think? Lord Orochimaru is the greatest in the ninja world. Do you really believe such a small matter could be hidden from him? This time, he sent me to help you complete the mission as quickly as possible. After that, I'll head to the Hidden Mist to meet Lady Terumi Mei."
Mingyu's acting was quite impressive. His cold expression and calm demeanor completely fooled the group.
If this world had acting awards, he would easily win an Oscar.
Wait… this world actually does have acting as a profession.
"…"
The men exchanged uncertain glances, unsure what to do.
This hesitation made Mingyu grind his teeth in frustration. He was tempted to just kill them all.
"What? You're unwilling to cooperate with Lord Orochimaru? Then there's no point in keeping you alive."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Mingyu instantly appeared in front of one man and thrust a kunai toward his throat without hesitation.
The movement was decisive and ruthless.
"Stop!"
Just as the kunai was a mere centimeter away from the man's neck, the bearded man shouted desperately.