Kakuzu

"How decisive..."

Sakumo landed nearby and crouched down to examine the corpses.

"These are the Hannya Group from the Land of Woods. They are proficient in ninjutsu; they should be considered official members."

"Lately, more and more of these guys have been sneaking in amidst the chaos..."

Sakumo turned his head to look at Kaminazuki, who had begun setting up a tent, and said meaningfully, "Kaminazuki-kun... is this your first time killing someone?"

As far as he knew, Kaminazuki had never left Konoha since he was a child, so he shouldn't have had the opportunity to gain experience in bandit dens.

Even someone as cold as Orochimaru had hesitated for a moment when he killed for the first time back in the day.

After setting up the tent, Kaminazuki began to set up the stove.

"Sakumo-senpai wants to ask why I can be so calm, right?"

"I am a little curious."

Sakumo helped ignite the firewood with a Fire Style jutsu and smiled faintly, "I don't mean to blame you. For enemies who reveal killing intent, it is naturally best to kill them immediately."

"Many people have to suffer losses a few times before they understand this truth, myself included."

"There is no special reason."

Kaminazuki skillfully heated the oil, fried the seasonings until fragrant, and poured in the ingredients: "You only understand once you have died once."

Unlike his future nephew Itachi Uchiha, who might jump off a cliff, Kaminazuki had truly died once and lived again.

Kaminazuki said calmly, "I kill to survive. If I interfere with someone else's survival and get killed, that is only fair."

"If you are prepared to be killed, you won't have the burden of taking a life."

"Is that so..."

Sakumo did not know why a teenager would have such thoughts, but it must have been a bad memory, so he did not ask further.

He took an intelligence report from his bosom, which featured a masked ninja with green eyes.

The data on it indicated that this was definitely a super dangerous individual.

A bounty hunter active in the underground black markets of major nations, a rogue ninja from Takigakure known as the Immortal Ninja: Kakuzu.

"No wonder you dared to look for trouble with someone like this."

Sakumo's expression turned grave, and he said in a deep voice, "Having resolve is a good thing, but if an extreme situation arises..."

"I'll state this in advance: I will abandon the mission."

According to Konoha regulations, hiring between ninjas must go through the mission hall. Orochimaru had issued the mission to Sakumo based on the standards of an A-rank mission.

Choosing to abandon the mission would leave a stain on Sakumo's perfect ninja record.

Kaminazuki had asked Orochimaru to search for Kakuzu's tracks.

Don't look at how ninjutsu seems useless in the late stages of the series; if he truly couldn't use any ninjutsu, Kaminazuki would be targeted and killed before reaching the late stages.

The ideal situation, of course, would be to find a Tailed Beast to act as a power bank, using the Tailed Beast's Chakra to perform ninjutsu.

But what are Tailed Beasts?

They are the ultimate weapons that the first Kages of each village spent a fortune to buy from Konoha. Do you think they would just give one to you because you asked?

After thinking it over, the thing that best met his needs as an external Chakra source was...

Earth Grudge Fear!

A secret forbidden technique of Takigakure, it is essentially a biological modification technique that manifests as a life form composed of black tentacle meridians.

Kakuzu achieved the "immortal" feat through this ability; as long as one of his five hearts remained, he would not die.

Judging from Kaminazuki's memories, Earth Grudge Fear could split up to fight, which showed it was a separate life form with simple consciousness.

If he could seize it...

Kaminazuki took the intelligence report and smiled lightly, "Orochimaru-sensei once said that a ninja's battle is a battle of information."

"It's fortunate that you are currently just a disreputable ninja known for the One Thousand Years of Death; otherwise, it would be difficult if he were on guard."

"Hey?! What do you mean disreputable ninja! The name White Fang of Konoha is world-renowned!"

Sakumo pointed at Kaminazuki, while Lulu, who was waiting for dinner on his shoulder, hissed in disgust: "Hiss! Stay away! You stink!!"

"How could this be... I wash my hands often..."

Dogs are long-distance tracking experts, capable of locking onto a specific target from a massive sea of scents.

At close range, however, cats possess a special organ called the vomeronasal organ, which grants them even more refined discriminatory abilities.

Humans cannot smell the scent on Sakumo's fingers, but Lulu can.

This forced Sakumo to hold his meal a bit further away, effectively isolated by one man and one cat.

Hmph!

The One Thousand Years of Death is a perfect taijutsu technique that strikes at the vital points of chakra, causing the opponent to lose their defensive capabilities instantly!

Once you use it just once, you will absolutely understand!

--

Moonlight leaked through the gaps in the clouds, casting mottled shadows across the forest.

Kakuzu walked quickly; after all, time is money.

He carried a burlap sack over his shoulder containing a Konoha missing-nin he had hunted down in a border town this morning—a chunin-level target with a bounty of six hundred thousand.

The bounties for chunin from other villages were never as high as those offered by Konoha, and Kakuzu quite liked the Land of Fire.

However, back when the Second Hokage was in power, he hadn't dared to enter this blue ocean for bounty hunters due to his wariness of the Senju brothers.

Kakuzu's green pupils narrowed slightly; his instincts told him something was wrong.

He didn't stop walking, his gaze sweeping across his surroundings with feigned indifference.

There were no chakra fluctuations nearby, only the heartbeat of a wild rabbit in the bushes to his right.

The forest was very quiet, save for the sound of footsteps crunching on fallen leaves.

No, it was too quiet!

Feeling something, he suddenly looked up.

Under the moonlight, a figure with black hair and black clothes stood atop a tree, a long blade hanging horizontally behind his waist.

Looking at that young face, Kakuzu was stunned for a moment.

It wasn't out of shock at failing to sense any chakra reaction from Uchiha Kamizuki, but rather...

"No bounty..."

Kakuzu flipped through the bounty database in his mind and, finding no match for Uchiha Kamizuki, let out a soft sigh.

He casually flicked a shuriken, aiming straight for the center of the boy's forehead.

A brat wandering around in the middle of the night is destined to die sooner or later.

Old Man Kakuzu is kind-hearted; he would grant him a quick end.

Bang!!!

The air exploded with a sharp crack as the shuriken shattered into fragments, and the youth's figure streaked through the moonlight like a black blur.

What?!

Kakuzu didn't have time to think; facing the attack that arrived in an instant, black tentacles surged from his chest, weaving into a shield.

BOOM!!!!

He felt as if he had been struck by a speeding train, his body flying backward like a cannonball, snapping three large trees in succession.

Amidst the dust and smoke, Kakuzu ignored the dented tentacle shield on his chest and turned to look at the flattened burlap sack...

My... six hundred thousand ryo...

Kakuzu tore off his mask, black threads surging within his mouth, looking utterly terrifying.

"Brat... you had better give me a reasonable explanation..."

"Otherwise..."

Terrifying killing intent erupted from his green pupils.

"Don't even think about dying a quick death!!!"

"My name is Uchiha Kamizuki. In the black market, the price of an Uchiha shouldn't be low, right?"

Uchiha Kamizuki smiled faintly, walking closer step by step.

"How is that for an explanation, Mr. Kakuzu?"

Uchiha...

Kakuzu had originally wanted to ask why, given such outstanding stealth abilities—to the point where even he hadn't detected a chakra reaction—the boy hadn't launched a sneak attack.

If it was an Uchiha, then it made sense.

These guys... they are just that arrogant and ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth!!