Sending Out the Scroll

Under Kakuzu's menacing intimidation, the three little ones hurriedly fled the scene.

Uchiha Nen secretly glanced back, seeming to want to etch the back of that generous Big Brother into his heart, but Kakuzu sensed his gaze.

A cold stare swept over him. Nen immediately shrank his neck and fled in panic after Tong Ren.

"So, your goal was to put on a fight with me in front of those three brats?" Kakuzu said pointedly. "That Uchiha brat should be quite close to you, shouldn't he?"

"Kakuzu, I don't really like people who are too smart." Shin'yu spoke softly. "And if you are smart, then please don't act quite so smart. It'll make it easier for us to get along, understand?"

He still wore that smiling expression, but once he finished speaking, a chaotic murderous aura rushed at Kakuzu's face before vanishing in an instant. The air froze for a moment, stopping Kakuzu's breath and breaking him out in a cold sweat.

"Understood."

"Mm, that's more like it." Shin'yu returned to his amiable appearance.

The two left together, departing the Hidden Leaf Village.

By the time Uchiha Nen and the other two ran back to the residential district, it was already late in the day.

At the horizon, the enormous setting sun sank lower and lower. Its dim golden light shone upon Hokage Rock, leaving half of the First Hokage's carved face bright as gold and the other half dark as ink.

The three little ones paused outside the Uchiha Clan Territory.

"Man, that was close today. We almost lost our lives." Tong Ren clutched his wildly pounding little heart, still shaken.

"We got lucky. Fortunately, that Blindfolded Man didn't have any killing intent toward either us or that strange man." Orochimaru's senses had always been sharp.

"What I'm more curious about is why he knew the identities of all three of us." Tong Ren frowned. "Orochimaru is one thing, but Nen... to put it bluntly, almost no one outside the clan even knows about him."

"Could he be from the Uchiha Clan?" Nen suddenly asked.

"Impossible. I can guarantee that I've truly never seen him before." Tong Ren immediately denied it.

Nen hesitated, wanting to share the scroll in his hand with his companions, but the two of them declined.

Orochimaru clearly had no interest in it. After leaving behind the words, "A gentleman does not take what others cherish," he departed.

After witnessing Shin'yu and Kakuzu's battle with his own eyes, his view of Immortality had been refreshed.

Tong Ren, too, ran home with a heavy heart. He was more curious about that blindfolded young man's identity and wanted to get a clear answer from his older sister.

With no other choice, Nen could only tuck the scroll close to his body and quickly run home.

The moment he entered, he immediately locked his door, shut the windows tight, and even drew the curtains firmly closed before plopping down against the wall.

Only after the small lamp in his room lit up did he carefully take out the scroll and slowly open its seal.

"Spiritualization Technique!"

"Transform Mental Energy into a living soul, ignoring distance to travel through and kill enemies. It can also control the opponent's body and enter another person's Mental World..."

He read it word by word, unable to stop himself from feeling fortunate. Good thing Uncle Setsuna had taught him how to read and write; otherwise, he wouldn't even be able to understand the scroll now.

But as he read on and reached the specific cultivation method, his little brows gradually furrowed.

After all, for a child who only had a vague understanding of how to extract Chakra, this forbidden technique was simply too difficult to comprehend. It was no different from asking a kindergarten child to solve calculus.

With no other choice, he could only keep the scroll on his person and wait until he had learned more ninja knowledge before studying and practicing it.

"Sunagakure Rogue Ninja, Kaji of the 'Calamity Wind.' I'll be taking your heart, along with the 30 Million Ryo."

In a desert shrouded by windblown sand, Kakuzu gripped a man's throat. Cracks in his wrist extended strands of black tentacles, which fiercely pierced through the man's chest.

Wrapped in those black tentacles, a bloody heart was torn out.

"This is the last one, right?"

Not far away, Shin'yu stood atop a tall boulder, surrounded by the corpses of wandering ninjas strewn across the ground.

"Mm. That completes the hearts of all five elements." Kakuzu replied in a muffled voice. A slit opened in his chest, and he placed the warm heart into the hollow. As black Threads slowly stitched it shut, his body returned to normal.

After devouring it, the two continued onward together.

"How many people has this Organization of yours recruited so far?" Kakuzu asked as he followed behind Shin'yu. "Don't tell me it's just the two of us."

"Of course not. There's one more." Shin'yu said, "I'm just out running errands. She's the boss of the Organization."

"She?" Kakuzu hesitated. "Is she strong?"

"Very strong!" Shin'yu nodded, a grave expression appearing on his face for the first time. "The kind where, if she tells me to go east, I wouldn't dare go west."

"I see..." Hearing that, Kakuzu became much more restrained.

He looked at Shin'yu's carefree back, hesitated for a long time, then finally asked, "By the way, there are so many powerful people in the world, and quite a few ninja with Kekkei Genkai. Why did you choose me specifically?"

"Naturally, it's because I value your ability." Shin'yu said, swaying his head. "My Subordinates need a life as tenacious as a cockroach's. That way, they won't die so easily."

"Uh..." Kakuzu was rendered speechless, unsure whether that was praise or an insult.

Shin'yu seemed to think of something. "Still, your current strength really is too weak. Fighting by relying on an information gap isn't what a strong person does. If someone finds out the secret of your immortality, you'll suffer a huge loss."

"Thanks to you, three brats already know it now."

"Don't worry. They won't tell anyone."

As he spoke, Shin'yu reached into his robes, took out another scroll, and casually tossed it to Kakuzu.

"This technique suits you better. Train in it from now on."

"This is..." Kakuzu opened the scroll skeptically, and a line of small writing at the beginning entered his sight:

"Taijutsu Secret Art: Eight Gates Release Formation."

He said in shock, "Isn't this what you used at the very end..."

Not long ago, in the Hidden Leaf Forest, Shin'yu had suddenly unleashed that terrifying power and casually torn his body apart like a doll. Kakuzu still remembered that scene vividly.

"That's right. The Eight Extraordinary Meridians within the human body contain unimaginable power. The 'Eight Gates Release' unlocks the channels that restrain Chakra inside the body, a supreme taijutsu secret art that temporarily grants immense strength."

Shin'yu shook his head. "However, the exact effect varies from person to person. The stronger your physical strength, the more punishment you can endure, and the greater the power you gain."

Kakuzu's eyes trembled as he stared at the scroll, his breathing growing heavy.

"Especially the final gate. Once opened, it can grant power far beyond the Five Kage in an instant." Shin'yu's tone was gently coaxing. "The price is that the Heart Fire is completely extinguished. An ordinary person would certainly die, but you..."

He smiled with interest. "You have five hearts, after all."

Kakuzu fell silent. He rapidly flipped through the contents of the scroll, and the effects of its secret art were largely as Shin'yu had described.

Burning hearts to obtain unsealed ultimate power... this method was countless times more ingenious than Earth Grudge Fear's traditional use!

"It truly is a technique better suited to me." He took a deep breath and closed the scroll, but could not help hesitating. "Such powerful strength... are you really willing to let me train it without worry? Aren't you afraid that..."

"I already said it, didn't I? The effects of taijutsu vary from person to person."

Shin'yu understood what he meant and smiled faintly. "If you don't train it, seeing me will be like a frog at the bottom of a well seeing the bright moon. If you do train it, seeing me will be like a mayfly seeing the vast sky."