After an agonizing struggle, Danzō, Torifu, Kagami, and Aki finally annihilated the rest of the Waterfall's mid and lower-level forces. Only two enemy Jōnin remained on the field, but the cost to the Leaf team was severe. Kagami's left arm was shattered and useless; Torifu leaned against a redwood, his back a map of deep lacerations, unable to stand. Danzō was bleeding from a dozen small wounds, and Aki, though physically intact, was at the brink of total chakra exhaustion.
The remaining Waterfall Jōnin, seeing their entire force wiped out in twenty minutes, felt their courage break. They exchanged a silent signal and bolted. The Leaf team didn't give chase—they knew a more dangerous predator was still lurking in the shadows.
Suddenly, the fleeing Jōnin were intercepted. Two black, masked monstrosities erupted from the earth, driving black tendrils through the hearts of the two survivors. From the treeline stepped the tall, masked man Danzō had seen in town.
"I didn't expect the Waterfall's quality to have fallen so far," the man said, his voice a low rasp. "Thirty men couldn't kill four Leaf shinobi. Pathetic."
Danzō looked at him, his hand hovering over his holster. "You aren't a Waterfall ninja. We have no conflict with you. Our reinforcements will be here any moment—I suggest you walk away."
The man adjusted his hood, his piercing green eyes locking onto Danzō. "Threatening me? You say we have no conflict, but you're wrong. We have a very large one."
"And that would be?"
"I am Kakuzu," the man replied bluntly. "I need money. Your heads are worth twenty million. Shall we begin?"
Danzo caught Torifu's eye, and the large man offered a subtle nod. "Then there's nothing left to say," Danzō hissed. "Engage!"
Torifu immediately pulled a Yellow Curry Pill from his pouch and swallowed it. The effect was instantaneous—his chakra flared into a visible shroud as he surged forward.
Kakuzu watched the charge with detached interest. "To stand after taking those Jōnin attacks... that pill is quite a treasure." One of the black masks stepped in front of Kakuzu, weaving signs. "Earth Style: Earth Pillar Spear!" Jagged stone spikes erupted under Torifu's feet, but the Akimichi didn't flinch. "Akimichi Style: Human Bullet Tank!" He transformed into a massive spinning sphere, pulverizing the stone spears as he barreled toward Kakuzu.
"Against my Earth Grudge Fear, you are already dead," Kakuzu sneered. He cast off his cloak, revealing three more masked entities emerging from his back. "It's a shame there isn't a bounty on your bodies, or this would be even more profitable."
One mask lunged at Kagami, spitting a massive fireball. Aki flickered in front of his clansman, countering with his own Great Fireball. As the flames cancelled each other out, Aki thrust a scroll into Kagami's hand. "Take the money and go! We'll hold these monsters back. The mission must be completed!"
"Young Master, you should be the one to leave!" Kagami protested.
Aki looked at him with ice in his eyes. "Your arm is useless; you're a liability in this fight. We don't need a weight dragging us down. If you're captured, we're compromised." Danzō flickered to their side, nodding. "He's right. Go, Kagami. The mission is everything."
Kagami looked at the battlefield where Torifu was fighting two of the masks at once. "Forgive me... Stay alive until the reinforcements arrive!" He turned and vanished into the deep forest.
Kakuzu, realizing his prize was escaping, grew enraged. "That scroll has the twenty million! This fat pig is in the way!" He commanded all four masks to converge on Torifu. A devastating combination of Fire Style: Hiding in Dust and Ashes, Lightning Style: False Darkness, Earth Style: Earth Spear, and Wind Style: Pressure Damage surged toward the giant.
Aki and Danzō moved in unison to intercept. Aki unleashed his Great Fire Dragon Dance while Danzō fanned the flames with Wind Style: Great Breakthrough. The wind-fed fire dragon swirled around the trio, creating a towering inferno that neutralized the incoming elemental attacks. But Aki wasn't finished. Under his precise control, the fire dragon soared upward and dove straight for Kakuzu's main body.
Kakuzu's eyes widened. An Uchiha... that control is identical to the man I fought years ago! He commanded his Water mask to intercept with a Water Dragon Bullet, but the heat was so intense it flash-evaporated the dragon. The flaming maw of the fire dragon slammed into Kakuzu, consuming him in an explosion.
Aki collapsed to his knees, his vision blurring. Danzō propped him up against a tree. "Aki... that jutsu was incredible. Even the Second would have had to dodge that."
But the victory was short-lived. A voice rasped from the settling dust. "Bastards! To be hit by a brat... I was careless." Kakuzu stepped out, his clothes charred but his body intact. "You're nearly empty. Now, die!"
Torifu roared, "Don't underestimate us! We are Konoha's elite!" He expanded into a thirty-meter titan. "Super Multi-Size Technique!" He slammed a massive palm down, but Kakuzu countered with a hardened Earth Style: Rock Fist, meeting the giant's hand with equal force. As they clashed, Kakuzu's masks swarmed Danzō. A bolt of lightning caught Danzō mid-air, and an earth spear drove through his shoulder, pinning him to a tree where he lost consciousness.
"Just you left, fat pig," Kakuzu mocked, turning to Torifu.
"I'll crush you into paste!" Torifu transformed back into a Human Bullet Tank, but Kakuzu triggered Earth Style: Moving Earth Core, creating a massive pit. Torifu fell in, and Kakuzu buried him under tons of Falling Earth Clay. Finally, a Lightning mask unleashed Heavy Flow Explosion, sending a massive current through the clay. Torifu's screams echoed before falling silent.
"If my Fire mask hadn't been destroyed by that brat, I'd have turned you into porcelain," Kakuzu muttered. He turned toward the tree where Danzō was pinned. "I'll take your heart now."
He launched his threads toward Danzō's chest, but a Great Fireball suddenly scorched them away. Aki had appeared, shattering the earth spear and lowering Danzō to the ground.
Aki's body was now shrouded in a visible, flickering cloak of blue energy—the Hero's Water had been consumed. His chakra levels were now staggering, rivaling Kakuzu's own.
"You have a lot of toys," Kakuzu sneered, his greed flaring. "The gold may be gone, but those Sharingan eyes and that drug are worth just as much."
Aki's voice was as cold as the grave. "I hope you don't choke when I shove your greed down your throat." He formed a Shadow Clone and lunged at the monster.