The smell of smoke and dust hung in the forest.
As time passed, Kakuzu gradually lost ground. Despite his mastery of all five elemental releases, this was the first time he had been overwhelmed in basic elemental ninjutsu.
The enemy before him had used only five ninjutsu, yet had cost him two hearts.
He also could not understand why such a powerful ninja would serve as a mere caravan guard when he could easily pledge himself to a small country's Daimyō and establish a shinobi village.
Or was this merchant association itself under the man's secret control?
Kakuzu, who had always been sensitive to anything involving money, often heard about the Tailed Beast Merchant Association from the Black Market's owner.
It was a merchant association that had emerged in recent years and rapidly spread throughout the Land of Fire. Now it was showing signs of expanding into other countries as well.
He had once scoffed at a merchant association named after tailed beasts. The name was far too ostentatious.
Now, it seemed he had been wrong. This association possessed considerable strength. At the very least, the ninja before him was unexpectedly powerful. No wonder it had expanded so quickly.
As a ninja who had survived since the Warring States Period, he understood that powerful ninja stood behind every major faction in the shinobi world.
And this man was almost certainly the strongest ninja he had encountered in recent years, apart from their leader, Pain.
Zou Hyuga panted softly as he pursued Kakuzu. In truth, he was in a rather awkward position. The ninjutsu he had cast earlier had nearly exhausted his nature transformation chakra.
Without ninjutsu, he had no particularly effective way to deal with the masks floating in the sky.
Each of Kakuzu's masks was equivalent to a Jonin.