Kakuzi, You Still Need Practice! You Can't Even Take One Hit From Me!

After his previous few encounters with Xuan Yu, the only thing Kakuzu was worried about now was Xuan Yu turning around and running away.

If Xuan Yu was willing to stay and fight him head-on, he was certain he could kill him and recover all his previous losses with interest.

But if Xuan Yu turned tail and fled, he still probably wouldn't be able to do a thing about him.

As he saw himself rapidly closing in on Xuan Yu, excitement and elation welled up in his pale green eyes. "He's not running! The brat isn't running this time!"

"He's dead meat!"

Kakuzu had no idea why Xuan Yu had suddenly stopped running, but it didn't matter.

As long as Xuan Yu didn't run, everything would be easy.

This time, Xuan Yu would pay for provoking him again and again.

As a powerful shinobi who had mastered the Earth Grudge Fear Secret Technique and even fought the First, Hashirama Senju, Kakuzu was no pushover.

His figure blurred like a shadow, and in a flash, he was right in front of Xuan Yu.

Showing no mercy, Kakuzu drove his iron fist forward. Reinforced by Earth Style: Earth Spear Technique, it carried terrifying force that could break through anything. He slammed it toward Xuan Yu's chest, wishing he could rip him open and punch straight through him.

"Whoosh—!"

But Xuan Yu was even faster than Kakuzu.

The instant Kakuzu lunged at him, Xuan Yu's figure flickered, and he appeared at Kakuzu's right side.

Kakuzu's murderous punch cut straight through the air where Xuan Yu had been standing.

"Wha—what?!"

The sight left Kakuzu stunned.

He could hardly believe Xuan Yu had become so unbelievably fast.

At such close range, Xuan Yu shouldn't have been able to dodge his attack so easily.

Kakuzu's heart jolted. Had this brat gotten even faster?

As Kakuzu struggled to believe it, Xuan Yu drawled teasingly, "Kakuzi, that 'strength' of yours is pretty good—goes down real easy."

"You're asking for it!"

Kakuzu was both shocked and enraged. He couldn't believe Xuan Yu was still taunting him despite being so fast.

He had come determined to kill Xuan Yu. There was no way he could put up with this, and he immediately roared and launched another fierce attack.

"Fire Style: Headhunter!"

The Fire Style mask creature, which had been waiting in readiness, suddenly flew out from behind Kakuzu.

Bang!

A huge mass of scorching orange-red flames erupted in an instant, sweeping toward Xuan Yu from every direction.

But the very next moment, something that left Kakuzu dumbfounded happened again.

"Whoosh—!"

As the flames swept toward him, Xuan Yu's figure flickered once more, and he calmly dodged out of range of Fire Style: Headhunter!

This time, Kakuzu saw it clearly.

Xuan Yu was moving at an unbelievably fast speed!

In practically the blink of an eye, Xuan Yu had escaped the area covered by the flames.

Xuan Yu's astonishingly swift footwork left Kakuzu secretly alarmed.

Even a high-speed ninjutsu like Lightning Style: False Darkness might not be fast enough to catch the brat.

A veteran of countless battles, Kakuzu recognized Xuan Yu's enormous speed advantage and immediately revised his strategy.

He snorted and called out mockingly, "Brat, can you do anything besides sneak attacks and running away? If that's all you're capable of, don't let me see you again! A little fry like you, who can only run for his life, isn't worthy of fighting me!"

Kakuzu was deliberately provoking Xuan Yu, trying to make him attack first.

As long as Xuan Yu attacked, no matter how fast he was, he wouldn't be able to dodge at the same time as he struck.

Kakuzu was certain Xuan Yu wasn't actually that strong. Otherwise, he wouldn't keep dodging and skulking around instead of facing him head-on.

"Just as you wish."

Xuan Yu wasn't angered by Kakuzu's words, but he still decided to make a move.

He had already tested his current speed. With 4,000 speed points, he was absurdly fast, and Kakuzu couldn't handle him with either taijutsu or ninjutsu.

Now that he had tested his speed, it was time to test the power of his taijutsu.

If he were proficient in more taijutsu techniques, he could try a few different moves against Kakuzu.

Unfortunately, for now, he only knew one: Leaf Whirlwind.

In that case, he'd just have to let Kakuzu experience the power of a level-10 Leaf Whirlwind firsthand!

Before the words had even left his mouth, Xuan Yu stopped dodging and charged straight at Kakuzu.

Seeing Xuan Yu really rush toward him, Kakuzu was delighted. "You foolish brat. You fell for it that easily? Good. It's all over now!"

His pale green eyes seemed to already picture his fist punching through Xuan Yu's chest.

As Xuan Yu rapidly drew closer, Kakuzu readied himself to put all his strength into the most devastating punch he could muster.

This time, nothing unexpected happened.

In the blink of an eye, Xuan Yu appeared right in front of Kakuzu.

Before Kakuzu could use the Earth Grudge Fear Secret Technique again, Xuan Yu had already made the first move.

"Leaf—Whirlwind!!"

Xuan Yu suddenly leaped into the air, spun a full 360 degrees at high speed, then unleashed an incredibly powerful spinning kick.

"Whoooosh—!"

A fierce gale roared, and in an instant, a milky-white vortex of rapidly spinning air took shape, becoming a small tornado.

Wherever the small tornado passed, sand and stones flew, trees snapped, and the ground cracked. Its power was terrifying.

Kakuzu, caught directly in its path, was instantly swept up in the storm. He spun helplessly dozens of times before his whole body was flung away like a cannonball.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

A series of deafening crashes rang out. Kakuzu's heavy body swept along an arc, smashing through every branch and tree in its path through the forest.

When he managed to steady himself and looked back at Xuan Yu, Kakuzu's pale green eyes were trembling violently.

He was utterly horrified. What the hell is this, Leaf Whirlwind?!

Leaf Whirlwind wasn't a particularly advanced taijutsu technique, and during his long career as a mercenary, he had fought shinobi who knew how to use it.

But this was the first time he had ever seen Leaf Whirlwind unleash such terrifying power!

When Kakuzu looked at Xuan Yu again, a trace of wariness had crept into his eyes.

By his own "principles," Xuan Yu had been a brat he could capture with ease. But now Xuan Yu had the upper hand, and Kakuzu had no choice but to reassess the situation.

Xuan Yu wasn't just absurdly fast; he also seemed to be a formidable shinobi skilled in taijutsu.

If they kept fighting, Kakuzu would be in for a tough battle. He might even end up in the awkward position of being unable to win or escape!

Kakuzu didn't know that, as the saying went, Cheng Yaojin had three tricks up his sleeve, and any other powerful shinobi had at least a couple. But Xuan Yu only had "one trick."

He could use Leaf Whirlwind repeatedly, but at the moment, it was the only taijutsu technique Xuan Yu knew.

On the other side, after sending Kakuzu flying with a single Leaf Whirlwind, Xuan Yu didn't press his advantage.

He folded his arms and called out to Kakuzu with a cheeky grin, "Kakuzi, you still need practice! You can't even take one hit from me. If I got serious, wouldn't I beat the shit out of you? All right, hurry up and get back to taking on more missions. Once you've been tempered enough by them and grown stronger, come find me again!"

Xuan Yu had no intention of attacking again. He knew that killing Kakuzu would do him no good.

On the contrary, if Kakuzu kept taking bounty missions, Xuan Yu could keep snatching the rewards from under his nose and earning commissions.

So what he needed to do now wasn't eliminate Kakuzu, but "encourage" him to take on plenty more missions.

After all, Kakuzi was currently the Black Market's number-one gold-tier mercenary!

What Kakuzi delivered was always the best.