Tōka followed behind Sakumo Hatake expressionlessly, though inwardly he cursed him countless times.
The two arrived beside a public restroom. Sakumo Hatake took out a small rolled-up slip of paper, unfolded it for a glance, then crushed it into powder.
"Looks like it's in here. There should be a hidden door. Search carefully."
With that, Sakumo Hatake stepped inside.
Tōka's eye twitched. Why were the entrances to underground trading posts always set up in public restrooms?
Weren't they afraid the toilets would leak? That lumps of stuff mixed with soup would fall down there?
"Forget it. Since I'm here, I might as well accept it." With the mindset of broadening his horizons, Tōka took a deep breath and walked in.
Very quickly, Sakumo Hatake found the hidden door.
The two passed through a long passageway that sloped downward.
The vertical drop was over ten meters. After so many twists and turns, Tōka was nearly dizzy.
At the end stood a wooden door wide enough for one person.
Bursts of noisy chatter came from within. This was clearly the trading hall.
Creak!~
White Fang pushed the door open, and Tōka followed close behind.
A dense stench of blood hit Tōka's nose. It was not the smell of actual blood.
It was the scent emitted by people who had spent years living by the blade.
While everyone secretly sized up Sakumo Hatake and Tōka, Tōka narrowed his eyes and surveyed the surroundings as well.
Sakumo Hatake's steps were steady, as if the barely perceptible gazes around him did not exist.
"I'm here to purchase intelligence," Sakumo Hatake said blandly at the counter.
The receptionist smiled slightly and made a gesture toward a certain spot.
A plain-looking blue-haired man immediately stepped out and motioned for Sakumo Hatake and Tōka to follow him.
Naturally, a resource like intelligence could not be discussed in the main hall.
The three arrived in a VIP room. The blue-haired man pointed at the sofa, and Sakumo Hatake and Tōka sat down.
"What intelligence would you two like to know?" The blue-haired man organized his thoughts before speaking. "Known intelligence is sold at clearly marked prices. For unknown intelligence, we can only register a bounty."
"The rest is up to the two guests."
"Fine." Sakumo Hatake nodded. They did not force sales, so they had some principles.
"I want to know Sunagakure's military deployment. Do you have that for sale?" Sakumo Hatake asked flatly, his eyes fixed on the other man.
It was merely a probing question. Unless an insider leaked it, there was no way outsiders could uncover Sunagakure's military deployment.
And it would have to be one of Sunagakure's upper echelons. People like that generally did not lack money.
"Hehe, you must be joking, sir." The blue-haired man knew Sakumo Hatake was testing him, so he could not take it seriously.
"I doubt anyone would accept that even if you posted a bounty."
"Is that so..." Sakumo Hatake nodded and did not press the matter.
Just as the blue-haired man had expected, Sakumo Hatake's question had indeed been a test.
If the blue-haired man had readily agreed, he would not have faced the calm Sakumo Hatake next, but Konoha's White Fang with killing intent surging around him!
"Then where are Sunagakure's granaries?" Sakumo Hatake asked again.
This question was likewise highly confidential, but provisions were different from military deployment.
Both were equally important, but their secrecy was on entirely different levels.
Transporting provisions required lower-ranking Sunagakure Shinobi, unlike battle deployment, which only needed a few higher-ups to know.
"Hmm..." The blue-haired man frowned slightly. By now, he naturally knew who the man before him was.
The moment he had seen Sakumo Hatake's face, the blue-haired man had been seventy percent certain. Now that Sakumo Hatake had raised two consecutive pieces of strategic intelligence concerning Sunagakure, he was completely certain.
"How detailed do you need the intelligence to be?" After pondering for a moment, the blue-haired man asked in return.
"I only need the location." Sakumo Hatake folded his arms, looking utterly composed.
"Is that so..."
The blue-haired man snapped his fingers. The VIP room door immediately opened, and someone entered carrying an envelope. After handing it to the blue-haired man, he promptly withdrew.
"This is the intelligence you wanted. Ten million ryo." The blue-haired man placed the envelope on the table and slowly pushed it toward Sakumo Hatake.
"Ten million ryo? For two sheets of paper?" Tōka cried out in disbelief. Was this robbery?!
The blue-haired man's gaze remained on Sakumo Hatake the entire time. As for Tōka, he had only glanced at him at the beginning.
Still, he offered an explanation.
"Since the guest only needs to know where the Sunagakure Shinobi store their provisions, the price is already very cheap."
If Sakumo Hatake wanted detailed intelligence, such as the number and strength of the ninja guarding the granaries, along with the number of Visible Sentries and Hidden Sentries nearby...
The price would be several times higher at minimum!
Sakumo Hatake calmly took out a banknote and placed it on the table, slowly pushing it over in the same manner.
"Mm, it's genuine." The blue-haired man picked up the banknote, inspected it briefly, and immediately knew it was authentic.
At the same time, Sakumo Hatake opened the envelope. Inside was only a strip of paper two fingers wide.
Tōka's eyelids twitched. That was ten million ryo!
And they had only bought such a tiny scrap of paper!~
Yet Sakumo Hatake's next action made Tōka feel like coughing up blood!
Puff! A flicker of flame flashed.
Sakumo Hatake actually burned the paper strip and envelope together!
"Do you have any other needs, sir?" the blue-haired man asked with a smile.
"No. We're leaving." Sakumo Hatake stood up, and someone immediately came in to lead him and Tōka out.
After leaving the underground trading post, Sakumo Hatake took Tōka directly toward Sunagakure's granary location.
However, a black shadow followed after them.
A terrifying murderous aura suddenly erupted. Sakumo Hatake's heart jolted with alarm, and he struck out with his palm, sending Tōka flying.
Boom!!
A mass of black shadow fell and smashed violently into the ground, causing the entire forest to tremble.
Tōka spun three hundred and sixty degrees through the air, then landed on a high branch as lightly as a swallow.
Looking down, he saw that Sakumo Hatake's position was obscured by a great cloud of dust.
"What a powerful attack. It feels comparable to Tsunade's monstrous strength!" Tōka was secretly shocked, though it lacked the exaggerated visual effect of monstrous strength.
Who was it?!
As the dust dispersed, one black figure and one white figure stood in the clearing.
"What luck. Besides the brat with a one-hundred-million-ryo bounty, there's also Konoha's White Fang, worth one hundred million ryo." The masked man with a red face and green eyes grinned slyly.
"Kakuzu?!" Tōka, standing in the tree, saw him clearly and cried out.
"You know him?"
"You know me?"
Sakumo Hatake and Kakuzu turned toward Tōka at the same time, their expressions entirely different.
Tōka curled his lips and simply sat down with a relaxed expression.
There could not be a second bounty hunter besides Kakuzu who recognized Sakumo Hatake and still dared to seek trouble with him.
Tōka figured someone with ulterior motives must have followed them at the underground trading post, which was why Kakuzu had been summoned.
Still, Tōka was somewhat surprised that Sakumo Hatake's bounty was so high.
On second thought, he understood.
No matter how high the bounty was, one needed to stay alive to claim it.
Tōka said nothing, and neither man pursued the matter. Sakumo Hatake withdrew his gaze and fixed it on Kakuzu once more.
"A Rogue Ninja from Takigakure?" Sakumo Hatake noticed the forehead protector on Kakuzu's brow, a horizontal slash running through Takigakure's symbol.
"Well, I just like money." Kakuzu did not care about any identity. His early experiences had made him believe only in money.
"Captain, be careful. He's very strong!" After Tōka and Sakumo Hatake left the underground trading post, they had changed back into their Anbu attire.
Sakumo Hatake stood with his back to Tōka and nodded slightly.
Kakuzu also felt an unprecedented pressure facing Sakumo Hatake. Though it was not like the First Hokage's utterly invincible presence.
The dense killing intent around Sakumo Hatake pressed down on Kakuzu almost tangibly, like a peerless sword drawn from its sheath.
The atmosphere sank, and the air was compressed by the two men's auras.
Kakuzu moved first. Earth Element chakra surged within him and gathered around his arms.
He used Earth Release: Earth Spear to harden his arms, then used the black tendrils inside his body to detach an arm from his body.
"He's behind you!!"
Kakuzu's gaze sharpened as he sensed Sakumo Hatake attacking from behind. His tendrils lengthened, and he threw a heavy punch backward.
The arm seemed to possess a will of its own, able to distinguish Sakumo Hatake's strange movements.
More of them shot out like missiles, while the black threads were the tools controlling the fists.
Whoosh!
Seeing this, Sakumo Hatake, who had Flash Stepped around behind him, immediately moved away.
Rumble!!
With a thunderous crash, Kakuzu's tendril-powered punch struck a large tree. The terrifying force directly shattered a trunk that would have taken several people to encircle.
"What incredible destructive power, no weaker than Tsunade's monstrous strength!" Sakumo Hatake frowned. He absolutely could not let a fist like that strike a vital point.
Even if he did not die, he would be unable to move.
A white blur flashed. Sakumo Hatake drew the White Fang short blade and attacked again, this time without holding anything back.
Clang!!
The sharp White Fang short blade stabbed into Kakuzu's back, yet it did not feel like it had pierced flesh.
Instead, it was as if it had struck stone.
"Captain, he's reinforced his body with earth. Try Lightning Release," Tōka called out in reminder.
"Oh? Earth Release?" Sakumo Hatake was not only skilled with a blade; his ninjutsu was formidable as well.
It was simply that, under normal circumstances, he chose the fastest and simplest method of killing enemies to conserve chakra.
His swordsmanship overshadowed his ninjutsu, but that did not mean his ninjutsu was weak!
Crackle, crackle!!
Lightning flash flickered as Sakumo Hatake directly channeled Lightning Release into the White Fang short blade, electricity lashing around it.
The lightning illuminated his mask, making him look especially terrifying.
"Hmph, Lightning Release..." Kakuzu snorted. He was a man proficient in all five nature transformations!
Kakuzu extended both hands. A heart pulsed within each of his swelling arms.
"Water Release: Water Curtain!"
"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"
He controlled lightning with one hand and water with the other, combining Water and Lightning Release.
A great flood spread outward, and lightning traveled along with it.
In moments, the ground within a hundred meters of the forest was flooded. There was nowhere to set foot!
Even standing atop a tree several meters high, Tōka could feel strands of electricity moving through the air, a numbing sensation prickling his skin.
Even the hairs on his arms stood on end.
"No wonder he survived the First Hokage. Earth Grudge Fear is a monstrous secret technique too." Beneath the fox mask, Tōka's little face remained expressionless.
Tōka did not step in to help, nor did he intend to.
If Sakumo Hatake lost to Kakuzu, it would only prove that he was nothing special.
Tōka had even less reason to worry about Kakuzu. Five hearts meant he had to be killed five times.
He believed that once Kakuzu only had one or two hearts left, he would choose to run.
Crackle, crackle!!
On one side was a powerful thrust combining Lightning Release and swordsmanship. On the other was a large-scale attack combining Water and Lightning Release.
A white blur flashed, and Sakumo Hatake and Kakuzu passed each other.
Time seemed to freeze. The two maintained their attacking stances, their bodies slightly leaning forward without moving.
Drip...
A drop of blood fell to the ground. It burst apart on impact, scattering into smaller droplets that mixed into the soil.
Thud!
Kakuzu's body crashed heavily to the ground. Tōka raised an eyebrow. This outcome was within expectations.
But he was playing dead so quickly? Sakumo Hatake did not understand Kakuzu, but Tōka knew him inside out.
Since Earth Grudge Fear had appeared, Kakuzu's body could definitely store five hearts at once.
"Captain, watch out!"
Suddenly, Tōka's voice rang out. Sakumo Hatake, who was about to sheath the White Fang short blade, felt his heart skip a beat.
However, relying on his years of combat experience.
Sakumo Hatake reacted immediately, twisting slightly to the side as a detached arm reinforced with Earth Release and connected to tendrils came smashing toward him.
The terrifying force whipped up a fierce gust that blew Sakumo Hatake's mask straight off.
Crackle, crackle!!
Lightning flashed. Sakumo Hatake slashed down, severing the black Earth Grudge Fear tendrils.
On the ground, a strange ball of flesh wrapped in Earth Grudge Fear pulsed. It was clearly one of the hearts stored within Kakuzu's body.
"You..." Sakumo Hatake's calm expression shifted slightly. He was one hundred percent certain that his lightning flash sword technique had struck the other man's heart.
The crucial organ responsible for pumping blood had been destroyed in an instant, yet he had stood up as though nothing had happened?
"An immortal body?"
"Tsk, tsk... You actually destroyed one of my hearts!"
Kakuzu's "corpse" slowly rose to its feet. With a flick of his arm, the severed hand and heart whistled back to him.
Earth Grudge Fear stretched out and reattached the hand.
"Immune to fatal wounds, terrifying regenerative ability, and proficient use of three elemental ninjutsu so far." A trace of gravity appeared in Sakumo Hatake's eyes.
No matter how powerful his previous opponents had been, his attacks had always worked.
But this man left Sakumo Hatake feeling utterly helpless.
"As compensation, I've decided to take your heart!" Kakuzu's deep voice rang out.
A fierce battle was on the verge of erupting!
Feeling the fighting spirit bursting from Kakuzu, Sakumo Hatake took a deep breath and flipped the White Fang tanto into a reverse grip.
"Ugh—waaah!!"
Kakuzu tore off his mask. The corners of his mouth, stitched together by Earth Grudge Fear, split open as countless tentacle-like strands of Earth Grudge Fear spewed from his mouth.
His arms changed as well. His joints suddenly bulged, connected by Earth Grudge Fear, and his arms instantly doubled in length.
The places on Kakuzu's back stitched together by Earth Grudge Fear split open in the same manner, spilling out countless tentacles.
Three root-shaped masks appeared in a triangular formation atop the Earth Grudge Fear.
They represented three chakra natures: wind, fire, and water... (To be continued)
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