The forest was silent except for the rustling of leaves as two figures moved through the canopy at high speed.
Kakuzu moved with the efficiency of a veteran who had lived for decades. His movements were minimal wasting no energy. Uehara followed closely behind his Berserker's Greaves glowing faintly with invisible mana allowing him to keep pace with the elite Jonin.
"We are close" Kakuzu said abruptly stopping on a thick branch.
He pointed to a clearing ahead. A small campfire was burning. A man sat by the fire sharpening a massive shuriken. He wore the flak jacket of the Waterfall Village but the forehead protector had a deep scratch across it.
"That is Hisaya" Kakuzu whispered his green eyes locking onto the target like a scope. "An elite Jonin of the Waterfall. He specializes in Water Style and kenjutsu. His head is worth 30 million Ryo."
Kakuzu turned to Uehara.
"Go."
Uehara blinked. "Just like that? No plan? No strategy?"
"The strategy is simple" Kakuzu said crossing his arms. "You go down there and attract his attention. Make him use his chakra. Reveal his openings. Then I kill him."
"You just want me to be a meat shield!" Uehara protested in a hushed whisper.
"Bait" Kakuzu corrected him. "Meat shields just stand there. Bait wiggles. Now go."
Without waiting for Uehara to agree Kakuzu kicked him in the back.
"Wha—!"
Uehara tumbled from the tree landing in the clearing with a loud thud right in front of the rogue ninja.
Hisaya jumped up instantly gripping his giant shuriken.
"Who is there?!"
Uehara stood up dusting off his raincoat. He looked at the terrifying Jonin then up at the empty tree branch where Kakuzu was hiding.
Damn you Kakuzu. I will remember this.
"Hi" Uehara waved awkwardly. "I am... a lost traveler?"
Hisaya narrowed his eyes. "A traveler wearing the Rain Village uniform? Do you take me for a fool?"
The rogue ninja swung his giant shuriken. The heavy weapon cut through the air with a terrifying whistle aiming to slice Uehara in half.
Uehara's eyes sharpened.
"Command: Protect."
The invisible ball of energy shielded him reducing the impact but the force still sent him sliding backward.
"He is fast!" Uehara thought. "But I am faster!"
[Item Effect: Berserker's Greaves.]
[Stat Increase: +35 Percent Attack Speed.]
Uehara reached into his pouch. Normally he could throw one card at a time with precision. But now his hands moved like a blur.
Swish swish swish!
Cards flew from his hands like a machine gun.
"Wild Cards!"
Three golden streaks of light shot forward followed immediately by a Blue Card then a Red Card.
Hisaya was taken aback. He had never seen a ninja tool like this. He deflected the first few cards with his shuriken but the sheer volume of attacks forced him to retreat.
Boom!
The Red Card exploded at his feet kicking up dust and slowing his movements.
"You brat!" Hisaya roared. "Water Release: Waterfall Basin Technique!"
A massive torrent of water erupted from the ground flooding the clearing and rushing towards Uehara.
Uehara smirked. "This is it! I have forced his cooldowns!"
He jumped high into the air dodging the wave.
"Now Kakuzu san!" Uehara shouted.
From the shadows above a black blur descended.
"Earth Release: Earth Spear!"
Kakuzu landed directly on top of Hisaya. His skin had turned dark and hard as diamond. He ignored the water completely.
Hisaya looked up in horror. "You... Akatsuki?!"
"Your life is over" Kakuzu said coldly. "But your money is eternal."
Kakuzu's back erupted. Thick black threads shot out piercing Hisaya's limbs and immobilizing him instantly. It was the forbidden technique of the Waterfall Village Earth Grudge Fear.
"No! Wait!" Hisaya screamed.
Crunch.
Kakuzu's hand hardened by Earth Style punched straight through Hisaya's chest crushing his heart.
The rogue ninja went limp.
[System Notification: Assist in killing an Elite Jonin.]
[Reward: 150 Gold Coins.]
Uehara landed gracefully beside the corpse.
"Nice kill steal" Uehara muttered.
Kakuzu ignored him. He immediately began looting the body. He took the ninja's wallet weapon and finally he produced a sealing scroll to store the corpse.
"30 million Ryo secured" Kakuzu said his mood visibly improving. "Plus about 200000 Ryo in loose cash."
He stood up and looked at Uehara.
"You did adequately" Kakuzu admitted. "Your strange jutsu... those throwing cards. They are fast. And you have a lot of chakra for a kid."
"I try my best" Uehara shrugged. "So... about my commission?"
Kakuzu grunted. He reached into his own pouch and counted out a small stack of bills.
"Here. 300000 Ryo. 1 percent as promised."
Uehara took the money. It was not much compared to the millions Kakuzu just made but the 150 Gold Coins from the system were the real prize.
"Kakuzu san" Uehara asked putting the money away. "Are we going back to the Rain Village now?"
"No" Kakuzu said checking a small notebook. "Since we are already out and you proved you aren't useless there is another target nearby. A Chunin squad from the Stone Village. They are worth 5 million total."
Uehara's face fell. "More bait duty?"
"Work is the foundation of wealth" Kakuzu said walking away. "Keep up."
Uehara sighed but followed.
As he walked he checked the system store again. He had enough gold now.
"System purchase Nashor's Tooth components."
Item: Stinger.
Stats: +35 Percent Attack Speed. +10 Percent Cooldown Reduction.
If Kakuzu wanted a machine gun support Uehara would become one.
"Hey Kakuzu san!" Uehara shouted catching up. "If I help you kill ten people can I get a raise to 2 percent?"
Kakuzu did not look back.
"Don't push your luck kid."