Chapter 54

"I'm more concerned about why you were talking to Bolovaxians before calling me here," Naruto said, gathering energy in the tips of his fingers in preparation to kill. "And why you did so right before arranging a meeting with me."

Bolovaxians were often either law enforcement agents or criminals. And considering either or both were on this shithole of a planet, someone talking to them before meeting up with him raised a few alarms in his head.

"I assure you it has nothing to do with you." The man responded, making a gesture with his hands. Naruto glanced at it and chuckled mockingly.

"This isn't Tamarand," Naruto said. "Peace gestures don't instantly make things peaceful."

"I am aware of that," The man said calmly. "And once again, I tell you it has nothing to do with you, but rather why I have asked to meet with you."

Naruto frowned. He wanted to attack the man but he could see from the necklace that he was royalty. Tamaranean royalty. And unlike many other races, Tamaraneans were warriors through and through. Even members of the royal family were pushed to be even more powerful than their own guardians.

"Alright. I'll humor you," Naruto said and released the energy in his fingers. "Why'd you call me?"

"I am sure you are as aware of why as I am." He said, taking another whiff of the smoke and scooping more of the crimson powder into the small fire. Naruto glared at him for that, earning a wide smile for his troubles.

"Unless you're planning to try seeing if I have a bounty on my head," Naruto started annoyedly. "I don't think I do."

Of course he knew but he made it a point not to admit to anything unless the others confirmed their knowledge themselves.

"Why must all of you always refrain from being honest." The man sighed. ,"I am here to hire your services."

"You've wasted your time then. I'm not a whore." Naruto responded smoothly. The man snorted and beat on his chest to soothe the burning feeling.

"I was not talking about hiring those services." He shouted, getting a grin from Naruto.

"You shouldn't have been so vague. Services can mean a lot of things." Naruto said.

"I meant that I have a contract for you." He corrected himself. Naruto shook his head.

"You've still wasted your time. I'm not a mercenary either."

"Yes you are. It is your part time job after hunting and killing people with money on their heads," The man shot back, making Naruto give him a questioning look. "You are not as inconspicuous as you think. Few people with your success rate manage to stay under the radar for long."

"I can count the number of people who can contact me with my hands," Naruto scowled, getting to another topic. "And you're not on any finger."

"Your friend gave it to me." The man responded, chattering his teeth to let Naruto know who. "His compliance is surprisingly easy to purchase."

"Of course Argix would do that," Naruto said tiredly. That skliim would do anything for money. "And you felt it was better to simply say, 'let us meet' than introduce yourself?"

"I will admit, I am not very aware of how these things are done." The man admitted, a sheepish expression on his face. "I felt it would be detrimental to let you know my identity so early."

"Contacting a bounty hunter with your own personal device in itself is foolish," Naruto said with an eye roll. "You needn't tell me your name, Koji'rar. Researching and tracking you was the first thing I did. It's what we always do."

Koji'rar's eyes widened, making Naruto laugh inwardly. Throwing people's personal information in their face was something he took great enjoyment in. They always looked so surprised. And call it a desire to do a good deed for the day but a part of him wanted to warn Koji about the dangers of treating business with mercenaries like it was something out of an animated picture series.

"And doing that to a mercenary is a lot more harmful," Naruto warned. "They're a very suspicious bunch. Unless you're a spokesman for a greater power, you've got to give them a name even if it's fake. Otherwise, they'll either not show up or kill you when they locate you. Their lives are dangerous enough without having to worry about ambushes."

"I.. will keep that in mind for later." Koji'rar spoke silently. Naruto could understand. He'd seen many people whose knowledge of dealing with bounty hunters and mercenaries stemmed from exaggerated stories.

Naruto nodded and shifted on his seat, eager to get down to business. "Now that that's said, why'd you call me here?"

"I would like to hire your services, as I said before," He said. Naruto didn't say anything, prompting to continue. "My niece, Koriand'r, has been abducted by Gordanians."

"Abducted?" Naruto asked, raising an eyebrow at the obvious lie. Gordanians were slavers, sure, but they were far from subtle enough to kidnap a warrior princess on her own planet. A planet which was on high alert due to the war with that same very race.