I Punch the Tailed B Chapter 377: Missing

Chapter 377 - Missing

After Musashi was done with the minister, he went back to find Jūzō Biwa, who disguised himself as the minister.

Later, the two of them left the minister's residence and headed to the residence of their other target, the Daimyo.

According to the agreent, they might leave now that they had already completed their task, and the Daimyo's n would give them the money.

Even though he was a Daimyo, he had to abide by the rules and pay, or else he would make an enemy out of various organizations.

However, Akatsuki's goal was not just the money. Their main objective was to establish a cooperative relationship with the Daimyo and monopolize shinobi missions in the Land of Rice Fields.

At this mont, the Daimyo was enjoying a lavish dinner.

On a massive round table were dozens of delicious freshly-made dishes.

Since there were so many dishes, it was impossible for the Daimyo to finish all the dishes. He would only take a few bites of each, perhaps a few more if a dish was exceptionally delicious.

Moreover, the Daimyo never took the first bite of a dish; soone else had to poison-tasted before he touched it with his chopsticks.

He was a cautious person, despite his high position and control over the military power in the Land of Rice Fields. He never showed any negligence and left no room for vulnerabilities.

If there was even a hint of danger, the Daimyo would go to great lengths to eliminate it.

The minister dared to tamper with his military authority, which was sothing the Daimyo could not tolerate.

Therefore, the Daimyo imdiately hired Shinobi to kill the minister without giving him any chance.

"Heh, he sure lives a luxurious life."

Just as the Daimyo thought that the Shinobi he hired should have reached the Land of Rice Fields by now, and he would soon receive the good news of the minister's death, a sneer that the Daimyo had never heard before echoed.

The Daimyo looked up and saw two strangely dressed individuals appearing on the opposite side.

One person wielded a massive sword with a cross-shaped scar on his face, while the other had two sharp swords hanging at his waist and extrely sharp eyes.

Swish!

Several samurais in the room instantly drew their swords and rushed into the Daimyo's side while cautiously observing the two individuals, who just appeared.

"Who are you?" The Daimyo furrowed his brows but did not appear too panicked and asked out loud.

He was heavily guarded, with skilled individuals patrolling nearby.

The fact that these two could enter this room without anyone noticing and even sat across him despite such a situation indicated that they were highly skilled.

Therefore, the Daimyo deliberately asked loudly. This way, if there was any commotion, his n outside would quickly co in to protect him.

Sure enough, after the Daimyo finished speaking, the samurais outside heard the commotion and swiftly entered the room, surrounding Jūzō Biwa and Musashi.

Despite being surrounded by nurous samurais, Jūzō Biwa and Musashi showed no signs of fear whatsoever. Musashi even took a bite of the food on the table.

"Who are you, who sent you, and what are you after?" The Daimyo, hidden among the samurais, continued to inquire. At the sa ti, using the samurais' bodies as cover, he quietly moved towards the exit.

Jūzō Biwa grinned as he knocked away nearby samurais with his Kubikiribōchō and said, "Daimyo, why are you so afraid? We've brought you good news."

The Daimyo paused. Good news?

Considering how skilled he was coupled with his words just now, could they be the Shinobi he hired to kill the minister?

But how did they know it was him who hired them? He sent his subordinates to hire them.

Jūzō Biwa and Musashi simultaneously released their killing intent. Jūzō Biwa's killing intent felt so real that it frightened so samurais, making them lose grip of their swords and even fell to the ground, while Musashi's killing intent made it hard for the samurais to even stand.

Seeing that the samurais on his side were almost at their limits even though neither of the intruders had made their move yet, the Daimyo stopped; he knew escaping was futile.

Although he had a powerful subordinate whom he had recruited not long before nearby, even that person couldn't do this much with just his killing intent.

"Leave us alone, all of you! I need to discuss sothing with these two," the Daimyo ordered his samurais.

The samurais looked at each other but eventually left the room.

Although they didn't understand why the Daimyo suddenly wanted to face two dangerous intruders alone, they obeyed since he was the Daimyo.

"I assu that you two are the Shinobi who accepted the task, yes?" the Daimyo asked.

A hint of surprise flashed in Jūzō Biwa's eyes. He had initially wanted to frighten the Daimyo, but it seed that the Daimyo had figured it out.

"Yes, you'll receive news of the minister's inexplicable disappearance tomorrow," Musashi nodded.

"Are you here to collect the remaining paynt for the mission? I'll have soone prepare it right away," the Daimyo quickly responded.

"No need to rush. We have sothing else to discuss with you," Jūzō Biwa said calmly.

The Daimyo nodded.

He knew that the two n before him must have ulterior motives. Otherwise, why would they approach him/ On top of that, they didn't kill any of his samurai earlier, so they probably didn't have any intention. Perhaps the might even have sothing good to offer him.

"Let

get straight to the point. Our organization wants to monopolize shinobi missions in the Land of Rice Fields. From now on, we want you to leave all the Land of Rice Fields' shinobi mission to us Akatsuki," Jūzō Biwa said.

The Daimyo's face instantly changed.

Giving all shinobi missions to one organization? Weren't they asking for too much?

"This is too important to decide now; give

two days to consider," the Daimyo said after a mont of thought.

Bam!

Jūzō Biwa swung his Kubikiribocho, instantly crushing the wooden floor of the room.

"We didn't co to negotiate with you; we ca to inform you," Jūzō Biwa smirked.

"Daimyo, you wouldn't want the news of you hiring us to assassinate the minister to spread throughout the Land of Rice Fields, right?" Musashi calmly added. "Moreover, I believe you'll find our terms for this cooperation quite interesting."

Musashi revealed the conditions of Akatsuki.

After hearing them, the Daimyo seed even more surprised.

Compared to other organization, Akatsuki only charged half the price for each shinobi mission.

Didn't this sound too good to be true?

The Daimyo didn't expect that soone would co knocking on his door and offered such a sweet deal. He readily agreed to the terms of cooperation, stating that it was a minor matter, and all future war contracts in the Land of Rice Fields would be handed over to Akatsuki.

Of course, the Daimyo realized that Akatsuki must have other motives, but he chose not to delve into them. He didn't care what happened to the Land of Rice Fields as long as things worked in his favour.

By cooperating with Akatsuki, he would be able to make more money. In addition, he could easily eliminate individuals who posed a threat to him by using Akatsuki.

After sealing the deal, Musashi and Jūzō Biwa left without worry. They weren't concerned about the Daimyo changing his mind because they were the ones in control, wielding absolute power. If the Daimyo dared to go back on their agreent, they could simply eliminate him.

............................

The Academy students of the past few years had seen how the Academy had undergone changes every year.

At first, the Academy created another program for the students, dical course, which provided all students with an additional career path.

Then, the Special Combat Division directly recruited graduates from the Academy, offering an alternative to the students rather than becoming a Genin.

This year's change was even more significant. The existing students have been divided into elentary school, and middle school has been added for the students that graduated elentary school.

Moreover, the elentary school's span had been reduced from six years to four.

Of course, the students have only received the notice so far. The specific changes would only be implented until the start of the next term.

This year's graduating class will be the last to complete the six-year Academy program.

Most students aren't particularly concerned about this news because the middle school only lasted three years, so even after combining elentary and middle school, they only have to attend the Academy for an extra year compared to the original Academy program, which was a relatively minor change.

However, not everyone is indifferent to this, and Hanayo was one of those who actually gave so thought into this.

"So now, does that an it won't take another five years for

to graduate?" Hanayo fell into contemplation.

She was currently in her second year and would be entering the third grade in the next sester. She thought she was almost halfway through her journey, only to have an extra year added all of a sudden.

"Should I consider graduating early?" Hanayo couldn't help but think.

Although she was not as skilled as Kabuto, through diligent training, Hanayo believed that she would have what it took to apply for graduation assessnt in her third year.

The problem was that her family disagreed.

She had brought it up before, and her mother said no. She argued that at this age, Hanayo should enjoy her student life at the Academy and create beautiful mories.

Even though she had friends other than Kabuto, Hanayo felt like sothing was missing without him. Even her usual training occasionally beca lackluster.

"Five years... by the ti I graduate, Kabuto might have already beco a Jonin," Hanayo sighed in frustration.

If that happened, how would they team up for missions? Would a Jonin and a Genin even be paired for a mission?

At the sa ti, Nagasawa was currently working in the dical division, unaware that a certain girl was feeling troubled about her delayed graduation.

"Speaking of which, aren't you being too irresponsible as a consultant? You haven't showed up for work in a few months," Tsunade crossed her arms, complaining to Nagasawa.

"Sorry, I've been really busy, and besides, my position doesn't require

to co every day, right?" Nagasawa retorted.

"Who said that? I am the head of the dical division; how co I don't know about this?" Tsunade put her hands down, but the sudden movent caused her imposing mountains to shake slightly.

Nagasawa quickly averted his gaze from the natural miracle that caught his attention. Moreover, despite how big it was, he couldn't touch it. He would rather go for Nono as he could hold hers in his hand.

"As per the Hokage's rules, if there's an issue, seek Minato or Lord Third's advice," Nagasawa casually ntioned.

After so banter, Nagasawa made an effort to steer the conversation back on track.

"How are the students doing in their training?" Nagasawa inquired.

It wasn't feasible to have too many dical-nin teaching at the Academy. Konoha currently didn't have that luxury, so dical students spent two months each year to undergo special training in the dical division.

The content of the special training varied for each grade. Lower-grade students usually focused on theoretical knowledge, while higher-grade students focused on Chakra control or practical treatnt.

"Why don't you take a look for yourself?" Tsunade led Nagasawa outside of the dical division.

Nagasawa was puzzled as to why they would train outside the dical division. To his surprise, they were busy in exercises like climbing trees and walking on water, which was trainings for Chakra control.

"They are the graduates for this year, so besides basic dical techniques, they spend most of their ti practicing Chakra control," Tsunade explained.

They didn't approach the students and just observed from the distance.

"However, the training plan needs to be adjusted next year," Tsunade suddenly remarked.

"Why? Was the outco from the previous year not satisfactory?" Nagasawa asked in confusion.

Due to the multitude of tasks on his plate, he didn't have the ti to check what happened in the dical division, even though it was him and Tsunade who established the dical division.

Therefore, she rolled her eyes and explained, "It's because of your reform on the Academy. You divided the current Academy into elentary and middle schools, causing significant changes, so the training plan for dical students will naturally need so adjustnts as well."

Nagasawa scratched his head in slight embarrassnt as what Tsunade said made sense.

In addition the dical division's training plan, the Special Combat Divison also needed adjustnts, for example increasing the assessnt difficulty. According to his reforms, future Academy graduates, even middle school graduates, would be more outstanding than before, so they couldn't adhere to the old standards anymore.

"Ahem, it's all for the good of Konoha. But, Tsunade-sama, you've worked hard. I'll treat you to a al later, to show my appreciation," Nagasawa said with a smile.

"A al? That works out perfectly; I've been craving barbecue lately. Treat

to a barbecue then," Tsunade nodded.

She was just teasing, not genuinely blaming Nagasawa. Besides, she couldn't miss an opportunity to mooch off him.

Tsunade hadn't forgotten the sensation of Nagasawa's fist hitting her. Unable to win in a fight, she would turn her frustration into appetite, eating her way to make Nagasawa bankrupt.

After finishing their work, Tsunade called Shizune, who was still dealing with paperwork, to join them for dinner. More people ant more power to eat Nagasawa into financial distress, and Tsunade felt a duty to do so.

An additional person didn't bother Nagasawa; whether he treated one or two people, it was all the sa.

For him now, it didn't matter if he had money or not; what mattered was that Konoha had money.

Nagasawa ordered a bunch of barbecue. He originally wanted to order so beer with it as well, but Tsunade refused.

Having suffered a painful lesson, Tsunade had no intention of drinking with Nagasawa again. It would be like asking for trouble.

While eating, Nagasawa took the opportunity to discuss other aspects of his education reform, such as the high school matters.

Perhaps due to her personality, but Tsunade, despite enjoying arguing with Nagasawa, surprisingly agreed this ti. She stated that she would take responsibility for dical matters.

"I'll leave it to you, Tsunade-sama," Nagasawa said, feeling quite pleased after resolving one professional matter.

"I just hope you'll address

'Tsunade-sama' every ti instead of just when you need sothing from ," Tsunade said to Nagasawa as she wolfed down the at.

Nagasawa looked up at the ceiling. This barbecue restaurant had a quite good interior design.