What could I even say? That he had come at just the right time?
Kamizuki rarely found himself speechless.
Sure enough... not a single white-haired person was normal.
Swish, swish—
Mamoru and Ruri flashed to Chiyo's side and pulled a scroll from their sleeves, handing it to her.
"He saw our transaction with Kumogakure."
Chiyo's brows furrowed slightly. "Some brat no one has ever heard of, and you couldn't deal with him?"
Mamoru gave a helpless, bitter smile. "Mother, that guy is no ordinary person."
"If one of the people trading with us hadn't been a sensory ninja, we never would have noticed him approaching."
"Even so, he killed everyone from Kumogakure and everyone I brought with me. He's very strong!"
Kamizuki's ears twitched. His five senses were far sharper than those of an ordinary person, and he could hear their whispers.
A transaction between Sunagakure and Kumogakure at this point in time...
Was it that?
"This is bad. I was counting on you to give me a hand, but it looks like we're finished."
Sakumo handed Kamizuki a scroll as well and said in a low voice, "The intelligence inside is written in code. You must personally deliver it to Lord Hokage!"
Swish—
The White Fang's short blade left its sheath. Sakumo was prepared to die.
"I'll cover the rear. You go first!"
A trace of warmth showed in his resolute gaze. "Go to Gourmet Street No. 27 for me. Tell the hostess at that izakaya that I'm sorry I can't go back."
"And tell her that her salt-grilled Pacific saury and miso eggplant were delicious. Please, you have to—"
"What are you doing, giving your last words?"
Kamizuki turned his sword hilt, cutting him off. "What makes you think we can't beat the people over there?"
He was a little confused.
From what he knew, Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law had died at Sakumo's hands. Why were they being chased around like this?
Looking at Sakumo's youthful face, he suddenly realized...
It was probably a matter of timing.
Sasori had been in his thirties when he died. Counting backward, he was probably only one or two years old now. His parents likely died when Sasori was four or five.
He couldn't judge Sakumo by his fixed impression of him. His strength must have improved by leaps and bounds during the years he took part in the Second Shinobi World War.
If they went by his peak strength, Kakuzu surviving two of Sakumo's slashes would already have been an absurd feat.
Having figured that out, Kamizuki asked, "Are you confident you can handle those two? I'm not done with that old puppet woman yet."
Not done yet...
Only then did Sakumo notice the puppet fragments scattered across the battlefield. Judging by the situation, the battle had already been going on for quite some time.
Kamizuki was injured, but there was not the slightest sign of exhaustion...
Of course Sakumo knew what sort of person Chiyo was. Yet Kamizuki had actually held his own against such an expert for this long!
His thoughts snapped back, and he immediately said, "I've been poisoned. A short battle won't be a problem. If necessary, I can take one down with me before I die."
"Male puppet masters favor weapon-covered puppets, while women are skilled with poison. Their puppet techniques are intricate and strange. Which one do you think I should trade for?"
"Neither. That'd be a huge loss."
Across from them.
"The Uchiha actually produced a brat like this, one even you can't take down..."
Chiyo's old face darkened at her son's question.
"I was merely playing with the brat. Once I get serious, the battle will be over soon!"
—
"To detoxify, you need to understand the poison's properties. This can only temporarily suppress the poison for around five minutes. After that, you must find a medical ninja."
Shikaku handed Sakumo a specially made pill. It was his first time leaving home, so his family had prepared many life-saving medicines for him.
"Thanks."
Sakumo held the pill in his mouth, intending to crush and swallow it once the battle began.
"About half the Chakra inside has been used. You're the best person to use it afterward."
Shikaku returned Earth Grudge Fear to Kamizuki. He had used Fire Style twice in total, providing considerable help.
He looked at Sakumo and said in a low voice, "If I'm not mistaken..."
"That scroll you gave Chiyo records the Uzumaki Clan's sealing techniques, doesn't it?"
Sakumo's pupils contracted, and Kamizuki looked at Shikaku strangely as well.
Shikaku pressed his lips together and shook his head, letting out a soft sigh. "This is troublesome... My next generation might run into a terrifying jinchuriki!"
The wounds on Sakumo's body caused by Lightning Style ninjutsu, the tiny particles left behind after seawater crystallized on the corners of his clothes and those two Sunagakure ninjas' clothes... and many other details.
Combined with the major events that had recently taken place in the Shinobi World, Shikaku pieced together the truth.
"Don't be so pessimistic."
Kamizuki said flatly, "You probably won't have to wait until the next generation. You should run into one yourself."
"That isn't comforting, Kamizuki."
"I wasn't trying to comfort you."
"Shikaku... you absolutely cannot die!"
Sakumo's voice was not loud, but it was exceptionally firm.
"Your wisdom is too important to the village! We must retreat!"
Shikaku shook his head and looked at Kamizuki.
"I know I'm very smart. Back at the Ninja Academy, I often had to slow down my thinking just to keep up with my classmates' thoughts."
"But I also know..."
"I have a fatal flaw."
Smiling, he tightened his grip on his kunai.
"I'm used to skipping difficult options and finding the easy path..."
"But that's wrong!"
"Sometimes, you have to calmly face every difficulty. You have to seem foolish and spend every second, little by little, gritting your teeth to earn fate's favor!"
"Just like you, Kamizuki!"
"I see... You've made up your mind!"
Sakumo patted his shoulder, holding his head high.
"Then we'll return to the village together! We'll go back alive!!"
Kamizuki narrowed his eyes, their color dark and unreadable.
Why were they suddenly getting all fired up...
Did he have some misunderstanding about me?
Difficulties? Gritting my teeth?
Did I do that?
Could it be...
Didn't they think fighting was exhilarating?
While venting his desire to destroy, he could also clearly feel his own strength growing... was there anything more wonderful than that?
Forget it.
There were barely any normal people in the Shinobi World. He couldn't try to understand their thoughts, or he would be assimilated.
"There's no need for tactics..."
Flames crawled over Kamizuki's wounds. The high heat stopped the blood that had been flowing nonstop, burning patches of mottled black charring into his flesh.
Calculating the Chakra he could use and the condition of his body, which he had fully mastered...
He could probably manage...
Whoosh—!!
Scarlet flames erupted from Earth Grudge Fear, wrapping tightly around his body and rapidly spreading through his limbs and bones.
Kamizuki was enveloped in a blazing cloud of fire.
Yet after flaring explosively for an instant, the flames lost their scorching heat and instead gave off an unnatural sense of cold.
Reflected in those Sharingan eyes, the dim flames carried bone-piercing chill.
Interweaving Fire Style Chakra with Sharingan Pupil Power...
Chiyo frowned slightly.
She had personally experienced Kamizuki's powerful physique, and she had followed the usual strategy against Uchiha all along, never directly meeting the Sharingan's gaze.
Other than that opening flame-covered slash, she had no intelligence on Kamizuki using Earth Grudge Fear.
That special ninja tool, capable of storing Chakra and resembling a living creature... was it somewhat like the legendary forbidden technique lost by Takigakure? Had Konoha acquired it?
"In any case..."
"In any case..."
Kamizuki and Chiyo spoke almost at the same time.
"It's coming... stay on high alert!"
Chiyo pulled taut on her Chakra threads. Her slightly aged face bore a solemnity Mamoru rarely saw.
That person...
Kamizuki's mouth stretched nearly to his ears, his smile wild.
"For the time that comes next..."
"Let's paint the place red!!"
Before you continue