The hunt

The setting sun gilded Casino Street as Tsunade carried a bulging money pouch, a rare smile of satisfaction on her lips.

"Kid, I never knew you had this talent." She glanced sidelong at Yūto beside her. "If I'd brought you along sooner, I wouldn't have run up so much debt."

Yūto held the Sealed Box full of medical supplies helplessly, wondering how he had somehow become a dice-rolling tool at a casino when he had clearly come to escort supplies.

"Lady Tsunade, we should get back to camp as soon as possible. These medicines..."

Before he could finish, a cold, sinister chakra suddenly spread from deep within the forest.

Yūto's Sharingan activated instantly, three tomoe slowly rotating in his blood-red eyes.

"There's an ambush," he warned quietly, leaning forward slightly to shield Tsunade.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. She had been so caught up in the joy of winning money that she had failed to sense the enemy.

But Yūto was a Jonin now, after all, so his senses probably weren't wrong.

"Who's stupid enough to get in my way?" She clenched her fists, her knuckles cracking. "Just in time for a little exercise."

A hoarse voice rang out coldly from the shadows of the trees:

"Uchiha brat from Konoha... your head is worth thirty-five million ryō."

Kakuzu slowly emerged from the shadows, his green eyes gleaming eerily in the twilight. The black threads of Earth Grudge Fear writhed at his cuffs like living things.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes at Kakuzu as he appeared. "Who's this guy? A bounty hunter?"

"What rotten luck you have, running into me..."

Kakuzu sneered. "As long as there's money in it, I'll kill even the First Hokage's granddaughter without hesitation."

Yūto stared at Kakuzu, his heartbeat quickening slightly. This was no ordinary enemy.

He truly hadn't expected to be targeted by Kakuzu, the most famous bounty hunter in the Shinobi World.

Still, it wasn't surprising. Word had probably already spread throughout the Shinobi World of how he had tricked Kumogakure's main force, leaving their camp poorly defended, and ultimately killed their frontline commander himself.

It wasn't just Kumogakure that hated him to the bone and wanted him dead.

The other ninja villages had probably also grown wary of Yūto, Konoha's rising star, so it was perfectly normal for someone to pay for a bounty on his head.

Still, Yūto couldn't help griping about the price. Wasn't thirty-five million ryō the bounty on Asuma's head in the original story?

So after all that, I'm only in the same league as Asuma right now?

No, that's not important.

What mattered was that Yūto was still a small fry to Kakuzu. Surely Kakuzu could kill him with ease.

Yūto barely suppressed the almost irrepressible curl of his lips. This was fantastic. He had searched high and low in vain, only to find it without any effort at all!

He hadn't expected that being roped into an escort mission would let him encounter an enemy of Kakuzu's caliber.

And beside him stood Tsunade, whose hemophobia still hadn't been cured!

Because of her hemophobia, Tsunade might not even be able to wield a tenth of her original strength.

Yūto could almost see his once-unreachable life on Blue Star waiting for him again, its face flushed with bashfulness!

You're fantastic, Kakuzu!

You're fantastic, Blue Star!

Excited though he was, Yūto still had to warn Tsunade. If she could escape, she should.

Life on Blue Star was tempting, but Yūto didn't want to trade a companion's life for it.

Yūto drew a kunai and held it across his body, his Three-Tomoe Sharingan fixed on Kakuzu a short distance away as he warned Tsunade.

"Lady Tsunade, this man's name is Kakuzu. He's a rogue ninja from Takigakure. Decades ago, he attempted to assassinate Lord First!"

"You'd better be careful!"

Then Yūto lowered his voice and spoke to Tsunade again.

"Lady Tsunade, your hemophobia hasn't healed yet. Make sure you escape first when things start. I'll keep Kakuzu occupied!"

At Yūto's warning, Tsunade's lovely brows immediately drew together.

She had never heard of Kakuzu, but seeing how certain Yūto seemed, the intelligence appeared to be genuine.

By that reckoning, Kakuzu had to be an old man in his sixties or seventies at the very least!

Yet he looked only around thirty. Did he also know some secret technique to prevent aging, like her Yin Seal?

While Tsunade was thinking, Kakuzu spoke.

"To think there's still someone among the younger generation of ninja who recognizes me, Kakuzu."

"I'll make your trip to hell a little less painful, boy of the Uchiha Clan."

Kakuzu's words immediately displeased Tsunade. Who did he think he was? In all her life, she had never heard of anyone attempting to assassinate her grandfather.

Even if this strange man named Kakuzu had once attempted to assassinate her grandfather, he had probably only thrown a shuriken from eight hundred miles away.

Now he stood before her, brazenly declaring that he would kill a Konoha ninja. What did he take her, one of the Konoha Sannin, for?

A decoration?

"Hey, strange man named Kakuzu. You still have a chance to run. Otherwise, once I make my move..."

Tsunade curled her lips and threatened, "My fists will smash you to pieces!"

Yūto truly couldn't understand how Tsunade could be making threats. He had already warned her that this man had once attempted to assassinate the First Hokage.

Lady, do you think you're still the Tsunade you used to be?

Your hemophobia hasn't healed yet!

"Lady Tsunade, hurry and escape! I'll hold Kakuzu off!"

As he spoke, Yūto kept signaling Tsunade with his eyes, his Sharingan swiveling so much that they were almost going cross-eyed.

But Tsunade remained completely unmoved, brimming with fighting spirit!

Kakuzu sneered. The only reason he hadn't threatened Tsunade earlier was that, in his eyes, she was already dead.

"Konoha's Slug Princess, has your hemophobia healed?"

"Your bounty is far higher than this Uchiha brat's. Since you're so eager to die, I'll oblige you right away!"

Tsunade's eyes widened. Her hemophobia was considered classified information in Konoha. How did Kakuzu know about it?

It was actually perfectly normal for Kakuzu to know about Tsunade's hemophobia. He was the Underground Bounty Station's most famous bounty hunter!

One could say that he held intelligence on all the most famous ninja in the Shinobi World.

Otherwise, how could he hunt down specific ninja to collect their bounties?

Was he supposed to rely on strength alone?

Yūto gritted his teeth. Why was Tsunade being so stubborn now? He had warned her twice in a row to leave. Why did she insist on staying?

With things having come to this, Yūto could only attack first.

Rat-Tiger-Dog-Ox-Rabbit-Tiger.

"Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Claw Crimson!"

Yūto's Sharingan spun rapidly as fireballs poured from his mouth, carrying shuriken toward Kakuzu a short distance away.

"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"

The high-pressure ball of wind blew Yūto's Phoenix Flower Claw Crimson apart outright.

But Yūto wasn't surprised in the slightest. Phoenix Flower Claw Crimson was a control technique. His greatest strength as Uchiha Yūto was taijutsu!

[Uchiha Style: Konoha Whirlwind!]