"He should be fine now," Kai said, releasing the Sage Art.
Thanks to the enhanced Sharingan, the healing was almost as effective as Tsunade's Strength of a Hundred Seal in the original story.
However, Kai wasn't going to let Suigetsu fully recover; 50-60% was more than enough. Even so, the onlookers gasped, involuntarily labeling Kai as a monster.
"C-can we really go?" Mei asked, startled. It had all been too easy. Wasn't this youth the merciless killer of legends?
"Were you expecting me to see you off?" Kai said, rolling his eyes. "But if you want to be a rogue ninja like her, I don't mind a harem…"
"Kai, what are you saying…" Pakura's face flushed crimson. Seeing everyone's reactions, she realized explanations were futile and glared at him.
"Then I'll be going…" Mei confirmed, seeing Kai made no move to stop them. She signaled the three Kirigakure Anbu to quickly carry the heavily injured Suigetsu away.
After they'd escaped for three or four minutes, Mei looked back. "Did you sense Uchiha Kai's chakra?"
"Not yet, Mei-sama!" the Anbu replied, relieved. After a moment's hesitation, he continued, "Mei-sama, should we report everything to the Mizukage? Including Uchiha Kai's final invitation to Suigetsu…"
The thought that even Suigetsu, a newly risen elite Anbu assassin, aided by the Kubikiribōchō, couldn't withstand a single blow from Kai, and that the sword itself had been broken, was almost unbelievable.
"Once Suigetsu wakes up, he won't accept that invitation," another Anbu said. "Who would join their enemy after being nearly killed?"
The others nodded in agreement.
"No, you're wrong," Mei said, her expression flickering. "I think he has a unique charisma…"
"That attracts people to him, making them his followers, his loyal subjects!"
"Don't forget, intelligence reports show that ninjas associated with Uchiha Kai are all ruthless criminals. Even the original Seven Ninja Swordsmen, like Zabuza and Kisame Hoshigaki, were fiercely independent. Yet, they willingly defected to follow Uchiha Kai. Suigetsu might well become the third."
The lengthy explanation caused the four Anbu's faces to change dramatically. Initially, they'd thought Mei was infatuated with Kai. Now, this sounded almost unbelievable.
"Mei-sama, would you?" an Anbu blurted out. "No, no, please don't misunderstand. Uchiha Kai also invited you…"
"I wouldn't," Mei sighed. But recalling the events, she realized she'd almost died. If Uchiha Kai hadn't deliberately held back, no one would have survived the teahouse. Even Mei couldn't decipher her own feelings.
Meanwhile, in the ruined teahouse, Kai weighed the silver coins in his hand, tossing them to the near-hysterical innkeeper.
"Here's 50,000 ryō. Go to one of the five great nations; you should be able to live peacefully there for a while."
"Th-thank you, sir!" The innkeeper was overjoyed, tears streaming down his face. "Sir, you're far kinder than those so-called ninjas. Thank you!"
Akatsuki members exchanged bewildered glances. This completely overturned their perceptions.
"Kai, that's my money! Give it back!" Pakura cried, recognizing her purse. She knew Kai, despite his reputation, was unassuming, which made her bolder.
"I will, but I need a million kisses first. Fair deal, right?" Kai said with a playful smile.
Pakura glared, about to retort, when—
"Wind Release: Gale Palm!"
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Two shouts echoed, followed by a powerful gust of wind and a wave of intense heat. As Akatsuki's leaders, childhood friends, their combined jutsu was seamless. They unleashed a combined attack, but Konan's face paled. She saw what she'd been dreading.
"Yahiko, Nagato, get out of the way! You'll die!"
Her desperate cry made Yahiko and Nagato pause. They had the element of surprise and a two-to-one advantage. But as this thought formed, they saw something that made their eyes widen.
"What you can do, I can do better," Kai said, a playful smile on his face.
His hands moved swiftly, forming the Great Fireball Technique hand seals. With the final seal, his chakra erupted into an intense inferno.
Boom! A fifty-meter-diameter fireball materialized, dwarfing Yahiko's fire jutsu. It shattered instantly. The intense heat swept towards Yahiko and Nagato, jolting them back to reality. They couldn't escape.
"Water Release: Water Wall Technique!"
Two shouts echoed as a water wall materialized, momentarily blocking the fireball. They retreated, but the water wall evaporated as the fireball struck, exploding on a lake hundreds of meters away, creating a massive plume of steam.
Kai rubbed his nose. Had he been too playful, or were they too weak? No, they were definitely too weak! It had nothing to do with me!
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