"Can you hand that idiot-looking guy over to me?" Kakuzu pointed at Hidan slung over a Chimera Ant soldier's shoulder.
It was hard to imagine someone as ill-tempered as Kakuzu speaking so politely. But he wasn't nearly as relaxed as his tone suggested; every nerve in his body was taut.
Just now, the Earth Grudge Fear inside him had sensed danger—an innate sense of a natural enemy.
Which meant someone among the people ahead could restrain his Earth Grudge Fear—perhaps wasn't even human.
The key point was that he hadn't seen any of these people on bounty lists. In other words, their heads weren't worth money. Facing opponents who made Earth Grudge Fear itself wary while not being worth a bounty at all—
Kakuzu had no desire to fight them. If it weren't for the fact that he'd killed too many former teammates for their bounties and for Pain, the Akatsuki leader, personally ordering him to bring back the idiot on their shoulder—
he wouldn't have bothered. Anyone too weak to avoid capture wasn't qualified to be his partner.
But he still had to give Pain face. After all, he worked in an extremely dangerous organization.
"Impossible. That guy is our mission target." Naru's face darkened as he refused without hesitation.
The enemy's strength was high, at least beyond a typical squadron leader—on par with him and Jidu. But because he'd just used his Nen and because of its special nature, he could only fight at about sixty percent if things broke out.
The other Chimera Ant soldiers were decent by their army's standards, but against someone at this level they would just be cannon fodder.
Which left him with only one reliable teammate—
Naru glanced at Jidu, who was rubbing his nose in excitement.
Headache or not, the King's mission had to be completed.
So there was only one option—
"Negotiations failed. Lightning Release: False Darkness!"
"Battle!" They casually tossed Hidan aside. Several Chimera Ants narrowly evaded the broad-area lightning technique and then surrounded Kakuzu in a triangle.
Kakuzu's lightning didn't hit the Chimera Ants, but it did strike an extremely unlucky guy—Hidan.
Unfortunate indeed. Still fully paralyzed, Hidan underwent electroshock therapy all over again. He couldn't even scream before his eyes rolled white.
Luckily he had so-called immortality; otherwise any other shinobi would have been done for.
As for Kakuzu, who caused the friendly fire, he didn't spare Hidan a glance. He wouldn't hold back for Hidan's sake. So what if he wasn't a teammate yet—or even if he were? He could kill him and cash in together.
Maybe he'd even done it on purpose: if he killed the guy, he could avoid fighting these people. He'd just tell Pain, "The partner you picked was trash. He died to friendly fire by accident. Good job."
"Tch." Kakuzu curled his lip at the sight of Hidan's eyes white as a sheet yet his chest still rising and falling.
"Trying to win by numbers?" Kakuzu's gaze swept the Chimera Ants.
"Well, I've got numbers too." One after another, dark creatures in white masks crawled out of Kakuzu's body. The heart Musashi destroyed earlier had been replaced; it wasn't as potent as before, but it would do.
"Whoa—how interesting." For once, the little leopard's eyes turned serious. "Naru, you two take those guys. Leave the rest to me."
"I've got a bad feeling about today." Near Amegakure, at the center of a hollowed-out tree, a red-haired man with black rods protruding from his back spoke.
"What is it, Nagato?" Beside him stood a blue-haired woman, a mature beauty like a figure in a painting.
"I don't know. Something feels different, but I can't say what. I have a bad premonition… But we haven't begun moving yet, so there shouldn't be an issue. I'll ask the others through Pain and see what happened." Nagato frowned.
Konan glanced worriedly at the emaciated body beside her. Now I only have you left, Nagato.
"What? Kakuzu was almost taken out!" Nagato appeared to be resting with his eyes shut, but he was actually using the rings worn by Akatsuki members to communicate.
He hadn't expected news this explosive.
Who was Kakuzu? A man who had once fought the First Hokage and lived. One of the organization's top fighters, famed for his immortality and tenacity, and Akatsuki's treasurer besides. The last title didn't matter, but his strength was undeniably top-tier—among the strongest in the group, at least on paper.
And even someone that strong had nearly been finished. Had he run into another village's Kage?
Meanwhile, in the Chimera Ant gathering place in the Land of Water—
"Lord Jidu, Lord Naru—what on earth did you encounter to get hurt this badly?" In the Chimera Ant infirmary, a medic couldn't help asking after examining them.
With wounds like that, if not for their species' tenacity, they might have died before even reaching the Land of Water.
"Yeah, we got careless. I didn't expect someone who'd already lost combat strength to still have such a bizarre ability. In short, a remarkable monster. I really want a rematch—it was so much fun." Though blood filled his mouth, Jidu's eyes only grew brighter.
That was excitement. Kakuzu was a formidable opponent. Shinobi, right? The ants had recruited many former shinobi as cyborgs, but none of them bothered to remember the profession's name on purpose.
And you, Hidan—your ability is truly freaky. If you hadn't butted in halfway, this fight would have been even more fun.
Arrogant of me, huh.
Naru, by contrast, had worn a dark expression and said nothing ever since entering. He hadn't expected this world to have characters this strong.
In the Battle of Kirigakure, Meruem handled the Kage-level foes, while the remaining ants at most faced jōnin and special jōnin.
That had made certain members inexplicably confident, Naru among them. It seemed this had been a good lesson.
Fortunately, the King's mission was still completed.
In another two years, the Chimera Ant cyborgs absorbed into the Naruto world would fully mature.
By then, the Chimera Ants would become even more terrifying and powerful.
"So that's it. This is how damage transfer works? Interesting. The Naruto world really is full of goodies." Meruem, eyes shut, felt the newly gained power within him. The massive red silhouette at his back and the patch of gray powder on the ground foretold the fall of yet another powerhouse in this world.
"So this is Sunagakure. What a desolate village. Old man." Two figures in black cloaks with red clouds—one tall, one short—stood outside the barrier at the edge of the Land of Wind's Sunagakure. The tall blond spoke.
"It does bring back memories. Been a long time." The hunched one's words held no emotion despite their sentiment.
Deidara, S-ranked rogue of Iwagakure. Sasori of the Red Sand, S-ranked rogue of Sunagakure. Two overwhelming Kage-level powerhouses—and the opening trumpet of Akatsuki's tailed beast hunt.
Two years had passed. The Akatsuki storyline was officially underway.
With a traitor inside and Sasori's intimate knowledge of the village, they easily tore open Sunagakure's defenses.
And Sunagakure lived up to its reputation as the weakest of the Five Great Villages. Of the five Kazekage, the Third and Fourth were killed, and the Fifth was captured alive.
They'd sent only two people who, in front of the entire village, captured the Kage alive. The surrounding Sand shinobi couldn't even slow them down.
If this had been Konoha or Kumogakure, such a thing would have been impossible.
After Deidara and Sasori captured Gaara alive, Sunagakure immediately sent a rescue request to Konoha.
They say you don't air your dirty laundry, let alone announce that your village leader has been captured. But Sunagakure had grown so weak they could only turn to Konoha, which shows they were barely stronger than a second-tier village.
They even brought out their only remaining advisors, Chiyo and Ebizo.
Konoha's relief team was a bit unusual: Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha.
Don't say Konoha was being arrogant by sending only two. Both were bona fide above elite jōnin level; if not for lack of seniority, they could be Hokage candidates. And that was without going all out. Once Sasuke used the Sharingan and Naruto entered Nine-Tails Mode or Sage Mode, ordinary Kage-level opponents weren't their match.
Their talent was absurd—even Meruem had to sigh. Musashi was strong because he was a character Meruem had carefully cultivated, and that body itself was monstrously gifted.
But these two were like walking cheat codes. Naruto had not only mastered Sage Mode but perfectly controlled the Nine-Tails' power; even his taijutsu was terrifying.
Sasuke had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan—who knew how. Even Musashi had to take him seriously now. His combat power had surpassed Itachi when he came to Konoha after the Third's death, and his Lightning Release was slick as can be.
Right now, aside from Tsunade and Musashi, those two freaks were the strongest in Konoha. Even Kakashi, who had also awakened Mangekyō, admitted he was inferior.
Of course, we're not counting Guy with the Eight Gates or Jiraiya, who still hadn't returned to Konoha.
(End of Chapter)
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