These people were easy enough to account for. Some had come from the exchange and laid an ambush here in advance, while the rest were clueless idiots who had followed afterward. Kakuzu had noticed long ago that someone was tailing him from the shadows, so he deliberately slowed his pace and let them get ahead of him to set up their ambush.
"Move!"
"Kill him!!"
In an instant, ninjas burst out from all directions. Shuriken, kunai, and ninjutsu rained down on Kakuzu.
The robe on Kakuzu's body suddenly tore apart, and several black, masked monsters flew out from behind him. The monsters attacked alongside Kakuzu himself, unleashing ninjutsu of various natures in a devastating barrage.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Flames, lightning, raging wind, and rushing water swallowed all the incoming attacks in an instant.
Next, Kakuzu left one masked monster guarding the center. He teamed up with another mask, while the remaining two masks formed the other team. Together, they began casting ninjutsu.
"Fire Release: Intelligent Hard Work!"
"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"
"Combined Technique: Flame Wind Chaos Wave!!"
Boom—a terrifying wall of flame instantly swelled to more than ten meters high and dozens of meters wide. Like a ferocious beast, it rolled forward. The trees and weeds in its path were all burned to charcoal, and even the ground was scorched until it cracked and blackened.
At the same time, the two masked monsters behind him were not idle either.
"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"
"Water Release: Water Curtain Tent!"
"Combined Technique: Thunder Water Rain Curtain!!"
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—one water pillar after another, wrapped in lightning, locked onto the ninjas behind Kakuzu and slammed into them.
"Ah!!"
"No!!"
"Spare me! I'll leave right now!"
Screams rang out everywhere. The ninjas directly in front of Kakuzu were completely wiped out. Not one remained.