Freelancer in the Ninja World

Senshi wasn't just bragging—no matter how formidable Itachi, who could take on seven opponents at once, might be, he still wouldn't stand a chance against this "cheating" powerhouse (Senshi).

Sasuke, however, doubted Senshi's words. He did acknowledge Senshi was strong. Whether it was the random display of powerful Lightning Release or his easy use of space-time ninjutsu, both seemed extremely formidable. But Uchiha Itachi was a legendary genius of the Uchiha clan, and Sasuke questioned whether Senshi could really surpass him.

After some thought, Sasuke said, "How do I know you actually have the strength to beat Uchiha Itachi?"

Senshi had been waiting for this question. He'd just finished talking a big game, and Sasuke, a young kid, possibly didn't fully follow. The easiest way to prove something to Sasuke was to let him see it with his own eyes.

Hence, Senshi planned to perform an encore of what he'd done in Kusagakure—this time in a flashier, more eye-popping way!

Raising one hand, he pointed at a dense, thickly forested area in the distance and asked Sasuke, "Do you see that open field out there?"

Sasuke: "???"

Sasuke couldn't tell if his eyes were failing, his ears were failing, or if it was Senshi who had a screw loose. After a moment of perplexity, he frowned at Senshi. He couldn't fathom what Senshi was talking about. That place was obviously a lush, leafy forest!

Falling silent for a bit, he said, "Don't speak nonsense. I'm not some gullible little kid you can trick."

Senshi, hearing that, only smiled. In the next instant, Lightning Release chakra roiled across his entire body.

Boom!

A surge of immense, explosive energy erupted from Senshi. His aura was far too strong—far too frightening. Sasuke and Karin, the two "little ones," were nearly flattened by its weight.

Gathering all of his Lightning chakra, Senshi fixed his gaze on that thick forest. Then, in a voice devoid of emotion, he said:

"60 Million Volts: Thunder Dragon!"

The moment he spoke, the world seemed to change color.

"Roaar—!"

From Sasuke's viewpoint, a thunderous dragon's roar erupted, shaking the land. The next second, an oceanic volume of Lightning chakra flooded from Senshi's body. An enormous thunder dragon, vast enough to blot out the sky like a raging river, began to condense.

Boom!

An unbelievably dangerous aura surged at that moment, shocking every nerve in Sasuke's body. After appearing, the dragon roared skyward once more. Then, crackling with lightning, it charged toward that distant forest, brimming with annihilating force!

Boom—

Rumble, rumble!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Suddenly the ground quaked, wind and sand whipped through the air, and the sky seemed to darken. That once-verdant forest was facing a catastrophe! The terrifying thunder dragon bulldozed through it with unstoppable might, disintegrating towering trees into ash and pulverizing huge rocks into dust. Under the Thunder Dragon's 60-million-volt power, it was as though any and all traces of the forest's existence were obliterated. It no longer seemed like the power a mere ninja could wield, but something that belonged to the realm of gods.

After the dragon passed, the endless forest lay leveled to the ground.

"!!!???"

Sasuke was left utterly stunned. At his current level, he couldn't even imagine, let alone comprehend, how there could be such a high-tier Lightning Release. And this seemingly carefree young man wielded such terrifying might! Sasuke's little heart was shaken to its core. The destructive power of that jutsu was simply astounding—"cataclysmic" was no exaggeration. If it was that level of force, even Itachi might not withstand it. If Sasuke were to master such power, he could definitely kill that man—avenge his parents and his entire clan!

"Uh…"

Seeing Sasuke so flabbergasted he was practically turned to stone, Senshi couldn't help smiling wryly. He'd been a bit worried about this jutsu's destructive range, so he hadn't used it at full power. Without Wood-Style users around to replant, it might take at least two or three decades—maybe longer—to regrow a forest of that size.

Even so, Sasuke was indeed tremendously impacted. This was a far cry from throwing shuriken in midair and watching them clash. Compared to this, the Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique was just a simple "family barbecue" jutsu. Sasuke stared at the newly flattened forest for ages, speechless.

Maybe someday, if Uchiha Sarada asked her father why Lightning Release: Kirin was so powerful, Sasuke might say: "My Kirin is merely a poor imitation of the 60-million-volt Thunder Dragon taught by my private tutor, Uzumaki Senshi." But that was far in the future; right now, Sasuke was still a child.

In the wake of this shock, Sasuke couldn't help but long—twelve parts longing—for Senshi's technique. Gulping, he stared at Senshi, asking, "Could…could I learn that jutsu?"

Hearing that, Senshi nodded, then shook his head:

"You're more suited to Lightning Release than Fire Release, so I can certainly teach you Lightning Release and guide your training. But to cast something on that scale, you'll have to grow first."

Nearby, Karin ran over. "I know! He still needs to grow about this much, right?" She reached up and measured a point above Sasuke's head. Senshi immediately lifted Karin and set her behind him. "I'm trying to sell an important client here—please don't interrupt, or we won't make any money!"

Continuing in a gentle but persuasive tone, Senshi pitched himself to Sasuke:

"Lightning Release is notoriously tricky to control, but don't worry—I'm the greatest Lightning Release user in the ninja world today, the GOAT, if you will. I'll personally teach you Lightning Release and guide your ninjutsu training. Who knows? One day, you might even inherit my mantle."

He didn't really have much experience teaching, but no matter—he'd worry about that later. In fact, he boasted honestly: any Lightning jutsu in the ninja world, he had probably learned through diligence and effort, and to a high level at that. He basically knew them all. Teaching a gifted kid like Sasuke would be easy as pie.

Standing at the top of the cliff, Sasuke was deeply intrigued by that 60-million-volt Thunder Dragon. After hearing Senshi's pitch, he thought for a moment before saying:

"If I hire you as my private tutor to guide my ninjutsu training, what will it cost?"

Senshi was overjoyed inside. Sasuke, definitely had the potential for "cheating"! Uchiha Sasuke was Indra's reincarnation—he lost to Asura's reincarnation, Naruto, over and over. But maybe with Senshi's help, he could truly break the cycle. The only question: would that cause Naruto to go dark? Probably not—Naruto's heart was strong. As for whether Sasuke would outstrip Naruto permanently? Even Senshi wasn't sure.

Having sorted his thoughts, Senshi said seriously, "If you want me as your private tutor, you need to issue a long-term hiring contract. Learning ninjutsu won't happen overnight. As for the fee, 12 million ryō a year, and you hire me for at least three years."

From various Konoha mission logs, a jōnin's yearly income was around 3.71 million ryō. Nobody knew how many jōnin-level ninjas were in the Uchiha clan, but in any case, as the sole survivor, Sasuke inherited all their wealth. Combined with the clan's legacy stretching from the Warring States Period to now, Sasuke was likely insanely wealthy—maybe the wealthiest individual in Konoha. So Senshi set a steep price: 12 million a year, for a three-year minimum. Then he could earn a whole "Sarutobi Asuma's" worth just training Sasuke in ninjutsu—no need for life-and-death fights with jōnin of Asuma's caliber.

Better yet, Senshi could continue employing his "if no mission exists, create one" principle. Sasuke had little interest in money himself. Hearing Senshi's fee, his first reaction was, "That's actually quite cheap!" Hiring a powerhouse like Uzumaki Senshi at that price for private tutoring? A pretty good deal.

So after mulling it over, Sasuke nodded. "Alright. I hereby officially hire you, Lord Senshi, as my private tutor to guide my ninjutsu training." His expression turned serious. "Until the day I can kill Uchiha Itachi."

[New Long-Term Hiring Mission Detected!]

[Client: Uchiha Sasuke]

[Objective: Act as Sasuke's private tutor, instructing him in ninjutsu until he kills Itachi.]

[Compensation: 12 million ryō/year]

[Mission Rank: S-rank]

[Mission Reward: 1 Super Draw]

Senshi was somewhat surprised to have landed a long-term hiring contract that would last until Sasuke managed to kill Itachi. He was delighted. Plus, there was a Super Draw reward—he'd gotten his strongest powers so far from those lotteries.

After accepting Sasuke's mission, Senshi followed him back to Konoha. As long as you weren't a runaway criminal or wanted by another village, you could freely enter the village. With Karin in tow, Senshi arrived at Konoha's gates alongside Sasuke, seeing the famous "Six Paths Gate Guards," Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki. They were diligently checking every person who passed. If they spotted suspicious types, they might respond with "seeking-truth orbs" to the face—who knew?

"Sasuke, done training outside the village?" a familiar Konoha ninja called, greeting Sasuke. Sasuke nodded. "Yeah." He frequently left to train near the village; it was no secret among the ninjas.

After a standard security check, Senshi and Karin also entered Konoha. Sasuke led them to an apartment building in the center of the village, not to the Uchiha compound. Hiruzen Sarutobi worried that if Sasuke kept living where his parents and entire clan had been killed, it would hurt him psychologically. Besides, the Uchiha district was somewhat remote and unsafe, so Sasuke was placed in an apartment building downtown.

Sasuke was slightly envious of Karin; she, apparently Senshi's assistant, could always stay by Senshi's side and train. Before long, Senshi, Karin, and Sasuke reached his apartment. Sasuke lived with no neighbors—the entire row of apartments belonged to him.

Bringing Senshi and Karin inside, Sasuke said:

"Teacher Senshi, from now on, you and Karin can stay in the room next door. Or if you like, any room on this floor is fine, really—I bought the entire floor."

Senshi's eyes flickered with a bit of surprise. Karin thought the delicate-faced boy was unbelievably rich. Who just buys an entire floor like that?

"Alright, we'll take the room next door," Senshi said. "Prepare yourself; I'll come by later to teach you ninjutsu."

At that, Sasuke stared expectantly at Senshi, asking:

"Teacher Senshi, does that mean I can someday learn the same jutsu you used to level that forest?"

"Er…" Senshi paused for a moment. "Once you reach the right stage of growth, you can learn a similarly powerful Lightning Release. But for now, your chakra capacity isn't enough for something on that scale. Let's start with a more basic Lightning ninjutsu."

That "basic" wouldn't be Chidori, which was pretty high-level (A-rank). Starting with something that tough would crush the kid's confidence. Senshi, after pondering, thought of an introductory jutsu even Sasuke's future daughter, Sarada, would learn: "Lightning Ball." Obviously, though, training in the apartment was too dangerous—they could accidentally demolish the place. After running a quick ninjutsu test on Sasuke, Senshi said:

"Tomorrow morning, find an open area in the village. We'll officially begin training your first Lightning-Style jutsu."

Sasuke was quite excited. "Got it, Teacher Senshi."

With that settled, Senshi and Karin returned to their own room. Once they were back, Karin spoke up right away:

"Senshi, I want to learn ninjutsu from you tomorrow, too!"

~~~

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