"Ah, feels great!"
Right then, Hidan lay on the ground with deadly spikes piercing all his vital points, a bizarre look spread across his face.
He let out a tingling, ecstatic roar of "feels great"!
"Thud..."
Without even glancing at Hidan, Kakuzu walked straight over to the group and tossed all their bodies together.
After tying them up with rope, five black monsters emerged from inside his body and hoisted the ten corpses onto their shoulders.
With that, he walked over to Hidan and gave him a kick.
"Get up yourself. I'm going to cash the bounty first."
As soon as he finished speaking, Kakuzu vanished right there on the spot.
Hidan lay there for a moment, then rose to his feet, hoisted his Bloody Triple-Bladed Scythe, and left.
The former Land of Whirlpools.
At that moment, a group of Kirigakure shinobi were speeding along.
"Swish, swish, swish..."
The party came to a sudden halt.
Because two people had appeared right in front of them.
"My, I really don't know why I had to come execute a mission like this with you."
"Tell me, Juzo, have you ever met the Leader!?"
"I really want to go meet the Leader!"
As he spoke, Orochimaru licked his serpentine tongue.
An excited look surfaced in his eyes.
"Just execute the mission."
"As for the Leader... you can bring it up yourself during the next meeting."
Juzo Biwa already had his Kubikiribōchō drawn as he spoke.
"Juzo!?"
"You... actually here?"
"How nice. Since we've run into you this time, it's about time we brought your Kubikiribōchō back."
"And your life along with it!"
"Hidden Mist Technique!"
Having finished speaking, the Kirigakure shinobi instantly cast the Hidden Mist Technique.
Immediately, the entire group vanished into the fog.
"You shinobi from Kirigakure really never change!"
"This kind of combat style was already being cracked back during the Third Shinobi World War."
"To think you're still fighting with this style now..."
Looking somewhat helpless, Orochimaru directly raised his hand.
"Many Snake Formation!"
With those words, Orochimaru dropped flat onto the ground.
In an instant, a massive swarm of snakes poured out from Orochimaru's mouth.
They spread out in all directions.
Once the snakes were released, Orochimaru stood back up.
"Is my body starting to break down already?"
"Looks like I need to speed things up."
Orochimaru felt the state of his body and gave a self-deprecating laugh.
Then, he raised his right hand.
A swirl of Wind Release chakra appeared in his palm.
In a flash, Orochimaru vanished from the spot.
"Honestly, fighting alongside this guy really is a bit much to take..."
After tossing out a cold remark, Juzo Biwa also rushed forward, brandishing the Kubikiribōchō in his hand.
Operating within the Hidden Mist Technique required a high level of sensory perception.
As a member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist who walked out of Kirigakure, Juzo Biwa's sensory abilities were by no means weak.
After rushing quickly into the mist, the battle began.
Although he came from Kirigakure.
Still, Juzo Biwa did not have much sense of belonging to Kirigakure.
Therefore, when he made his move, he would not show mercy.
Got you!
Three Kirigakure shinobi suddenly appeared around Orochimaru.
The kunai in their hands instantly thrust toward Orochimaru.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle...
Orochimaru raised his hand and instantly released Wind Release: Cutting.
The bodies of the three directly turned into bloody mist, scattering all over the ground.
Although Orochimaru could no longer perceive everyone's positions under this Hidden Mist Technique.
Still, the snakes he released were all his eyes.
Therefore, surprise attacks under this Hidden Mist Technique... were completely useless.
Half an hour later.
The mist dispersed.
At this time, there were still three people lying on the ground, twitching.
"Orochimaru, can you not do such things in front of me?"
"I'm afraid I won't be able to help myself from attacking you."
Juzo Biwa looked at Orochimaru with some dissatisfaction.
At this moment, Orochimaru was conducting experimental dissections on the three living Kirigakure shinobi.
Although he was used to combat and blood.
Still, Juzo Biwa was not accustomed to such disgusting things...
"Hehe..."
"Then, I'll take them away first."
Snake Swallowing Snake Technique!
After Orochimaru finished speaking, the surrounding snakes instantly began to devour one another.
Finally, they turned into a large snake that swallowed the three shinobi on the ground along with Orochimaru himself.
Then, it turned into white mist and vanished from this place.
"As expected, it's still hard to get used to fighting alongside this guy..."
Juzo Biwa said, looking at the corpses scattered around the ground.
Then, he began to dig pits...
At this time, Uchiha Nagasawa led the shinobi and stopped at a small village in the Land of Fire.
"Hmm!?"
Looking at the information sent by the reconnaissance shinobi, Uchiha Nagasawa was also somewhat puzzled.
This...
Foreign village shinobi who had infiltrated the Land of Fire had been wiped out by a strange force.
Until now, Uchiha Nagasawa had not encountered shinobi from any other villages.
The information he received consisted entirely of reports about various foreign village squads or teams being slaughtered...
"Captain Nagasawa."
"Should we contact the Patriarch?"
"Such a bizarre matter might mean someone is pulling strings behind the scenes."
Uchiha Ryunen came before Uchiha Nagasawa, speaking with a solemn expression.
"No need."
"This is the same as our mission."
"Since someone is making a move, let them make it."
"However, it's best we don't run into them..."
The sharp glint in Uchiha Nagasawa's eyes carried a dense fighting spirit.
Meanwhile.
In the Land of Rivers.
"Lady Tsunade, you lost again."
"Are you going to continue next!?"
The dealer looked at the chips before him, somewhat excited.
He had been working as a dealer for almost ten years, and he finally encountered such a big fat sheep like Tsunade.
After today's gambling session, he would at least reap a cut of over one hundred thousand ryo.
Moreover, this game of gambling was not over yet.
It might even be more.
"Continue to bet small."
Tsunade looked somewhat lacking in interest as she pushed all the remaining chips in her hand onto the small position.
"I'll bet small too!"
Right at that moment, a gentle voice came over.
At the same time, a pile of chips was placed on the small position.
Generally speaking, although Tsunade's table allowed other people to participate.
However, they had to place their bets along with Tsunade.
Tsunade's reputation preceded her, and absolutely no one would bet the same thing as her.
Except for that white-haired man from earlier.
Now, the handsome guy appearing before him was obviously not... because he had black hair.
"It's you?!"
"What, did Jiraiya send you back to play lobbyist?"
Tsunade glanced at the newcomer, an indifferent expression showing on her face.
However, her peripheral vision remained fixed on this person all along.
That's right, the person who came over here was none other than Uchiha Kazama, who had left the village several days ago!