Negotiations Break Down, Enraged Kakuzu

The man stood there blankly and replied in a dull voice:

"My name is Nakajima Kotaro. I'm a black market merchant. I came back because one of the Bird Capital black market merchants' vaults is here. I wanted to take advantage of this time to pick up some leftovers."

"Go on." Mo glanced at the passage behind Nakajima Kotaro with Clairvoyance and instantly discovered the piles of banknotes.

Nakajima Kotaro continued in that wooden voice:

"Kakuzu attacked the underground black market merchants of the Land of Birds because they deliberately gave him false information about a bounty target. After Kakuzu arrived at their intelligence location, he was ambushed and surrounded. In his rage, Kakuzu killed all the black market merchants within the Land of Birds. I heard he's still looking for targets now."

As soon as he finished speaking, the air fell silent. Mo suddenly recalled the intelligence Terada Yusuke had provided earlier. Combined with this information, he instantly pieced together the entire chain of events.

One or more high-ranking officials of the Land of Birds had set their sights on Kakuzu. They colluded with one another and, based on Kakuzu's long-standing habits of operating in the black market, struck a deal with the Land of Birds' black market merchants and lured Kakuzu to the site of their ambush.

It was just that those foolish nobles and black market merchants had not expected Kakuzu's strength to far exceed their imagination, resulting in this tragedy.

But... why had the nobles of the Land of Birds suddenly attacked Kakuzu?

The question lingered in Uchiha Mo's mind for only a second before he found the answer: Earth Grudge Fear...

Besides granting its owner powerful ninjutsu, Earth Grudge Fear possessed another ability that nobles coveted desperately: immortality...

Having finally settled one concern, a faint curve appeared at the corner of Mo's mouth.

"Then why did you survive?"

"I'm not one of the Land of Birds' black market merchants. Or rather, I hadn't officially joined them yet. During the Second Shinobi World War, I was abandoned by the original black market collective for certain reasons and became an independent merchant. After drifting around for several years, I came to the Land of Birds. Since I knew how formidable Kakuzu was, I ran as soon as I heard the news."

Mo nodded. "Hand over all the sealing scrolls on you."

The secret chamber inside the hidden passage was packed with cash. Since Nakajima Kotaro had returned to gather wealth, he must have brought enough storage tools with him. Otherwise, there was no way he could carry away such an enormous amount of cash alone.

Sure enough, as soon as Mo finished speaking, Nakajima Kotaro immediately pulled several sealing scrolls from beneath his robe.

Mo reached out, took them, and stepped into the hidden passage.

A quarter of an hour later...

Mo reappeared aboveground. The only difference from when he had gone down was that his previously shriveled Ninja Tool Pouch had become bulging.

More than three billion in cash. The black market merchants truly were rich beyond measure. Even Uchiha Mo, who did not care much about money, felt significantly happier.

Although the Naruto world had many kinds of currency, they were basically all accepted universally. Aside from their designs, their denominations and overall formats were similar. In terms of purchasing power, one ryo was roughly equivalent to ten yen. Converted over, Mo had gained a full 1.2 billion yuan from this trip!

In the Ninja World, a bowl of Ichiraku Ramen cost around thirty yuan. As long as Mo did not stockpile hundreds of millions of Explosive Tags, this money would be enough for him and Shisui to live on for the rest of their lives.

He looked up at the sky, then sprinted toward the capital of the Land of Birds.

Things had gone exceptionally smoothly. The first large black market alone had given Uchiha Mo all the information he wanted, so Mo decided to wait for the team at the mission's destination first.

The sun gradually dipped westward, and Mo finally arrived at Bird Capital. He first found a restaurant to fill his stomach, then rented a single room at a decent-looking inn.

After nearly a full day and night without much rest, along with the intense travel, even Mo was somewhat exhausted.

Judging from the team's travel speed, Team 8 still had some distance to cover. They would not reach Bird Capital until tomorrow evening at the earliest, so Mo could rest properly for now.

At the border of the Land of Rain, somewhere underground.

A pool of black mud slowly separated from White Zetsu's body and headed toward the Land of Birds, leaving only a bewildered White Zetsu scratching his head underground.

"Bird Capital?"

Black Zetsu frowned with his dark face and muttered to himself. Memories from White Zetsu flashed through his mind. The silhouettes of that group... for some reason, he found the young man in the middle, with a ponytail and an Uchiha Clan standard robe, especially familiar.

He pondered bitterly for a long time, yet even after entering the Land of Birds, he still could not figure it out.

Shaking his head, Black Zetsu temporarily gave up searching through his memories.

Over the past thousand years, he had seen far too many people. Occasionally encountering one or two figures who seemed familiar but whom he could not remember was perfectly normal.

Elsewhere, near Bird Capital.

A tall man raised his head and glanced at the distant, fairly imposing palace before stepping into the city.

The man wore a tightly sealed hood. Other than his green eyes, no other part of his face was exposed. Yet that alone, combined with the dense stitch marks covering his body, made him look especially terrifying.

"Don't think hiding in the daimyo's palace means this old man won't dare go in and kill!"

The man snorted coldly and vanished from the spot.

The moon set, the sun rose, and time slowly passed.

When Bird Capital's outline appeared on the horizon, the three members of Team 8 all breathed a sigh of relief.

"Finally... cough... it's finally going to end... cough cough."

Asuma spoke as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "Once this mission is over, I'm definitely going back for a proper meal!"

As he spoke, he turned his head. His gaze suddenly fell on Kurenai Yuhi, and his raised smile froze. With a hint of bitterness, he continued:

"When we get back, I need the old man to get me a suitable weapon. Nintaijutsu really is more useful than pure ninjutsu..."

Gekko Hayate became interested upon hearing that. He eagerly agreed:

"Right... cough cough! Right? I think having a weapon... cough... would be better too. How about you get yourself a ninja blade as well, Asuma? Cough cough! Teacher Mo happens to be an expert swordsman!"

After hearing that, Asuma glanced at the indifferent Uchiha Mo beside him, pursed his lips, and replied:

"Forget it... that kind of weapon doesn't suit me..."

The group continued talking as they approached Bird Capital.

However, less than half an hour later, just as the team was about to reach Bird Capital, a strange man appeared and blocked their path...

Chapter 26: Negotiations Break Down, Enraged Kakuzu

"Terada Yusuke?"

The man held a portrait and looked toward the Land of Birds' minister in the middle of the group.

The three members of Team 8 immediately watched him warily. However, "Mo" recognized him at once.

His expression turned grave as he stepped to the front of the group and raised one hand to stop them.

"What do you want?"

Kakuzu lowered his head and glanced at Mo, but did not answer. Instead, he looked back at Terada Yusuke.

"Then this old man found the right person. Terada Yusuke... you're the last one..."

As he spoke, Kakuzu put away the portrait and began walking toward Team 8.

Upon hearing that, Terada Yusuke seemed to realize something. He hurriedly waved his hands in terror.

"Sir, I truly have nothing to do with that matter! I've been away this whole time. I only know a little about it! Even my father... Father... right! Someone must have framed me! I was framed!"

Kakuzu ignored his hysterical defense and simply approached step by step in silence. Seeing this, Terada Yusuke frantically turned to Uchiha Mo, gritted his teeth, and roared:

"Blood Ninja! I paid you! I order you to stop this man!"

Uchiha Mo frowned slightly and looked at Kakuzu. In a deep voice, he said, "Let me escort this man to Bird Capital before you act. Trust me, that will be better for both of us."

As soon as he spoke, Kakuzu's steps paused slightly, and he turned his gaze toward Mo. Terada Yusuke's breathing stopped as the color instantly drained from his face. He raised an arm to point at Mo, trembling uncontrollably.

"You can't do this to me! I'm your employer! You have to obey my orders... right... I can pay more. I can pay more! As long as you kill him, I'll give you however much money you want!"

The three members of Team 8 could not bear to watch Terada Yusuke's hysterical state, but they could not interfere with Uchiha Mo's judgment either. His grave expression made it obvious that the man before them was extremely strong!

Neither Kakuzu nor Mo paid any attention to the frantic Terada Yusuke. They simply stared at one another in silence.

After a moment, Kakuzu slowly spoke.

"Blood Ninja? The genius who has recently risen to fame... This old man can show a little concern for the younger generation. As long as you don't interfere in this matter, this old man can let you leave."

"So negotiations have broken down."

After saying that, Kakuzu resumed walking toward them.

However, at the instant his foot touched the ground, a sudden change occurred!

"Screech—!"

A piercing bird cry exploded behind him. A familiar figure appeared, followed immediately by...

"Pshk!"

"Urgh..."

Kakuzu cried out in pain, his body shuddering. Looking down, he saw half of a pale hand protruding from his chest.

Uchiha Mo made a hand sign toward his Shadow Clone.

"Poof!"

The "Mo" before Team 8 exploded into smoke and vanished. Everyone looked at the figure behind Kakuzu, their expressions brightening in surprise.

"Teacher Mo!"

"What kind of ninjutsu was that? So fast! Flying Thunder God?"

Terada Yusuke's face immediately flushed red. He excitedly pumped his fist and shouted, "Well done, Blood Ninja! I'll definitely pay you more!"

Uchiha Mo ignored everyone's cheers and looked at Kakuzu, whose aura had weakened before him.

Kakuzu had done something major in the daimyo's palace last night. Mo had originally not intended to care, but while waiting for Team 8 near Bird Capital today, he had suddenly discovered that Terada Yusuke also seemed to be one of Kakuzu's targets.

Although the intelligence obtained through the Sharingan showed that Terada Yusuke truly had nothing to do with this matter, Mo had no interest in proving anyone's innocence. As long as he completed the mission, whether Terada Yusuke lived or died had nothing to do with him.

With one hand braced against Kakuzu's shoulder, he pulled out his right arm. Kakuzu's body immediately collapsed limply to the ground.

Mo looked down at Kakuzu. His clean black eyes were like deep wells, revealing no emotion.

After a moment, he raised his head and started walking toward Team 8.

"Right... cunning little brat, that's it... let this old man teach you the dangers of the Ninja World..."

"Whoosh—!"

Before he could finish his thought, fierce blood-colored flames suddenly erupted beneath Uchiha Mo's foot. Then Mo stomped toward Kakuzu's rear left heart like lightning!

Kakuzu's heart jolted, and his scalp went numb, but it was already too late!

"Boom—!"

"Argh!"

With the support of Fire Control, Mo's control over his Fire Release aura was exceptionally precise, completely unlike when he had fought Baki before. Under this sudden sneak attack, even Kakuzu had no time to react much.

The blood flames surged back as intense firelight exploded. A tall figure was blasted backward!

Kakuzu landed and swiftly twisted his body around. Two neat holes were already visible in his chest. Once he regained his footing, his entire body was covered in a dense earthy-brown color. He clenched his fists, his brows furrowed and his face so grim it seemed capable of dripping water.

"Brat, how did you see through this old man's feigned death?"

If Kakuzu had not immediately used Earth Release: Earth Spear to harden himself, losing only one heart would not have been the end of it.

As an old veteran who had survived since the Warring States Period, Kakuzu had always prided himself on his vast experience and combat knowledge. Now, being tricked by a mere ten-year-old brat infuriated him just as much as losing two hearts.

When Team 8 and Terada Yusuke saw that Kakuzu had not died, they immediately cried out in alarm. Uchiha Mo, meanwhile, wore a mocking smile.

"Heh~ Are you senile? You think you can play dead in front of the Sharingan?"

As he spoke, his eyes turned scarlet.

Glancing at the panel showing the huge increase in his Water Release and Lightning Release proficiency, Mo drew the long blade at his waist and pointed it at Kakuzu, his brows cold. "I'll give you one final choice. Leave, or die."

Kakuzu withdrew Earth Release: Earth Spear. His bluish-white face looked incomparably ugly.

"Hmph! Arrogant Uchiha brat, even in this state, this old man has more than enough strength to deal with you!"

Furious, Kakuzu practically squeezed those words through his teeth. Then he suddenly flung away his shirt, exposing four masks of different colors on his back.

The four masks writhed as they separated from Kakuzu's back, transforming into four black monsters!

Yet in only an instant, the monsters based around the damaged blue and white masks went limp, leaving only the red and green monsters standing behind Kakuzu...

"Brat, be grateful. The opponent before you is a shinobi who once fought the First!"

Uchiha Mo sneered disdainfully and ignored him entirely. Instead, he turned toward Team 8 and barked: