Golden Rooster! Kakuzu! Clash of the Immortal Species!

Shimura Masayuki was startled by Kakuzu's sudden, strange behavior.

What the hell—

Was something wrong with this man's head? He could still smile after seeing the Third Hokage?

Kakuzu's words gave Masayuki an uneasy feeling, but the terror of seeing Toji Zenin alive overwhelmed everything else.

Masayuki had never forgotten the humiliation he had suffered at the Ninja Academy. One casual remark from Toji Zenin had cost him his chance to graduate, and even now, he had never become a full-fledged shinobi.

He hated the man, yet feared him from the bottom of his heart.

Fear drove Masayuki half a step back. Trying to sound fierce, he ordered, "Kakuzu, kill him!

"Once it's done, you'll get every last ryō of the 350 million!"

"Heh." Kakuzu stood with his arms crossed, making no move to attack. "But he's my brother in arms, my dearest friend—"

Masayuki frowned. His expression changed.

Brother in arms? Dearest friend?

He was growing more convinced that the Underworld Shinobi World's top bounty hunter was not quite right in the head.

"What do you mean? Are you backing out?"

"I mean—you'll have to pay more!"

"Four hundred million ryō."

"Bastard, do you have any idea how much money that is?" Masayuki was so furious he almost laughed. As expected, the Underworld Shinobi World's bounty hunters were all bastards without a shred of shinobi spirit. But he had no choice except to agree. "Fine. Go kill him!"

With that answer, Kakuzu moved.

Hideous black threads emerged from the seams all over his body, writhing like the tentacles of some unspeakable black goat. The sight made Masayuki's skin crawl.

Masayuki froze as he watched the threads writhe.

Those black threads—

Why did they look like Toji Zenin's Heavenly Mercy Thread? There were obvious differences on closer inspection—Heavenly Mercy Thread