NRaO Chapter 34 (Patreon)

I worked my way through the crowds as my false persona as they were opening slave auctions. Slavery was completely illegal on paper, it seems that the hidden rock village didn’t give a shit about the rules. It started fairly innocently by selling ninja tools and weapons made by blacksmiths with the butter knife-sized chakra blade, which went for the cost of an S-rank mission.

I scoffed at how overpriced they were but it gave me a pretty good avenue for making money later. Next, they brought out the specialty items they had stolen from other villages. The same way I had infiltrated all the other villages did as well. Nothing went for much including my weapons except for the chakra puppet that sold for as much as the sword. My weapons went completely undervalued even with the auction barker telling the crowd how many lives were lost claiming the item.

They brought out exotic animals next, then seals to make contracts with certain groups of animals. Several mercenary groups were offering their services to the highest bidder, and then we got to the actual slave selling. It started off with bandits, I could see why they’d sell them. They weren’t worth keeping alive in most circumstances so as a workforce for a high casualty job they’d fit perfectly.

Next were the older women, the auctioneer made sure that all women were ‘clean and ready’ for what you’d expect female slaves to be used for. They got rid of the normal people, then stronger men and more beautiful women. Next was the younger children which sold for more because they’d be easier to train. As the auctioneer grabbed the little girl by her head to show off her beautiful face it was hard not to waste my money rescuing her.

All of the slaves were naked up to that point but them showing off children's bodies was truly disgusting to me and most of the people watching the auctions. You could tell that next time they’d at least put the children in rags to avoid the negative reactions. They’d get better at being evil as they do it for longer. Finally, we get out of normal humans and they start selling shinobi.

Basic genin first, most of them were older and they slowly worked their way down in age as a younger genin still could grow more than adult shinobi. It was essentially betting on the future versus needing an enforcer now. Chunin next, same thing with them selling the older for less and working their way backward. The first actual person I might have bought showed up but it was too costly because she was a young beauty.

Finally, they brought up the last six and my breath hitched as I noticed how special each was. I didn’t think I had enough money to buy all of them so I needed to pick who I bought carefully. That ruled out the men for now, while I could absorb kekkei genkai it would be six months before that was possible. I’d rather just keep tabs on who buys them and defeat them as they’re wasted defending crime lords or warming beds of nobles.

The three left were all fairly young but still old enough to be married off or become someone's sex slave the moment they were purchased. The only one bordering on being too young was just small from malnourishment like Junko. Her red eyes alluded to a special sight kekkei genkai and I was fairly certain she’d be one I selected. The oldest woman looked like she had been taken care of the worst. Her body looked ravished by time and in just a few years I doubted she could have children anymore.

Even still I could tell she had a very powerful kekkei genkai so I still might choose her out of the three. The final one I got nothing from, if I was closer I might have picked up on something I missed but she seemed fairly plain if not beautiful. He explained what each was. The furthest man had a special kekkei genkai that allowed him to rapidly heal his wounds at the cost of chakra. I almost laughed as that was just a fairly common medic-nin technique. 

The next man had a strength-based kekkei genkai that would allow him to burn his life force to empower his blows. It was clear by his greying hair that he had used up most of it probably during the fight he was captured. The girl was a member of the Chinoike clan and her special eyes were called Ketsuryugan or ‘blood eye’. She was a necessary purchase in my opinion and even though she went for far more than the previous two I bought her.

The next plain girl was a surprise. As they read off her abilities I started to recognize her clan similarities. I doubted she was very strong even with how much they were hyping it up. She might have even still been a genin in strength. I laughed as the female Uchiha went for ten times the price I paid for the Chinoike clan member. They didn’t mention the tomoe amount so she probably only had one.

The third man came up next. He was young, practically a child still may be entering adulthood this year I suck my teeth as they say what his kekkei genkai is. It was one I was looking for and I would have to pay attention to who purchased him. Mud release was a special kekkei genkai and very rarely seen. Finally, the older woman came up and I knew I needed to purchase her.

Even without her being a user, the Kaguya clan bone manipulation was an extremely strong kekkei genkai. Her older looks dropped her price to the lowest of the bunch. I was surprised but in the long run, I was glad I got a good deal. I was about to get up and go pay for my two new slaves when the auctioneer smirked before saying we weren’t done. Two ‘special’ purchases came up last.

My eyes widened at the sight of both. Someone managed to capture a giant rainbow crane bird! The bird was clearly young, perhaps even a child but if it grew to even half the size of a normal giant crane it would be a tremendous threat. Its flight speed is also a huge positive as it could be used to transport troops or to rescue shinobi behind enemy lines. Even beyond that its fighting capability would only go up as it grew in size.

On top of all that it looked magical. I had no doubt if it wasn’t sealed it would be casting lightning, water, earth, or fire chakra techniques on top of the normal wind techniques. It was the first to be priced out of my range. It was sad but I had expected it. I had only brought enough money to buy a few slaves, not a mythical bird any other village would try to tame as their village protector.

The woman beside the bird though. I could smell it on her, that same fight or flight scent leaking from her as all the other pseudo jinchuriki I’ve come across. Beauty, truly beautiful was my first thought as I looked at her. Thick brown hair with two animal ears poking out. Her body was still proportioned like someone who wasn’t starved. Her naked body was unfortunately covered in injuries.

If she was like other half-animal people, those wounds had to be made today. Yeah, maybe even right before she was dragged on stage as the wound slowly shifted colors and shrunk in size. She was fairly normal-sized compared to most of my big-breasted women, maybe B-cup, C-cup on a really good day. Finally, she still had a defiant gaze, like she hadn’t been fully tamed yet. She scanned the crowd until her eyes met mine. I could only smile at her in my disguised form as I knew I needed to buy her.

The auctioneer spoke and I gulped unconsciously as I listened. “This little beauty's name is Raphtalia, and she is a pseudo jinchuriki raccoon dog.”