Chapter 89: Help Me Up, Quick
Though he was shocked, Kakuzu's hands moved quickly. He tore off his clothes, revealing a body covered in stitches.
A mass of black tendrils shot out from his body, attacking in all directions, forcing back the approaching enemies. But Dana, instead of retreating, charged forward, weaving through the black tendrils with lightning speed and, to Kakuzu's disbelief, closing the distance.
As he dodged, he even had time to relay intelligence. "The enemy's body can detach! He has mastery of all five elemental releases! His weakness is the masks! Don't break them all! Leave one!"
Kakuzu: "...?!"
"Lightning Release: Overclocked Thunder Ball!"
Dana leaped into the air, a massive, dangerous-looking ball of lightning in his hands, and slammed it down on Kakuzu like a Spirit Bomb.
On the mountainside, the aftershocks of the explosion had just subsided. Natsu and Nagato were crawling on their bellies, inching their way behind a large boulder to get a better look.
"You've got some nerve, you little brat," Natsu said, wiggling forward. "You're actually going to watch?"
"Grandpa Chief and the others aren't far from here," Nagato replied. "We have to know what's happening, if it will affect them. If it's bad, I'll go back and get my teacher."
Natsu suddenly found the little brat to be quite likable.
At the foot of the mountain, two figures were talking. She couldn't see their faces, only that one was tall and the other short.
"Are they the ones who started it? The short one seems to be saying something. It's too far to hear..."
...
"Wow, the short one has so many people with him. The tall one is in trouble."
...
"Why are they wearing masks? They're fighting! Oh my god, what is that monster?! So gross!"
...
"Wow, the short one is so cool!"
...
"Oh... so pitiful. That monster is getting beaten so badly. Even for a monster, getting ganged up on is so sad. What's that glowing thing?"
"It's probably a barrier," Nagato supplied.
...
"This is so brutal! They're all broken!"
...
"So cruel... are they still not stopping? Are they just beating a dead body? Ah! Did you see that, you little brat?! Someone just walked off with two of his arms! He's being dismembered! Dismembered!"
...
"Is it still not over? The ground is all caved in."
Natsu's initial excitement had turned to pity, and then to numbness. She now watched with a detached expression as eleven people ganged up on a writhing mass of black tendrils.
On the battlefield, seeing that the fight was over, Dana waved his hand and his men stopped their attack. Kakuzu was now just a tangled mess of tendrils, lying in a large crater, his eyes staring blankly at the sky, his arms gone.
Dana called out to him a few times, but he didn't respond. He slapped a Healing Talisman on his face. With his grotesque appearance, it looked like he was sealing some kind of zombie monster.
The talisman slowly began to work, and Kakuzu gradually regained consciousness, letting out a groan.
Seeing that he was awake, Dana squatted at the edge of the crater. "Do you want to live?" he asked.
"..." After a long silence, Kakuzu said nothing.
"Do you want to make money?"
"...Yes."
"You really are a surprise," Dana said. "In more ways than one."
"How?" Kakuzu asked.
Dana threw a blank scroll at him. "Write down everything you know about your Earth Grudge Fear jutsu," he said. "The training methods, everything."
"How do you know the name of my jutsu, boy?" Kakuzu said with difficulty. "And so much about me."
"Your information isn't hard to find," Dana said. "As a rogue ninja, the Hidden Waterfall has had a bounty on you for decades. It's just that no one's bothered to look for you in a long time."
"...The Hidden Waterfall," Kakuzu chuckled. "Cough, cough. Don't waste your time. The Earth Grudge Fear is the source of my power."
"Fifty million Ryō."
Kakuzu's lips moved. "...That's not enough," he finally managed to say. "You'll have to pay more."
"More is not an option," Dana sneered. "But I'll add a life. Yours. And as compensation for attacking us, I'll be keeping your two arms. Remember, fifty million for all your experience and training methods."
In the end, under the temptation of fifty million Ryō and the threat of death (mostly the fifty million), Kakuzu relented. Death was inevitable, but a fifty million Ryō payday was not to be missed.
After they had agreed, Dana said he would watch him write and verify the information on the spot.
Kakuzu was silent for a moment. "...I don't have any hands," he said.
"Can't you write with your tendrils?" Dana sighed. "Fine, fine. Bring him his arms. They're on loan. I want them back when he's done."
And so, Kakuzu, with his borrowed arms, began to write down the secrets of his jutsu. As for his experience... he had been using it for decades. It was unlikely that even the creator of the jutsu knew it as well as he did. It would not be a short process.
"I have two more missions for you," Dana said.
Kakuzu, who was scribbling furiously, looked up. He now knew just how rich this "brightest new star" of the ninja world was.
"But," Dana said with a hesitant tone, "considering your recent performance, I'm a little worried you won't be able to complete them."
"You can rest assured," Kakuzu said, his voice a low growl. "I have never... well, rarely... failed. Tell me, is it an assassination or an infiltration?"
This whole thing had been a blessing in disguise. He had been beaten, but he was about to make a fortune.
Dana toyed with Kakuzu's other arm. "Since you're so eager," he said, "let's give it a try. The first one should be familiar to you. There are some things we can't do ourselves. Your old village, the Hidden Waterfall, has the Seven-Tails. I want it. The Jinchuriki, or some other method, I don't care. Bring it to me. The reward is... hmm, let's say one hundred million Ryō."
Kakuzu's breathing quickened. He had been working diligently for so many years, but he had never played for such high stakes.
"The other one," Dana continued, "the Stone Village's 'Light-Weight Boulder Technique.' If you can get it, bring it to me. The price is the same. One hundred million Ryō. Cash."
Kakuzu let that sink in. He made sure he had heard the number correctly. "Help me up," he rasped. "I have to finish writing so I can get started."
"Remember," Dana said, "our identities must be kept secret. Otherwise, I'll have to deduct from your pay."
"You won't have the chance," Kakuzu said with a sneer, pulling his tattered clothes back on.
Just then, two of his subordinates appeared, each holding a person. "My lord," one of them reported, "these two were watching from a distance. I've brought them back."
Natsu and Nagato, held in their grasp, gave a cold, awkward smile.
"Hello there," Natsu said. "You're probably not going to believe this, but we were just here to kill some wild boars."