The tall man seated at the head wore an Akatsuki cloak, a black mask covering the lower half of his face. The Takigakure rogue ninja Forehead Protector attached to his hood stood out conspicuously.
He was none other than Kakuzu, a member of the Akatsuki!
"Too weak! You're all too weak!" Ignoring Shibuki's cries, Kakuzu shook his head. "Since I left, not a single person in Takigakure has learned Earth Grudge Fear. A village like this should have ceased to exist long ago."
"Kakuzu, is that why you killed everyone?!" Shibuki's face was full of grief and fury.
Kakuzu glanced at him and shook his head. "No, you're worthless to me. Your only use is that killing you earns me a handsome commission."
A commission?
Shibuki froze. He had never expected an answer like that. Were all those lives worth less than a mere commission?
"Enough. Once this war is over, Takigakure will cease to exist." Kakuzu rose and walked toward Shibuki, his voice impatient. "Tell me where the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki is! I can give you a quick death!"
A powerful killing intent poured out of him.
Barely over ten years old, Shibuki stared at Kakuzu in terror, utterly unable to move under that killing intent.
"What a coward." Kakuzu sighed. Takigakure truly had no worthy successors.
Kakuzu had been hired by Ōnoki for this mission. His first objective was to force Takigakure to wage war on Kusagakure, while the second was the Akatsuki's own objective: to capture the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki along the way.
Yet even after killing everyone here, he had found no trace of the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki.
"I... I won't tell you," Shibuki said, trembling.
"You think I can't do anything to you just because you won't talk?" Kakuzu sneered.
After living for so many years, what was