You Said You Must Have What?

Impossible!

Seeing the figure appear before him completely unharmed, Kakuzu, split into four bodies, suddenly had this thought.

Just a moment ago, his Ninjutsu had clearly hit the target!

How could this be?

And what bothered him even more was – that Earth Release heart just now came from an elite Jonin from the Hidden Stone Village. That guy's head was worth at least twenty-two million ryō!

A loss!

Uncle Kakuzu here, I've suffered a huge loss this time!

However, Sahara Mizu seemed completely oblivious to his gaze, slowly stepping through the battlefield where lightning and water mixed with a sea of fire, constantly giving rise to a thick mist.

Kakuzu noticed acutely.

The surrounding flames and lightning seemed to possess some kind of sentience, avoiding Sahara Mizu's figure.

Up until now, not a single speck of dust or blood had touched him.

Even the Ninjutsu he was using had become much weaker than usual under the downpour of this fine rain, and was now constantly dissipating.

Kakuzu raised his head, looking at the small dark cloud only covering them overhead.

Something is wrong.

Was even the initial rain problematic?

Since when...

"Water Release: Cutting Rain."

Sahara Mizu stepped back into the encirclement of the four Earth Grudge Fear Clones, a gentle smile on his handsome face:

"A secret technique that can weaken all Ninjutsu and Chakra except for Water Release Ninjutsu."

"The mask colors on your Clones should represent their corresponding Chakra natures, right?"

"If I blow up this Water Release Clone of yours, Mr. Kakuzu, do you have any other tricks?"

Kakuzu's face slowly appeared on the body of the central Water Release Earth Grudge Fear, his expression becoming increasingly solemn, but his voice held no weakness:

"Even the First Hokage, who fought me in the past, couldn't keep me."

"Do you, a mere Konoha Ninja, dare to utter such arrogance?"

Sahara Mizu's smile grew warmer:

"I'll try."

The next moment, his foot suddenly stepped forward, splashing water droplets like petals.

The four Earth Grudge Fear Clones scattered in all directions as if their nerves had been stepped on by this single step.

At the same time, an astonishing Chakra reaction erupted once again.

"Four Release: Strange Mask Encirclement Tactic!"

The four types of Chakra blasts that roared up, even under the weakening effect of Water Release: Cutting Rain, erupted with incredibly astonishing power, sweeping towards Sahara Mizu like four long dragons, plowing four deep furrows in the ground.

Finally, they converged in one spot, unleashing a mushroom-shaped cloud of smoke that shot straight into the sky.

However, the figure enveloped in the very center still didn't dodge or evade.

"Did we get him?"

The mask that had appeared on the body of the Water Release Earth Grudge Fear seemed to mutter involuntarily under some rule.

The other three Clones all looked at him.

Immediately after, they saw an arm extend from within the smoke.

It suddenly shook to the side.

In an instant, the smoke and dust completely dispersed.

Almost the same moment the slender figure appeared, Sahara Mizu's foot had already stepped forward again.

When he reappeared, he was already in front of the Clone that had just spoken.

The whistling wind was left behind him, and the smoke and flames that had blocked his path were completely dispersed by him, turning into a foggy funnel chasing behind him.

Twisting his body, he threw a punch.

Boom—

It looked like a punch that was neither fast nor particularly powerful, but the moment it landed, it suddenly erupted with a colossal force that ordinary people could not even imagine, like an Explosion.

A circular vortex of air spread out from the section between his elbow and wrist, sweeping in all directions.

Beneath the fist deeply embedded in the center of the Water Release mask, a network of fine, spiderweb-like cracks bloomed, crumbling completely.

Leaping back, flipping over.

The three Earth Grudge Fear Clones slammed into the spot where he had just been standing almost simultaneously.

The ground cracked open.

However, at this very moment, a hint of retreat had already risen in Kakuzu's heart.

—Minus forty-seven million Ryo!

Even if this mission was completed successfully, it would only bring in 1.5 million Ryo, which wasn't even enough to cover the cost of his two hearts!

Furthermore, that speed just now...

Kakuzu felt extremely apprehensive.

The young man in front of him was a high-speed type, like the Third Raikage—the kind of opponent he was least skilled at dealing with.

However.

Kakuzu looked at Sahara Mizu before him, a smile unconsciously spreading across his mask.

"Do you think I'm your only opponent?"

Almost at the instant his voice fell.

Several Root figures, who had been ambushed nearby, seized the brief moment of Sahara Mizu's retreat and pause, and leaped down from the surrounding rooftops in unison.

Among them, the leader had long, snow-white hair and a red mole between his eyebrows.

On Hiruko's face was an expression of extreme ferocity and killing intent.

"Die!!!"

The blade gleamed with a chilling light.

However, neither Sahara Mizu nor Kakuzu looked at the dozen or so figures who had suddenly leaped down from the rooftops. Instead, they simultaneously looked at each other.

'This is the moment!' x2

As if understanding each other telepathically, the two suddenly retreated in precisely opposite directions.

They abruptly leaped back several dozen meters.

"Hmm?!"

Hiruko's blade plunged into the ground. He looked at the suddenly retreating Sahara Mizu and Kakuzu, and instinctively let out a questioning hum.

"Wait, you bastard...!"

"Could it be?!"

However, when he saw the direction Sahara Mizu was retreating in, a bad premonition immediately rose in his heart.

"Boom!"

Unfortunately, just before his voice fell, Sahara Mizu's figure had already shot out.

In the final instant, he left Hiruko with a somewhat subtle look.

It's over.

He's definitely finished this time!

At the same time, the real Hiruko was... sprinting for his life!

Almost at the moment he saw Sahara Mizu's 'Space-Time Ninjutsu' that crushed a heart with a single move, Hiruko realized that he, who was responsible for executing this mission, had become a 'pawn'.

The reason was also simple.

The intelligence he received from Lord Danzo didn't contain this terrifying jutsu at all.

Not only that, but the Cloud's unit that was supposed to assist was now missing.

The mercenary ninja who appeared out of nowhere had now 'died' on the spot under such a terrifying jutsu—the moment he discovered that the incredible expert hired for 35 million Ryo was instantly killed, he ran away. He didn't even notice that Kakuzu's 'Clones' could still move after he died.

So, after leaving a Shadow Clone and issuing orders to his direct Root squad to eliminate Sahara Mizu, Hiruko began his escape.

Now, he didn't expect the mission to be completed; he only hoped to delay him for a bit longer in the end.

"Damn Cloud!"

"Damn Danzo!"

"Damn Sahara Mizu!"

"Once my Chimera Technique is complete, I must... I must..."

Deep-seated resentment flickered in Hiruko's eyes.

However, just as he was about to escape from the center of this storm.

A sudden, inexplicable but incredibly real sense of danger rose deep within Hiruko.

It was the intuition he had honed through countless life-and-death situations on the battlefield.

Following that, the Chakra feedback and memories from the Shadow Clone's dismissal flooded into his body, making him feel suddenly uneasy.

'That Clone was eliminated so quickly?'

'Wait, the direction that guy Sahara Mizu retreated in is...'

The moment Hiruko saw the memories transmitted back by the Shadow Clone.

Almost instinctively, he suddenly turned his head and looked in the direction from which the crisis was coming.

However, the moment he turned around, the view behind him was completely covered by a suddenly appearing large hand.

Shadows obscured his vision.

"Bang—"

In an instant, an unimaginable inertia and weight covered him entirely from above with incredible speed, making Hiruko even doubt whether his fragile neck would suddenly snap after this second passed.

His body was lifted into the air, his steps faltered, and his entire being was crushed and rolled by this inexplicable weight, deeply scraping along the ground and plowing a path spanning over a dozen meters.

The sonic boom caused by suddenly being propelled a full kilometer echoed in the distance, yet it still pierced the clouds and cracked stones, sending shivers down one's spine.

On Hiruko's back, the young man maintained a half-kneeling posture, one hand pressing on the back of his head, the other on his wrist gripping a kunai, and even his foot was pressing on his other elbow.

He couldn't move at all.

Hiruko's body trembled slightly.

Beside his ear, Sahara Mizu leaned down, his voice close by, and asked him gently:

"You said, you had to do something?"

(Suddenly thought of this image in my head, so I put it here ↑)

Thanks to book friends Lin Shen Jian Lu Lulu Lu, SCP Lu Jiu, Elephant Eating Instant Noodles, Joker Egg, Xunixinf Kong, Si Kugua, Qi Bu Ke Xiu, Occultator, and the anonymous Mr. An for their monthly votes!

It rained and got windy while I was sleeping during the day the day before yesterday, and I didn't close the window. I also stayed up half the night, so I caught a bit of a cold. I'm skipping a chapter for now. I don't have any saved drafts at the moment, I'll make up for it later.