"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"
Kakuzu sprinted through the forest at top speed. God knew why he had accepted such a brain-dead mission—and worse, he had actually gone through with it.
"Damn it! When I get back, I'll kill every last one of you! A bunch of useless parasites who only know how to sit back and enjoy the rewards!"
A few days earlier, Takigakure's leader, the Takikage, had received the latest intelligence: Hashirama Senju of the Land of Fire was convening a Five Kage Summit to distribute the Tailed Beasts.
What were Tailed Beasts? Nearly every shinobi clan had records concerning them. They were legendary creatures said to be immortal and indestructible.
Yet Konoha's Hokage was giving such things away for free, while Takigakure had nothing to do with this good fortune.
Takigakure was merely a small shinobi village in an equally small country, wedged into some godforsaken corner of the world. Survival itself was a struggle, which had left them somewhat cut off from the outside world.
One day, Takigakure's higher-ups summoned Kakuzu and assigned him a secret mission.
"Kakuzu, you are an exceptionally outstanding shinobi of our village. Among all the Jōnin, you are the one I think most highly of."
"I'm giving you a secret mission. Before long, the Five Kage Summit will be held in the Land of Iron. I want you to... take out the Hokage on his way back."
"Do you understand?"
"If you succeed, I will fully support you as the next Takikage."
"Do your best!"
When Kakuzu heard those words, his mind went blank. Being valued certainly made him happy, but the most important thing for a shinobi was having a clear understanding of his own strength.
Others might not know, but Kakuzu, who often left the village to take