Kakuzu and Hidan

The air was thick with the pungent smell of fresh blood.

After a not-so-intense battle, I had taken down all three missing-nin. The skinny ninja in black with a lewd look was Body Flicker Technique killed by me, and the other missing-nin in a kimono fell to my water blade. Only the bandaged man who was the leader remained. He wasn't killed, but his hands were pinned to the ground and he was being closely watched by my Ice Clone.

The only reason I spared his life was because I still had questions to ask him.

"I've got everything to say about the Kurogarasu's betrayal!" the bandaged ninja gasped. "I swear, everything I said is true!"

"Hmph... With your strength, I doubt you can accomplish anything significant!" I chuckled lightly.

Of these three missing-nin, the strongest is this bandaged man, who is only at the Jonin level. The other two are Special Jōnin. With such strength, they are more than capable of protecting themselves and making a name for themselves among the nations. But if they wanted to attack the Five Great Nations, they wouldn't have enough lives. Even if they managed to succeed once, the Five Great Nations, needing to save face, would send Anbu to kill them.

Kurogarasu did indeed have thoughts of defecting, but he didn't dare go too far and didn't betray Konoha's important information—he clearly understood that defecting out of dissatisfaction with Konoha and Konoha after being exposed were two different things. If he hid well in the former case, Konoha wouldn't have the time or inclination to send a large force to arrest him; the latter was a matter of life and death. If it weren't for Konoha's need to eliminate a hidden danger—the "crackdown" in the Hokage world—and his guilty conscience leading him to defect first, perhaps he could have kept his dirty deeds a secret from the village forever.

In any case, Kurogarasu is dead. Since his affairs did not involve other Konoha Ninja or harm Konoha's interests, I don't have the time to investigate all the things he did with other missing-nin. In comparison, I am more interested in something else.

"You just now... I have a black market bounty of 5 million taels?" I asked, sitting on a rock to the side, fiddling with the fox mask I had already taken off.

"That's right, we did see your bounty poster at that Bounty Guild nearby. The picture and name are yours!"

Bounty Guild are underground organizations, much like organized crime. They're illegal in the Land of Fire, yet they're ubiquitous. Such shady organizations are difficult to eradicate even within the spheres of influence of the Five Great Nations, and they exist openly in other countries as well. Konoha once resolved to eradicate them completely, but they're like weeds, growing back after being pulled up. In the end, Konoha couldn't do anything about them; as long as they didn't show themselves publicly, they were considered invisible. But for the Bounty Guild to dare post bounty posters for Konoha Ninja within the Land of Fire, they're truly asking for trouble!

"Take me there, and I'll let you go!"

The Ice Clone pulled out the Kunai that had pinned the bandaged missing-nin to the ground. He hesitated for a moment, then said, "You keep your word!" and walked ahead.

We arrived at another town near the border of the Land of Fire. The bandaged ninja stopped and pointed to the tallest building in town, saying, "That's a casino, owned by the Bounty Guild. The Bounty Guild! You wanted to cause trouble there, so this is the only place I can take you!"

"Hmph—afraid I'll implicate you?" I walked past the missing-nin and approached the town. "Fine, this is enough. You can get lost!"

Although letting the enemy go like this might seem a bit ruthless, I won't break my promise since I've already made it. A ninja as insignificant as him won't become a major enemy in the future, so what's wrong with letting him go? However, standing in front of him without any defenses, perhaps he really will have the courage to ambush me? If that's the case, then I can kill him without any qualms!

Come on, ambush me! I thought to myself, "Weren't you just defiant? Didn't you feel ashamed to lose to a ninja like me? Now you're standing right in front of me, completely defenseless. This is the perfect opportunity to attack me!"

Unfortunately, I sensed that he hesitated for a long time, and although he wanted to make a move several times, he held back and finally left silently.

Ignoring that missing-nin, knowing I might never see him again in this lifetime, I walked alone downstairs to the casino.

The opulent buildings, the cacophony of noise, and the dense crowds made it hard to believe this was the secret hideout of the Bounty Guild. I suspect that running a casino is far more lucrative than being a bounty broker!

Just as I was silently grumbling to myself, the casino doors suddenly opened, and two tall figures walked out.

The black cloak with red clouds, the black nail polish on their hands—I was startled. This was Akatsuki's attire! These two people... were members of Akatsuki!

Oh no... these might be two Kage Level ninjas! They concealed their Chakra fluctuations so well that I didn't even notice them at such close range! Now that we're standing face to face, I realize the surging Chakra emanating from them, especially the masked man, who gives me the feeling of a ferocious beast lurking in the darkness!

"Konoha Ninja..." The blond man with slicked-back hair noticed my strange behavior, glanced at me, and said disdainfully, "You actually came to the Bounty Guild?"

"This is none of your business... Get out of my way!" I said coldly.

"Wait..." Another ninja, wearing a mask and carrying a suitcase, suddenly pulled out a notebook, flipped to a page, and stopped me. "You're Sakura Haruno, aren't you!"

I suddenly regretted taking off the mask earlier.

"That's right... I am! Wearing such obviously strange clothes, you must be from Akatsuki! What, want to fight?"

"Kakuzu, stop wasting time! We're not here to fight! Let's go!" the blond man said impatiently. He carried a strange weapon on his back, which looked a bit like a scythe, except that a scythe only has one blade, while his weapon had three blades. There was also a rope at the end of the weapon connected to his wrist, suggesting that he was a Taijutsu -type ninja.

"Don't rush, Hidan... he's worth 5 million yen after all!" Kakuzu put away his notebook. "Besides, taking her down will also avenge Kisame!"

Hearing them mention Kisame confirmed my suspicion that they were indeed members of Akatsuki. More importantly, they had obtained information about my Ninjutsu, while I knew nothing about them! Fighting them like this would be a huge disadvantage! However, this battle was unavoidable. Even if I couldn't win, obtaining information about them was crucial! Besides, I was much stronger than when I fought Kisame last time!

"There are too many people here... Let's find another place!" Using my Monstrous Strength Technique, I Body Flicker Technique moved away, with Hidan and Kakuzu following closely behind.

"Alright, how much further do you want to go!" After walking for a while, Hidan said impatiently, "Kakuzu, I have no interest in this boring battle. You can have it all!"

Hidan seems to have a bit of a temper, and he was the one who first suggested not participating in the fight. Whether they are confident or overconfident, it would be much easier for me if it were just a 1v1!

"You don't need to lift a finger, I can handle it myself! Can you help me with the box?" Kakuzu said, his cold eyes staring at me without any emotion. A deep, oppressive killing intent emanated from him, and I felt there was an inexplicable stench of decay about him!

"Alright, let's begin...!" Facing Kage Level enemy, I felt both excited and nervous. This was a battle without support, so I couldn't afford to be careless, or I would truly die here!

Lightning Release: False Darkness!

A large amount of Chakra condensed at Kakuzu's mouth, forming a blinding bolt of lightning that shot towards me. The surging lightning was so powerful that it sent chills down my spine just by getting close!

What powerful Ninjutsu!

An insulating water shield formed from Ultra-Pure Water blocked the Lightning Release. The enormous electrical energy had nowhere to dissipate and could only be converted into heat energy, which literally boiled the water shield. Half of the thick water shield was also evaporated!

Water Release: Wind Cutter Water Blade!

As Kakuzu launched his attack, I also completed my Ninjutsu. However, the direction my water blade was aimed at was not Kakuzu, the enemy in front of me, but Hidan, who was standing aside idly watching the Hidan!

The high-pressure water jet shot out straight at five times the speed of sound, piercing through Hidan's unsuspecting heart. Sharp wind-style Chakra followed the water flow into Hidan's body, quickly cutting open and widening the wound, shattering Hidan's heart in an instant!

Seeing Hidan fall to the ground, I breathed a huge sigh of relief. Although I'm not afraid of Taijutsu -type ninjas, the Akatsuki members use very strange techniques. Being able to take one down first greatly reduced the pressure on me!

"He actually took advantage of the battle to ambush the unsuspecting Hidan!" Kakuzu didn't seem saddened at all by his comrade's death. When he saw Hidan fall to the ground, he just said something indifferent and then stopped caring. Perhaps it's because missing-nin are always wary of each other and have no feelings for one another!

"That water shield just now, was that Kisame's incredibly powerful defensive Ninjutsu?" Kakuzu seemed to be talking to himself, yet also asking me. Before I could say anything, Kakuzu swiftly Hand Seals, and the next wave of attack arrived—

Fire Style: Searing Migraine!

Ice Release: Ice Barrier!

Kakuzu's breath, a single flame, swelled in the wind after it left his mouth, instantly turning into a raging inferno. Burning fiercely, it rushed forward with boundless heat and crashed headlong into the thick ice wall that was still emitting a chilling aura!

Boom--!

Even the mighty flames couldn't melt the thick ice wall formed by condensed Ice Release Chakra! Learning the techniques from Zibai made me no longer troubled by Fire Style, and Ice Release could greatly counter the high temperature of Fire Style! With Ice Release on the outside and Azure Water Release on the inside, I could block almost all damage, forming a perfect defense!

Kakuzu frowned and, taking advantage of the still-burning fire, unleashed a new technique!

"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"

Crack! The ice wall was shattered by the wind! The remaining flames, propelled by the wind, surged towards me. The Azure Water Release defense crumbled under the intense heat of the flames, turning into invisible steam. The so-called perfect defense was instantly destroyed!

He unleashed three powerful Ninjutsu in succession. These difficult and powerful techniques require at least the right Chakra nature to execute, meaning Kakuzu has developed at least three basic Chakra natures. This guy must be Ninjutsu -type ninja!

Since he's a ninja who uses Ninjutsu, let's try close combat!

Ice Release: Ice Mirror Body Flicker Technique!

I never fully mastered the White Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals. On the contrary, I gained a lot of experience in traversing between single mirrors. In the end, I modified this technique into an Ice Body Flicker Technique. This Release Techniques, which is accomplished by traversing mirrors, is a Release Techniques that simply pursues the speed of Body Flicker Technique!

I conjured an ice mirror behind Kakuzu, paused, and the ice mirror that had been embedded in my feet emerged from behind Kakuzu. Using the explosive force from the Monstrous Strength Technique, I thrust my kunai Kunai into Kakuzu's heart!

Bang--!

Kakuzu suddenly turned around, and his hands were suddenly severed below the wrists, leaving only dozens of black lines connecting the two ends. They shot towards me like missiles, trying to grab my shoulders, but were firmly blocked by two water shields!

My final counterattack was blocked by the Azure Water Release, and the ice Kunai I held, imbued with wind -Nature Transformation, pierced through Kakuzu's heart!

Despite Kakuzu's efforts to harden his skin with Earth Release at the last moment, he couldn't withstand the sharp Wind Chakra, and a large hole was pierced through his heart!

It's over!

I just took down two Kage Level powerhouses like that!

A slight upturn at the corners of my lips made me burst into laughter!

But... why do I feel like something's not quite right?

[Let's try a 500-word chapter. I'll try to update two 500-word chapters tomorrow.]