Chapter 117: The Pack Hunt
"Huh?" Kakuzu was dumbfounded. Wasn't this white-haired Konoha ninja supposed to be proud and arrogant? Why had he run away?
"Pah! So much for Konoha's White Fang," Kakuzu spat, curling his lip in contempt. That was it? What a joke.
Although he had failed to kill the white-haired ninja, Kakuzu felt his primary goal was within reach. By now, Akatsurugi should be on his way out. He just needed to lure the Hokage to Uchiha Madara, and then he, Kakuzu, would be free to roam the ninja world unopposed.
As for whether he could actually lead Akatsurugi to Madara? Kakuzu wasn't worried. The immense power of the Earth Nature heart thrumming within him gave him that confidence.
And so, he settled in to wait right outside Konoha's perimeter, anticipating the Blaze God's arrival.
Back in Konoha, Hatake Sakumo returned to the ANBU headquarters and summoned his entire brigade. As the masked operatives assembled, he surveyed them one by one. "The rogue ninja Kakuzu is operating just outside our borders. By the Hokage's order, we are to capture him. Squads A-1 through A-10, you're with me."
"Yes, sir!" the ten front-row operatives responded in unison.
Without further delay, Hatake Sakumo led his elite squad out of the village.
This was the heart of Konoha's military strength. The ANBU was a concentration of the village's finest, and operatives A-1 through A-10 were all battle-hardened elite jōnin, some even possessing powerful Kekkei Genkai. After a recent reorganization, any one of them was capable of executing S-Rank missions alone.
"Sir, he's still there," the Hyūga tracker reported, his Byakugan pinpointing Kakuzu's location.
Hatake Sakumo nodded and made a series of swift hand signals. Immediately, the ten ANBU fanned out, moving with practiced silence to encircle their target before closing in.
When Hatake Sakumo stepped into the clearing, Kakuzu was speechless. This white-haired pest again? Where is the Hokage?
Could it be that a figure of his caliber—a man who had "assassinated" the First Hokage—wasn't even worthy of the current Hokage's personal attention?
"Attack!" Hatake Sakumo didn't waste a single word, drawing his blade and charging.
Kakuzu dodged calmly, a sneer on his face. I let you escape last time, and instead of thanking your lucky stars, you come back for more? You're simply begging for death!
A Wind Release technique combined with a Fire Release technique instantly formed a massive fire tornado, roaring toward Hatake Sakumo. The White Fang was forced to alter his charge, using his chakra blade to slice through the fiery vortex.
Just as Kakuzu felt a surge of pride, the surrounding ANBU struck. A huge pit opened in the earth above Kakuzu, dumping a torrent of sticky clay onto him. Before he could react, a colossal Fire Release technique from another direction slammed into the area, igniting the clay.
Sensing the danger, Kakuzu used Earth Release to sink into the ground. But he hadn't gotten far when lightning chakra surged through the soil around him—Hatake Sakumo had already driven his White Fang into the earth, electrifying the ground.
Forced back to the surface, Kakuzu was met with a hailstorm of kunai. He could only harden his skin with Earth Release to block the projectiles.
"Water Release: Water Prison Technique!"
A massive sphere of water materialized, engulfing Kakuzu. But the figure inside dissolved into mud—another Earth Clone.
"Over here!" an ANBU operative shouted, his hands already forming seals. A giant fireball shot toward Kakuzu's true location.
Kakuzu was momentarily stunned by the relentless, coordinated assault. He cursed internally. That white-haired bastard has no honor! Ganging up on me! He hadn't pegged the White Fang as so shameless!
He also identified a critical weakness: he had no sensory abilities. A skilled sensor would have detected the encirclement long before it was sprung. He made a mental note to acquire a sensory-type heart at his earliest convenience.
But for now, he had to focus on survival.
Kakuzu clapped his hands together, and a massive stone slab erupted from the ground, shielding him. The incoming fireball smashed against it, burning a hole through the rock but finding no target behind it.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Core!"
Kakuzu formed another sequence of seals and stomped his foot. The ground beneath him shot upward like a pillar, while the earth around the ANBU collapsed into a deep pit. Four masks materialized on his back. One opened its maw and unleashed a "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough," a hurricane-force gust directed downward. Another mask, empowered by the wind, spewed a "Fire Release: Intelligent Hard Work," the flames twisting into a colossal meteor of fire that hurtled down into the pit, aiming to annihilate every Konoha ninja trapped below.
Seeing the fiery apocalypse descending, one of the ANBU, Koichi, reacted instantly. "Water Release: Water Formation Wall!" He spewed a massive torrent of water from his mouth, which spread overhead into a vast, protective dome.
Kakuzu's fire meteor struck the water shield with a deafening hiss, filling the area with a thick, obscuring steam.
"Water Release: Hidden Mist Jutsu!" Koichi followed up, his hands a blur. Having observed that Kakuzu lacked sensory perception, he knew the mist would be a perfect counter.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Core!"
The trapped ANBU weren't idle. As elite jōnin, they all knew this common but effective D-Rank technique. They raised their own sections of earth, elevating themselves out of the collapsing pit.
"Hmph, trying to blind me?" Kakuzu snorted. One of his remaining masks blew out another "Great Breakthrough," attempting to disperse the mist.
But in that moment of distraction, Hatake Sakumo had already closed the distance. A flash of silver, and his White Fang dagger shattered another mask.
"The Hidden Mist Jutsu!" Koichi called out, and the thick fog rolled back in, cloaking the ANBU once more.
Kakuzu's frustration mounted. Damn it! They're using numbers against me! And these weren't just any ninja; they were Konoha's elite, their teamwork seamless and overwhelming. He had overestimated his new power.
A wise man knows when to retreat, he decided. Against so many, without any perception, he was at a severe disadvantage. He began to sink into the earth once more.
But just as he started his descent, Hatake Sakumo and another ANBU operative slammed their palms onto the ground. "Lightning Release: Earth Transmission!" A massive surge of electricity flooded the soil, shocking Kakuzu and violently expelling him back to the surface.
What the hell! This is just insulting! Kakuzu fumed. Do you really think I'm that easy to push around?!