Kakuzu

The wind and rain fell in silence, chaotically intertwining in the air as though draping heaven and earth in a veil of gauze.

Yan Hong let the rain batter his body, an inscrutable light flickering in his eyes. "How could it be you?"

Swish, swish, swish—

The commotion here naturally drew the others' attention. Chikuma arrived from nearby with the clan members, and when he saw that his boss appeared to be fighting someone, excitement burst into his eyes. He shouted, "Boss, should we kill him? Leave it to me!"

The man in black looked around. Seeing that he was surrounded on all sides, he knew that he would most likely die here today, and a resolute expression appeared on his face.

"Wait!" Yan Hong raised a hand to stop Chikuma and the others from assisting. "Leave this to me. Go guard the perimeter and don't let anyone else come in."

"Uh..." Chikuma froze for a moment, but when he saw Yan Hong's unquestionable expression, he could only lead his men away to guard the outskirts.

After sending the Taketori Clan away, Yan Hong turned his gaze back to the person before him. "Tell me, why did you try to assassinate me, Kakuzu?"

Kakuzu was startled. He said incredulously, "How do you know my name?"

Yan Hong shrugged. "You're an elite ninja from the Land of Waterfalls. If I didn't even know that much, you'd be underestimating me too much. But as far as I remember, I don't have any grudge against you. Was it really worth taking such a huge risk to assassinate me?"

"A grudge? Hmph, you and I may not have any personal enmity, but I have a blood-deep hatred for your Uchiha Clan!" Kakuzu's expression grew agitated. "It was you who killed my wife and daughter!"

"Oh? Something like that happened?"

Kakuzu snorted. "Hmph, stop pretending you don't know. Before you occupied the Land of Waterfalls, I was outside its borders on a mission. When I returned, my home had become territory of your Flame Hidden Village, and I couldn't find any trace of my wife or daughter!"

Unable to find his wife and daughter, Kakuzu naturally blamed the Uchiha Clan. But trying to wipe out the Uchiha Clan on his own was clearly nothing more than a fool's dream, so he set his sights on Yan Hong.

Yan Hong held a fairly high position within the Uchiha Clan, but his reputation in the Shinobi World was far below that of his two older brothers. That led Kakuzu to believe Yan Hong was weak, making him the perfect target for revenge!

After lying in wait outside Flame Hidden Village for nearly a week, Kakuzu had finally caught Yan Hong leaving on a mission. But Yan Hong had always been surrounded by too many people for him to make a move. He followed them all the way from the Land of Flame to the Land of Crafts, where he finally found the perfect opportunity to strike.

Yet he had never expected Yan Hong to be even stronger than he had imagined. His misjudgment had driven him into a dead end!

But so be it. He would take it as a chance to reunite with his wife and daughter.

"Hey, don't you think you've misunderstood something?" Just as Kakuzu was moved by his own tragedy, Yan Hong interrupted him with a strange expression. "I don't know who your wife and daughter are, but from what you've described, it's obvious that Flame Hidden Village requisitioned your home. In such cases, the homeowner is usually compensated. And if you couldn't find them, I assume you never even went into Flame Hidden Village to look?"

Kakuzu froze. "What do you mean?"

Yan Hong continued, "To speed up construction, Flame Hidden Village recruited a large number of laborers. Your wife was very likely one of them, helping with logistical work. That's why you couldn't find her."

"What you're saying... is true?" The sudden good news left Kakuzu stunned. Hope rekindled in his eyes, but Yan Hong's next words dragged him back into an icy abyss.

"I have no reason to lie to a dying man." Yan Hong's tone was filled with endless coldness. "It may have been a misunderstanding, but I won't let someone who tried to assassinate me leave alive."

"You..." Kakuzu opened his mouth, yet could not say a word. After all, that was only natural.

"I'll give you a chance. Defeat me, and I'll let you go see your wife and daughter."

An intense fighting spirit erupted from Kakuzu's eyes as he looked up at Yan Hong. "Is that true?"

Yan Hong said nothing. He merely raised one hand and crooked his fingers at him.

"Then excuse me."

Crash—

Wind and rain swept across the earth, raising a curtain of drifting dust and water!

Boom—

At that moment, Yan Hong stomped the ground. His body instantly tore through the curtain of rain as he leaped into the air, gripping his sword in both hands and slashing downward. In the brief instant of his opening move, the blade scattered the surrounding rain into mist, forming a ring of fog like a sea dragon as it crashed toward Kakuzu below!

Earth Release: Earth Spear!

Since Kakuzu had yet to learn the secret technique Earth Grudge Fear, he had only mastered the nature transformation of Earth Release. His two arms rapidly hardened, and he crossed them above his head to block!

Boom—

With a thunderous roar, the water pooled on the ground rippled in rings. The massive shockwave swept up the falling rain, forming a circular wave that spread in every direction!

Kakuzu strained to block the longsword, but the tremendous force forced his body to slide sideways. Yet Kakuzu possessed extremely rich combat experience. Knowing that he had lost the initiative, he suddenly released his strength and shifted left at the same time!

Clang—

Deprived of support, the longsword cleaved straight into the earth. The gray stone ground split apart instantly, carved with a several-meter-long groove!

Kakuzu planted one foot on the blade with all his strength, pinning it down. At the same time, his right fist glowed with a dark black light as it smashed toward Yan Hong's forehead with a suffocating shriek through the air!

The entire sequence flowed as smoothly as water, forcibly reversing his disadvantage and seizing the upper hand!

Yan Hong's eyes lit up. He had not expected his opponent to fight like that. As expected of someone ruthless enough to dare assassinate Senju Hashirama. With his sword pinned to the ground, he could only release the hilt, step back with his right foot, and bring his hands together upright before him!

The unstoppable fist crashed into Yan Hong's joined palms in an instant!

Boom—

Amid the muffled impact, a visible shockwave traveled up Yan Hong's arms. His sleeves shattered inch by inch beneath the ferocious force, yet his body remained like an ancient boulder, not even swaying once!

Kakuzu's pupils shrank. Just as he was about to continue his combination attack, Yan Hong grabbed his right hand and snapped his right leg upward like lightning, kicking toward his waist and abdomen!

Bang—

Kakuzu grunted, his body stumbling backward uncontrollably. Every step splashed a blooming flower of water across the ground!

Yan Hong also used the force to retreat. While backing away, he extended two fingers from each hand and formed a cross before him!

Shadow Clone Technique!

Poof—

A cloud of white smoke burst before Yan Hong. A Shadow Clone emerged from the mist and charged forward at high speed, lowering his body as he went. He scooped up the longsword from the ground with one hand, reached Kakuzu in only three steps, gripped the sword one-handed, and slashed upward from below!

"This isn't an ordinary clone?!"

Kakuzu was horrified. No matter how fast his reaction was, he could not respond while his body was still retreating. He only saw a flash of blade light as a bright streak swept across his chest!

Swoosh—

Blood splattered through the air, only to be immediately washed away by the rain. A wound more than an inch deep nearly cut through Kakuzu's entire chest!

The intense pain left Kakuzu dazed. Through the haze, he seemed to see his wife and daughter smiling as they waved to him.

No, I have to make it back alive!

A powerful will suddenly erupted from within him. The moment the second flash of blade light appeared, his right hand shot out and seized the arm holding the sword. Amid the clone's startled gaze, he gathered every ounce of strength in his body and drove his forehead into the clone's face!

Poof—

The Shadow Clone instantly burst into a cloud of white smoke, and the longsword in his hand fell to the ground. Kakuzu picked up the sword and was about to counterattack when his vision was filled with a dazzling blue light!

Rasengan!

Kakuzu's eyes widened as he watched the blue sphere hurtle toward his forehead, with no room left to evade!

Was I still... going to die?

Bang—

At the final moment, the spinning chakra suddenly dispersed. Yan Hong clenched his five fingers into a fist and slammed it into Kakuzu's face!

Thud—

The tall body crashed to the ground, sending water splashing everywhere!

Everything returned to silence, leaving only the soft patter of raindrops striking the ground.

"Cough, cough..." Kakuzu coughed up blood. Looking at the endless rain falling from the sky, he asked in confusion, "Why didn't you kill me?"

Yan Hong looked down at Kakuzu lying on the ground and said, "I'll give you a chance to buy your life back."

"Money? How much do you want?"

"How much... Let's say... one hundred billion Explosive Tags."