Takigakure (Part 2)

"Sure wasn't an easy place to get around," Ye Wuji said. After making three attempts, he realized he still couldn't get close to the Sacred Tree. There had to be some kind of ninjutsu or barrier set up here.

"Looks like the only way to get near the Sacred Tree is from the Daimyo's side. But that seems to be the most heavily guarded area, too. Forget it. I was only testing things out. If I can't do it now, I'll try again later. If that doesn't work either, I'll just wait until I can team up with Orochimaru and steal it. I'm sure he'd be interested in this, too." Ye Wuji decided to give it one last try. If that didn't work, he'd go back and focus on training.

"Hey, kid. What are you doing here? Did you get lost? You can't just wander around here." Just as Ye Wuji was about to take a step, a voice called from above and behind him.

Ye Wuji turned around and saw a woman sitting on the trunk of a tree behind him.

Although this island had only one Sacred Tree, it was fairly large, and a few trees were scattered around it. Each one stood alone, so they probably hadn't grown there naturally. Perhaps Takigakure had planted them. There were also some things that looked like artificial hills. Maybe the Daimyo or the Takikage occasionally came here to relax.

With a whoosh, the woman landed in front of Ye Wuji. Now he could see her clearly. She was quite beautiful, with green hair, a purple dress, a red scarf wrapped across her chest, and a Takigakure Forehead Protector. She looked about seventeen or eighteen.

"That outfit looks so familiar." The first thing Ye Wuji thought when he saw the kunoichi was that he ought to know her. But when he thought about it, he couldn't remember who she was. Takigakure didn't have many famous ninja, so why did another familiar face suddenly show up? It was all because Naruto had such long breaks and frequent hiatuses that he'd forgotten some things.

"Hey, kid, I'm talking to you. Where are your parents? How could they let a little kid like you wander around here? It may not be dangerous, but that's still irresponsible." Seeing Ye Wuji staring blankly at her, the kunoichi began lecturing him.

"I'm an orphan," Ye Wuji said quietly.

"Oh." The kunoichi's voice softened when she heard that. "Do you have any other family here?"

"I have a friend, I guess." Ye Wuji wasn't sure how to describe his relationship with Ukyo's family.

"A friend? Kid, do you even know what a friend is? Fine, lucky me, running into you when I was trying to take a break. Come on, I'll take you to your friend. Once the event here is over, they'll secure the area even more, and then it'll be harder for you to find him." The kunoichi came over, patted Ye Wuji on the head, and reached for his hand.

But just as she was about to touch his hand, the kunoichi moved suddenly. In the blink of an eye, she threw a volley of Shuriken.

After throwing them, the kunoichi pulled Ye Wuji behind her and shouted, "Who's there? Show yourself!"

"What keen senses. I've been away for so many years, yet it seems the village has produced quite the talent." Beside the Shuriken she had thrown, a figure slowly rose from underground and approached them, his eyes filled with murderous intent.

The ninja before them was a man in his thirties or forties, with black hair, a black mask covering his face, and green eyes. He wore a ninja uniform.

"Isn't that Kakuzu?" Ye Wuji recognized him at first glance: the greedy Akatsuki member who wore the North Star ring. He had five hearts and could use ninjutsu of all five elemental types—a Kage Level expert. Though he'd been defeated by Naruto and the others in a rather miserable way, that was only because Naruto's protagonist aura had him at a disadvantage, and Kakuzu had been far too careless. The man standing before him had escaped from the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, who was known as the God of Shinobi. Ye Wuji didn't know the exact circumstances, but surviving an encounter with the First Hokage was an achievement in itself.

Looking at Kakuzu's Forehead Protector, Ye Wuji saw that it bore the Takigakure symbol, crossed out with a line. That meant he was a rogue ninja. But the symbol also showed that Kakuzu had been a ninja of Takigakure. Ye Wuji hadn't known that. He'd only learned about Takigakure from the movies, but the events in those movies didn't fit what was happening now. Besides, that movie had come out quite early—perhaps the details hadn't been settled back then.

Still, Ye Wuji was genuinely surprised that Kakuzu was from Takigakure. He began regretting that he hadn't paid closer attention to the anime. He'd barely read the manga, and he'd watched the anime by skipping around. When he'd watched Naruto, he'd hated all the flashbacks and usually skipped them or fast-forwarded through them.

He hadn't watched some of Naruto's missions, either. He knew there had been various miscellaneous missions, like protecting people or acting as a bodyguard, but that was all. He had no idea what had actually happened. Now Ye Wuji was finally paying the price for fast-forwarding. The characters and plot didn't line up with what he remembered.

At the same time, Ye Wuji began to worry. Did he have protagonist-level luck, too? Why did he keep running into dangers he couldn't handle? Kakuzu was far stronger than Shan Yi, the jonin he'd met before. Even Uncle Ukyo might not be able to beat him. And this guy had five lives! One careless mistake, and Ye Wuji could be in serious trouble.

Without realizing it, Ye Wuji gripped the kunoichi's clothes even tighter. He couldn't grab her hand now; in fact, he shouldn't even be tugging on her clothes. It could interfere with her fighting.

But when he saw Kakuzu's eerie green eyes, Ye Wuji couldn't help feeling afraid. In his first two battles, he hadn't been able to do anything at all, so he hadn't felt how strong his opponents were. The first time, he'd teamed up with Nagato for a sneak attack and hadn't even faced the jonin directly. The second time, he'd faced one head-on, but the jonin had treated him like an ordinary child and brushed him aside. Ye Wuji had been rescued not long afterward.

Now he was facing Kakuzu directly. Kakuzu wasn't even looking at him, but that aura was still more than an ordinary person could withstand. People really did have an aura—a presence, you could say.

When Naruto first met Zabuza, hadn't he been so scared he couldn't move? And that was with the Nine-Tails inside him. The Nine-Tails was still sealed at the time, but Naruto had its power within him all the same.

Fortunately, Ye Wuji was behind the kunoichi. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to withstand Kakuzu's aura, and it could have left him mentally wounded.

Looking at the kunoichi in front of him, Ye Wuji couldn't help admiring her. She was standing face-to-face with a dangerous man like Kakuzu, yet she didn't look afraid at all. Ye Wuji racked his brains, trying to figure out how to warn her without giving himself away. He needed her to realize how dangerous the man before them was and, ideally, call for reinforcements as soon as possible. But he couldn't warn her outright. If Kakuzu found out how Ye Wuji knew the secrets of his ninjutsu, he'd probably kill him first. He might even take one of his hearts as a spare.

Still, it wasn't impossible. He just needed to buy some time. Right, Uncle Ukyo was here, too. If he and the Takigakure ninja could get here quickly, they might be able to help.

While Ye Wuji was still trying to figure out how to warn the kunoichi, she began speaking. "Well, well, if it isn't our dear Uncle Kakuzu! Sorry, I mean Grandpa Kakuzu. What brings you home after all this time? But tell me, Grandpa Kakuzu, you must be over a hundred by now, right? Let me work out exactly how old you are." Ye Wuji watched her grin at Kakuzu as she spoke. When she said she was going to work out his exact age, she actually began counting on her fingers. After a while, she spoke again. "Sorry, I can't work it out after all. But shouldn't you have gone to rest in hell ages ago? How come you crawled back out? Was hell not fun enough?"

"Kids these days have no respect for their elders. Kid, didn't anyone teach you to be polite?" Kakuzu's eyes widened as he spoke in a sinister voice.

"I'm good with kids." As she spoke, the kunoichi patted Ye Wuji on the head. "See? I'm very good with kids. As for respecting the elderly, I don't see any old people around here who deserve respect. Isn't that right, Grandpa Kakuzu?"

"Enough chatter, Kakuzu. What are you doing here? You're not welcome. You betrayed the village, and yet the village never sent anyone to hunt you down. Now you've got the nerve to come back and cause trouble.

"But looking at you, I can tell you mastered Earth Grudge Fear. No one's practiced such a disgusting technique in all these years. You're the only one who'd try it. And now you've turned into a monster, haven't you?"

"Heh heh heh." Kakuzu gave a cold laugh. "Kid, you know more than you should. You even know Takigakure's secret technique. You must have a high standing in the village. But don't you know that people who know too much tend to die young?"

"Better to die young than turn into a monster like you. But speaking of which, Kakuzu-senpai—" The kunoichi changed how she addressed him again. "I really am curious. Someone who can become a ninja must be at least a little afraid of death, but someone over a hundred like you ought to have made peace with it by now. Of course, everyone fears death. I'm afraid of it, too. Sometimes I wonder how I could live longer. But turning into a monster like you? What's the point of living like that? If you ask me, I'd rather die looking beautiful than go on living as a monster."

"That's just a kid's way of thinking," Kakuzu said coldly. "When you watch yourself grow old and inch closer to death, you'll try anything, no matter what it is."

"That could be true. I'll see when the time comes. Anyway, I'm still young. So whose job are you here to do this time? I'm guessing I'm not your target. Is it the new Daimyo?" As she spoke, an explosion suddenly rang out near the platform.

The kunoichi turned to look toward the platform and slapped her forehead. "I knew this would happen."

"What do you mean?" Kakuzu wasn't the only one who was curious. Ye Wuji was, too, and he looked at the kunoichi. He couldn't help admiring her. She admitted earlier that she was afraid of death, yet she knows who Kakuzu is and still talks to him like that. Is she a powerful ninja, too? Ye Wuji wondered.

"It's simple. You're Kakuzu, the man who won't move without money. When the village sent you to assassinate the First Hokage, you still demanded a fee, even though it was a mission from the village. Now you're a rogue ninja. Whatever your reason for being here, you'd need to be paid before you'd act. And the only thing that could bring you here now is the new Daimyo's succession ceremony. You're here to assassinate him, aren't you? And since you're getting paid, someone must have posted the job on the black market. You can't be the only one who accepted it. That Daimyo must be worth a lot if even you showed up. Though it looks like your luck's run out, since I found you." The kunoichi smiled as she laid out her deductions.

"You've got a point, kid. That's a very reasonable analysis. But do you think you can keep me here? I can kill you and go afterward. As long as I get the Daimyo's head, it doesn't have to be me who kills him. Now, kid, any last words? Since I'm from this village, too, and I'm practically your elder, I'll grant you that courtesy."

"Save that courtesy for yourself. You're one of the village's old-timers, too. Since we're from the same village, I'll give you a chance to say your last words as well." The kunoichi threw his words right back at him.

"You're really an unpleasant kid. Don't regret it when you're dead. But since you said you want to die beautifully, I won't take your heart. That's my courtesy to you."

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!" As soon as Kakuzu finished speaking, he unleashed his ninjutsu. A water dragon instantly charged toward the kunoichi and Ye Wuji.

With a crash, a huge pit appeared where the kunoichi and Ye Wuji had been standing. If that had hit Ye Wuji, he would have been killed for sure.

Ye Wuji looked at the kunoichi, then at the pit left by the Water Dragon Bullet Technique. He had no idea what had happened. Before he could even react, he was already somewhere else. A moment earlier, he thought he'd heard the woman shout, "Secret Technique: Scale Powder Technique!"

Once they had moved, the kunoichi formed several complicated hand seals and chanted, "Secret Technique: Scale Powder Concealment." Ye Wuji looked at the woman, then at Kakuzu. From the moment she used her secret technique, he knew she had to be powerful. Ordinary ninja rarely knew secret techniques; those who did usually belonged to clans that had passed them down through generations. Yet this kunoichi had used two secret techniques in a row.

But Ye Wuji stared for a long time and couldn't see any change in the area. What's this secret technique supposed to do? he wondered. When he saw no visible effect, he thought the technique might have failed, but the kunoichi didn't look the least bit discouraged.

"Wait here while I deal with that guy. Then I'll take you to your friend. Remember, don't wander off. It's easy to get lost here." After using her secret technique, the kunoichi brought Ye Wuji to the Sacred Tree. She pressed her hand against it, opened a door, and ushered him inside to hide.