Let's Make a Bet

"Is that the Takigakure that possesses a Tailed Beast?" Gekko Hayate was also taken aback.

His face turned ashen, and he couldn't help but say, "Qin Yu, don't tell me he is that rogue ninja who slaughtered the high-ranking officials?"

"Correct!" Qin Yu nodded with a smile and said, "I didn't expect to run into you so soon, Kakuzu!"

As soon as these words fell, Uzuki Yugao and Gekko Hayate turned pale.

This was an S-rank rogue ninja who had nearly wiped out a village.

His strength was enough to rival a Kage-level fighter.

For a long time, no matter how hard the Five Great Shinobi Villages tried, S-rank rogue ninjas had always been difficult to capture.

Yet, now one had appeared right before them; if this wasn't a nightmare, what was?

"Qin Yu, should we run?" Gekko Hayate asked anxiously.

"We are only a few miles from Konoha. As long as we push ourselves, we should be able to reach the Sealing Gate quickly."

"Once we arrive, the stationed guards will provide us with support."

Faced with Kakuzu's background, Gekko Hayate's fighting spirit vanished in an instant.

"Hayate, shut your mouth." Uzuki Yugao snapped coldly. She looked at Qin Yu, who still maintained a smile, and said in a deep voice, "Don't boost others' morale and dampen Qin Yu's prestige."

"Look at Qin Yu's expression; he isn't even the slightest bit afraid. It's possible he can handle this S-rank rogue ninja."

"But why would this S-rank rogue ninja be targeting us?"

Unlike Gekko Hayate, Uzuki Yugao, as a young woman, was more meticulous in her thinking.

Since Qin Yu referred to the man before them as a bounty hunter reeking of copper, and the wandering ninja family from earlier had also kept bounties on their lips, did this mean they had been put on a bounty list?

"Qin Yu, are we being targeted?" Uzuki Yugao asked urgently.

Qin Yu smiled and patted her shoulder, saying, "It seems you aren't stupid either."

"We have been put on a bounty, and the person behind it is quite generous. To get Kakuzu to make a move, it must have cost at least twenty or thirty million ryo."

What?

Uzuki Yugao and Gekko Hayate's expressions changed drastically.

As ninjas, they earned about one hundred ryo a month.

Earning two or three thousand ryo in a year was already quite good.

Now, according to Qin Yu's speculation, someone could afford a bounty of twenty or thirty million ryo. The person who issued this assassination order was definitely no ordinary individual.

"Qin Yu, are you saying that someone inside Konoha wants us dead?" Uzuki Yugao couldn't help but probe.

Over the past few days, nothing had really happened between Uzuki Yugao and Qin Yu. However, faced with Qin Yu's doting nature, regardless of their relationship, Uzuki Yugao couldn't help but feel concerned.

"They want to kill me; you two are just being dragged into this." Qin Yu said with a faint smile, "If you are afraid, you can leave first. He won't chase you; your lives aren't worth that much."

Seeing Qin Yu still in the mood to joke at a time like this, Uzuki Yugao glared at him before stubbornly saying, "Qin Yu, I'm not leaving. I believe you can definitely defeat him. Hayate, don't you agree?"

Gekko Hayate had just felt the urge to retreat, and before his feet could even react, he heard those words. Facing Uzuki Yugao's expectant gaze, he nodded with a bitter face.

"Kid, are you done talking?" After absorbing the chakra of those wandering ninjas, Kakuzu suddenly looked up.

The black threads beneath his skin not only failed to retract but instead writhed like claws, appearing truly shocking.

"Kakuzu, you still reek of copper. How about we make a bet? If you win, I'll hand my head over to you. If I win, you become my subordinate," Qin Yu said with a smile.

"This bet is quite a bargain. If you win, you get to kill me, but if I win, you don't have to die and you get to be my subordinate. Don't you think that's an honor?"

His calm voice left Uzuki Yugao and Gekko Hayate completely stunned.

Was this really the rhythm of trying to recruit an S-rank rogue ninja? If this got out, it would be far too shocking.

"Kid, you really have a silver tongue. It's been a long time since I've met an interesting brat like you." Kakuzu unfastened his cloak, revealing a body that looked like it had been stitched together. The exposed black threads made it look even more repulsive.

In particular, the threads that spat out from his mouth like a bundle of straw, resembling the tongue of a venomous snake, added an inexplicable sense of oppression.

Watching Qin Yu, whose expression remained unchanged, Kakuzu gave a sinister laugh: "I didn't expect that a brat like you would still look so calm after seeing me like this."

"I accept the bet you just proposed. I hope you become my bounty, and I also hope you can last more than four or five moves under my hand, otherwise, I'll be very bored."

Qin Yu's rise had only taken seven or eight days. Even people within Konoha didn't fully know about it, let alone a wandering ninja like Kakuzu. Furthermore, in Kakuzu's eyes, what kind of waves could a mere Konoha chunin possibly stir up?

"Rest assured, I will make you feel both pain and pleasure!" Qin Yu suddenly smiled.

Kakuzu's expression darkened. Watching Qin Yu exert pressure on him while appearing completely indifferent, his last shred of patience was ground away, and he shouted coldly.

"Brat, I hope you can still laugh in a moment."

"Lightning Style: Dark Lightning!"

A Lightning Style mask immediately flew out from Kakuzu's back, its mouth agape.

Bolts of lightning erupted, surging toward Qin Yu like a tidal wave.

"You two, back away; the battle is about to end," Qin Yu said with a faint smile.

Uzuki Yugao and Gekko Hayate's expressions shifted drastically. Without time to think, they hurriedly retreated.

They had witnessed Qin Yu's methods with their own eyes.

If he dared to say such things now, it was definitely not just empty talk.

However, when they considered that the person before them was an S-rank missing-nin, they felt confident in Qin Yu's strength, but whether he could end the battle so quickly was another matter entirely.

As they spoke, the distance of several dozen meters was crossed in the blink of an eye by the Dark Lightning attack.

By the time Uzuki Yugao and Gekko Hayate regained their footing, the incoming attack had already crashed down upon Qin Yu.

BOOM!

Lightning exploded, like a thunderclap tearing through the sky.

Everything inside the relay station was shredded by the violent arcs of electricity, kicking up a massive cloud of dust.

"You arrogant brat, daring to look down on me! Today, I'll make you die even faster!" Kakuzu snorted coldly.

The Fire Style mask on his back instantly emerged.

"Fire Style: Searing Migraine!"

A sea of scorching flames spewed from its mouth.

Having absorbed the chakra of over a dozen rogue ninjas just moments ago, the range of the firestorm had clearly reached twenty to thirty meters.

It directly engulfed the entire relay station.

However, before Kakuzu could even react, the rising sea of fire suddenly began to swirl like a vortex.

The next moment, the sky-filling flames were blown away with a deafening roar.