At the center of the ruins, the stench of blood was thick enough to make one gag.
But Kakuzu had grown accustomed to that smell.
The boy sensed an unfamiliar presence and abruptly looked up. In his eyes, dimmed by blood loss, a flame of vigilance instantly ignited. He gripped the kunai in his hand tighter and aimed it at Kakuzu.
But when he saw who had come, that vigilance turned to surprise, then into something indescribably complicated.
It was him.
The strange man who had given him a kunai and told him to "fight for it."
Kakuzu silently watched him—watched the bloodstained copper coins at his feet, watched those stubborn, vicious eyes.
An indescribable emotion surged into his heart like magma buried deep underground.
He thought of himself.
A long, long time ago, he had been the same way, willing to do anything to survive, for the sake of that tiny shred of dignity.
Boom—!
The thunderous pounding of massive beasts came from the dense forest, and the ground shook violently. Two ferocious summoned beasts smashed through the trees in their path and charged out amid a foul wind, heading straight for Kakuzu.
Kakuzu had no time to think.
Pain and the others had already seen the boy. By his usual methods, to avoid exposing his tracks, he would have killed the only witness who could reveal his whereabouts without hesitation.
But this time, he did not.
Black tendrils shot from his back. They did not strike the enemy, but wrapped around the stunned boy and violently pulled him close.
"Ah!" The boy struggled in terror.
"Don't move!" Kakuzu's voice was ice-cold. "Otherwise, we'll both die!"
The boy froze at once, not daring to make a sound. He only secretly glanced up at the tall, monstrous man.
Kakuzu took