A Clash of Experts

"A rogue missing-nin from Waterfall Ninja? How dare you attack me in the Land of Fire? Looks like you're tired of living." Shuichi began to recall Kakuzu's information in his mind. Although he had countless ways to leave, not engaging in combat would only make others look down on him.

The allure of 60 million taels is indeed extraordinary. Wherever I go in the future, there might be people coming to cause trouble. It's better to let Kakuzu see my true strength today.

Of course, if Kakuzu were to be killed by him by accident, Shuichi wouldn't care about changing the future. He had already made the decision to fight with all his might, and he would just save some chakra for his escape.

"You brat from Konoha, it seems you don't know my name." Kakuzu's deep voice rang out, "Seeing your Forehead Protector reminds me of the first Konoha Ninja I ever fought— the First Hokage!"

"Hehe, if you and a thousand ninjas ganged up on the First Hokage and were beaten so badly you had to flee, could you also say you fought the First Hokage?" Shuichi looked at him with a grin.

I know everything about the other side. If you think you can intimidate him with words, then let me show you what a true master of verbal sparring is all about.

"Looking at your face, you're the kind of nobody you'd blend into in a crowd. Even the First Hokage probably didn't notice you, you little punk. You were scared away by his Ninjutsu, otherwise why would you be hiding in the black market now, like a rat in the street?"

Having already noticed Kakuzu's underhanded tactics, Shuichi remained unconcerned, immediately transforming into the Shinobi World's sharpest tongue, his mouth firing off a barrage of sarcastic remarks like a machine gun. "Look at your green-eyed, bald-headed idiot face, covered up so tightly, it seems you're quite self-aware of your appearance."

"I admit my initial judgment was wrong. You don't just have the face of an extra; you have a face so ugly it's unbearable to look at. I wonder if your mother was scared to death when she looked down after giving birth to you..."

"You brat, just die!"

"Boom!"

The ground beneath Shuichi cracked open, and as he plummeted, countless black lines transformed into steel needles that pierced his body. "BOOM!"

"Shadow Clone?" Seeing that his planned underground ambush had failed, Kakuzu could only quickly retract his tentacles into his body, then clasp his hands together and immediately activated Ninjutsu, "Lightning Release: False Darkness!"

Several thick lightning spears shot out from his mouth. Anyone who saw this would be astonished that he had only formed one hand seal, and that the power of this instantaneous Ninjutsu was so astonishing. This lightning-fast Ninjutsu attack could definitely kill a ninja of average strength in an instant.

Shuichi lightning-fast hand movements. He had already begun Hand Seals, as if he had guessed Kakuzu's pattern. Just as the Lightning Release was about to hit, he suddenly shrank into the ground, easily dodging several lightning spears with a simple earth-burrowing technique.

"How dare he do this? Is it due to inexperience or is it intentional?" Kakuzu wondered to himself, trying to decipher Shuichi's intelligence.

At the start, he used Earth Release and Earth Grudge Fear techniques to launch a sneak attack, aiming to put psychological pressure on the enemy and subtly imply that the underground was under his control, and that any follow-up attack could come at any time if they were not careful.

Now, Shuichi seems completely unconcerned about this issue, showing no concern for danger when burrowing underground, which makes Shuichi somewhat unable to see through the other party's methods.

"Kakuzu will be much more cautious when using Ninjutsu now," Shuichi thought to himself. "Because I always manage to dodge his large-scale Ninjutsu by burrowing underground, and to break it, I have to use Earth Release to force him out, and the distance can't be too far."

This would lead to a stalemate. If he were to play it safe, he could drag it out for a long time, but in that case, it would be better to leave sooner.

Kakuzu didn't rush after his Ninjutsu missed. A large number of black lines had already begun to extend into the ground. Even if the opponent hid and didn't come out, he would find him sooner or later.

"Bang!"

After lying in wait for a while, Shuichi burst out of the ground not far away, carrying a short sword and heading straight for Kakuzu, clearly wanting to test his Taijutsu.

"He's just a greenhorn, I'll take the 60 million taels." Kakuzu thought to himself, mocking his opponent's foolishness as he saw him close in on him with his speed.

"Slash, slash..." Shuichi's short sword flashed as he approached, leaving multiple streaks of silver light in his wake. Just as the third strike was about to hit his opponent, Kakuzu didn't move a Kakuzu.

"Earth Release: Earth Spear!" (Clang...)

The sharp dagger struck the black skin with a loud clang, and even the powerful strike could not break through Kakuzu's exclusive hardening technique.

"Go to hell, you foul-mouthed brat!"

The black threads of the Earth Grudge Fear surrounded him from underground, first destroying Shuichi's standing point to prevent him from using his Body Flicker Technique, and then using the black threads to forcefully pull his limbs down.

"Wind Release: Wind Blade!"

A mask hidden on Kakuzu's shoulder opened, and several intersecting Wind Blade instantly shot out, striking Shuichi with such speed that no one had time to react.

"BOOM!"

Shuichi, who was hit, turned into smoke and disappeared again. At the same time, a figure burst out of the ground, but this time it was flashing with an unusually bright light, obviously a killing move that could not be easily resisted.

"Chidori!"

Shuichi aimed directly at the enemy's heart and attacked. Before he could fully undo the Hardening Technique, the unexpected attack Kakuzu him directly, but unlike a normal human, he didn't bleed profusely.

"How is this possible?" Kakuzu was extremely shocked. "The timing was too perfect. He moved to my feet so quickly; he definitely has an ability I don't know about."

The black lines of the Earth Grudge Fear have covered many underground locations for physical perception. Ordinary Earth Release ninjas dare not burrow too deep underground because they cannot detect the situation on the surface.

If the enemy were to use Earth Release at this moment, they would likely be subjected to compressive forces underground. Therefore, based on his past experience, Kakuzu deduced that Shuichi could not possibly be hiding underground.

But this attack from behind was incredibly bizarre. It was as if the opponent was walking along the edge of the black line's range. When the Shadow Clone appeared and lured away the black line beneath him, the main body immediately followed and even used a powerful Lightning Release to break through his hardened defense.

"Does he know something about me? Or is it just a coincidence?"

Kakuzu's body began to soften, seemingly having been killed by Chidori, but a large amount of chakra had gathered on his back through the Lightning Release mask, and he released the Ninjutsu as Shuichi withdrew his hand.

"Boom!"

The Lightning Release, False Darkness, hidden within clothing, leveled the area behind them, yet no one was hit.

"Damn it, I can't fool this kid even with this. He must know something."

The fact that his close-range, instantaneous Ninjutsu missed clearly alerted the experienced Kakuzu, who realized something was wrong. The enemy's timing was impeccable, and he was in a very bad situation.

Shuichi used his Body Flicker Technique to dodge the change in the Lightning Release mask before it even appeared, and he caught that moment of vulnerability once again.

"I'm here." Having circled Kakuzu's side, he didn't stop his offensive rhythm, swiftly pressing a bright blue sphere towards him with his left hand, "Rasengan!"

The highly compressed chakra ball struck Kakuzu directly in the side, shattering his blue-patterned Rasengan and sending him flying dozens of meters away.