[Those who answered correctly receive rewards]
[Obito Uchiha: Wood Release Chakra awarded]
[Rin Nohara: Strength of a Hundred Technique awarded]
[Minato Namikaze: Uzumaki Clan constitution awarded]
[Kakuzu: one hundred million silver ryō awarded]
[Yahiko: Jonin-level Chakra awarded]
[Tsunade: hemophobia cured]
[Orochimaru: five years of life awarded]
With a beep, the Inventory System granted the rewards to those who had answered correctly.
[Orochimaru: Interesting. It can actually grant life directly.]
Orochimaru licked the corner of his mouth, his face fervent. Nothing held greater appeal to him than immortality, and he had already begun researching Hashirama Cells.
Tsunade was equally incredulous when she saw the reward from the Inventory System. She had never expected the hemophobia that had plagued her for years to be cured.
Tsunade turned to Shizune. "Shizune, cut my arm."
Tsunade still couldn't believe the Inventory System had cured her, so she had Shizune do it.
Tsunade held out her snow-white arm and let Shizune cut it.
Bright red blood ran down her arm, but Tsunade felt no fear.
A thought suddenly struck Tsunade. Didn't that mean the Inventory System really could bring the dead back to life? By this time, she had left the village because of her hemophobia, taking only Dan's niece, Shizune Katō, with her.
If this was true, Tsunade was suddenly filled with hope for life. She had to bring her younger brother and Dan back.
Having made up her mind, Tsunade immediately gave Shizune instructions, and the two prepared to return to Konoha at once.
[Now playing the highlights of the bounty hunter—Kakuzu]
People throughout the Shinobi World began to look forward to it. They wanted to see this ninja from eight hundred meters away—no, they wanted to see Kakuzu, the man known as the bounty hunter.
[In the scene, Kakuzu was bringing Hidan to a temple.]
Everyone recognized it at a glance as the Fire Temple in the Land of Fire. But they had never heard of any powerful figures at the temple.
People at this time still didn't know about Chiriku of the Fire Temple. After all, he was probably only a little older than Obito right now.
[Hidan called out casually, "Hey, Kakuzu, isn't this just a temple? Is it really in here?"
Kakuzu replied, "I don't know, but this is no ordinary temple. There's a good chance it is."
Kakuzu and Hidan were under orders to capture a Tailed Beast. Poor Hidan still had no idea Kakuzu had come here solely for the thirty-million-ryō bounty.
Unaware of that, Hidan thought there was a Tailed Beast here and excitedly prepared to make his move.
The two came to the gate and found that a Sealing Jutsu had been placed on it. Unless someone inside opened it, forcing their way in from outside would take considerable effort.
To Hidan's surprise, Kakuzu swung a fist and smashed the gate apart, completely unaffected.
The deafening crash also alerted the monks training hard inside the temple. The monks here did more than chant sutras and meditate; Buddhism had its wrathful vajras too.
The monks came out to see what was happening, while others went to report to Chiriku, the head monk of the Fire Temple.
Then they got a clear look at the intruders.
"Those cloaks—there's no mistake. They're the Akatsuki." One of the monks seemed to recognize their clothing.
The other monks were shocked to hear the name Akatsuki. They hadn't expected to provoke such people.
[Mei Terumi: Say, Kakuzu, have you heard of this Akatsuki? Why do those monks look so scared?]
[Kakuzu: You're asking me? How would I know? As far as I'm concerned, no Akatsuki is anywhere near as important as money.]
[Yahiko: Hey, the Akatsuki is a peace-loving organization. I won't allow you to talk about us like that.]
[Mei Terumi: Peace-loving? Looks more like you love blasting people to pieces.]
Mei Terumi's words left Yahiko speechless. Kakuzu and his partner had already begun slaughtering everyone in the scene, killing anyone they saw without considering anything else.
["Stop!"
A monk dressed like a head monk finally arrived.
Looking at the corpses strewn across the ground, Chiriku could no longer suppress his anger, despite his devotion to the Buddha.
When Kakuzu saw that his target had finally appeared, he stopped pursuing the ordinary monks.
"You two have come to my Fire Temple and slaughtered its people. If you cannot give us a reasonable explanation today, I'm afraid neither of you will leave the Fire Temple," Chiriku said grimly.
"According to legend, monks can use a special power called the Sage Body, especially Chiriku, the head monk of the Fire Temple, who has a bounty of thirty million on his head," Kakuzu told Hidan.
"Don't underestimate him. You'll die," Kakuzu warned.
But Hidan paid no attention. I'm immortal. What good is telling me that?
Without another word, Hidan charged straight at him with his scythe.
Chiriku took his stance, his expression grave. Behind him appeared a Thousand-Armed Kannon similar to Hashirama Senju's Sage Art: Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands.
However, this Thousand-Armed Kannon looked more like a being formed from the Sage Body's power, and there was a certain difference between it and the True Several Thousand Hands Hashirama created with Wood Release.
Hidan didn't care. He swung his scythe straight at Chiriku's head.
Before Hidan could see it, the Thousand-Armed Kannon struck with punch after punch. Caught off guard, Hidan was pounded repeatedly, and the moment he got back up, he was sent flying again.
"Wrathful Vajra!"
Chiriku shouted, and the Kannon instantly entered a wrathful state and became a Wisdom King. Its red Chakra fists then attacked Hidan nonstop.
Hidan was beaten so relentlessly in midair that he couldn't come down. Chiriku's final blow sent him flying.
Hidan was now black and blue.
Hidan finally understood that the man before him was no Jinchūriki. Kakuzu was clearly after the bounty on his head.
"Hey, Kakuzu, this guy clearly isn't a Jinchūriki!"
Before Hidan could begin to complain, Kakuzu entered Earth Grudge Fear Mode.
Kakuzu fused the Fire Style mask monster and the Wind Release mask monster into his shoulders and bound Chiriku with black threads.
He then aimed at Chiriku and fired Fire Style: Searing Migraine and Wind Release: Pressure Damage.
A vast sea of flames poured from the mouth of the Earth Grudge Fear Fire Style mask monster, instantly spreading upon hitting the ground. Unable to dodge, Chiriku could only transform into his Wisdom King form to resist Kakuzu's Fire Style.
At the same time, a high-pressure sphere of wind emerged from the mouth of the other mask, the Wind Release mask. The swirling gale it created battered Chiriku, leaving his body covered in wounds in an instant.
[Ōnoki: This Kakuzu can actually use two enormously powerful Ninjutsu at the same time.]
[Minato Namikaze: If I'm not mistaken, the key should be the masks on his shoulders. He can use those two masks to release their corresponding Ninjutsu.]
[Kakuzu: As expected of Konoha's Yellow Flash. This is Takigakure's unique secret technique, Earth Grudge Fear.]
Earth Grudge Fear could preserve the still-beating hearts stolen from ninja within the user's body to extend the user's life, while also allowing the user to acquire new Chakra natures through the meridians on those hearts.
Each heart Kakuzu stole possessed a Chakra nature, allowing him to freely use all five Chakra nature transformations and bring out the maximum power of each one. The mask monsters created through Earth Grudge Fear could release these techniques individually or combine them to increase their power.