To Worship at the Temple, You Must First Pass Through the Mountain Gate
As the most dedicated employee in the Northern Lands and a favorite of the boss, Kakuzu has very flexible working hours.
He can go to work when he wants and sleep when he doesn't; nobody can control him.
But Kakuzu a man who, just thinking about the mountains of banknotes piled up in his office waiting for him to count, makes him want to go to work, and he even cuts his sleep time further and further.
For such a conscientious and proactive employee who works overtime, Orochimaru owes him an outstanding employee award. He is definitely the Northern Lands Model Worker next year!
Kakuzu, who had just finished tallying today's income in his office, was planning to have another can of Golden Spring Beer before going to sleep, but the sudden appearance of unfamiliar Chakra on the rooftop set off alarm bells for him.
His perception is quite sharp, and the rooftop isn't far from him; his office is on the 24th floor.
The 25th floor above belongs to another cadre. Pakura usually comes here to check the accounts or hold meetings, and Orochimaru also comes here occasionally.
It's the dead of night now, and he knows perfectly well whether anyone is upstairs or not. Besides, what kind of place is the rooftop? It's also a vital location in the Northern Lands.
Only cadres like them could get to the rooftop, mostly when there was an enemy invasion.
Two unfamiliar Chakra auras suddenly appeared on the rooftop, and even the slow-witted Kakuzu realized that something was amiss.
"It's not summer now, who the hell would stay up all night to go to the rooftop to look at the stars?"
Without Kakuzu thought, Kakuzu rushed out the window and used the momentum to flip himself to the top floor.
The two people who were enjoying the breeze on the rooftop had no idea that their whereabouts would be exposed so quickly. Were the other party so vigilant?
It's unbelievable that Kakuzu was counting money until Kakuzu. They were just unlucky. Who would have thought that Kakuzu was the last line of defense in the Northern Lands?
If Orochimaru knew what the two of them were thinking, he would definitely appreciate their work. Traitors really do like to meet on the rooftop!
"Intruders! Who are these random Tom, Dick, and Harry coming from again!"
It's like drinking Golden Spring Beer and beating up cats and dogs! Even Kakuzu was supposed to be sleeping, has to force himself to work overtime...
Kakuzu stared at Obito and Zetsu with gleaming eyes. He was furious. They were already working so hard, and now they were making these workaholics work overtime... He wouldn't be able to sleep well until he killed the two of them!
Obito and the other person opposite were also sizing up Kakuzu.
One was dressed in a black robe with red clouds, and the other in a white robe with yellow pythons; both suggested that the other was not a person of ordinary status.
"Our whereabouts were exposed so quickly; it seems we were careless!"
"Zetsu said in a hoarse voice, but neither of them panicked at all. Assessing the strength of the Northern Lands ninjas and the village's mobility could also serve as a test."
Without any hesitation, he tore off his robe, and the Earth Grudge Fear behind him scattered.
Soon after, monsters wearing masks with the characters for "thunder" and "fire" appeared on both sides.
Using the Earth Grudge Fear, Kakuzu's perception immediately increased dramatically. The reason he immediately launched into a fierce attack was because, in his perception, the two people's Chakra was sometimes strong and sometimes erratic, making him somewhat unsure of their strength.
Since we're unsure, let's just unleash our ultimate move and get right to it!
"To enter a temple and worship Buddha, one must first pass through the mountain gate; to enter the Northern Lands, one must ask Kakuzu!"
Lightning Release: False Darkness
Fire Release: Searing Migraine
The next moment, two ninjutsu attacks, both of which were area-of-effect damage, were launched at Obito and Zetsu.
Although he had drunk some alcohol, he wasn't so confused as to forget where he was.
If Wind Release or Earth Release ninjutsu were used, the roof would probably be blown off. Moreover, such obvious lightning and fire would be most noticeable in the dark night, and the patrolling ninjas nearby would surely notice it quickly.
Faced with the sizzling lightning spear and the raging sea of fire, Obito and Zetsu did not take the hit head-on.
Obito's figure vanished instantly, and when he reappeared, he was already on the fence at the corner of the wall, with Zetsu peeking out beside him.
"Leave this to me, you go and check the other places!"
As he spoke, a lightning spear pierced through his body, but he didn't care at all.
Without pausing, he remained confident in Obito's strength, disappearing into the ground before Kakuzu's attack arrived.
Kakuzu could only watch helplessly as his opponent disappeared again. The opponent's ability was too strange, and with insufficient information, he could only probe first.
He shifted his attention away from Zetsu, his vigilance undiminished, and then looked at Obito.
"Huh? I clearly hit him, so why is he completely unharmed?"
While Kakuzu was manipulating the two masked monsters to keep attacking, Obito was also sizing up Kakuzu.
Now that he's been exposed, his task is to stall the enemy and gather as much intelligence as possible. He can leave the rest to Jue.
"Space-Time Ninjutsu? I don't believe you can maintain this state indefinitely!"
Kakuzu has lived a long life, has seen a lot, not to mention there's a little guy in the village who's practicing the Flying Thunder God.
As soon as he finished speaking, a large clump of threads burst forth from behind Kakuzu, densely entwining into three masked monsters.
When faced with Kakuzu's attacks, Obito mostly chose to dodge and had no intention of making a move.
Who told him to encounter Kakuzu, and even choose to Kakuzu one-on-one? Doesn't he know that there's a group of people named Kakuzu?
To hurt Kakuzu, you either have to jump over the five masked monsters in front of you or keep them occupied.
Otherwise, even if he possesses Space-Time Ninjutsu, he would be ganged up on by six people if he showed the slightest weakness.
"What a troublesome fellow! I never expected there to be such a powerful figure in the Northern Lands..."
The cold words came from beneath the mask, while simultaneously dodging an attack.
He chooses to dodge attacks that he could easily avoid, because his invisibility has a cooldown period and can only be partially invisible, meaning he can only invisibly infiltrate the part of the body that will be attacked.
Even so, it still consumed a lot of his eye power. In addition, he didn't want to expose his abilities too much at the moment, otherwise he wouldn't have just dodged without attacking.
Don't let the fighting escalate to the point where you've not only gathered intelligence on the enemy but also revealed most of your own situation to them...
The commotion on the rooftop naturally did not escape the notice of the patrolling ninjas, who immediately headed towards the Northern Land Tower.
The first to rush there were members of the Military Police Force, and the village keeper Zabuza Kubikiribōchō.
"They're actually fighting on the rooftop? What's Kakuzu up to?"
Although he was complaining, he knew that things were not simple. When he got downstairs, he saw a firework rising in the sky, which was the signal that Kakuzu had sent out when he had a spare moment.
Although the ninjas in the outer city knew about the enemy attack, the ninjas in the inner city were still unaware of it because they were far away. It was still necessary to send out a signal flare.
A single arrow piercing the clouds brings forth a thousand troops; the signal flare in the dead of night completely shattered the tranquility of the Northern Lands.
The inner-city ninjas on duty immediately became extremely alert upon seeing the signal flare.
Many civilians who were still dreaming were also awakened, their minds somewhat dazed, and soon lights came on in one house after another.
"Stay home! Do not act without orders!"
Several curious villagers were turned back by patrolling ninjas as soon as they stepped out of their homes.
No wonder they were so nervous, because the signal flare was red and it exploded twice.
Ordinary ninjas are equipped with yellow signal flares, which explode once; while the signal flares used by officers or in some important locations are red, which explode twice.
The signal flare was not only red, but it was also located at the Northern Land Tower, which shows how serious the situation was. At this moment, all the ninjas in the village went on high alert.
"That's quite a commotion. The scale of the ninja force is almost comparable to that of those large villages..."