Kakuzu had not wanted to bother with the drunkard. He merely reached out and steadied the bowls, chopsticks, and wine cups.
To his surprise, the other man actually provoked him first.
"Your actions are causing your medical expenses to rise sharply. I advise you to stop immediately."
"Huh?"
"I'm just making you pay for the drinks. What the hell are you babbling about?!"
Already drunk, Hyouzou's Fish-Man arrogance flared at those words.
"Do you know who I am?"
"I'm Lord Hyouzou, the strongest swordsman of the Fish-Man Race!"
Before he finished speaking, the dark yellow sheath in his hand, speckled with black spots, suddenly erupted with a bright, razor-sharp blade light that slashed toward Kakuzu's face.
However, Hyouzou had not intended to hurt anyone. He only wanted to scare the man into paying for his drinks.
He had deliberately held back both his strength and speed.
Even so, neither the owner in front of him nor the diners around them had time to react.
Kakuzu simply remained seated. With only his raised right hand, he caught the incoming blade light and stopped it from advancing another inch.
"Burp~"
"Haki?"
Hyouzou's pupils constricted sharply. Seeing the skin on Kakuzu's hand turn black, he instinctively assumed it was Armament Haki.
In his drunken state, he could not use Observation Haki to sense anything.
"Earth Release. Earth Spear."
Kakuzu coldly spoke the name of the ninjutsu.
Given the disparity between their strengths, it would have made no difference even if Hyouzou had used Haki instead of holding back.
Hyouzou's current slashes had roughly 3,000 Doriki in power.
That put him at the level of a colonel or senior colonel.
And Kakuzu?
Though he no longer had Earth Grudge Fear,
his mastery of all five Chakra transformations meant his strength was no weaker than