“That was quick…”
Sakumo landed nearby and crouched down to examine the bodies.
“They’re from the Prajñā Group of the Land of Woods.
They can use ninjutsu proficiently, so they’re probably full-fledged members.”
“More and more people have been sneaking in lately while things are chaotic…”
Sakumo turned to Shingetsu, who had started setting up the tent, and asked with a meaningful look, “Shingetsu… is this your first time killing someone?”
As far as he knew, Shingetsu had never left Konoha since childhood.
He shouldn’t have had any chance to gain experience clearing out bandit dens.
Even someone as cold as Orochimaru had frozen for a moment the first time he killed someone.
After finishing the tent, Shingetsu began setting up the stove.
“Sakumo-senpai, what you really want to ask is why I can stay so calm, right?”
“I am a little curious.”
Sakumo helped light the firewood with Fire Release and smiled faintly.
“I’m not blaming you.
When an enemy shows killing intent, of course it’s best to kill them immediately.”
“A lot of people have to suffer a few losses before they understand that.
I was the same.”
“There’s no special reason.”
Shingetsu heated the oil with practiced ease, fried the seasonings until fragrant, then poured in the ingredients.
“Once you’ve died once, you understand.”
Unlike his future grandnephew Itachi Uchiha, who might one day jump off a cliff, Shingetsu had truly died once and come back to life.
Shingetsu said calmly, “I kill in order to survive.
If I interfere with someone else’s survival and get killed for it, that’s only fair.”
“If you’re prepared to be killed, taking a life won’t weigh on you.”
“Is that so…”
Sakumo didn’t know why a young man would think that way, but it must have come from a painful memory, so he didn’t ask further.
He took an intelligence diagram from his coat.
It showed a masked ninja with green eyes.
Every piece of data on it made one thing clear.
This was an extremely dangerous figure.
A bounty hunter active in the underground black markets of every major nation, a Missing-nin from Takigakure known as the Immortality Ninja, Kakuzu.
“No wonder you dared to go after someone like this.”
Sakumo’s expression turned grave, and his voice lowered.
“Being prepared is a good thing, but if things reach an extreme…”
“Let me make this clear first.
I’ll abandon the mission.”
According to Konoha regulations, even employment between ninjas had to go through the Mission Hall.
Orochimaru had issued this mission to Sakumo according to A-rank mission standards.
Choosing to abandon it would leave a stain on Sakumo’s flawless ninja record.
…
What Shingetsu had asked Orochimaru to search for was Kakuzu’s trail.
Ninjutsu might seem useless in the late game, but if Shingetsu truly didn’t know any ninjutsu at all, he would be targeted and killed long before he ever reached that point.
The ideal situation would naturally be to find a Tailed Beast to use as a power bank, then use the Tailed Beast’s chakra to perform ninjutsu.
But what was a Tailed Beast?
It was the ultimate weapon the First Kage of each village had paid Konoha a fortune to obtain.
Did anyone really think they would hand one over just because he asked?
After thinking it over, the thing that best fit his needs as an external chakra source was…
Earth Grudge Fear!
A Secret Technique of Takigakure, essentially a biological modification technique that manifested as a living body made from black, tentacle-like chakra pathways.
Kakuzu had used this ability to achieve “Immortality.” As long as one of his five hearts remained, he would not die.
Judging from Shingetsu’s memories, Earth Grudge Fear could split off and fight independently, which meant it was a separate lifeform with a simple consciousness of its own.
If he could seize it…
…
Shingetsu took the intelligence diagram and smiled faintly.
“Orochimaru-sensei once said that a ninja’s battle is a battle of intelligence.”
“Good thing you’re only a notorious ninja known for One Thousand Years of Death right now.
Otherwise, if he were on guard, things would get troublesome.”
“Huh?!
What do you mean, notorious ninja?!
The White Fang of Konoha is a famous name!”
Sakumo pointed at Shingetsu, while Lulu, perched on Shingetsu’s shoulder waiting for food, hissed at him with a look of disgust.
“Hiss!
Stay away!
You stink!!”
“Why would you say that… I wash my hands all the time…”
Dogs were experts at long-distance tracking and could follow a specific target through a sea of scents.
But at close range, cats possessed specialized organs like the vomeronasal organ, giving them a finer sense of discrimination.
Humans couldn’t smell Sakumo’s fingers.
Lulu could.
So Sakumo had no choice but to carry his meal a little farther away, isolated by one human and one cat.
Hmph!
One Thousand Years of Death attacked vital chakra points, instantly stripping the opponent of their defensive ability.
It was the perfect Taijutsu!
Use it once, and you’d understand!
…
Moonlight slipped through gaps in the clouds, scattering mottled shadows across the forest.
Kakuzu moved quickly.
After all, time was money.
He carried a burlap sack over his shoulder.
Inside was a Konoha Missing-nin he had hunted down that morning in a border town.
Chūnin level, with a bounty of a full six hundred thousand ryō.
Chūnin bounties from other villages were nowhere near as high as Konoha’s.
Kakuzu rather liked the Land of Fire.
However, when the Second Hokage was still in office, he had feared the Senju brothers and never dared enter this bounty hunter’s blue ocean.
Kakuzu’s green pupils narrowed slightly.
His instincts told him something was wrong.
Without slowing his pace, his gaze swept casually over the surroundings.
There were no chakra fluctuations nearby.
In the bushes to his right, there was the heartbeat of a wild rabbit.
The forest was quiet.
Only the sound of his footsteps pressing into fallen leaves broke the silence.
No.
It was too quiet!
A feeling tugged at him, and he suddenly looked up.
Under the moonlight, a black-haired figure dressed in black stood on a tree, a long sword hanging horizontally behind his waist.
When Kakuzu saw that young face, he paused.
It wasn’t because he was surprised that he hadn’t sensed any chakra reaction from Shingetsu.
It was because…
“No bounty…”
Kakuzu searched through the bounty list in his mind, failed to find Shingetsu’s entry, and let out a soft sigh.
He casually flicked out a shuriken, sending it straight toward Shingetsu’s forehead.
A brat wandering around in the middle of the night was bound to die sooner or later.
Old man Kakuzu was kind enough to give him a quick end.
BOOM!!!
The air exploded with a sharp crack.
The shuriken shattered into fragments, and the young man’s figure cut a black streak through the moonlight.
What?!
Kakuzu had no time to think.
Faced with an attack that arrived in an instant, black tentacles surged from his chest and wove themselves into a shield.
BOOM!!!!
It felt as if he had been hit by a speeding train.
His body shot backward like a cannonball, snapping three large trees in a row.
In the cloud of dust, Kakuzu ignored the dented tentacle shield on his chest and turned to look at the flattened sack…
My… six hundred thousand ryō…
Kakuzu tore off his mask.
Black threads writhed inside his mouth, a terrifying sight.
“Brat… you’d better give me a reasonable explanation…”
“Otherwise…”
A frightening killing intent erupted from his green pupils.
“Don’t even think you’ll die quickly!!!”
“My name is Shingetsu Uchiha.
On the black market, an Uchiha should be worth quite a bit, right?”
Shingetsu smiled faintly as he walked closer step by step.
“How’s that for an explanation, Kakuzu-san?”
Uchiha…
Kakuzu had originally wanted to ask why someone with such outstanding concealment ability, so good that even he hadn’t detected a chakra reaction, hadn’t launched a sneak attack.
But if he was an Uchiha, then it made sense.
These people… were always so arrogant, with no idea how high the sky really was!!