"Hmm? He's still following me?"
From the sky, Kazama Kaguya could see someone chasing him relentlessly along the ground.
The man wasn't slow. Running across the ground put him at a disadvantage, but he still managed to keep up from far behind.
I've got a bounty on me too, but with how I look now, no one should recognize me. I wonder what you're up to.
Kazama Kaguya stopped and landed on a giant tree.
Just an ordinary Jonin. With his current strength, he could take on a whole squad of them.
Before long, the Jonin caught up.
He had short hair, a huge sword strapped to his back, and a scruffy beard.
Putting on an air of superiority, he said, "Kid, I saw you enter the bounty station with Kisame Hoshigaki. What's your relationship with him?"
"Teacher Kisame?"
Kazama Kaguya sized up his strength and said in surprise, "Are you a bounty hunter trying to hunt him? Why are you so weak?"
"What did you say?" The Jonin erupted in fury, his brow twitching.
He yanked out his huge sword and snarled, "Damn brat! I can forgive Kakuzu, but how dare you look down on me too?"
At that moment, another man appeared with a Body Flicker.
He wore a Forehead Protector bearing the symbol of Takigakure, slashed through the middle by a deep groove.
A mask covered his face. His body was covered in wounds formed by stitches, as if he'd been sewn together from separate parts.
The moment he appeared, Kazama Kaguya recognized him by his distinctive appearance.
"Kakuzu?"
He looked at the two men in confusion, then pointed at their clothes. "Where are your uniforms? The black cloaks with red clouds."
At those words, Kakuzu and the nameless Jonin's pupils shrank.
"What's going on?" Kakuzu asked.
"How should I know? I thought he was Kisame Hoshigaki's companion. I saw him flying, so I figured I'd deal with him first. You know how valuable the corpses of ninja with special abilities are at the bounty station."
"The organization's intelligence has leaked." Kakuzu's gaze turned cold. "Then we'll kill him and hunt Kisame Hoshigaki afterward."
As soon as he finished speaking, the two attacked.
Kazama Kaguya shot into the sky, dodging the incoming Kunai.
He soared hundreds of meters up, then raised his right index finger. A bright blue orb, like a jewel, took shape at its tip.
"Storm Release: Thunder Roar Cannon."
The orb unleashed a terrifying beam of lightning, five or six meters wide. Crackling with explosive bolts, it slammed toward the two men below.
"???"
The pair stared at the terrifying attack descending from the sky, stunned.
When you fought, weren't you supposed to test each other with Taijutsu first?
Who started a fight by firing a cannon? That wasn't ninja-like at all.
But the Thunder Roar Cannon gave them no chance to regret it.
The next instant, blinding light and a deafening explosion engulfed the ground.
Kazama Kaguya had already activated his Byakugan. He saw the nameless Jonin get blown to pieces by the Thunder Roar Cannon, leaving no trace of his body.
As for Kakuzu, he used the advantage of Earth Grudge Fear to evade the terrifying attack.
He stood at the edge of the crater, using the smoke that filled the sky for cover. An Earth Grudge Fear creature with a mask on its head emerged from his shoulder. It opened its mouth and began forming Hand Seals, building up Wind Release.
Kazama Kaguya's eyes narrowed. He didn't wait for Kakuzu's attack to come.
"Storm Release: Nine Luminaries Bind."
He brought his hands together. Nine wedge-shaped bolts of bright blue light, each about a foot long, formed in an instant, lightning flickering around them.
Using his Byakugan to pinpoint Kakuzu's chakra points, he fired the bolts with incredible speed.
In the blink of an eye, Kakuzu was pinned in place before he could dodge.
The Nine Luminaries Binding nailed shut his chakra points. Lightning burst from the bolts, not only blocking the flow of chakra but also paralyzing his body.
Kakuzu stood frozen. The Wind Release building in the Earth Grudge Fear creature's mouth vanished as its chakra flow stopped.
As the smoke from the Thunder Roar Cannon cleared, Kazama Kaguya descended from the sky and landed beside Kakuzu.
His Byakugan remained active. He could see that this was the real Kakuzu, not a decoy meant to lure him in before striking with a fatal blow.
He still remembered how he'd been tricked by a Kirigakure Jonin's Water Clone when he defected.
Kakuzu saw him approach and twisted his neck to look over. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. "Who are you?"
After a lifetime of hunting geese, he'd finally been pecked by one.
Ever since joining the Akatsuki Organization and taking on bounty missions, he'd expected to fail sooner or later. He'd never imagined it would happen so carelessly.
One strike had blown apart one of his hearts. Even in the Akatsuki Organization, full of freaks, power like that was rare.
He looked utterly wretched. The Nine Luminaries Binding had sealed the chakra points in his limbs, below his navel, in his chest and back, and in his throat—all the vital points where chakra flowed.
Thin trails of blood ran from the corner of his mouth.
Worst of all, there was a gaping hole in his chest, where a shattered mask lay.
Countless black, vein-like threads of Earth Grudge Fear surged through the opening, frantically repairing his blasted flesh.
Clink, clink...
Earth Grudge Fear squeezed the broken mask out of his body. It fell to the ground with a clatter.
"So that cost me a life?"
Kazama Kaguya knew about Kakuzu's abilities.
With Earth Grudge Fear, he could steal five hearts, each with an affinity for Earth, Water, Wind, Fire, or Lightning. The hearts were stitched inside the masks.
Now that one mask had shattered, it meant the Thunder Roar Cannon had just taken one of his lives.
"Who are you? The Hyuga Clan couldn't possibly have a jutsu like that."
As Kazama Kaguya drew closer, Kakuzu saw his clear, pure Byakugan.
They were as white as the snow blanketing everything in the depths of winter, yet somehow more noble than the eyes of any Hyuga he'd ever seen.
"Kakuzu, formerly a Jonin of Takigakure. He defected after stealing the secret technique Earth Grudge Fear. Now he's the Akatsuki Organization's finance manager, code name 'North.'"
Kazama Kaguya glanced at the ring on Kakuzu's finger and said calmly, "Am I wrong?"
Kakuzu's black pupils shrank to pinpricks. He was shocked.
The fact that he was a rogue ninja was public knowledge, but his membership in the Akatsuki Organization wasn't.
The Akatsuki Organization now secretly controlled Amegakure and operated in the shadows. There shouldn't have been anyone in the Ninja World with such detailed intelligence.
And yet, he'd found one.
Under the gaze of the Byakugan, he felt as if he'd been stripped naked, with none of his secrets left hidden.
He fell silent at once, not saying a word.
He simply forced Earth Grudge Fear into action, countless black threads writhing inside his body.
He used Earth Grudge Fear to alter the position of his chakra points, trying to break free.
Kazama Kaguya did nothing to stop him.
Using his Byakugan, he watched the changes inside Kakuzu with keen interest.
He'd become fascinated by Earth Grudge Fear.
"Earth Grudge Fear, a secret technique of Takigakure. Its origins are unknown. It can grant eternal life by stealing hearts, giving its user five lives. A very unusual ability."
In the Ninja World, there were only a handful of ways to extend one's life.
Earth Grudge Fear was one of the few secret techniques that could, in theory, grant eternal life.
Aside from the Otsutsuki Clan's "Karma," it was the only thing Kazama Kaguya had seen that involved eternal life.
Earth Grudge Fear might look inhuman, but there was no denying how useful it was.
He was still thinking about how to add Earth Grudge Fear to his collection when Kakuzu broke free of the Nine Luminaries Binding.
Countless black threads shot out of Kakuzu's body, quickly becoming three strange creatures with masks and bizarre features.
They wore masks of different shapes and began building up Ninjutsu in their mouths.
Lightning, flames, and gusts of wind began to flicker.
A fighting spirit rose in Kazama Kaguya's eyes, too.
Now he needed a powerful enough opponent to test his strength and expose his weaknesses.
And Kakuzu—with five lives—was the perfect punching bag.
Before you continue