After a night of rest, Kakashi led Uchiha Yujin around the main gate of the Land of Lightning, choosing the west exit to leave the city.
After half a day of climbing mountains and crossing ridges, the two finally reached the boundary between the mountains and the forest.
Uchiha Yujin chewed on coffee beans as he swept the tall grass ahead with his kunai. "This journey isn't easy. I never expected we'd run into Orochimaru."
Kakashi yawned, looking half-asleep. "Orochimaru's obsession with the Sharingan exceeds even the village's judgment of him. Looks like any Uchiha ninja with Sharingan will need to be extra careful on missions from now on."
Hearing this, Uchiha Yujin wanted to complain.
Orochimaru's actions were really because of Itachi.
It wasn't their first encounter within the Akatsuki.
Back when Itachi had shown his genius in the Anbu, Orochimaru had already set his sights on him.
Come to think of it, everything he had gone through was in some way tied to that guy, Itachi.
"Kakashi-sensei, I've been experimenting a little with controlling genjutsu. When I concentrate chakra into my eyes, I feel—"
Before Uchiha Yujin could finish, Kakashi suddenly stiffened.
He looked toward the distant grass and threw two kunai.
Clang!
Sparks flew. Someone was indeed hiding in the grass.
"Not bad, not bad, just as expected!"
As the voice fell, a rough-looking man carrying a large sword leaped out of the grass.
Just one glance at him, and both Kakashi and Uchiha Yujin panicked.
Black cloak. Burning-red clouds.
A member of the legendary Akatsuki?!
But…
Uchiha Yujin furrowed his brow.
Why hadn't he seen this person before?
In over seven hundred episodes of the Naruto anime, had this character appeared?
Then another figure emerged, and Uchiha Yujin instantly activated his Sharingan.
Green eyes, headscarf, a rogue ninja forehead protector from Takigakure, and a mask like Kakashi's.
It was none other than the Akatsuki's finance minister, said to live as long as the world itself, a living fossil of the ninja world—Kakuzu!
Kakuzu?!
Uchiha Yujin immediately formed hand signs with both hands, ready to use the substitution technique.
He hadn't taken the stories seriously about Kakuzu throwing a kunai at Hashirama from eight hundred km away.
At this point in time, Kakuzu's strength was such that among Konoha's jonin, only Might Guy could challenge him one-on-one. The rest wouldn't stand a chance.
By the time of the Shippuden era, Kakashi could already use Obito's Mangekyo to unleash Kamui.
Even with the combined efforts of the Ino–Shika–Chō trio, they hadn't managed to take down Kakuzu.
If it weren't for Yamato arriving with Naruto—who had just learned Wind Release: Rasenshuriken—along with Sakura and Sai forming the new Team Seven, Kakashi and the Ino–Chō duo would most likely have had their hearts ripped out by Kakuzu.
"I never expected to run into the famed Copy Ninja here… Hatake Kakashi."
The rough-looking man beside Kakuzu spoke loudly.
He swung his large blade onto his shoulder and pointed at Kakashi with one hand.
"Hey, Leaf Ninja! What are you two doing here? Hand over your information, and the whereabouts of the Nine-Tails!"
Uchiha Yujin's eyelid twitched as he recognized who this man was.
In the original story, this Akatsuki member had appeared briefly—his name unknown—a minor character killed personally by Kakuzu.
If these two were showing up near the Land of Lightning, there were basically only two reasons.
Either Kakuzu was on a bounty mission.
Or the tailed beast capture mission had already begun.
Either way, for Uchiha Yujin and Kakashi, it was extremely dangerous.
"Hey, Yujin," Kakashi's voice came beside him.
"Run at full speed. If they chase us and we can't shake them off, you take care of the one wearing the mask who doesn't speak."
Uchiha Yujin stiffened, pointing at his own face.
"Huh? Who? Me? Take care of him??"
Before he could finish protesting, the rough-looking man shouted and charged forward!
"Kakashi's head is worth some money, and that little brat beside him is an Uchiha. Kill them both!"
Bang!
The giant blade flew toward Uchiha Yujin and Kakashi.
Without hesitation, Kakashi began forming hand signs, while Uchiha Yujin said nothing and bolted!
He had only taken two steps when he suddenly sensed the rush of air behind him.
His nerves went taut, and his Sharingan flared open!
Through the Sharingan, his vision became extraordinarily clear.
Time seemed to slow, and he could precisely track the trajectory of the shuriken flying toward him.
Without the slightest hesitation, he drew several shuriken from his pouch and flicked his wrist.
The shuriken shot out like arrows from a bow, aiming directly at the shuriken Kakuzu had thrown!
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Sparks flew as metal collided, echoing through the forest.
Uchiha Yujin's shuriken met Kakuzu's in midair, colliding perfectly and altering their flight paths.
The shuriken eventually embedded into nearby tree trunks and the soil—some deep into the wood, others only halfway into the ground.
Kakuzu hadn't expected that dealing with a child wouldn't result in an instant kill.
His anger flared, and he formed hand seals, exhaling toward Uchiha Yujin: "Fire Release: Intelligent Hard Work!"
The destructive power of this jutsu far exceeded a Great Fireball Technique, and Kakuzu didn't intend to waste it on just one target.
Within the range of this technique, it wasn't only Uchiha Yujin who would be affected.
It would also engulf Kakashi and that rough-looking man along with him.
A smile appeared on Kakuzu's face.
Was Kakashi's head valuable, and was the rough man's head different in value?
The difference lay only in where you would go to exchange it for money.
Faced with Kakuzu's high-damage fire jutsu, Uchiha Yujin's Sharingan eyes spun rapidly.
His body reacted instinctively.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!" Uchiha Yujin shouted, quickly gathering chakra.
The moisture in the surrounding air was pulled in rapidly, forming four thick water pillars.
The water pillars rose around him, creating a solid barrier that tightly enclosed him.
The flames of Intelligent Hard Work surged like towering waves, the heat almost setting the air itself on fire.
However, when the flames met Uchiha Yujin's water wall, the water pillars evaporated instantly, hissing as steam spread, forming a layer of white mist.
The Water Formation Wall successfully blocked the extreme heat, protecting Uchiha Yujin from the flames.
Meanwhile, the rough-looking man wasn't so lucky.
He hadn't expected to be attacked by the companion behind him and was instantly engulfed in fire, screaming in pain, his voice filled with agony.
Kakashi, almost simultaneously with Kakuzu's attack, quickly formed hand seals and unleashed his own Water Formation Wall, blocking the flames.
"Yujin! Run! I'll hold him off!"
Realizing the masked man behind them was the real threat, Kakashi didn't hesitate and shouted for Uchiha Yujin to escape.
'Run?'
A fleeting hesitation crossed Uchiha Yujin's face.
But that hesitation was cut short the moment his feathered and tail chakra burst from his body.
"I, Yujin, never abandon my teammates to save myself!"
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
****
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