"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!" this time, Satoru's fire technique was very timely. He quickly formed seals, charging maximum power into the jutsu, then used instant teleportation, appearing right before the Dream Eater.
*BOOM!*
The Earth native spewed the Great Fireball Technique from his mouth. This time, the power that could reduce everything to ash showed its full might. Fire Release suppresses Wind Release. The summoned Baku beast instantly sucked the flames into its maw and vanished with a loud pop.
"Instant Teleportation?! That's Flying Thunder God Technique?!" the cat-masked ANBU could hardly believe his eyes. Satoru hadn't used Body Flicker Technique. Such instant movement was beyond D-rank ninjutsu like Body Flicker Technique.
"If I'm not mistaken, you're closely tied to Danzou, right?" the transmigrator asked.
"Ask the Yama in the underworld! Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms!" the cat-masked ANBU suddenly attacked Satoru.
"Armament Haki: Hardening!" Satoru hadn't expected the opponent's speed to be so high. He not only used Wind Release enhancement but had perfected the Hyuga clan's Sixty-Four Palms. Normally, this technique started slow then accelerated, but this cat-masked ninja executed it at blinding speed from the start, the final strikes blurring into shadows.
Satoru took countless hits to his pressure points. Without Armament Haki: Hardening and his Sage's Cloak, he'd be on the ground.
*Thump-thump!*
The boy's heart beat faster, and he felt his eyes change. His single-tomoe Sharingan couldn't clearly see the attacks before, but now he could predict their paths. Satoru's body dodged instinctively. He hadn't expected the follow-ups to be so fast, but he evaded them all.
"Heavenly Spin!" seeing Satoru dodge his Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, the cat-masked ANBU was naturally shocked and used Heavenly Spin. The powerful vortex hurled the reincarnator aside.
The boy stayed on his feet, unscathed.
"You definitely have Byakugan! But you're also from the Shimura clan? Right? Shimura Danzou experimented on you? Transplanted Byakugan into you?"
Though Satoru didn't know why Danzou stole Byakugan, thinking of that schemer who even obtained Sharingan, it seemed plausible. Why the Byakugan took so well in this body, Satoru didn't know.
"Ha-ha-ha!" the cat-masked ANBU suddenly laughed, but bitterly.
"So what if you know? Today I fight you to the death! Otherwise — death anyway!" the cat-masked ANBU charged at Satoru.
But Satoru sensed this charge was his final desperate attempt.
"Wood Style: Shinra Tensei!" Yoshime arrived just in time, using Wood Release to bind the cat-masked ANBU.
"Gentle Fist!" he tried to destroy the vines with Gentle Fist, but Yoshime had Senju blood, and her Wood Style was very pure, making it hard for him.
"Let me see your true face under the mask!" Satoru ripped off the cat ANBU mask.
Removing it, Satoru froze.
The man before him was the spitting image of Danzou.
Then Satoru understood everything.
"You... they not only transplanted Hyuga clan Byakugan into you, you're also Danzou's clone?" Satoru had pieced it together.
"Yes," the ANBU nodded.
In the original story, Kakashi had Obito's left eye, but as a non-Uchiha, using it was tricky. Same with Byakugan. So Satoru figured Danzou must have gotten Hyuga cells.
"If it were just Danzou, this wouldn't be easy. But what if Orochimaru helped? That changes things," Satoru assumed Orochimaru definitely aided Danzou. He didn't know their deal.
"You're no match for me, kid. Though you wield Shimura clan Wind Release and Hyuga clan Byakugan, at your current level, you can't beat me," the transmigrator wasn't afraid of the ANBU before him, as his own strength had long surpassed the foe.
"Your power is indeed great. If I keep this up, it's pointless," the young ANBU put his mask back on.
"Farewell. Hope next time we meet, I surpass you. Minato Namikaze went that way," with this cryptic phrase, the youth vanished, even Wood Style unable to hold him.
Satoru looked at Yoshime; she looked back.
"Can we trust him?" the Senju girl asked.
"Yes. No other leads," Satoru replied. "You okay?"
"Don't underestimate Senju clan endurance," Yoshime nodded. Her recent wounds had nearly healed.
"Let's go; we still need to catch up to Minato and Kushina," she ordered.
Satoru and Yoshime continued in the direction the cat-masked ANBU indicated.
Though they didn't know where they were, it was clear they'd left Konoha.
Exiting the forest, they saw a human figure on the plain. Beside it stood a man and a woman.
The man had golden hair and handsome features, but looked somewhat battered now.
The woman had fiery red hair and seemed unconscious.
Satoru and Yoshime realized this person was waiting for them. Daring to show himself so openly spoke of his strength. A sneak attack would mean horrible death for them.
So Satoru and Yoshime stopped hiding and stepped forward.
"Ah, two geniuses from Konoha; I've been waiting," the speaker's voice was very low and somewhat sinister.
Seeing this man, Satoru understood instantly.
"Kidnapping for the Black Market..."
"You're Kakuzu, right?" Satoru asked directly.
The man before him froze slightly in surprise:
"Didn't expect even Konoha brats to know my name. Shouldn't be. Is my fame that great?"
It was indeed Kakuzu. He had greenish-blue eyes that instilled fear in anyone he looked at.
Kakuzu's power was immense. Even facing the God of Shinobi, First Hokage Hashirama, he escaped unscathed, proving his prowess.
"You know this guy, Satoru?" Yoshime didn't know Kakuzu. Preparing for battle anytime, she asked.
"Yes. His strength reaches Kage level. Even an elite jonin is no match."
"Kakuzu also has some immortality secret technique. He must be a contemporary of the First Hokage," Satoru stated.
"So he's an old man?" Yoshime asked.
"Damn, why do you care about such weird things...?" the reincarnator found Yoshime a bit frivolous. Before them stood the immortal Akatsuki monster, Kakuzu!
***
Read the story months ahead of the public release — early chapters are available on my Patreon: Granulan