Kakuzu's Sudden Appearance

"Sasuke, how are you? Are you okay?"

Sasuke Uchiha opened his eyes and saw Haku in a Maid Outfit. His face flushed.

He tried to sit up at once, but pain shot through his entire body.

"Your injuries haven't healed yet. Lie back down and rest!"

"How's Naruto?"

"You don't even ask about your own brother. All you care about is Naruto!" Uchiha Yoru complained from the doorway.

"Naruto? He went off to train. Said he was going to surpass you. Kakashi's giving him special training!"

"Special training?"

"I can't lose!"

Sasuke Uchiha gritted his teeth and tried to stand.

"Agh!"

Uchiha Yoru slapped him right on his bandaged waist!

The pain made Sasuke grimace.

"Still going to push yourself?" Uchiha Yoru teased.

If Uchiha Itachi hadn't awakened the Mangekyō, sending Sasuke Uchiha to his death might not have been such a bad idea.

But Itachi had awakened it. If Sasuke went and got himself killed, surely Itachi's Mangekyō wouldn't turn into an Eternal Mangekyō the moment he got angry!

Besides, with the old Sage of Six Paths around, there was no way he'd let Sasuke Uchiha die so easily.

Sasuke Uchiha could awaken the Mangekyō, then have his eyes transplanted into Itachi. Give Sasuke an ordinary pair of Sharingan afterward, and once his Asura Chakra awakened, he'd get a pair of Rinnegan on the spot.

And they'd gain a pair of Eternal Mangekyō for free.

Sage of Six Paths: Are you trying to exploit a bug in my system? (Since no one else is going to call this out, I'll do it myself.)

At the thought, Uchiha Yoru studied Sasuke and broke into a strange smile.

Sasuke Uchiha instinctively wrapped himself in his blanket. He knew that when his brother smiled like that, someone was in for a bad time—and that someone was probably him.

The last time had been when he was six and got forced into white stockings and a schoolgirl skirt. It had been mortifying. Whenever someone called him cute, his face burned so hot he wanted to die of embarrassment.

The bridge was nearly complete. Kakashi crouched with a copy of Icha Icha Paradise, grinning foolishly beneath his mask.

"Zabuza, that useless bastard. I knew he'd fail!"

A short man in a suit and sunglasses appeared in front of Kakashi.

"That's Gato!" Tazuna shouted, fear in his eyes.

"Good thing I have another plan!"

Kakashi looked at the men behind Gato and broke into a sweat.

Not from fear. From sheer disbelief.

This bunch of thugs with barely any chakra is your backup plan? You'd have been better off hiring Zabuza again.

"Get them!"

Gato hung back as he gave the order.

"Lightning Release: Lightning Blade!"

Kakashi charged straight in. Against thugs like these, what did it matter if he didn't have the Sharingan to aim with? Could they dodge him?

In the blink of an eye, holes of varying sizes appeared in the thugs' bodies, and they collapsed dead.

At the sight, Gato stumbled back a few steps and fell onto his backside.

A wet patch spread beneath him.

"I have money! Lots of money! Spare me, and I'll give you all of it!" Gato begged on his knees.

"Go to hell and atone to everyone you killed and tormented!"

Lightning crackled in Kakashi's hand. Then, without warning, a figure hurled Gato aside and caught Kakashi's Lightning Blade with one hand.

Kakashi immediately pulled back, eyeing this unknown opponent.

The man before him felt dangerous. Almost like... the Hokage!

This man was as strong as Lord Hokage.

"Is that true?"

The man who had stopped Kakashi turned toward Gato. His eyes held no emotion at all.

"Yes! I have heaps of money. It's all yours!" Gato shouted.

"Kakashi, the bounty on your head in the Black Market is 105 million—the price of three Asuma Sarutobis. Mind if I take your head?" Kakuzu asked, making no attempt to hide the predatory look in his eyes.

"A bounty hunter!"

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"

Everyone else had fled when Gato arrived with his thugs, so Kakashi had no one to worry about catching in the fight.

The man before him was as strong as Lord Hokage! Kakashi had to stay completely focused.

A water dragon formed in the sea in an instant. Perhaps because they were out over the ocean, it was even larger than usual.

"Earth Release: Hardening Technique!"

Kakuzu's arms took on a rocky sheen. He crossed them in front of himself, and the impact only drove him back a short distance.

An arm burst up through the bridge, seized Kakashi's leg, and dragged him toward Kakuzu with furious force.

His arm can move like that?

"Lightning Blade!"

Kakashi hurriedly formed Hand Seals. Lightning flared, and Kakuzu released him at once.

Kakuzu swung his other fist down, aiming to crush Kakashi's skull before he could regain his footing.

Fortunately, Kakashi reacted in time and leaped back.

A huge hole appeared in the bridge. Kakashi broke into a cold sweat. If that punch had landed, his head would have burst like a watermelon.

"Kakashi, are you all right?"

Tazuna had rushed home and brought Uchiha Yoru back with him.

"Kakuzu. A Ninja who once fought the First Hokage. He has the power to stay young and never die!"

Kakuzu wasn't surprised that Uchiha Yoru knew about him. Anyone who'd spent time in the Black Market would know that much.

He looked at Uchiha Yoru and weighed his options. There was no bounty on this man in the Black Market. Killing him wouldn't earn a single coin!

"Kakuzu, take Gato. The man's filthy rich. Fighting us won't profit you one bit, but you could squeeze a hundred times as much out of him!" Uchiha Yoru bargained.

Kakuzu could be killed, but not now. Naruto and Sasuke hadn't grown strong yet, so making an enemy of him would be foolish. Besides, Yoru and Kakashi couldn't beat him on their own. They could outrun him, but they couldn't win!

Kakuzu weighed the pros and cons. After a long moment, he turned, grabbed Gato by the collar, and vanished from Kakashi and Uchiha Yoru's sight.

Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief.

Who would have thought a C-rank mission would bring them face-to-face with a Kage Level Ninja?

"Kakashi, use Water Release!"

Uchiha Yoru shouted a warning.

"Composite Ninjutsu: Fire-Wind Wild Wave!"

A vast sea of flames seemed ready to burn everything in its path. Even the ocean beneath it did nothing to diminish its terrifying force.

Flames dozens of meters high surged toward Uchiha Yoru and Kakashi. Anyone caught inside would be reduced to charcoal in an instant.

"Water Release: Water Curtain!"

"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"

A massive column of water erupted from Uchiha Yoru's mouth and crashed into the flames. Kakashi held the final line of defense, keeping the fire from reaching them.

The column weakened the fire's force considerably, while Kakashi's Water Formation Wall stood firm before them.

Kakashi poured more and more chakra into it, not daring to ease up for an instant. If the wall fell, they would be exposed to the flames.

At last, the fire weakened and died out.

Steam billowed where fire met water, shrouding the bridge in thick mist.

"Yoru, is he gone?"

"He's gone!"

Uchiha Yoru took a moment to sense his surroundings before answering.

He hadn't expected Kakuzu to double back and unleash a Composite Ninjutsu. If Yoru hadn't been alert, he and Kakashi really would have died in that inferno.

"Whew..."

Kakashi let out a long breath. In the past, his chakra might not have held out. He would never have been in such good shape afterward. He gave Uchiha Yoru a grateful look.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that? I'm not into guys..."

"Oh, get lost!"