Hiruzen said, "That's enough for today, Danzo. You should hurry and have a medical ninja examine you, lest you suffer any lingering after-effects."
It was only then that Danzo felt waves of sharp pain emanating from his body.
He had been beaten so badly earlier that he felt his waist was about to break. If nothing unexpected happened, he would be bedridden for a while.
He endured the pain and walked out of the Hokage Building, slowly making his way to Root.
After circling a few times, he returned to his resting room and then collapsed onto the bed with a thud. The exhaustion of the past few days surged over him like a tide, as if draining all his strength.
He closed his eyes, carefully recalling everything that happened when he encountered Kakuzu.
Of course, he wasn't thinking about who hired Kakuzu. He was worried that someone might return to Konoha alive and expose the whole affair.
Where would he put his face then?
"For the greater good, your deaths were not in vain."
Danzo summoned a few subordinates and gave them the mission to silence the witnesses.
It turned out Danzo was worrying a bit too much. None of those ninjas returned alive, they were all thoroughly killed by Kakuzu. He even conveniently packaged the bodies and took them back to the bounty station.
Kakuzu asked, "Among these targets, wasn't there a single valuable one?"
A bald man looked disdainfully at the bodies on the ground and said, "Don't bring these worthless things here anymore. This isn't a junkyard."
Kakuzu was furious at these words.
Damn it.
He didn't earn twenty million, and the bodies he painstakingly brought back weren't worth a single penny. This was even more unbearable than being killed.
Kakuzu was very angry. He really wanted to kill someone.
Filled with various angry emotions, he left the bounty station.
In a deserted corner, he met Zetsu.
Kakuzu said softly, "Mission failed, Orochimaru escaped."
"Don't worry too much. I believe the next time you encounter Orochimaru, you will definitely kill him."
"Of course. I was just careless for a moment."
He clenched his fist and said, "Since the target is in the Land of Fire, I might as well kill a few more targets. They are very valuable."
—
In a dark, damp base, Orochimaru slithered out from an unknown corner.
He was alive again!
"What an impolite fellow, wanting to kill someone at the slightest disagreement." Orochimaru licked his lips, his words laced with sarcasm.
"What a pity he's a fool with courage but no strategy. He thinks he can completely kill me with these methods? That's just wishful thinking."
After mocking Kakuzu, Orochimaru felt another wave of irritation. More and more people in the Ninja World wanted to kill him. He didn't know what was wrong with these idiots, always blaming him for everything.
Couldn't they think about his notoriously evil friend?
Speaking of Danzo, Orochimaru licked his lips.
His friend was becoming less and less reliable, he needed to find a new partner soon.
—
The Land of Fire has not been peaceful these past few days.
The bounty hunter Kakuzu has been killing like crazy, and several elite ninjas have already died by his hand. This enraged the Daimyo.
What kind of nonsense is this? Running wild within the Land of Fire?
He assigned the task of eliminating Kakuzu to Konoha.
On the rooftop, Hiruzen looked at the ninjas before him.
"Kakuzu is an extremely dangerous opponent. Do not act rashly when you encounter him. Send out a signal as soon as possible and wait for your comrades to arrive."
"Understood?"
"Understood."
"Dismissed."
Swish... Swish... Swish...
The figures of Konoha's Jonin instantly vanished.
Hiruzen asked, "Itachi, how is the Mizukage's situation?"
Itachi calmly answered, "Everything is normal. According to instructions, he is being protected by rotating shifts 24 hours a day, and his outings are also being minimized."
Hiruzen took a puff from his pipe, his gaze falling upon the masked genius. He was quite satisfied with Itachi's performance during this period.
"Peace is hard-won, we all must cherish it."
"I understand, Hokage-sama."
Hiruzen waved his hand, and Itachi disappeared into the shadows.
"The Uchiha clan has produced many geniuses over the years."
"Shisui, Itachi, Satoshi."
"If all of them stood with Konoha, then I would be at ease."
—
Outside Konoha.
Asuma took a deep drag from his cigarette. He exhaled a long smoke ring, and the grayish-white smoke twisted as it ascended.
"Cough, cough, cough..." Kurenai frowned, waving her hand to disperse the choking smoke in front of her.
"Smoke less, Asuma. I feel like I'm standing next to a chimney."
Her crimson eyes swept across the deep forest around them, a subtle flicker of alertness passing through her gaze.
Asuma twitched his lips. "Tomorrow. I'll quit smoking starting tomorrow."
Kurenai glared at Asuma, she had heard those two words, "quit smoking," for countless years.
He didn't learn any other skills from his father except smoking.
Kurenai's lips moved slightly, and she couldn't help but want to grumble a few more words.
The next second, her pupils suddenly contracted.
Her body instantly tensed, her gaze fixed on the deep shadows of the forest behind Asuma's side.
Asuma noticed the anomaly almost simultaneously. He furrowed his brow and sharply turned around.
Following Kurenai's startled gaze, he saw a figure wrapped in a wide, black trench coat standing beside an ancient tree. By those glowing green eyes, Asuma recognized his identity.
"Kakuzu."
Kakuzu slowly spoke, "Heh. Asuma, the Hokage's son."
"It seems my luck is quite good. Your head is worth thirty-five million ryo in the underground exchange."
Asuma subtly stepped forward, shielding Kurenai behind him. He deliberately lowered his voice. "I'll handle this."
Before he finished speaking, Asuma fiercely flicked the burning cigarette butt in his hand towards Kakuzu's face. At the same time, he quickly formed hand signs.
Wind Release: Dust Cloud Technique.
A fierce gust of wind erupted from Asuma's mouth, instantly stirring up the thick dead leaves and dust on the ground. It formed a hazy, hot, granular dust storm that rushed straight at Kakuzu's face.
"A mere parlor trick."
Under Kakuzu's wide black robe, an arm suddenly lifted. His skin bizarrely swelled and tore, and countless Chakra-infused tentacles, like black snakes, shot out fiercely. They precisely pierced through the dust screen, letting out a piercing shriek as they lunged for Asuma's vital points.
Asuma's eyes sharpened. Chakra instantly covered his legs, and his body transformed into a blurry afterimage. He narrowly dodged the eerie black hands.
Asuma tightly gripped his Chakra Blades, infusing them with a large amount of Chakra, instantly generating two blue-glowing Chakra Twin Blades.
The Chakra Blade cut out a sharp, azure arc, fiercely slashing towards Kakuzu's neck.
Clang!
Kakuzu raised his arm to block, and the moment his thick arm touched the blade, his skin suddenly became as hard as rock. The slash only left a shallow white mark.
Earth Release: Earth Spear.
Asuma's heart tightened.
Such strong defense.
"Is this all the Hokage's son can do?"
A hint of mockery flashed in Kakuzu's eyes, and another tentacle, lurking on the ground, sprang up silently like a venomous snake, stabbing at Asuma's back.
In the nick of time, Asuma twisted and leaped sideways, the tip of the tentacle grazing his ribs.
Before Asuma could even sigh in relief, Kakuzu's hoarse voice sounded again.
"Fire Release: Searing Migraine!"
A monstrous head embedded with a grotesque mask emerged, the mask engraved with twisted flame patterns.
The monster opened its mouth, and an unimaginably scorching torrent surged out.
With a terrifying aura that could incinerate everything, it blasted towards the unbalanced Asuma like a giant lava cannon. At the same time, tentacles that appeared from nowhere fiercely wrapped around Asuma, locking him firmly in place.
"Tsk, this is trouble."