Meeting and Opening the Box First, Don't Underestimate My Information Network, Kakuzu's First Test of Susanoo

"Boss? Boss, why are you—"

Before the other two rogue ninjas could react, Uchiha Jun had already stepped out from behind Hikari.

He patted Hikari on the shoulder, his tone as casual as if he were commenting on the weather: "That's enough, leave the rest to me."

He then raised his hand and snapped his fingers nonchalantly in the direction of the three rogue ninjas.

Genjutsu: Secondary Son Path.

The bodies of the three rogue ninjas stiffened simultaneously, their eyes turning hollow and vacant. Then, their expressions twisted into masks of horror as they shrieked hysterically.

"Gwah!! Don't crush it with those pliers!!!"

"Urghhh—"

The next moment, all three bled from their seven orifices, their faces contorted in agony as they dropped dead on the spot!

The surrounding crowd let out a series of gasps; some screamed and ran away, while a few bold onlookers crowded closer to watch the spectacle.

Uchiha Jun clapped his hands together and turned to look at Uchiha Hikari.

"Let's go, it's dirty here. Let's find somewhere else to walk around."

Uchiha Hikari blinked, deactivating her Sharingan. The faint, cold indifference returned to her face, though the corners of her mouth softened just a fraction.

"...Mn."

The two turned and left, quickly disappearing into the crowd.

The so-called Secondary Son Path was, simply put, a plot point from a manga Uchiha Jun had read in his past life, where the protagonist was captured by his enemy. The enemy used supernatural powers to keep the protagonist alive while bringing in four of the most extreme gay men to have "fun" with him.

The five of them had fun together for three months, trying every trick in the book, until the protagonist finally suffered the torture known as the 'Ultimate Insult,' where his manhood and testicles were crushed by a pair of pliers!

For a normal heterosexual, it could be called the torture of all tortures!

With the boost from his Mangekyo Sharingan, Uchiha Jun's genjutsu had forced the three rogue ninjas to experience half a month of the Secondary Son Path, topped off with the Ultimate Insult.

After leaving the snack stall area, Uchiha Jun led Hikari toward an upscale entertainment district in the northern part of Tanzaku Town.

The architecture here was significantly more grand than the central street, and the bluestone pavement was wider and smoother. On both sides stood izakayas with red lanterns, casinos, and hot spring inns. Occasionally, one could see ninjas wearing the standard Konoha flak jackets walking by in a hurry.

"There are more people here than before."

Uchiha Hikari stood under an old cherry tree, reaching out to catch a falling petal.

She had changed into a new light blue kimono that Uchiha Jun had picked up for her at a clothing store earlier. Her hair was tied into a simple ponytail, revealing her clean neck and fair profile.

Uchiha Jun leaned against the trunk of the cherry tree, hands in his pockets, his gaze sweeping over the passing crowd with feigned indifference.

Then, Uchiha Jun saw the black man Xinjifei—ah, no.

It was the top of the Ninja World's "Must-Eat" list—Kakuzu.

At this moment, Kakuzu was using some secret technique to obscure his presence, hiding in a dark corner while peering at the entrance of an izakaya across the street.

If Uchiha Jun hadn't just acquired the Mangekyo and kept it active while wearing contact lenses to enjoy the view, he never would have spotted him.

Uchiha Jun's pupils contracted slightly before returning to normal.

He withdrew his gaze calmly, acting as if nothing were amiss, and walked to a nearby skewer stall. He ordered a large pile of skewers and handed half to Hikari.

"Eat."

Hikari took the skewers and took a bite, her brows relaxing slightly.

Uchiha Jun chewed on his food while observing Kakuzu's movements out of the corner of his eye.

Kakuzu didn't seem to notice him—or rather, he had noticed but didn't care.

A rich young master with a young girl was a common sight in a place like Tanzaku Town; it wasn't worth the attention of a peerless powerhouse who had once assassinated the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama.

"Who is that person?"

Uchiha Hikari spoke suddenly, her voice very low, the Sharingan faintly manifesting at the edges of her pupils.

"You recognize him?"

Uchiha Jun paused, then smiled.

"Your perception is quite sharp."

Uchiha Jun spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear, "An S-rank rogue ninja from Takigakure, Kakuzu. The bounty starts at around seventy million ryo; I can't remember the exact number."

"He is observing that casino." Uchiha Hikari's Sharingan rotated slightly. "...No, he is observing someone in the casino, that woman with the golden hair."

"That woman is the descendant of the Senju clan I told you about, the one who possesses the Senju Bloodline."

Uchiha Hikari followed Uchiha Jun's gaze, her pupils contracting for a split second.

The second-floor window of the casino was wide open.

A woman was leaning against the windowsill, one hand propping up her chin, the other holding a bottle of sake, tilting her head back to take a large gulp.

Her long golden hair fluttered in the night breeze, and a purple diamond-shaped mark on her forehead glowed faintly under the warm light of the lanterns.

Most eye-catching of all were the two massive melons on her chest.

—Lady Tsunade.

One of the Konoha Sannin, granddaughter of the First Hokage, and the legendary "Sucker."

Kakuzu was eyeing Tsunade.

The guy had guts!

He was bold!

The corners of Uchiha Jun's mouth curled up involuntarily.

Kakuzu's intent was clear; he had obviously set his sights on the bounty of one of the lone Sannin, hoping to pull off a "surprise withdrawal" just like Uchiha Jun.

But was Tsunade really that easy to kill?

The answer was clearly no.

If he truly got close enough to take a punch, Kakuzu might just end up "super-dismantled," cosplaying as Fang Yuan from the first volume.

Kakuzu must have realized this too, because he only observed from afar for a while, his expression gradually turning grave, before he turned around without a word and walked toward the exit of Tanzaku Town.

Well, he couldn't win, or rather, even if he managed a pyrrhic victory, the cost was something Kakuzu couldn't afford.

"He's leaving."

"Yeah." Uchiha Hikari swallowed the last of her lamb skewers and patted the remaining cumin off her hands. "Should we kill him?..."

"No need. I plan to recruit him. This old guy is a 'rare commodity'; it'd be a waste to kill him."

"Besides, Hikari, you aren't a 'weapon' anymore, but a living, breathing person. No one will force you to do bloody work again, so just enjoy life!"

Uchiha Jun stretched, took a step in the direction Kakuzu had left, and didn't forget to boost the favorability of a certain Uchiha before heading out.

After all, anyone who had watched Pokemon knew that with high enough favorability, "Soft-Boiled" could be used as a basic attack. At the very least, he wouldn't raise her into the strictest father figure of your Ash-boy—a Charizard, right?

The two of them followed swaggeringly behind Kakuzu, passing through the south gate of Tanzaku Town and walking along a small path leading into the wilderness.

Kakuzu walked in front, his pace neither fast nor slow, the scroll pouch at his waist swaying slightly with his strides.

He had, of course, noticed the two little tails behind him.

But he didn't pay them much mind.

A twelve or thirteen-year-old brat with a twelve or thirteen-year-old girl—this configuration wasn't worth the concern of an old monster who had lived for nearly a hundred years.

Continuing forward, Kakuzu walked unhurriedly through a sparse forest and arrived at a dried-up riverbed.

The gravel underfoot made a faint, crisp sound in the night wind.

Uchiha Jun and Uchiha Hikari followed him through the woods and onto the riverbed.

Kakuzu stopped and turned around.

His face wore the helplessness and impatience of someone who had been pestered by flies for half the day.

With one hand, he pulled a stack of bounty posters from his scroll pouch—about a dozen or so—fanned them out with his fingers, compared the faces to Uchiha Jun and Uchiha Hikari, then flipped to the second page, the third page...

He finished flipping through them.

Nothing.

Uchiha Jun had no bounty.

Neither did Uchiha Hikari.

Kakuzu's brows furrowed.

They had been tailing him, and it turned out these two brats were "blank slates"?

Two kids with no bounties dared to "hunt" him, Lord Kakuzu?

Who gave them the nerve!?

Annoyed, he shoved the bounty posters back into his pouch and rolled his shoulders, preparing to kill the two blind, fuzzy-headed brats before him.

But just as he was about to weave hand signs, Uchiha Jun spoke up.

"Takigakure missing-nin, Kakuzu, wielder of Earth Grudge Fear, possessor of five hearts, capable of using five chakra natures simultaneously."

Kakuzu's movements froze abruptly.

"You once carried out a mission to assassinate the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama. Although you failed, surviving to return was no small feat, right?"

Uchiha Jun continued, his tone as flat as if he were reading a supermarket flyer. "Having lived for nearly a hundred years, the wealth you've accumulated is probably enough to buy a small ninja village, isn't it?"

"Oh, right, you're most afraid of Lightning Style, because Lightning Style chakra temporarily paralyzes the black tendrils of Earth Grudge Fear, right?"

Kakuzu's pupils shrank, sweat drenching his back. He stared fixedly at the smiling Uchiha Jun before him. The "swatting flies" expression on his face had completely vanished, replaced by a look of extreme shock.

The fight hadn't even started, and the bastard on the other side had already leaked his entire background!

And he'd leaked it clean, without a single omission!

Damn it, even his parents, who had long since turned to dust, didn't know him as well as the guy in front of him!

"...Who exactly are you?"

Kakuzu's voice was hoarse and low, carrying a rare sense of caution.

Uchiha Jun smiled.

"Don't underestimate my intelligence network, Brother Kakuzu."

The corners of Kakuzu's mouth twitched.

He had lived for nearly a century, and this was the first time someone had called him "brother."

To make matters worse, the one calling him that was a brat who looked at most twelve or thirteen years old!

But at this moment, Kakuzu had no interest in dwelling on such an offensive breach of seniority.

His mind was filled with only one thought—

What kind of background did this brat have?

Could he be an old monster like himself, someone who had survived through secret techniques?

If that were truly the case, it wouldn't be strange for him to know his secrets—no, that was nonsense!

Even someone from the same era couldn't possibly have dug up his information to this extent!

Knowing how many hearts he had, knowing that Earth Grudge Fear feared Lightning Style, and knowing his history.

"I'll ask one more time—"

Kakuzu's hands were already resting on the shuriken pouch at his waist, his fingers slightly curled, ready to draw ninja tools at any moment to cover his retreat.

"Who exactly are you?"

"Earth Style: Earth Spear!!"

As a seasoned veteran, Kakuzu didn't waste words. He pretended to ask Uchiha Jun for his identity while secretly completing the hand seals, hardening his tentacle-like arms with Earth Spear, a technique capable of shattering boulders, and lunged at Uchiha Jun!

Seeing this, Uchiha Jun didn't speak; he simply smiled and silently released his [Chakra], activating his ultimate technique.

Pressure-Free Brother!

In an instant, a massive surge of chakra erupted from around Uchiha Jun's body!

Purple chakra swept out from within him like a storm, coalescing into a translucent energy skeleton that enveloped him completely!

That was—Susanoo!

Kakuzu's pupils contracted to the size of pinpricks, and his body recoiled half a step, almost beyond his control, causing the gravel beneath his feet to rattle.

"Susanoo..."

Kakuzu's voice was laced with unconcealable shock. As someone who had witnessed Madara Uchiha piloting that giant across the ninja world with his own eyes, he was naturally no stranger to Susanoo.

Although Uchiha Jun's Susanoo couldn't compare to the Complete Body Susanoo manifested by the Eternal Mangekyo that Madara Uchiha had synthesized from Izuna's eyes, it was still a Susanoo!

"You are a... Mangekyo Sharingan wielder of the Uchiha clan?!"

This time, Uchiha Jun didn't play it cool; instead, he shouted with great intensity.

"Uh~~ah~ I'm gonna~ bust!!"