Zong Xuan withdrew the moment he saw the Konoha ninja, a deep sense of unease rising in his heart...
He had thought Akaseki was deliberately stalling, hoping the Sand ninja would kill the believers and ritual officiants so that the strange power would kill them in turn. But seeing the Konoha ninja retreat without the slightest hesitation gave him a bad feeling!
"Kakuzu? To have lived this long as a ninja, you must really value your life. Too bad you're going to die here today!" Zong Xuan declared confidently.
At this point, all he could do was hold Kakuzu off first...
In truth, he was puzzled. The enemy was just one man. How strong could he possibly be?
Were those Konoha fellows really helpless against him?
Could it be that Dan Katō hadn't come??
Kakuzu's face darkened at those words. He didn't mind being called old—he had indeed lived a long life by the standards of the shinobi world. But... he had the distinct feeling this bastard was mocking him for fleeing without a fight when he tried to assassinate the First!
I did fight Hashirama Senju head-on, you know!
"Let's hope your puppets are as tough as your mouth!" Kakuzu snapped. Chakra surged through the three white masks protruding from his back...
At the same time, two masked clones pounced like alien monsters on the puppeteers behind the puppets!
Boom—boom—
Hearing the explosions behind them, Akaseki hurried everyone along. "Quick! We're heading into the cavern!"
He was afraid the Sunagakure group would catch up and ask for their help...
As for whether Kakuzu would pick them off one group at a time?
Akaseki wasn't worried about that!
Kakuzu was powerful, far stronger than an ordinary Jonin, but not so powerful that he could casually dispose of a Sunagakure