Night fell.
Sahara Mizu walked toward Tsunade's house.
After more than a month of "performing," he had more or less made a small correction to that regret-filled Worldline from the original story.
However, despite the seemingly massive scale of this performance, its actual effect was limited. At most, it showed Sarutobi Hiruzen, who was gradually becoming more and more self-important, the unique influence of the Senju Clan.
But in this cruel Ninja World, ninjas ultimately still had to speak through strength.
For that reason, even though Sahara Mizu had rallied some civilian ninjas struggling to make ends meet through a few deliberately ambiguous words, he did not think they could wring much benefit from the Hokage Building in one go—because the power they possessed was simply not comparable to the power Sarutobi Hiruzen controlled.
In fact, given Sarutobi Hiruzen's unpredictable tendency to alternate between softness and hardness, Shimura Danzō would most likely still be protected this time. At most, some of Root's authority would be curtailed, or it would be renamed and concealed.
But Sahara Mizu was in no hurry.
You had to slice the sausage one piece at a time.
Still—
"If that idiot Danzo could just expose a few more weaknesses, that would be nice."
Sahara Mizu looked over the deserted nighttime streets, rubbing his chin as he muttered softly.
Just as he thought that, his steps suddenly halted.
His azure eyes, containing brilliant stars, snapped open as he turned to look into the distance.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"What a prosperous village."
Dressed in black, Kakuzu walked slowly down the road. Looking at the streets that had not yet completely quieted despite the late hour, he murmured with feeling.
Compared to his hometown, Takigakure, the commercial environment here was vastly superior.
Even though the front lines were still mired in a brutal war.
As for Konoha's warning barrier, to an expert of his level, it was little different from nonexistent.
After entering the village, Kakuzu first met with his informant and obtained the target's exact location. Then, he began preparing the little tools needed for the job.
"Hey, boss."
He slowly approached a novelty shop, his voice raspy. "I need a self-pleasure stick, five vibration settings, the largest size."
"?"
The shopkeeper was experienced. Seeing the solid muscles that even Kakuzu's black cloak could not conceal, his lecherous eyes, and his powerful aura, he paused only briefly before giving him a knowing look.
He turned around and picked out a half-meter-long thing from the shelf.
"Don't worry."
"Konoha has the best anorectal doctors in the entire Ninja World."
"No matter how you use it, they can save you."
Kakuzu took the thing and turned to leave before the shopkeeper could react.
The experienced shopkeeper froze, then immediately rushed out from behind the counter and ran outside. "Customer! You haven't paid! You haven't paid yet!"
However, the moment he reached the doorway, the lecherous muscleman had already vanished.
Trying to get money out of his pocket?
Dream on.
Kakuzu moved swiftly across the rooftops toward the informant who was keeping watch.
He was a professional.
The mission order said it was an underground adultery contract, so he could not skip a single step.
As a professional assassin, he had seen far too many murder cases born of romantic jealousy between important figures—why else would those big clients pay such high prices for someone who was not even particularly strong?
It was because they wanted them to die horribly enough!
As a dedicated professional assassin, one of the leading figures in the service industry of the underground assassin world, Kakuzu only needed to do one thing to retain repeat customers.
Meet their needs!
In just two or three minutes, he found the informant lurking in the shadows. The man pointed toward a figure in the distant street.
Almost the instant he spotted the target, Kakuzu shot forward with that mosaic-covered object in hand.
"For one and a half million ryō!"
"Tentacle Fist!"
The next moment, everyone on the street heard a soft pfft beside their ears. An arm, dull in color like that of a corpse, shot forward like a rocket, linked by countless fine yet resilient black threads.
Clang!
Sahara Mizu had already noticed him. He twisted and swung his arm at exactly the right moment, and the kunai in his hand collided with the incoming object behind him with a sharp metallic ring.
"Who goes there?!"
Only after he shouted righteously did he finally see what had flown before him.
It was a purple wish-fulfilling rod over half a meter long, swaying wildly from side to side in an utterly deranged manner while making a strange buzzing noise. It had flown dozens of meters in one breath and struck directly against his blade.
What the hell is this thing?!
This kunai is unsalvageable.
In that brief instant, those two thoughts burst into Sahara Mizu's mind. He rapidly retreated with the posture of someone who had suddenly encountered a powerful enemy, covering nearly twenty meters in a single breath.
At the same time, he looked uncertainly at the enemy in the distance.
The expression on his face practically read, "You're a legendary old assassin, and you actually used such filthy methods against a junior? Do you have any shame at all?"
"Oh?"
Seeing his reaction just now, a trace of surprise appeared on Kakuzu's face.
He first coughed, then casually tossed aside the wish-fulfilling rod. The tentacled hand he had launched snapped back onto his original arm.
"That reaction..."
"Could it be that you know this old man?"
At that moment, Sahara Mizu looked like a rookie who had just started out and happened to encounter a notorious high-level player in the wilderness. He forced out a somewhat strained smile, keeping his kunai raised before him as he warily put on an act.
"The one who should be confused is obviously me."
"The legendary assassin, Kakuzu."
"Right?"
"How much did those people pay to make someone as important as you infiltrate Konoha and make a move against a small fry like me?"
"You recognize this old man, yet you did not flee immediately." Kakuzu quietly watched him, his gaze shifting toward the hand Sahara Mizu had hidden behind his back. Beneath his black cloak, the corner of his lips curled.
Clearly.
Having experienced too many unexpected situations, Kakuzu accepted the current circumstances after only a momentary pause.
"It seems the intelligence contained quite a few errors."
"If that is the case, then after I kill you, I will go butcher those bastards who issued the mission."
The instant his words fell.
Kakuzu shot toward the youth like an arrow released from its bow.
At the same time, a signal flare shot out from Sahara Mizu's hand behind his back.
However.
Smack.
Almost as soon as it rose a few meters, a figure burst from underground and leaped into the air.
He actually caught the blazing flare in his bare hand, then brought his palms together and smashed down from above.
Boom!
The figure descending from the sky slammed into the ground, blasting out a ring of expanding air.
Sahara Mizu supported himself with one hand and flipped halfway around, his three-hundred-and-sixty-degree vision simultaneously taking in both locations.
An Earth Clone?
But before the clone could make another move, Sahara Mizu had already dashed several meters forward, directly meeting the other figure charging toward him.
The scattered people nearby screamed and fled in all directions with practiced speed.
Sahara Mizu held two kunai, one in a forward grip and the other in a reverse grip. His successive attacks were fierce and swift, kunai and tanto clashing in an unbroken stream and scattering dazzling sparks.
Yet his azure eyes seemed somewhat vacant, as though he had not focused all his attention on the two figures before him. Instead, it was as if he were looking into the distance.
Three hundred meters away from the battle.
More than a dozen figures in Root's black uniforms stood atop the rooftops, led by a tall white-haired young man.
The surrounding crowds had already been cleared away.
Even farther out, many more figures faintly encircled the entire area.
The mantis stalked the cicada, while the oriole waited behind.
Hiruko watched the two in battle, his gaze deep.
Whether he could redeem himself would depend on tonight.
His calculations were extremely precise.
The cloud ninja hired for twenty-five million ryō had to be an exceptionally powerful expert from Kumogakure. Once they took Sahara Mizu down in one blow, his people would immediately swarm in and rob the robbers.
That way, both reputation and profit would be secured, and a Worldline where only Sahara Mizu got hurt would be achieved.
But the biggest problem now was—
Hiruko stared strangely at the distant figure, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart as he asked those around him:
"Where are the Cloud Village people?"
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