"Asshole! Leave me alone! I want to complete the ritual!" Hidan was still chirping and complaining to Kakuzu, "This brat's soul will soon become the perfect sacrifice for Lord Jashin!"
Kakuzu is too lazy to talk nonsense.
"Why did I recruit this idiot?"
He held Hidan by the collar like a noisy chicken, and punched Hidan accurately in the abdomen with his other hand.
"Pfft--"
Hidan was beaten until he vomited blood, and all the rest of his words were stuck in his throat.
"Shut up," Kakuzu said in a hoarse voice without any emotion, "The bonus you bring is much more important than your boring ceremony."
His eyes, which shone with a strange green light in the darkness, scanned the Konoha team waiting in the square, and finally settled on those strange-looking Bolters.
Greed is unabashed.
The next moment, Kakuzu raised his hand without any warning.
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!"
Countless jet-black threads shot out from his body like poisonous snakes with life, and swooped at every burning torch around the square with incredible speed and accuracy.
The moment the flame was touched by the thread, it went out quietly without even a struggle.
The last bit of light disappeared.
The entire square was instantly plunged into absolute darkness where one couldn't even see his fingers. The sound of wind, breathing, and heartbeat were infinitely amplified in the dead silence, oppressing everyone's nerves.
Kakuzu's pair of green eyes suspended in mid-air are like two erratic will-o'-the-wisps, exuding an aura of ominousness and death.
Immediately afterwards, there was a sharp sound of breaking wind.
Countless black threads came silently from all directions. They emerged from the ground, from the walls, and from the gaps in the piles of corpses, weaving into an airtight web of death, completely disrupting the original tight fan-shaped formation of the fire team.
"Bang!"
A member of Root was wrapped around his ankle by silk thread. He was lifted up in the air and slammed against the wall. The Bolter in his hand flew out.
Fortunately, Sasuke had quick eyesight and quick hands and used a bullet to cut off the thread and rescued him.
But chaos is spreading.
"Throw flash bombs and smoke bombs, Plan 3 retreats!"
Naruto's extremely calm voice was clearly transmitted into the ears of each team member through the tactical headset.
"Yes!"
The panic stopped instantly, and the well-trained team members immediately executed the order. Several flash bombs were thrown in different directions and exploded with a "boom". The dazzling white light instantly illuminated the entire square, and the black threads flying in the sky were briefly stagnant.
Taking advantage of this gap, the smoke bomb fell to the ground, and thick white smoke quickly spread, blocking the line of sight.
The team members did not hesitate at all, and immediately followed the planned retreat route No. 3, covering alternately, and blended into the deeper darkness of the alley quietly like a stream of water.
"Hmph! Want to run?" Kakuzu's voice sounded in the smoke, with a hint of joking.
At the end of the retreating team, a discordant note appeared.
Student Kenta's left leg was bleeding profusely, and the severe pain made every step he took extremely difficult, and he soon fell behind.
Two Root members immediately turned back, picked him up one on the left and the other on the right, and forcibly dragged him to follow the team.
Naruto is not leaving.
He stood at the entrance of the alley and cut off his back in person, his scarlet eyes looming in the smoke, looking indifferently at Kenta's pale face that was distorted by pain and shame.
"Don't feel guilty."
Naruto's voice without any emotion sounded, making Kenta's body tremble suddenly, and a warm current surged in his heart. Master Commissar... are you comforting me?
"But," Naruto continued, "Remember this feeling of powerlessness. This is the price you pay for forgetting discipline."
"Yes... I understand!" He gritted his teeth and nodded heavily.
"When you go back, submit a thousand-word self-reflection report detailing why you made such a stupid mistake and how to ensure you don't make it again."
"..."
The warmth in Kenta's heart froze instantly.
In the square, the smoke gradually dispersed.
Hidan broke free from the shackles of Kakuzu and was about to chase him into the alley with the sickle on his shoulder. "Don't even think about running away! I will dedicate all of you to Lord Jashin!"
"Whoosh!"
A black silk thread wrapped around his ankle like lightning, hanging him upside down in the air.
"Shut up, Hidan." Kakuzu said hoarsely, with no intention of pursuing him. "Today's bonus has been received, so there is no need to do anything extra."
He glanced at the noisy Hidan with disgust.
"Forget it, mental damages are also part of the salary."
As he spoke, he controlled hundreds of black threads, like the most efficient cleaner, and began to "clean the battlefield" in the square.
Hidan Triple-Bladed Scythe that fell to the ground was rolled up by silk thread and returned to his hands.
Any valuable items on the bodies of those fanatics who were shot to death - money bags, jewelry, and even teeth with gold teeth - were accurately stripped off with silk threads and gathered into a small pile at the feet of Kakuzu.
The whole process was smooth and smooth, full of businessman's shrewdness and ruthlessness.
Kakuzu packed the loot with satisfaction and glanced at Hidan who was still struggling. "Let's go, the organization has new tasks."
Land of Hot Water, in an abandoned hot spring hotel.
This place was transformed into a temporary stronghold.
All members of the Naruto team have returned safely, and the injured Kenta has also received timely treatment. Apart from being a little pale, there is nothing serious.
The atmosphere is a bit dull.
On the first mission, they encountered an S-class rebellious ninja and suffered a loss at the opponent's hands. This made Sasuke and Neji, the proud men of heaven, feel a little depressed.
"Cheer up, everyone."
Naruto spoke, his voice was not loud, but it made everyone straighten their backs subconsciously.
"This operation was not a failure, but a successful armed reconnaissance." He looked around the crowd with calm eyes, "We obtained two extremely valuable pieces of living intelligence at an innocuous price, clarifying the enemy's capabilities, identity, and their purpose of appearing here. We made a profit from this transaction."
In just a few words, he redefined a seemingly embarrassing retreat into a valuable intelligence victory.
The gloom in the team members' eyes was swept away, replaced by enlightenment and excitement.
That's right, they know the enemy's capabilities and know that the "Akatsuki" organization is recruiting new people. The next time they encounter it, they won't be so passive.
Naruto walked to a map, took a brief piece of information from his subordinate, and spread it out on the table.
According to the information, it is the avatar of a man wearing Takigakure Forehead Protector.
"Kakuzu, Takigakure S-level rebel ninja, the specific age is unknown. According to the top secret files of Konoha, he once accepted the mission to assassinate First Hokage Hashirama Senju and defected after the failure. He is one of the living legends with the highest bounty in the Underground Bounty Exchange system."
Hiss--
Sasuke and Neji both took a deep breath.
Assassinate First Hokage? What era is that monster from? It's still alive!
"Assassinate First Hokage? Should I say he is brave or has a bad mind?" Neji complained.
"The appearance of Kakuzu confirms one thing." Naruto's finger lightly crossed several known strongholds of "Bounty Station" on the map. "The 'Akatsuki' organization has deep interests bound to the underground economic network throughout Shinobi World. This is both their advantage and their weakness."
A complete plan quickly took shape in his mind.
He looked at a Root member in the corner who was in charge of intelligence.
"Order all lurking networks everywhere, use all resources, and start collecting all information about 'Bounty Station' and Kakuzu. His transaction records, his route of action, his interpersonal relationships... I want them all."
"Yes!"
"If necessary, money can be used to purchase his whereabouts, and even... buy his enemies to delay him."
After laying out the plan for Kakuzu, Naruto turned his attention to Neji, and the brother and sister Blood Pool who had remained silent behind him - Nowaki and Kana.
"Neji."
"Here."
"Your mission needs to change." Naruto pointed to an area marked red in Land of Hot Water on the map, "This is Valley of Hell. I need you to lead a team and take the two of them to the outside of Valley of Hell for investigation."