After dealing with the Iwagakure spy hiding near Konoha, Shirohebi flicked the empty ninja tool pouch in his hand.

  "Is this it?"

  No scrolls with jutsu.No cssified missions.No explosive cy.Three kunai, six shuriken.Three soldier pills.One boat ticket.

  Including the chain he had blown apart earlier, he had practically nothing.

  As for money, it was probably stashed somewhere on the spy’s body, but Shirohebi couldn’t be bothered to look for it.

  He wasn’t the kind of person who cked for cash. The reason for that could be seen in the golden kunai he casually tossed up and down.

  It was one of the ways his abilities manifested.

  A single gold-element bottle only had one ability: "Alchemy."

  Items the size of kunai could be instantly transformed into gold by spending a single point of quota.

  The process took about 0.002 seconds. As for how Shirohebi knew this...

  He guessed. Anyway, it was just an instant.

  He had also demonstrated another ability earlier, one he called "Heating," though "overheating" or "temperature rise" would work too.

  His powers didn’t really have specific names.

  The temperature and speed of heating depended on the size of the object and how many points of the element bottle were allocated.

  Because the Iwagakure spy wasn’t the chatty type of vilin, even though Shirohebi had deliberately deyed, he still spent one extra point on the quota.

  Which meant he only had two points left now.

  And as for explosive cy, there was only a tiny bit left.

  He’d have to be low-key from now on.

  Shirohebi never went into battle unprepared.

  He slipped into a small grove and pulled out a set of basic civilian clothes from a sealing scroll.

  A linen vest, a simple cloth jacket, and a pair of brownish pants.

  Though they were clean, Shirohebi intentionally wrinkled them up, making them look like he had worn them for ages, paired with their dull color, as if they were old, dirty clothes.

  His mask was hidden away, and his bck hair was let down messily, half-covering his pin, unremarkable face.

  To an inexperienced rookie thief, he was just another penniless commoner, not worth robbing.

  To a seasoned mountain bandit, he was a wandering ninja in disguise, someone who could be trouble if provoked.

  A lone civilian had a hard time surviving in the ninja world.

  Once his disguise was complete, Shirohebi unfurled the boat ticket he had taken from the spy’s tool pouch.

  Though it was called a "boat ticket," it was more like a "credential."

  In the ninja world, there weren’t really convenient boat tickets. Civilians just paid directly to board, taking scruffy, cramped boats with goods that could easily be raided.

  Merchants and minor nobles, on the other hand, had much more dignified travel, with special ships transporting them from the port.

  To board such ships, you needed status. And when that wasn’t enough, you needed a "credential" like this one.

  This particur credential had been issued by a merchant from the Land of Earth.

  It allowed the holder to board a passenger ship for free, from the port in the Land of Rice to the Land of Waterfalls.

  It was part of the escape route for the spy and his lover.

  They hadn’t fled toward the Land of Grass or the Land of Rain, but had chosen the direction of the Land of Rice.

  That was truly lucky. Shirohebi had expected to spend several days living rough, but now he didn’t need to. Joyous Street and the Land of Rice were on the same path.

  It was a convenient detour.

  After resting for half an hour, Shirohebi continued on his journey.

  He didn’t pn to eat any soldier pills. Such "stimunts," which forcibly extracted both physical and mental energy, might hurt his damaged soul.

  Unless, of course, this particur soldier pill had been specially made to be a "mega-boost version" for the Iwagakure spy.

  Shirohebi made steady progress, moving at a pace of stop-and-go toward Joyous Street.

  He wasn’t worried about the target getting away. Kaiki was just a low-ranking ninja with limited speed. To avoid leaving traces, she would move cautiously.

  And to avoid leaving easily traceable hoof prints, she definitely wouldn’t dare ride a horse recklessly.

  So, even though Kaiki had left Konoha several hours earlier, their distances would gradually close, and catching up to her was only a matter of time.

  Assassinations required patience.

  Two days ter, Shirohebi’s rations and water had run out just as he reached the agreed-upon destination.

  Along the way, he hadn’t encountered any trouble. There were occasional gnces from the woods, but they were quickly withdrawn, likely bandits.

  Shirohebi brushed off the grass and leaves that had stuck to him during his journey, walking naturally into the "town" ahead.

  It was called Joyous Street, but in reality, it was just a single street. How wide could it possibly be?

  This peculiar town structure was a result of Iwagakure's mercy during the Third Great Ninja War.

  Joyous Street was the ruin of a once-thriving town.

  After moving westward from the battlefield center, homeless refugees had gathered here, having lost their homes.

  With no nd and no production capacity, they resorted to petty activities.

  Soon, the street became a haven for courtesans and bandits. Later, merchants saw potential and turned it into a "commercial street" full of character.

  Whether you were after gambling, drugs, or anything shady, this pce had it all.

  Shirohebi didn’t bother with extra disguises and walked right into the street.

  Eyes gnced his way but quickly moved on. Nobody paid him much attention.

  In a pce like this, faces were nothing special—new people came and went every day.

  It was chaotic, and if a few people disappeared, no one would bat an eye. It was the perfect wless zone.

  Interestingly, the original body Shirohebi had transmigrated into had met Jiraiya three times, one of which had been here at Joyous Street, and the other two were at simir pces.

  "Hey, handsome, come on in and have some fun~" A woman, not too young but heavily made up to hide her age, waved at him and started walking closer.

  At her age, she couldn’t really run a courtesan business anymore, which meant she was likely the madam.

  Madams didn’t usually recruit clients themselves.

  They often had good-looking "products" stand outside to attract attention.

  Shirohebi touched his pin face, even with his transformation jutsu, he looked nothing special.

  "Do your girls here attend the ninja academy?"

  "Ninja academy girls? We don’t dare take those," the madam said with a flirtatious smile.

  "That’s not good. I’m looking for a girl who’s attended ninja academy. They study hard, you know, their eyes are bloodshot, red as can be."

  Shirohebi casually ran a hand through his disheveled hair, ughing lightly.

  The madam didn’t dare continue the conversation and awkwardly chuckled. "An old gentleman’s asking for you."

  With that, she didn’t wait for his response and swayed back to the "service inn."

  Though she was older, she still had a good figure. That was probably what they called a "back kill."

  Shirohebi maintained a two-meter distance, following her inside the building.

  This was not the kind of pce nobles or merchants would visit.

  As soon as he stepped inside, Shirohebi was hit with the smell of alcohol, sweat, and cheap perfume that filled the first floor.

  He wrinkled his nose, not wanting to linger, and pointed to a man sitting at a table, dressed sloppily and wearing a mask.

  "I’ll take that ‘girl.’ Also, get me a room. Put it on the girl’s tab."

  His words were a bit chilling, but no one paid them any mind in the noisy environment.

  He immediately headed up to the second floor and stopped in front of an empty room.

  About half a minute ter, the "boy girl" he requested walked steadily up the stairs.

  Shirohebi smiled slightly and opened the door to the room.

  The "boy girl" quickened his steps, catching the door frame just before it could sm shut, squeezing inside.

  "It’s been five months—no, maybe six—since we st met, Kakuzu," Shirohebi said, flipping a tatami mat and sitting down.

  The person he was here to meet was none other than Kakuzu, the S-ranked rogue ninja from the Akatsuki, a former member of the Hidden Waterfall Vilge.

  He was one of the connections left to Shirohebi by the original body’s owner. Kakuzu had been a trusted ally during Shirohebi’s toughest days after his transmigration.

  Of course, it wasn’t all charity.