Takigakure, Earth Grudge Fear, Defection

The Ninja World.

Takigakure Village, nestled in the narrow gap between Konoha and Iwagakure.

In a dim, secret chamber, the elders of Takigakure sat with stern faces, their gazes fixed upon the two young men standing in the center.

The leader spoke in a low, solemn voice:

"Toji, Kakuzu. You are both the strongest ninjas of our Takigakure Village in this generation."

"The village has a mission to entrust to you both."

"Assassinate the Hokage of Konoha, Senju Hashirama. Whoever brings back his head shall make Takigakure famous throughout the Ninja World, and that person shall be the next leader of Takigakure Village."

Stepping out of the secret chamber, Toji removed his mask.

He squinted, enjoying the warmth of the sun.

Toji stood over one meter eighty.

He wore a tight, pure black top that outlined his lean, muscular frame, paired with loose, white kung fu trousers. A long, diagonal scar at the corner of his eye added a touch of unbridled rebelliousness to his appearance.

Toji was a transmigrator, eighteen years old this year.

Ten years ago, while still staying up late to study medical doctoral materials, he had opened his eyes to find himself in the Ninja World, an orphan in Takigakure whom no one cared about.

Without a system, without a bloodline limit, and with mediocre talent for ninjutsu, he had chosen to cultivate taijutsu and medical ninjutsu to avoid becoming cannon fodder.

His body possessed decent talent for taijutsu.

He had successfully teamed up with Kakuzu, who excelled in ninjutsu, to be known as the "Strongest Duo of Takigakure," and they had forged a fairly deep friendship.

However, there was a gap even among the strongest.

Toji knew clearly that thinking they could assassinate Senju Hashirama with just him and Kakuzu was nothing more than a pipe dream.

He didn't even have the courage to throw a shuriken from eight hundred miles away and run for it.

Toji glanced at Kakuzu beside him.

The current Kakuzu didn't look much different from the man he would become decades later. He wore the same mask and kept his long, black hair. The only difference was the absence of the dense, crisscrossing stitches he would later possess.

"Hey, Kakuzu, what do you think?" Toji asked casually, his hands behind his head.

Kakuzu frowned. "What are you referring to?"

"The mission to assassinate Senju Hashirama, of course."

"A mission from the village must be carried out," Kakuzu said in a low voice.

"Do you really think so?" Toji stared at him. "You should know that we are no match for that God of Shinobi. The elders know this, yet they sent us to..."

"Don't you find it strange?"

Seeing Kakuzu remain silent, Toji continued in a mocking tone: "In my opinion, the village higher-ups want to use Hashirama's hand to get rid of us. We are too strong; we've reached the point where we make them uneasy."

Kakuzu remained silent, but his flickering eyes betrayed his thoughts.

Having become a Jonin in a place as resource-poor as Takigakure, Kakuzu was naturally no fool.

It was just that Toji's words had shattered the last shred of illusion he held regarding the village.

"A ninja's life is nothing but a fate of being chosen..." Toji sighed, then his tone shifted: "But we are different. We are Takigakure's 'Strongest Duo.' We have the right to choose."

Toji's gaze burned. "So, shall we kill them? Here, right now?"

Kakuzu's stern face suddenly cracked into a grin. "Toji, you really are a madman who fears nothing, but I like it."

"Then let's kill them!"

And so it was.

Toji and Kakuzu immediately turned back to the secret chamber and began a slaughter.

They left none of the Takigakure higher-ups alive, killing them all.

The secret chamber was filled with the pungent scent of blood.

Toji grabbed a black cloth to wipe his blood-stained fist clean, unable to help but sigh: "Weak... truly too weak."

As a transmigrator not bound by the distorted hierarchical concepts of Japan, he felt no psychological burden in killing the elders.

A moment later.

Kakuzu walked out of a room, carrying two items in his hands—

A scroll and a gourd-shaped glass bottle filled with transparent water.

Toji recognized these two items; they were the most precious treasures of Takigakure.

The former was the Forbidden Technique: Earth Grudge Fear. It was this scroll that granted Kakuzu the ability to live forever and pushed his strength to the Kage level. The latter was the Hero Water, which could boost one's chakra dozens of times over upon consumption, though the price was the user's life.

"The items are all here," Kakuzu said in a low voice. "How do you intend to handle them?"

Toji lowered his head to examine the scroll of Earth Grudge Fear, discovering to his surprise that it was a combination of summoning jutsu and secret arts; one had to first establish a contract with Earth Grudge Fear before they could begin cultivation.

The core of Earth Grudge Fear was merely a mass of black threads possessing vitality but no intelligence.

He spoke up immediately, "Sign the summoning contract with Earth Grudge Fear first. Once the secret art is memorized, burn the scroll. Once we leave this secret chamber, not a third person will know of this power. As for the Hero Water, we shall split it half and half."

Kakuzu tossed the gourd bottle to Toji casually, "Hero Water kills you if you use it. I have no need for it, so it's all yours. The elders' money, however, all belongs to me."

"Agreed."

Thinking of Kakuzu's love for money, Toji readily accepted.

After establishing the summoning contract with Earth Grudge Fear.

The two men quickly memorized the contents of the Earth Grudge Fear secret art. Kakuzu then raised his hands to weave signs, unleashing a Fire Style jutsu that instantly swallowed the scroll in flames, leaving not even a speck of ash behind.

Having finished, Kakuzu looked at Toji and said in a deep voice:

"What do you plan to do now? Burn all the corpses, then pin the blame on the Grass Ninja, Frost Ninja, Rock Ninja, or Konoha Ninja—no matter which, you can continue to stay in the village and play the hero."

He paused, then added in a flat, emotionless tone: "Or you could pin it on me as well; just say I killed the elders."

"Forget it. For me, there is no reason to stay in Takigakure Village any longer." Toji shook his head. "The strongest duo of Takigakure becoming rogue ninjas together—how ironic."

Toji was silent for a moment before extending an invitation: "I plan to change my identity and develop in Konohagakure. Kakuzu, do you want to come along?"

This was a decision Toji had made after careful consideration.

First, Konoha was the most well-developed city in the Ninja World; as long as one had money, they could live a wealthy and stable life.

Second, Konoha was teeming with talent.

The reason Earth Grudge Fear was strong was that it allowed one to grow stronger at no cost by utilizing the hearts of the powerful.

Konoha gathered the most bloodline clans and powerhouses in the Ninja World, providing a continuous supply of high-quality hearts. He would not need to risk his life in bloody battles; he only needed to sit back and reap the rewards by collecting corpses.

There, he would find his path to the heavens.

"Go to Konoha?" Kakuzu didn't even think about it before shaking his head. "It's too dangerous there. I have no interest. I'm going to be a bounty hunter."

As expected, history had returned to its proper track.

Toji shrugged. "Then let us part ways here. Good luck, Kakuzu."

"I'm stronger than you; you'd better worry about yourself."

Kakuzu scoffed and turned to leave, waving his hand with his back to Toji:

"Don't die, Toji."

"I hope to see you alive in a few years."