Those Root ninjas became more and more frightened as they fought.
Why is this monster so strong?
Their attacks were either blocked by his tentacles or defused by his escape skills.
Occasionally, they hit him a few times, but they only left shallow scars and did not hurt his vital parts at all.
And his counterattacks can kill people every time.
Danzo stood in the distance, watching this scene, his eyes full of despair.
He never expected that Kakuzu was so strong.
He thought that Kakuzu was just an old monster who had lived for decades, relying on a heart transplant to survive, and his strength was at the jounin level at best.
He was wrong.
Kakuzu's strength far exceeded his imagination.
Those five kinds of escape techniques, those four tentacles, that terrifying strength - how can this be a jounin? This is clearly Kage Level, and it is the top existence among Kage Level!
How does he deal with it?
What does he use to deal with it?
Danzo Countless thoughts flashed through his mind.
Retreat?
No, if you retreat, all your efforts will be wasted.
Continue to fight?
If he can't defeat him, if he continues to fight, all his people will die.
What to do?
What should he do?
Just when he was hesitating, Kakuzu suddenly turned his head and looked at him.
Those blood-red eyes were full of murderous intent.
"Danzo." His voice was as cold as frost, "It's your turn."
He rushed over at an astonishing speed. The four tentacles danced wildly behind him, like the scythe of death.
Danzo's face turned pale.
He turned and ran.
But Kakuzu is faster.
In just a few breaths, he caught up with Danzo and punched him in the back.
Danzo tried his best to dodge, but was still half a beat too late. The punch hit his shoulder, and the sound of broken bones was clearly audible.
He flew out, flipped over a dozen times on the ground, and finally hit a tree, spurting out a large mouthful of blood.
He struggled to get up, but his left shoulder was disabled and he couldn't use it at all.
Kakuzu walked up to him and looked at him condescendingly.
"Danzo." He said, "You lost."
Danzo raised his head and looked at him, his eyes full of unwillingness.
"You... you monster..." he said in a hoarse voice, "How could you be... so strong..."
Kakuzu smiled.
That smile was full of sarcasm.
"I have lived for decades and killed countless people." He said, "Do you think I survived by having a heart transplant? No, I survived by relying on my strength."
He raised his hand, and Lightning Mask behind him opened his mouth, and lightning condensed in his mouth.
"Goodbye, Danzo."
Thunder light spurted out.
At this moment--
"Stop!"
A figure suddenly rushed over and stood in front of Danzo.
It's Sarutobi Hiruzen.
He was panting, obviously running all the way. Behind him, there were several Anbu, who were also panting.
Kakuzu's lightning stopped.
He looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen with a hint of surprise in his eyes.
"Third Hokage?" he said, "What are you here for?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at him, and then at the embarrassed Danzo behind him, his eyes full of complicated emotions.
He originally had no intention of taking action. Even if Danzo failed, as long as he was not involved, all the blame could be placed on Danzo alone.
But he couldn't do it, he couldn't watch his old friend die in front of him.
"Kakuzu." His voice was hoarse, "Let him go."
Kakuzu's brows furrowed.
"Let him go? He wants to kill me and steal my money. You want me to let him go?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen gritted his teeth.
"Konoha... will compensate you."
Kakuzu smiled.
That smile was full of sarcasm.
"Compensation? You already owe us 800 million taels, what more compensation can you get?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen was silent.
He knew that Kakuzu was right.
But he can't let Danzo die here.
Danzo is the elder of Konoha, the leader of Gen, and his old friend.
Although they often disagree, and although Danzo always does shameful things, they are people who have gone through ups and downs together for decades.
He couldn't just watch him die.
"Kakuzu." He said, "I know Konoha is in the wrong. But Danzo... you can't kill."
Kakuzu looked at him and was silent for a moment.
Then, he suddenly laughed.
"Third Hokage, do you want to protect him?"
Kakuzu loosened his grip on Danzo's neck, allowing him to barely breathe, but his eyes were fixed on Sarutobi Hiruzen like nails.
"Okay. But I never do anything in vain."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's tense face relaxed slightly. "What do you want? Money? Materials?
Kakuzu sneered, "Konoha owes me something that can't be repaid with just one sentence."
He slowly stretched out a finger and waved it in front of Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"I want one hundred million taels."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's face changed suddenly.
"One hundred million taels?! Konoha Now the internal treasury is empty, and the war is imminent, there is no way to get it out--"
"I know."
Kakuzu interrupted him with a cold and firm tone:
"I don't want Konoha's treasury money. I want your own money."
"... what did you say?"
"You Sarutobi Clan, you have been in business for so many years, you have sold your private property, savings, and ancestral property to collect 100 million taels, it is not difficult."
Kakuzu saw through him at a glance, "Don't tell me that you don't have it. A person like you is clean and honest on the outside, how could you not leave a way out for yourself and your family secretly?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen was shocked all over.
He didn't expect that Kakuzu could even reach this level.
"That's my Sarutobi Clan family background..."
"Either give me money and you can take him with you."
Kakuzu exerted slight force on his hands, and Danzo immediately suffocated and struggled in pain.
"Either, watching him die here, Konoha will never have roots again, or Uchiha will completely turn against him. It's your choice."
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at his dying old friend, and then looked at the bounty hunter in front of him who was more difficult to deal with than the evil ghost, and his teeth were almost broken.
He knows it better than anyone else.
Danzo cannot die.
Do you want to take action against Kakuzu in front of you?
He was not absolutely sure.
"... I give."
The two words were almost squeezed out from between the teeth.
Kakuzu's eyes flashed with satisfaction.
"Happy. I want cash, gold nuggets, jewelry, and land deeds. All of them are taken into account. They will be sent to the Kumogakure border within a month. If you dare to miss a cent, I won't ask for money next time I come."
Sarutobi Hiruzen Close your eyes, and when you open them again, only exhaustion and humiliation are left.
"I promise you."
Only then did Kakuzu throw the half-dead Danzo to the ground like a broken dog.
"Go away. Tell Konoha that if you dare to attack me next time, it won't be solved by 100 million taels."
The mask behind him moved slightly, his chakra converged, but his murderous intent remained.
"Also - this account is owed to me by you Sarutobi Hiruzen and has nothing to do with Konoha. Don't think about using tasks or righteousness to offset it."
Sarutobi Hiruzen lifted up the limp Danzo, his hands trembling slightly.
Throughout his life, he was respected by others, known as the Ninjutsu Professor, and had been in charge of Konoha for decades.
But today, he was forced to take out his family's private property and use 100 million taels to buy back the life of his old friend.
Shame.
A complete disgrace.
Kakuzu stopped looking at them, turned around and stepped into the forest, and the figure quickly disappeared.
Only a cold word is left, floating in the wind:
"Remember, Third.
The money owed to Kakuzu cannot be delayed even a day."