Flame Demon Descends

"What a helpless look in your eyes. You could have won, you know, with that incredible Kekkei Genkai of yours. What a pity..." Kakuzu looked at the brat beneath his foot and actually felt a little reluctant. Was a genius ninja so young really going to meet his end at my hands? Honestly, that's the tragedy of the ninja world. The old are always burying the young. If a genius like you had stayed in your village and grown up steadily, you would have become another Kage Level powerhouse someday. What a pity.

"A pity about what... cough... cough..." Issui asked hurriedly, as though he had grasped a life-saving herb. But he spoke too quickly and coughed up two more mouthfuls of blood.

"A pity that I lied to you, and a pity that you fell for it. It's true that you made a mistake in using your Ninjutsu, but only with that last Lightning Release Ninjutsu. Your performance before that was pure genius, as exemplary as a case from a ninja textbook. If I didn't have several hearts, you might have killed me. But because you lacked battlefield experience, I easily broke through your mental defenses. Otherwise, even if you couldn't beat me, you could have escaped. If I'm not mistaken, that must have been your first time killing someone, and your mental state still hadn't completely stabilized." Kakuzu's voice was full of mockery.

"You... you lied to me. It wasn't because of the Ninjutsu I used!!!" Issui said angrily.

"That's right. Haha, are you angry? Ninja are supposed to be tools without feelings, but killing a few people left you mentally shaken. How utterly stupid!!!" Kakuzu laughed. "And on the battlefield, never believe anything an enemy says. It's all lies!!!"

"No, I'll never agree with that! Ninja aren't tools. How can a ninja without feelings be a person?!" Issui vehemently rejected Kakuzu's words.

"Tch, that's the cruel ninja world for you. You're too naive. Let me kill you, you little fool. Ninja exist as tools!!!" Kakuzu truly couldn't understand Issui's thinking. Ninja were tools to begin with, so what did they need feelings for? Honestly, what a stupid brat.

"No, I can't die. I still have something important to protect..." Issui struggled, trying to stand.

"Hmph, you're only clinging to your last breath. Die, naive brat!!!" Kakuzu planted a foot on Issui, pinning him to the ground, and pulled out a Shuriken to stab at his throat...

Just then, a bizarre sight appeared. Dark red flames erupted from Issui's third eye!!!

"I can't die at the hands of someone like you. I have to live, live to tell you that in this... world... ninja... need... feelings... Aaaah!!!" Issui didn't know where the strength came from, but he grabbed one of Kakuzu's feet and sent him flying...

"Cough, brat, where did you get that strength?" Kakuzu flew backward, knocking down several large trees before he came to a stop. What kind of strength is that? Even a Tailed Beast isn't much stronger than this!!!

"Eye of Heaven: Flame: Flame Demon Descends!!!" Issui shouted fiercely, and a strange sight appeared. Dark red flames enveloped his entire body, transforming him into a flame demon. The armor of flame formed from Chakra stood a full fifteen meters tall, but that wasn't the frightening part. The most frightening thing was... everything that came within half a meter of him vanished. Yes, vanished, burned to ash in an instant by the flames' extreme heat.

"Th-this is... what the hell... is that thing?!" Kakuzu felt he hadn't been this terrified even when fighting Hashirama Senju. Still, it's at most about as strong as a Tailed Beast. This must be his Kekkei Genkai. What a powerful bloodline. I can't underestimate this brat. It's all my damned mouth's fault for provoking his anger. Damn, how unlucky can I get? From the look of things, my two remaining hearts are probably done for. I might even lose my life.

"Flame Demon Purgatory-Slash!!!" Issui was burning with rage. He raised his right hand and clenched it, and an enormous greatsword made of flames appeared in the flame giant's hand. Then he swung his clenched right hand in Kakuzu's direction.

"Boom... boom... boom..." Everything in the greatsword's path turned to ash, and the trees on either side were ripped from the ground by the towering flames. A huge crater appeared, about one zhang wide, five meters deep, and ten meters long. At its very bottom lay two shattered masks, while Kakuzu was nowhere to be seen.

At that moment, the flame giant abruptly vanished. Issui, who had been at its center, had a vacant look in his eyes. His whole body went limp, and he slowly collapsed. The surroundings returned to silence beneath the darkness.

"Cough, cough, cough. I never thought I'd still be badly injured after sacrificing two hearts. If I go back like this, those brats will laugh themselves to death, won't they? Damn Konoha brats, every fucking one of them is a monster. I could curse someone's mother. He was clearly at the end of his rope, and then he suddenly unleashed that burst of power. Damn it, I'd better hurry back. Otherwise, any ninja who happens along could kill me. It's too dangerous out here." Kakuzu crawled out of the bushes, most of his clothes burned away.

Kakuzu carefully watched his surroundings with every step. At a time like this, one careless move could cost him his life. After traveling swiftly for half a day, he finally reached the barrier around a base and entered after confirming his identity. Kakuzu could hold on no longer and collapsed without any regard for appearances.

"Yo, isn't that Uncle Kakuzu? Why do you look like a dead dog?" Deidara said mockingly when he saw Kakuzu lying on the ground.

"Shut up! Are you looking to die? Your head seems to be worth quite a bit too. If I weren't badly injured, I'd take it in for the bounty!" Kakuzu was furious. Brats these days were all insufferable, without a shred of respect for their seniors.

"All right, Kakuzu, didn't I send you out to gather some subordinates? How did you get so badly hurt? Aside from the people in our organization and the Five Kage, who else in this world could injure you like this?" Pain asked.

Everyone fell silent...

"I'm not afraid of you laughing at me. It was a brat not even ten years old. Pah..." Kakuzu said angrily, a trace of shame on his face.

"What?!" Everyone, including Pain, was shocked.

"Which ninja village is he from?" Pain asked.

"Konoha. Damn it, Konoha keeps producing monsters. His name is Issui Kanna. Itachi, do you know him?" Kakuzu asked Uchiha Itachi.

"I know a little about him. I heard he had the bloodline of a descendant of the gods. After his village was destroyed, he joined Konoha's Hyuga Clan. I never expected him to have grown to this extent. I didn't pay him much attention when I was in the village..." Itachi was astonished. That child said, 'Without understanding how to be weak, it's hard to understand how to be strong.' I never expected him to have grown to this extent. He isn't much weaker than me. Sasuke, my little brother, you need to grow stronger quickly.

"Mm. Give us a brief account of what happened," Pain said.

"Actually, that child wasn't so powerful to begin with. It's all my damned mouth's fault. Just as I was about to kill him, I said, 'Ninja are supposed to be tools without feelings, but killing a few people left you mentally shaken. How utterly stupid.' After that, who knows where the kid got his strength? He unleashed an enormous burst of power in an instant, actually materializing fire-attribute Chakra around himself to become a terrifying flame giant about fifteen meters tall. He hit me just once with a greatsword formed of flames, and I ended up like this. If I hadn't sacrificed two hearts, I'd have been reduced to ash. The kid actually told me ninja need feelings. Tell me, isn't he an idiot? A ninja is a ninja. What do we need feelings for? Honestly, I hate losing like this. I was actually taught a lesson by a kid. Could I be wrong? But ninja exist as tools in the first place," Kakuzu said gloomily.

Everyone hesitated. Yes, did ninja need feelings?

"All right, stop dwelling on it. Kakuzu, analyze his abilities for everyone. Then we'll have a way to deal with him if we encounter him in the future," Pain said, interrupting everyone's thoughts.

"All right. That kid is too strange, so I'll only tell you what I was able to figure out. The brat has a Kekkei Genkai: a third eye in the exact center of his forehead. There are two stages we know of at present. First, the first stage is somewhat like the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan. The eyeball is white, but it can create a Chakra-sealing field with the user at its center and a radius of about fifteen meters. Within this field, no matter what level of ninja you are, you can't use any of the five elemental Ninjutsu. Otherwise, the Chakra in your body will go violently out of control. The stronger the Ninjutsu, the more violent the disruption. The rampaging Chakra will explode inside your body, and using a B-rank Ninjutsu or above can kill you. Its weakness is that it can't seal Genjutsu, secret techniques, or Kekkei Genkai, and everything returns to normal as soon as you leave the field.

"Second, the second stage is simply an inhuman power. The third eye changes, turning red and giving off dark red flames. He can use a secret technique that surrounds him with solid dark red fire-attribute Chakra, forming a flame giant. This flame giant can use a skill called Flame Demon Purgatory Slash. It's extraordinarily powerful, and when he activates it, he casts a binding technique on you. You can't dodge it; you can only withstand it. That's the move that defeated me.

"One more thing I should mention: I suspect his Kekkei Genkai can slowly restore his Chakra during a fight!!! No matter how much of a genius he is, he's still a child. He couldn't possibly use Chakra so freely and without restraint otherwise. His Chakra reserves are enough to rival a Jonin's." Kakuzu truly deserved to be called an old monster. He had analyzed those combat abilities so clearly!!!

"It seems he's a potentially formidable enemy. If he grows up, he'll be trouble. This Kekkei Genkai is too powerful. Once it develops, I expect it won't be inferior to the Rinnegan. It seems legends aren't entirely untrustworthy after all. The Eye of Heaven... he really is a ninja with tremendous potential. Kakuzu, do you think there's any chance we could recruit him?" Pain said.

"To tell the truth, that brat isn't like any of us. I don't know how he became a ninja, but he actually thinks ninja need feelings. Even if we recruited him, he'd only hold us back," Kakuzu said helplessly, waving a hand.

"All right, in that case, if you encounter him in the future and have the ability, kill him outright. Still, there's no need to worry too much. He isn't enough to become a serious threat to us yet. Focus on advancing our organization's great cause. Once the organization has developed to a certain point, we'll set about taking control of the entire ninja world," Pain said calmly.