Kakuzu's Epic Upgrade, Return to Konoha

[Ding! Defeated a Kage Level expert, the Third Raikage!]

[Obtained: Gold Coin ×3000! Achievement obtained: Shadow Hunter!]

[Achievement rewards: Random S-Rank Ninja Fragment ×10, Random A-Rank Ninja Fragment ×20, Lightning Style: Hell Stab Insight Scroll (Fragment), Lightning Style: Lightning Chakra Mode (Fragment)]

[Legendary quest triggered: Struggle for Hegemony. One target has been completed (Raikage). Progress: 1/5. Rewards will be distributed cumulatively!]

Five thousand Gold Coins!

Uchiha Jun's eyes widened as he looked at the numbers flashing across the panel, then at the price of High-Recruitment Scrolls.

168 Gold Coins: 1 High-Recruitment Scroll.

Twenty-nine pulls!

And there were also the Hell Stab and Lightning Style: Lightning Chakra Mode insight scroll fragments—if he could decipher even a portion of the Third Raikage's ultimate techniques from them, his close-combat burst power would rise to another level!

He had also unlocked a legendary quest.

The legendary quest progress for Struggle for Hegemony had already been unlocked. If he could defeat the other four Kage in the future...

Uchiha Jun took a deep breath.

"But first, I need to turn the Third Raikage I have on hand into combat power."

"Defeated... so killing him gives separate rewards, right?!"

Uchiha Jun checked that the Sealing Scroll was intact, a faint smile curling across his lips.

"Third Raikage's heart plus Kakuzu... does that count as finding the Fourth Raikage a wild dad?"

At the same time, in Iwagakure's camp, Ōnoki's face was so dark it looked ready to drip water.

With a forceful sweep of his arm, he shattered the rickety wooden table before him. "Send someone immediately to deliver a message to Kumogakure—tell them the Third Raikage was captured alive and taken away by Konoha's Shimura Danzō! And Shimura Danzō has also mastered the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai!"

"No! Spread this news throughout the Shinobi World! Let Sunagakure and Kirigakure know as well!"

This move of shifting the blame could not restore their dignity, but it could at least redirect some of Kumogakure's fury toward Konoha.

"Yes, Lord Tsuchikage!"

Tietu answered.

Meanwhile, Kumogakure would soon receive this news, one capable of stirring up monstrous waves.

The winds and clouds of the Shinobi World were about to churn with new upheaval because of this. At the border of the Land of Fire, inside a hidden cave.

Kakuzu was currently sitting on a rock at the cave entrance, idly fiddling with a stack of banknotes in his hand.

His emerald-green eyes occasionally glanced toward the depths of the forest, as though waiting for something.

"Why isn't the boss back yet... don't tell me he failed?"

Kakuzu muttered under his breath, but quickly shook his head.

Though he had not spent long with Uchiha Jun, Kakuzu had already figured out this boss's style—he was absolutely not the kind of fool who would easily stumble and fall.

Besides, he possessed a Sharingan like Madara Uchiha's, and he had a little girl at his side whom even Kakuzu at his peak could not defeat.

Ōnoki and two Jinchūriki alone had no chance of keeping him there.

Just then, faint footsteps came from the forest.

Kakuzu's eyes narrowed instantly, and Earth Grudge Fear tendrils slowly sprouted from the joints of his arms, ready for battle at any moment.

But in the next second, his taut nerves relaxed.

Uchiha Jun emerged from the shadows of the trees, dragging behind him the Third Raikage, wrapped up like Mahoraga in a Sealing Scroll.

"Boss!" Kakuzu stood and approached him. "This is...?"

"Done."

Uchiha Jun casually tossed the Third Raikage in his hands to Kakuzu. "I told you I'd get you a good heart. Here, the Third Raikage. He's still warm. Dig it out and replace yours."

"Oh, and I need the kill."

Kakuzu caught the Third Raikage by reflex, then froze completely.

For a long while, his emerald-green eyes stared fixedly at the scroll in his hands, as if confirming that this was not some illusion.

"...Boss, say that again. Who is sealed in here?"

"The Third Raikage, A."

"I ruined the meridians in his arms. Once you release the seal, reinforce your body with Earth Spear and you'll be able to suppress him."

Uchiha Jun walked over and sat on a flat rock, his tone calm. "I took him down right in front of Ōnoki. What, you don't believe me?"

At that moment, Kakuzu's Earth Grudge Fear tendrils trembled wildly, telling him that what was sealed within the Sealing Scroll truly was the Third Raikage!

That humanoid monster he had once encountered, so powerful that even he had to stay out of its way!

Kakuzu's breathing grew slightly hurried.

It was not that he had never imagined Uchiha Jun bringing him back a heart, but at most, he had expected one from an Elite Jonin, perhaps a Kage Level ninja from some minor village at best.

—But he had never imagined that Uchiha Jun would directly bring him the Third Raikage, the man with the strongest physique in the Shinobi World!

A Kage of one of the Five Great Villages!

"Th-this..."

Kakuzu held the Sealing Scroll, momentarily speechless.

"Quit talking."

Uchiha Jun leaned against the cave wall, arms folded across his chest. "Replace that heart, master its power as soon as possible, and then I'll have another task for you."

Kakuzu gave Uchiha Jun a deep look, then nodded and released the seal. Uchiha Jun casually drove a Kunai into the Third Raikage's eye socket, destroying his brain tissue and claiming the kill.

The corpse of such a powerful man could not go to waste. Kakuzu might be taking the heart, but perhaps one day Uchiha Jun could recruit Sasori of the Red Sands and turn the Third Raikage's corpse into a human puppet?

[Ding! Killed Kage Level expert: Third Raikage "A"!]

[Combat evaluation: "Kill-Stealing Dog" (combat participation 1%, fatal blow attribution 100%). Kill reward obtained!]

[Achievement unlocked: Shadow Hunter]

[Description: You successfully defeated one of the reigning Five Kage. Regardless of the means, regardless of the cost, results are truth.]

[Kill rewards: Gold Coin ×5000, Random A-Rank Ninja Fragment ×20, Random S-Rank Ninja Fragment ×10]

As he watched Uchiha Jun kill the Third Raikage and hand him over, a feeling called trust appeared in Kakuzu's emerald-green eyes—eyes that had never been easily moved—for the first time.

He turned around, walked into the depths of the cave, and began the heart replacement surgery.

About two hours later, Kakuzu emerged from the cave.

Uchiha Jun took one look at him and nearly failed to recognize him.

Kakuzu had changed too much!

Previously, his entire body had seemed drained of moisture, carrying a gloomy, decayed aura.

But now, his skin had become much rosier, and his entire body radiated an overwhelmingly domineering Lightning Style chakra fluctuation!

His steps had also become steadier and more powerful. Every step he took on the ground carried an oppressive force.

Even his height had increased by several centimeters, from 185 cm to 194 cm!

"Well?"

Uchiha Jun asked with interest.

"The Third Raikage's heart truly deserves to be called top-tier material!"

Kakuzu's voice carried excitement he could barely suppress. "After replacing mine with it, I discovered that the amount of Lightning Style chakra contained in this heart is at least five times that of my previous lightning-nature heart!"

"Though my physical foundation is far inferior to the Third Raikage's, and I cannot achieve the original's Strongest Shield that could bathe in A-rank ninjutsu, right now—"

He extended his right hand, his fingers slightly curled.

"Lightning Style: Chakra Mode!"

Crackle—!

A thin layer of lightning surged from his body and covered its surface.

Though it was not as exaggerated as the Third Raikage's lightning armor, the electricity's activity and defensive power had already reached a startling level.

"With this ability, my speed and burst power have undergone a qualitative leap. If I fought my former self, I would have a seventy percent chance of ending the battle quickly."

Kakuzu withdrew the lightning, and there was an unprecedented gravity in his gaze toward Uchiha Jun.

"Boss, from now on, even if there isn't any living allowance, I'll still work for you!"

Uchiha Jun nodded in satisfaction.

This was exactly the effect he wanted—a Kage Level enforcer who truly trusted him and was willing to work hard for him.

For Kakuzu, who regarded money as a treasure above all else, to agree to work for him for free was enough to show Kakuzu's loyalty.

"No rush. There's something else I need from you."

Uchiha Jun changed the subject, his expression turning serious. "Kakuzu, can you leave me a sample and research records of your Earth Grudge Fear forbidden technique?"

"I've always been interested in things like this Pokémon. If I study it, it might even benefit you."

Kakuzu froze for a moment, but did not hesitate at all. "Yes, but this is living tissue. Its relationship with me is also a delicate form of symbiosis, so it requires special care. Please be careful."

In any case, Uchiha Jun's strength already crushed his own, so handing over Earth Grudge Fear for research was no big deal.

Not to mention that Uchiha Jun had just given him an absolute top-tier rare treasure!

Kakuzu drew a black tendril as thin as a strand of hair from his sleeve—a small segment of Earth Grudge Fear separated from his body. He carefully wrapped it in sealing talismans, then handed it to Uchiha Jun along with a scroll filled with insights accumulated over decades.

"Boss, this is my forbidden technique research, along with a freshly cut living tendril. Take them. Just don't get yourself killed playing with them."

[Ding! Obtained special research material: Earth Grudge Fear Sample ×1]

[Ding! Obtained special item: Kakuzu's Earth Grudge Fear Notes: Fragment]

Uchiha Jun accepted the sample and sealed it away properly, then looked up at Kakuzu. "All right, go back and manage the Takigakure Base for now. I need to return to Konoha. Contact me through summoning beasts if anything comes up."

"Yes!" Kakuzu nodded. Since obtaining the Third Raikage's powerful heart, he had become much more confident. With Lightning Release Armor and Hell Stab backing him up, Kakuzu believed that as long as he was not ambushed by one of the Five Kage leading a Shadow Guard—

He could escape, or even strike back and kill them!

Kakuzu did not waste any words. He turned around and vanished into the depths of the forest after several leaps.

Konoha, the training grounds within the Uchiha Clan Grounds.

Uchiha Jun's Shadow Clone was currently sitting cross-legged atop a wooden stake, wearing an expression of being exhausted from laboring so hard.

Footsteps approached from afar.

Uchiha Fugaku appeared at the entrance to the training grounds. After sweeping his gaze around and confirming that no outsiders were present, he approached Uchiha Jun and sat down opposite him.

"Jun, you did very well on this mission. The Third Hokage has approved your application for promotion to Chunin, and your Anbu induction ceremony will be held in three days."

"Thank you for arranging it, Clan Head." Uchiha Jun bowed slightly.

"Also, that Uchiha girl you mentioned last time, the one you recruited from the Land of Earth?"