Kakuzu suddenly opened his eyes. The others in the cave were preparing the necessities for the ritual, tracing eerie patterns on the ground in blood. The child they had abducted trembled off to one side, his face full of fear—
Kakuzu paid no attention to their activities. As far as he was concerned, whatever they did had nothing to do with him. What truly concerned him was the fleeting premonition of danger. Ordinary people tended to be skeptical of such feelings, and most dismissed them as imagination. But someone like Kakuzu, who had survived on the brink of death, trusted them more than anyone, even when they seemed utterly irrational.
Kakuzu had heard nothing unusual, yet he was certain Kazemori Masaki and the others had arrived. They were approaching and could appear before him at any moment.
He glanced at the others. Not all the Evil God Worshippers were here; some had concealed themselves elsewhere to keep watch, ready to detect and counterattack any enemies who appeared. Still, Kakuzu thought their concealment was far too amateurish. They could not fool his eyes, and probably could not fool Kazemori Masaki either.
But Kakuzu had no intention of warning them. In his eyes, the Evil God Worshippers were already dead men. Why waste his strength helping them? Rather than worry about that, he would be better off considering how to obtain Kazemori Masaki's heart.
When Kakuzu rose, a few people noticed. Although he was the ninja they had hired, the Evil God Worshippers did not trust him much—perhaps they thought anyone who did not believe in the Evil God was unworthy of trust. Still, they needed his strength, so they had to accommodate him in some respects.
"Kakuzu, has something happened?" one of them asked.
"Nothing. I'm just going out to take