"Why is there no red cloud on your black robe?"
At first, Uchiha Nagi hadn't connected the man to the Akatsuki's Kakuzu. It wasn't until he caught a glimpse of those emerald-green eyes, felt the immense chakra roiling within him, and, most bizarrely, sensed five distinct chakra cores...
The evidence was damning. It was Kakuzu.
And while Kakuzu wasn't a sensory-type ninja, he was as cunning as they come. It was hardly surprising that a man who had lived for over a century, with more experience than almost anyone alive, could see through Nagi's disguise at a glance. Besides, Nagi was still carrying the same Nichirin Blade.
Kakuzu could also sense the power of the man before him. It was a sixth sense possessed by the strong—this youth with a sword who had just shown up at a black market was a genuine threat.
Explosive news of his most recent kill—the son of the Hokage, Asuma—had already spread throughout the entire ninja world after the body was cashed in at a black market. The son of the Hokage! A crime that should have triggered a full-scale manhunt by the entire Land of Fire.
However, subsequent intel revealed why no one was sent after him. Those strong enough to defeat him weren't fast enough to catch him, and those who could catch him weren't strong enough to win. The man used the Flying Thunder God Technique, a space-time ninjutsu.
But the bounty the Third Hokage had offered was just too tempting. One hundred million ryo. Even Kakuzu couldn't help but be moved. For all the years he had lived, his one and only love was money. And so, he had set out.
With over a century of battle experience, Kakuzu had never witnessed the terror of the Flying Thunder God firsthand. His eyes had been blinded by the prize money, and he had eagerly run off to find his target.
If Kakuzu had a weakness, it was money. Once he was captivated by the gleam of cash, he threw all caution to the wind, just as he had years ago when he'd attempted to assassinate Hashirama Senju.
Kakuzu didn't answer Uchiha Nagi's question. Instead, he countered with one of his own.
"Heh heh. I've been looking all over for you. I never expected to run into you at a black market. What a surprise. You've saved me a lot of trouble. Are you going to turn yourself in, or do I have to kill you before I drag your body in?"
Uchiha Nagi rolled his eyes. He sounded so certain that the one-hundred-million-ryo bounty was already his.
"You want to trade me for a bounty?" Uchiha Nagi's hand tightened on the hilt of his sword.
"What else do you think?" Kakuzu unfastened his black robe and let it fall to the ground.
Uchiha Nagi smirked. He was curious himself to see how much Kakuzu would fetch on the black market.
Wait a minute—
An idea suddenly struck Nagi. His eyes darted up and down, scrutinizing Kakuzu from head to toe as if he were looking at a mountain of gold.
"The way you're looking at me... I don't like it one bit." Kakuzu felt an inexplicable annoyance. It was a look he knew all too well—it was the same way he looked at others, a gaze that appraised a person's monetary value.
Having shed his robe, Kakuzu lunged toward Uchiha Nagi with the speed of a thunderclap, his fist flying forward.
"Ngh!" Uchiha Nagi blocked the iron fist with his left hand. The force was unexpectedly, absurdly powerful. Nagi was knocked back more than ten meters.
Nagi knew that without using his Monstrous Strength Fist, he was no match for Kakuzu in a contest of pure power. His body had only recently recovered from his battle with Might Guy. While his muscles and bones were healed, his nerves and some of the finer blood vessels had not yet fully recovered. He didn't want to put his body under too much strain again.
Suddenly, Kakuzu's arm shot toward him, extending like a projectile. It moved with the speed of a sniper's bullet. An ordinary person would have had no time to form the seals for a defensive jutsu and would be forced to block with their body, likely ending up severely wounded from the single punch.
But in the face of the Sharingan, the extending punch moved as if in slow motion.
"Water Breathing, Second Form: Water Wheel!"
With a graceful turn, Uchiha Nagi's body and sword became one, transforming into a wheel of water. He not only dodged Kakuzu's lightning-fast punch but also sliced clean through all the black threads extending from the arm.
The severed limb fell to the ground, a mass of black tendrils writhing like living tendons. It was a disgusting sight.
Boom!
The ground exploded. Black threads that Kakuzu had secretly buried underground erupted in a dense wave, thrusting toward Uchiha Nagi.
Secret Technique: Earth Grudge Fear!
This was Kakuzu's signature secret technique. He could release a dense swarm of black threads from his body, piercing an enemy's body like needles. Against the high-attack, low-defense build of most ninja, a single hit was fatal.
"Second Form, Modified: Horizontal Water Wheel!"
No matter how fast the surprise attack was, it couldn't outpace the Sharingan. Uchiha Nagi didn't even need to activate his Mangekyo; the dynamic vision of his three-tomoe Sharingan was more than enough.
Uchiha Nagi spun backward, becoming a high-speed horizontal water wheel that shredded all of Kakuzu's threads. Kakuzu didn't stop. As he charged forward, he sent out another tendril from his body, reattaching his severed arm and retracting it.
In terms of taijutsu, Kakuzu's century of experience made him an incredibly formidable opponent. Coupled with his semi-immortal body, he was a nightmare to fight. As long as his five hearts weren't pierced, you could hack away at any other part of his body. He was practically without weakness.
Kakuzu rapidly closed the distance to Uchiha Nagi. The dense threads around his body grew longer and longer, instantly wrapping around him. At the same time, another cluster of threads shot out from the ground, binding Nagi's feet to prevent him from escaping with the Flying Thunder God.
"Hahaha, your body is mine!" Kakuzu laughed maniacally. He could store the hearts and trade the body for cash. The one hundred million ryo seemed to be waving at him.
Layer after layer of threads were cut down by Uchiha Nagi, but Kakuzu simply produced more to surround him.
"Is that so?" Uchiha Nagi smiled. Getting close to him was a very dangerous thing to do. Because besides his swordsmanship, he had another trump card.
Monstrous Strength Fist!
BOOM!
A massive explosion, like a cannon blast, echoed through the forest. Kakuzu's body was sent flying like a kite with its string cut, soaring over a hundred meters and crashing through several ancient trees before finally coming to a stop. The threads on his body were shattered beyond counting.
Uchiha Nagi dusted the broken threads off his clothes. The things were disgustingly creepy. A pity Kakuzu didn't have Wi-Fi to control them remotely; once severed from his body, the threads were useless, unlike his hearts.
Crack!Crack, crack!
Shoving aside the large trees that had fallen on him, Kakuzu stood up. He then spat out a cracked mask—or rather, a heart—and tossed it to the ground.
"I can't believe you know Tsunade's Monstrous Strength Fist. It reminds me of the First Hokage from so many years ago..." Kakuzu acknowledged, spitting out three more hearts from his body. "He used that fist. He was the strongest Konoha ninja I have ever faced. You are far from his level."
Are you sure you didn't just throw a kunai at him from a few thousand meters away and run for your life?
Uchiha Nagi shot him a contemptuous look. Don't you dare act like some venerable senior in front of me. I know all about your embarrassing past.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Uchiha Nagi threw several kunai, his hands forming a seal. The standard metal storm arrived once more.
Kakuzu's pupils shrank. He immediately formed a hand seal, and an earth wall shot up, blocking the barrage of shuriken.
He was playing to his strengths and avoiding his weaknesses. If his opponent possessed formidable swordsmanship and a terrifyingly powerful fist at close range, then he would settle this with ninjutsu.
"Composite Ninjutsu: Searing Wind Wild Wave!"
Two of Kakuzu's masks combined their efforts. One spewed fire, while the other unleashed wind, transforming the Fire Style into a devastatingly powerful composite ninjutsu.
But how could such a technique ever hit him?
Flying Thunder God Technique!
Pfft!
Kakuzu stared in utter shock at his own chest. Another one of his hearts had been pierced straight through by a sword. Suddenly, he understood. It was the Flying Thunder God. Those seemingly ordinary kunai the man had thrown earlier were the technique's teleportation markers.
And there was one right behind him...
The two masks still floating in mid-air forced Uchiha Nagi to retreat. With a look of fury, Kakuzu spat out the second damaged heart-mask.
"You bastard..."
Kakuzu narrowed his eyes, carefully scanning the surrounding area and memorizing the locations of all the kunai on the ground, ensuring he wouldn't be ambushed again.
One of his masks spewed a gust of wind, while another released a thick cloud of smoke. Just as Uchiha Nagi thought Kakuzu was preparing another composite ninjutsu, Kakuzu ran.
When the smoke cleared, Kakuzu's voice echoed from deep within the forest:
"I'll let you hold onto your head for now. You won't be so lucky next time..."
Uchiha Nagi: "..."
Deep in the forest, Kakuzu sprinted, his face a mask of frustration. He had let his greed get the better of him, foolishly thinking he could capture someone who used space-time ninjutsu. It was a harsh lesson, even if his opponent wasn't Minato Namikaze.
The loss of two hearts was an agonizing blow. Collecting five hearts of different elemental affinities was no easy task. He knew Minato's Flying Thunder God used three-pronged kunai; he never imagined someone would use ordinary kunai as markers.
The older you get, the thicker your skin becomes. Kakuzu couldn't care less about face or the pride of the strong. Losing two hearts meant cutting his losses and running was the only logical choice. It was just like when he faced the First Hokage all those years ago: if you can't win, run. As long as he was alive to count his money every day, he was happy.
"To think he's not only a master swordsman but also has the Monstrous Strength Fist as a trump card up close. Combined with the Flying Thunder God, he's not going to be easy to kill."
"You're right about that..."
"What?!"
A familiar voice sounded from right behind Kakuzu, scaring the soul out of him.
Flying Thunder God: Second Step...
"Seal!"
Uchiha Nagi appeared behind Kakuzu, his hand pressing against his back as a sealing jutsu was immediately applied. His other hand formed a seal, releasing the Wood Style jutsu he had prepared long ago.
"Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!"
His chakra sealed, Kakuzu struggled with all his might, only to be swiftly entangled by the erupting wood. The sealing formula's runes crawled across his entire body, while the Wood Style added a second layer of binding on the outside. Finally, Kakuzu's strength gave out, his chakra completely sealed.
It's over...
Kakuzu closed his eyes in despair. He had seen Wood Style before. Once it entangled you, if you didn't break free immediately, it would begin to drain your chakra and grow even stronger.
A sealing jutsu plus Wood Style. Two layers. He couldn't break free.
Uchiha Nagi cheerfully crouched down in front of him. "Heh heh, finally got you. So, what will it be? Your money or your life?"
Without a second of hesitation, Kakuzu shot back, "Kill me if you want. I don't have any money."
Uchiha Nagi: "..."