Uchiha Riu Arrives!

Near the border of the Land of Grass, which bordered the Land of Waterfalls, a tall man dressed in black stepped out of a Bounty Exchange, carrying a cash box in his hand.

The man had cold, dark green eyes. He wore a dark gray hood that covered his hair and both cheeks, extending down to his shoulders. A black mask concealed his nose and mouth, while stitches ran across his arms and wrists.

He was Kakuzu, the man Naruto fans joked had thrown a shuriken at the First Hokage from eight hundred miles away, then immediately turned and fled, claiming thereafter that he had fought the First Hokage...

Of course, a joke was just a joke. Kakuzu's story was far from so childish.

The beginning of his long life dated back to the earliest days when the ninja villages of the various nations had first been established.

As an elite of Takigakure, he had accepted an assassination mission issued by the higher-ups against the First Hokage. After infiltrating the Land of Fire, Kakuzu fought the First Hokage, Hashirama, and was ultimately defeated by Hashirama's secret Wood Release technique, nearly losing his life.

Kakuzu later escaped back to the village, only to be charged with mission failure and severely punished—the ninja who had risked his life for the village was treated with brutal cruelty.

Thus, consumed by intense hatred, Kakuzu broke out of prison and stole the secret technique the village regarded as a treasure. Using it, he took the hearts of every high-ranking member in the village. That secret technique was the vascular tendrils Kakuzu wielded—Earth Grudge Fear.

Not long after Kakuzu left the Bounty Exchange, a group of ninja blocked his path.

Kakuzu's dark green eyes swept coldly over the forehead protectors of the group. "Takigakure scum, what do you want with me?"

"Kakuzu, under Chief Shibuki's orders, we ask that you return to the village." The Waterfall ninja leading them spoke in a somewhat impolite tone.

"Huh?" Kakuzu tilted his head, his voice utterly devoid of emotion beneath the black mask. "So these are your last words!"

Crack! Crack! Crack!

"Aaaah!!!"

Jet-black tendrils shot out from Kakuzu's body, instantly skewering the Waterfall ninja present like grasshoppers!

Whoosh! The tendrils, hung with corpses, swayed in the air. Carrying his cash box, Kakuzu walked forward indifferently and said to the leader of the Waterfall ninja, who had already collapsed to the ground in terror, "What is that brat Shibuki plotting? Tell me honestly, or I'll make your heart into a spare."

"Trembling, the Waterfall ninja said, "Lord Kakuzu, that Uchiha Riu has declared that he will attack Takigakure. The village doesn't have enough fighting strength right now, so Chief Shibuki wants to ask you to take action..."

Tap! Kakuzu stopped, his dark green eyes shifting. "Uchiha... Riu? The head currently listed in the bounty registry for one hundred million ryō?"

"I-I think... that's right." The Waterfall ninja answered cautiously.

"You want to drag me down to the grave with you? Ridiculous!" Kakuzu lifted him into the air with one hand, about to take his heart.

The Waterfall ninja hurriedly said, "Lord Kakuzu, the chief said he knows you still resent the village over what happened back then. As long as you are willing to return, he will give you a generous reward. The amount definitely won't disappoint you!!"

"Oh?" Kakuzu's eyes visibly lit up. "How much?"

"One hundred million ryō!" the man said.

"There's a limit to looking down on people!" Kakuzu snapped.

"That hundred million is extra! If you kill Uchiha Riu, you can take his head and exchange it for another hundred million ryō! That makes two hundred million ryō!" the man quickly explained.

"That does sound rather good..." Kakuzu's attitude changed.

"Then..." The Waterfall ninja was overjoyed.

"But I refuse!"

"Th-this..."

"You think I haven't heard about that guy? Since that Uchiha Madara, he is the most vicious and dangerous ninja the Uchiha have produced. Fighting someone like that, no number of lives would be enough, so..."

"S-so?" The Waterfall ninja swallowed. From Kakuzu's tone... even money could no longer solve this problem.

"So one hundred million isn't enough. Add another hundred million!" Kakuzu said, leaving him dumbfounded. So it was still a matter of money!

"If you agree, we'll set out immediately. If you don't agree..."

"I agree, I agree..." the Waterfall ninja hastily said.

Bang! Kakuzu threw him onto the ground. "Where's the money?"

The Waterfall ninja hurriedly picked up a cash box from among the pile of corpses and handed it to Kakuzu.

That box clearly could not hold two hundred million ryō.

"Are you joking?" Kakuzu frowned.

"The chief said these twenty million are a deposit, to show his sincerity. The rest will be p-paid upon delivery..." The Waterfall ninja finished speaking and watched Kakuzu nervously.

Kakuzu's dark green pupils stared at the Waterfall ninja for a long while. Only then did he set down the cash box in his hand, take the one offered to him, sit cross-legged on the ground, open it, grab a stack of bills, wet his fingers with saliva, and begin counting with professional skill.

"L-Lord Kakuzu?"

"Shut up. Don't disturb me while I'm counting money!"

Two hours later, Kakuzu put the final stack of bills back in place, closed the cash box, and stood up. His gaze swept over the corpses that had long since gone cold. Seeing no valuable heads among them, he said to the Waterfall ninja whose mouth had been sewn shut with thread, his eyes full of terror, "Let's go. Don't dawdle, or I'll blast you to pieces..."

The sun set. Riu's group temporarily rested near the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Waterfalls.

Gurgle... As the messenger, White Zetsu emerged from the ground behind Riu.

"How did it go?" Riu asked without turning around.

"Those Waterfall Village fools intend to resist to the bitter end. They even paid a high price to bring back a rogue ninja named Kakuzu. What do you plan to do?" White Zetsu reported truthfully.

"Heh, I gave them a chance. Since they refused to appreciate it, don't blame me for being merciless." Riu rose to his feet with his gunbai in hand. "Then let Takigakure be erased from the map of the Shinobi World forever..."

Half a day later, deep into the night.

Atop the mountain where the great waterfall of the Land of Waterfalls hung, Riu, Tobi, and Yūhi Uzuki stood high above.

Below them, at the entrance to Takigakure, thousands of Waterfall ninja dressed in uniform attire and forehead protectors had assembled.

Even the Genin had March Forth. The Chunin stood in the middle of the formation, while the Jōnin lined the front.

Standing at the very forefront were Takigakure's chief, Shibuki, and... the man named Kakuzu!

This was the strength of a ninja village. Even a small village in a minor nation was not something an individual could contend with!

"Quite the grand welcoming ceremony..." Tobi said frivolously, arms folded.

Yūhi Uzuki withdrew her gaze and looked at Riu's profile with her beautiful eyes.

"You two hold the line here. I alone am enough."

As soon as his words fell, Riu leaped down from the mountaintop. Landing amid the cascading waterfall, he strode over the rushing current. One man and one fan radiated a pressure greater than that of a thousand troops!

Gulp! Many among the Waterfall army swallowed hard. Some even pressed protective charms and other tokens to their chests in prayer. An atmosphere of desperate hope that tomorrow would come hung over the entire force!

Shibuki's aged eyes were bloodshot as he gripped his cane tightly, staring at the man strolling toward them from the far end of his vision!

Riu's pace grew faster and faster. He broke into a run, charging toward the Waterfall army!

There was no retreat left. Shibuki swung his cane and roared, "Attack!!!!"

"Awooooo!!!" The Waterfall army unleashed earthshaking howls and surged forward like a plague of locusts...

Uchiha Riu versus every ninja of Takigakure—the curtain on the battle rose!