Outside an underground black market in the Land of Rivers, Kakuzu suddenly slowed his pace.
He sensed that something was wrong! It seemed… someone was watching him! However, after just a few seconds, Kakuzu continued to walk inside. After entering the door, he created a clone and quickly disappeared with an Earth Style jutsu.
Underneath the rocks, a puff of smoke moved swiftly. He felt something was wrong! According to the manual written by Ryoho Kyohiko, when the enemy showed some special signs, it meant that he might have been exposed… The best course of action was to conceal his presence and escape as soon as possible!
The ninjas of the Iburi clan had always strictly followed these instructions. So, when he noticed Kakuzu pause slightly, he immediately fled at high speed, without a single thought of staying to observe further. This saved his life.
Kakuzu searched all the way but found no one. He only found a relatively large cave and a network of rat tunnels leading in all directions. Inside, there were a few squeaking baby rats, terrified at the moment.
Rats? Or, a summoning beast similar to a rat? But he didn't sense any trace of chakra at the scene. Was it an illusion?
Kakuzu emerged from the ground, his brows tightly furrowed. He still didn't quite believe they were just ordinary rats; he was more suspicious of them being summoning beasts. However, tracking along the rat tunnels, he did not detect any traces of chakra.
At this moment, on the other side of the road, Kurosuki Raiga walked over with his swords.
"Finished the exchange?"
"Did you feel like you were being watched? Or, did you sense a ninja leaving just now?"
"No."
Kurosuki Raiga shook his head.
He looked around, then said.
"You feel someone is following you? Any clues?"
"None. I just found a relatively large rat hole," Kakuzu answered.
Kurosuki Raiga looked around, his hand gripping the hilt of a sword, his eyes filled with a trace of vigilance.
"This place is close to the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind. It's an active area for the Anbu. It's not impossible that we're being monitored."
"Mm, it's better to be cautious."
"Then…"
"He'll be out soon."
Kakuzu's clone had already gone down to accept missions and exchange them for money.
Kurosuki Raiga sighed silently. Kakuzu… this habit of his is really a headache! But the other party's strength was very formidable, especially after attacking Takigakure and capturing the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki. He was very clear about the gap between them. In their two-man squad, he was in the weaker position. Even if he had any opinions, he could only hold them back.
He looked outside and couldn't help but think—if I had known I would be cooperating with this guy, I would never have agreed to the Mizukage's request!
"Let's go."
Kakuzu's clone came out and handed the scroll back to the main body. He had killed a ninja from Takigakure. This was the bounty for one of them. Although it wasn't much, it was better than nothing.
"It won't be so easy to make money from now on!"
Kakuzu lamented.
Kurosuki Raiga sighed softly.
"Money, it's enough as long as you have enough. What's the use of having so much?"
Kakuzu chuckled lightly.
"I can live for a long time, so of course it's useful. But you could die at any moment, so it's indeed not of much use to you."
Then, his voice became low.
"Let's go. Our target is to hunt Pakura. She ruined our plans."
"We previously found out she appeared in the area of Kikyo Castle in the Land of Rivers. She might have some connection with Konoha."
"It doesn't matter. We'll just kill her and leave."
***
In the north of the Land of Rivers.
Pakura was preparing to continue infiltrating Amegakure to observe the situation of Hanzo and the village, but after a while—a puff of smoke suddenly appeared in a hollow not far from her. Her gaze immediately hardened.
"Who's there?"
The next second, the smoke in the puddle turned into a person.
"Pakura-sama, I am from the Konoha Anbu Intelligence Division. This is a letter the village asked me to deliver to you."
"Hmm?"
Pakura was puzzled.
Previously, it was usually her who contacted Konoha when she had intelligence. Why was Konoha taking the initiative to contact her this time? And… she looked at the other party, a trace of vigilance flashing in her eyes. How did the Konoha ninjas find me? And I only truly noticed the other party after he revealed himself. This ability is very strange!
She took a deep breath, took the letter, and fell silent after a brief glance. Konoha is here for the matter of Rasa and Sunagakure.
Sunagakure…
Pakura squatted on a rock. To say she had no feelings for the village would certainly be a lie, but to have her go back, she was not very willing in her heart. In the current Sunagakure, there was no place for her. And—she was under the control of Ryoho Kyohiko; it was impossible for her to truly return to Sunagakure.
Pakura was silent for a few seconds.
"I have answered once before, and my attitude is still the same. I will not go back to Sunagakure's side. Tell Rasa not to think about it."
After speaking, she stood up to leave.
Seeing her answer like this, Iburi Busaku took out another scroll.
"This is a letter from Kyohiko-sama. He said if you are unwilling to go back, he asked me to deliver this to you."
"Huh?"
Pakura was stunned for a moment, then took it.
She glanced at it, her brows slightly furrowed. On it was the movement trajectory of Kakuzu and Kurosuki Raiga, who were currently in the Land of Rivers area. Kyohiko judged that it might be related to her. At the end was—
"Are you interested in hunting down Kakuzu and Kurosuki Raiga?"
Hunting down Kakuzu and Kurosuki Raiga?
Pakura's mouth twitched slightly. What hunt… with Ryoho Kyohiko's ability, he probably wouldn't need her to make a move to defeat Kurosuki Raiga and Kakuzu. Her biggest function might just be as bait.
However, Pakura thought for a moment.
"I will cooperate. But Kakuzu and Kurosuki Raiga are both very strong. I hope his support can be as fast as possible."
"Yes!"
Iburi Busaku quickly disappeared.
***
In Konoha, at the Anbu headquarters.
"Bird No. 1 is back!"
"Let me see."
Yamashiro Aoba immediately walked over, took the text from it, and then quickly glanced at it.
"Send it to the office immediately!"
"Yes."
Looking at the crows flying back and forth, a brilliant smile appeared on Yamashiro Aoba's face.
Success! From finding Kakuzu in the Land of Rivers, the news was quickly sent back to Konoha, and after being processed and analyzed, it was sent to the front line… To have such efficiency was all thanks to the crows that had signed the summoning contract. Although these crows had no ninjutsu ability, under his training, they had gradually developed a relatively high intelligence and ability to cooperate. The next step was to domesticate them as much as possible and adapt them to intelligence warfare. This still required a lot of effort! But at least, the first step had now been taken.
In the Anbu office.
Ryoho Kyohiko received the reply, then smiled.
"You can go. I understand."
Then, he used the Flying Thunder God to transmit the information to his main body and Kakashi, and then continued to handle official business.
A few minutes later, inside Kikyo Castle, two figures appeared in the center of the Flying Thunder God Formation. Ryoho Kyohiko and Hatake Kakashi had arrived together.
"What's our mission this time?"
Kakashi had been brought over by Kyohiko, but he still didn't know what exactly they were going to do and was a bit confused. It had been a while since he had participated in an away mission.
Ryoho Kyohiko smiled.
"Kakuzu and Kurosuki Raiga. They are both rogue-nin from two villages. We'll kill them and send them back to their respective villages."
"Huh?"
Hatake Kakashi was stunned for a moment.
He was silent for a moment.
"Who am I fighting? It can't be Kakuzu, can it?"
He didn't know the specific intelligence on Kakuzu at the moment, but his strength was definitely top-tier. Even if he had been training extra recently, he was probably no match.
"You're fighting Kurosuki Raiga."
The other party used the Thunder Swords, Kiba, and had considerable attainments in Lightning Release. With Kakashi's Lightning Release proficiency, he could fight with the other. As for Kakuzu, if the current Kakashi fought him… that would truly be offering up his hearts.
"When do we set out?"
"No rush."
Ryoho Kyohiko led Kakashi out of the room and then up to Mount Kikyo.
He had already had Iburi Busaku lurk near Pakura. As long as a battle broke out, he could provide support at the first moment. If they went over now, with Kakuzu and Kurosuki Raiga's vigilance, they would definitely just run away and not fight them again.
***
In the Land of Rivers.
"We've found Pakura's location."
A person emerged from the ground.
White Zetsu said.
"She's near the border of the Land of Rivers and the Land of Rain. It seems she wants to enter the Land of Rain."
"Is she going to track Hanzo's situation? Hmph, she's really loyal!"
Kurosuki Raiga sneered.
Kakuzu said.
"Loyal? Just a fence-sitter. Neither Konoha nor Suna will recognize her."
He took the scroll. On the scroll was drawn Pakura's previous approximate location. Although it wasn't the old place, with a ninja's range of activity, she wouldn't have gone too far in a short time.
"Let's go!"
Kakuzu sped up.
After a period of time, on the border of the Land of Rain, in a thicket, a figure was lurking. She used the Transformation Jutsu to almost merge with her surroundings. But in the eyes of an experienced ninja, such a transformation jutsu was clearly not strong enough. At least, Kakuzu quickly noticed the place where she was lurking.
In the rain curtain, lightning crisscrossed. Suddenly. Crack! A crackling sound of thunder came from behind, and then a wild laugh echoed all around.
"Enjoy the funeral I'm holding for you!"
The next second, blades crossed. Boom! Lightning Style Sword Technique: Thunder Gate! Two streams of lightning rapidly spread, blasting towards the front from the surroundings, reaching the vicinity of Pakura in just an instant.
The next second, a blazing white electric light directly engulfed Pakura's body. But it was just a shadow clone. In an instant, Pakura had already appeared in the distance with a body flicker—she had rushed into the Land of Rain.
However, in that instant, in the rain curtain of the Land of Rain ahead, a huge water curtain rose up. Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique! In the water flow that blasted outwards, there was scorching lightning. Lightning Style: False Darkness!
Under the combination, the lightning of the ninjutsu instantly exploded, blasting outwards. The surging lightning and water curtain quickly surged towards Pakura. In an instant, a dozen or so fireballs appeared around Pakura, the flames rapidly roasting the surroundings under the blowing of the wind. But in the Land of Rain, her ability was greatly limited.
Boom!
The water and fireballs exploded, blasting the surroundings into a misty rain.
Kakuzu appeared in front. He sneered.
"Pakura, the burial ground you've chosen for yourself is not bad. It happens to counter your own Scorch Release."
"Takigakure rogue-nin, Kakuzu!"
Pakura's face was grave, as if she had just found out that he and Kurosuki Raiga were hunting her.
A grave look appeared on her face.
"I didn't expect you to be here too. As expected, did Hanzo cooperate with you?"
"Take a guess."
Kakuzu chuckled lightly.
The next second—behind him, one by one, masks cracked. The Earth Grudge Fear split out, becoming separate individuals.
"Although your Scorch Release cannot be taken by me, a Kekkei Genkai user's heart, I am still very interested in collecting…"
The next second, he formed hand seals with both hands, and one by one, the threads of the Earth Grudge Fear appeared. At the same time, one ninjutsu after another appeared from the surroundings.
Fire Style: Searing Migraine.
Lightning Style: False Darkness.
Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique.
Wind Style…
The four ninjutsu combined, a powerful chakra erupted, instantly surging forward. Wind and fire swept, water and lightning raged.
Behind her, a feast of lightning descended. Kurosuki Raiga's Lightning Release, with the help of the Kiba swords, directly turned into a dense series of lightning bolts. Thunder Funeral!
Pakura's chakra was at full output. She formed hand seals with both hands, and a hurricane blew behind her. For now… the only way was to open a path from behind. But Kurosuki Raiga's strength was far beyond her imagination. The bombardment of his Lightning Release actually blocked her Wind Style ninjutsu. At the same time, the extremely fast lightning had already reached her in the blink of an eye.
The re-emerged fireballs spread out, forming a formation around her. She was frantic in her heart. If Kyohiko doesn't come soon, I'm afraid he'll only be able to collect my corpse!
Anxious as she was, Pakura did not give up resisting and fleeing. But the wind and lightning gathered, suppressing her escape route, and the rolling flames were about to engulf her…
Just at this instant, she sensed a chakra fluctuation. The next second—Boom! An astonishing sound rang out. The next moment, one tree after another shot up from the surroundings, forming a huge barrier.
Wood Style: Wood Locking Wall!
Boom!
The flames, lightning, hurricane, and water stream gathered and exploded under the Wood Locking Wall.
Kakuzu looked up, his pupils suddenly shrinking. In front, a barrier formed by wood had perfectly sheltered Pakura. This was… a Wood Style ninjutsu! And in this era, there was actually someone who could use such an astonishing Wood Locking Wall. Ryoho Kyohiko?
Kakuzu took a deep breath, the threads on his body changing again. The next instant, the wood dispersed.
"Looks like I'm not late. I didn't scare you, did I?"
Ryoho Kyohiko chuckled lightly.
Pakura took a breath and coughed repeatedly.
"Not dead, so not late."
"Haha, I'll take that as a compliment. After all—"
"To prevent them from escaping, they had to be lured deep enough!"
As he spoke, he clapped his hands together. The wood under his feet that had not yet retracted merged with his feet.
"Stop him!"
Kakuzu was surprised, and then the threads were instantly in front of Kyohiko.
This hand gesture… he had heard Madara mention it. Sage Mode!
"I heard that you always like to tell others that you once fought with the Shodai-sama?"
Ryoho Kyohiko maintained the posture of his hands clasped together.
Kakuzu did not answer. Because at this moment, he had only one goal—to kill Kyohiko!
Boom!
Numerous ninjutsu gathered again.
"I'll block…"
Pakura formed hand seals.
"No need! You go and deal with Kurosuki Raiga. This person, just leave him to me!"
In an instant, one symbol after another bloomed on Ryoho Kyohiko's body.
Strength of a Hundred Healings Technique!
The next second, more special patterns crawled up his face. Sage Mode. He was in his full state, his eyes filled with a cold killing intent.
"Kakuzu, the Shodai-sama couldn't kill you back then. But today, I will not give you a chance to escape!"