Night fell.
Two figures appeared at the foot of the mountain.
Both wore black robes with red clouds, but their appearances were vastly different.
One had a hideous face, while the other was a handsome young man.
"Are you sure Black Hoe Lightning Fang is on this mountain?"
"Don't worry, Senior Kakuzu. This is the information I just got. It's still fresh."
"Very good. After we take Black Hoe Lightning Fang's life, I'll treat you to a meal."
As for the distribution of the bounty, Kakuzu didn't mention a word.
Kimimaro didn't care about this either. A mere thirty million Ryo was not attractive to him at all now.
In this world, having great strength would bring wealth.
When money reached a certain level, it was just a number.
Kakuzu liked to see the numbers grow, while Kimimaro was interested in longevity.
The two quickened their pace and headed up the mountain.
Byakugan!
Pupil power released!
Kimimaro used the Byakugan's telescopic vision to search for the Black Blood Pepper.
This was the purpose of his trip.
Kakuzu was just a tool he called to deal with Black Hoe Lightning Fang.
Soon, he found traces of the Black Blood Pepper.
"Found it."
Kimimaro's face lit up with joy.
"Senior Kakuzu, I found something interesting. I'll go ahead first."
After saying that, Kimimaro didn't wait for Kakuzu's agreement and disappeared into the night.
"This kid..."
Seeing Kimimaro leave, Kakuzu was too lazy to say anything and continued towards the mountaintop.
Soon, his infiltration was discovered by Black Hoe Lightning Fang's subordinates.
"Who's there! Ah!"
Before the man could finish his words, Kakuzu punched him, causing a scream.
"What a noisy guy."
Kakuzu went up the mountain, and everyone he encountered was directly dealt with.
The best infiltration was to kill everyone who saw him. Kakuzu was obviously well versed in this and had no intention of hiding his figure.
Soon, the news of his infiltration reached Black Hoe Lightning Fang's ears.
"Lord Lightning Fang! A strange ninja is coming up the mountain. He's aggressive, and anyone who blocks him will be killed. Seven or eight people have already died!"
A subordinate hurriedly came to report.
Black Hoe Lightning Fang was not surprised but delighted.
"Great! It seems a worthy person for a funeral has appeared. I'm tired of holding funerals for these trash all the time. Ranmaru, let's work together to kill this person and hold a grand funeral for him. What do you say?"
Lightning Fang said, looking at the backpack behind him.
A young boy's head emerged from the backpack.
The boy was named Ranmaru and had a pair of red eyes.
Red eyes!
A type of Kekkei Genkai, possessing a chakra sensing ability even stronger than the Byakugan, and also able to create images with chakra that even the Byakugan couldn't distinguish.
Ranmaru was born with a weak constitution. After Black Hoe Lightning Fang discovered his talent, he kept him by his side and became his partner.
The two fought side by side, further enhancing Lightning Fang's reputation.
"Okay, Lord Lightning Fang, I will definitely clear all obstacles for you."
"Hahaha! Good! Let's go!"
The two, one big and one small, set off to meet the challenge.
On the other side, Kimimaro had arrived at the cliff.
"This should be the Black Blood Pepper. It's exactly the same as the one the curry shop owner gave me before."
Looking around, the number of Black Blood Peppers was obviously not large, only about a hundred or so.
Kimimaro was looking for Black Blood Peppers, not to cook, but to use them as the main ingredient to create new soldier pills.
If he could successfully develop them, with the effects of the Black Blood Pepper, one soldier pill should be able to restore about eighty percent of Kimimaro's current chakra.
His stamina could be fully recovered.
After that, the more chakra he had, the smaller the recovery ratio would be.
Of course, this was all data based on his preliminary calculations. Whether it would really have such an effect depended on the finished product.
After harvesting more than half of the Black Blood Peppers, Kimimaro stopped.
This kind of thing should have high requirements for its growth environment, and he didn't have time to cultivate it.
Leaving seeds here, he could come back and continue harvesting if needed in the future.
Overfishing was not a good thing.
After putting dozens of Black Blood Peppers into the space scroll, Kimimaro showed a satisfied smile.
"This trip was not in vain."
After getting what he wanted, Kimimaro activated his Byakugan and looked towards the mountaintop.
"Kakuzu is really blatant, killing his way up..."
Such a simple and crude infiltration method, truly worthy of Kakuzu.
With a tap of his foot, Kimimaro prepared to watch the show.
On the mountaintop.
It was foggy.
After casually killing the tenth man blocking his way, Kakuzu looked at the thick fog in front of him.
"The people of Kirigakure really like the Hiding in Mist Technique, using it everywhere."
As he spoke, the wind mask on Kakuzu's back moved to his face.
"Wind Style! Pressure Damage!"
Kakuzu formed hand seals, and strong wind gushed out from the mask's mouth!
Boom!
A gust of wind swept through!
The thick fog was immediately blown away, revealing the figure of Black Hoe Lightning Fang within.
"Lord Lightning Fang, this person's chakra feels very dangerous."
Under the power of his red eyes, Ranmaru quickly discovered the terrifying aspect of Kakuzu and immediately warned Lightning Fang.
"Only such a person is worthy of having a funeral held for them. Ranmaru, let's kill him together!"
Black Hoe Lightning Fang's expression was somewhat crazed.
Kakuzu's gaze locked onto his face, then he took out a photo and compared it.
"There's no mistake. He's the S-rank bounty target, Black Hoe Lightning Fang."
Confirming the mission target, a flash of joy crossed Kakuzu's eyes.
At this moment, what he saw was not Black Hoe Lightning Fang, but thirty million Ryo.
"Lightning Style! Lightning Fang!"
Black Hoe Lightning Fang gripped his twin swords, Lightning Fang, and then crossed them.
The blades rubbed against each other, and for a moment, thunder rumbled in the sky.
Soon, lightning descended from the sky, striking towards Kakuzu.
In the distance, Kimimaro sat on a boulder, quietly watching the battle between the two.
"The ability of this Lightning Fang is really good. It can actually attract lightning from the sky. It's similar to Sasuke's later Lightning Style: Kirin, but the power difference is too great. It's probably not even one percent of Kirin's.
Kirin should be one percent lightning chakra attracting ninety-nine percent natural lightning, while Lightning Fang is ninety-nine percent lightning chakra attracting one percent natural lightning. It's not surprising that the power difference is so great."
Lightning Fang's气势looked intimidating, but its power was indeed lacking.
"Pika."
Pikachu on his shoulder seemed somewhat interested in this lightning power.
"Little guy, are you interested in that sword?"
Seeing Pikachu's gaze fall on Lightning Fang, Kimimaro raised an eyebrow and said.
"Pika Pika!"
Pikachu nodded repeatedly.
"You like it? Then I'll snatch it and give it to you."
Hearing this, Pikachu's big eyes curved into a smile.
"Pika!"
(End of Chapter)