"Kakuzu, this village is actually this weak? Never thought you used to come from such a place!"
Hidan had already sat up straight. His coat was in tatters, so he simply tore it off and remained bare-chested.
"Hmph! Don't waste your breath. Take that girl, and we can leave!"
Kakuzu snorted coldly, casting a glance toward the man leaning against the corner. Helpless though he was, the man still stared back with stubborn defiance.
Kakuzu hadn't come across someone with such a spirit in a long time. Unexpectedly, he felt something indescribable deep inside.
"Tch! Fine then. Never thought the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki could fly after transforming. Fortunately, she's a bit mentally flawed. Otherwise, once she escaped, she might actually have gotten away trying to save these people!"
Standing up, Hidan walked toward Fu while kicking aside corpses blocking his path with the tip of his foot.
Previously, Fu had successfully transformed into her Tailed Beast form, growing wings. Just when escape seemed possible, seeing Hidan and Kakuzu slaughtering her comrades caused her to turn back.
Eventually, exploiting her personality flaw, Hidan and Kakuzu showed no restraint and defeated her, leaving her barely alive.
BANG! One swing of his scythe sliced through the wall, sending rubble flying—and his weapon didn't so much as chip.
Then, like tossing aside trash, Hidan tucked Fu under his arm. Fu snorted faintly but kept her eyes closed.
She had already fallen unconscious due to her severe injuries. What just happened was merely an instinctive reaction to pain from being roughly handled by Hidan.
"Let's go!" Hidan grinned widely at Kakuzu, revealing a set of pearly white teeth before turning around without hesitation, heading straight for the exit.
At the outermost edge of this ruined site stood several scattered ninja. Weapons in hand, they only trembled upon seeing Hidan, stepping aside willingly without any sign of resistance.
Without expression, Kakuzu followed behind Hidan, both hands hidden beneath his sleeves.
Takigakure has always been a cowardly village.
A sudden sentence surfaced in Kakuzu's heart. He found it very fitting indeed. The current situation exactly resembled how the village elders refused to accept responsibility for his failed assassination attempt on Hashirama back then!
When faced with a stronger force, they never dared to stand and fight—they'd always hide behind, too scared and hesitant to act.
"Don't... go! Let go of Fu!" The man pushed forward from the corner with great effort, his body jerking involuntarily with the motion.
"Hmph! Foolish beyond salvation!" Kakuzu paused briefly, glancing sideways.
"Wah!" The man cried out, which apparently worsened his injuries further.
Another gush of blood spewed from his mouth, splashing onto the ground before him—mixed with bits of torn flesh, it was clear his insides were failing.
Seeing Kakuzu stop, the man supported himself with both hands on the ground, attempting to push upright again.
But it was all in vain. After struggling for a moment, he immediately collapsed forward, unconscious and silent, with only the faintest rise and fall of his abdomen indicating that he was still alive.
Kakuzu was momentarily stunned. A flicker of mockery passed through his emerald eyes—no one could tell who it was aimed at. Without sparing another glance at the fallen man, Kakuzu followed Hidan's footsteps and walked outside.
In this world, there were always people ready to throw themselves headfirst into unnecessary ideals. And Kakuzu had a name for such people—fools!
Seeing Kakuzu approach, the remaining ninjas dropped their weapons entirely and quickly fled to the side, as though Kakuzu himself were a bringer of plague.
Because of the earlier battle, Kakuzu had knocked everyone down with one hit—one punch, and you were either seriously injured or dead.
Without bothering about those seemingly trash-level Takigakure ninjas, Kakuzu continued walking ahead expressionlessly.
...
Ten li away from Takigakure Village, four figures kept advancing, weaving swiftly through dense forests.
Leading the group was a silver-haired man wearing a mask, tall and upright, completely wrapped in a long black cloak—an appearance suggesting formidable strength.
Strapped on his back, just like Shisui earlier, was a white short blade. At first glance, it looked ordinary, like any weapon one might casually buy from a regular armory shop.
Yet, despite its plain appearance, the material of this sword was far from common—it was a ninja sword of remarkably superior craftsmanship!
This silver-haired man was none other than Kakashi Hatake, who had set off from Konoha Village together with Shisui—a disciple of the current Hokage and the son of the legendary White Fang of Konoha.
It was autumn of Konoha Year Fifty-Three. Kakashi was nearing twenty years old, fully grown, radiating a calm and mature aura typical of a well-rounded adult man.
At this point, both his abilities and talents had been completely revealed and widely recognized by many.
This mission was the perfect test of Kakashi's true capabilities.
According to analysis by Shikaku, Takigakure Village was most likely to be attacked by mysterious assailants next. Thus, Minato Namikaze had dispatched Kakashi here, preparing for the possibility that Kakashi might encounter enemies along the way.
The enemy was dangerous, but Minato still chose this path, proving that he also had firm confidence in Kakashi.
He might not beat them, but he could at least get away.
"Everyone, stay alert. Once we leave this forest and proceed further ahead into the valley, and see the waterfall, we'll be close to Takigakure Village."
Kakashi warned the teammates behind him. Following him were three comrades: one was a Byakugan ninja (possessing the all-seeing eye technique) from the Hyuga branch family; another was an insect-controlling master from the Aburame clan; and the last was a swordsman expert from the Gekko family. All of them were at least Tokubetsu Jonin level.
...
Thud! A few splashes of blood dropped from Saitama's arm onto the sand below, moistening the ground and leaving dark spots on the sandy surface.
A few meters in front of him, Rasa hovered midair, gripping his stomach tightly, standing atop floating gold dust. Blood trailed continuously from where his hands pressed down, dripping steadily downwards.
Saitama tilted his head up slightly, revealing a broad grin toward Rasa, flashing a row of pearly white teeth, while his tongue provocatively licked his lips several times.
"It looks like I won!"
"Yamero," Saitama said slowly. The only wound on his body was on his right arm.
It was a deep gash caused by Rasa's 'Gold Dust', with visible flesh curling outward.
However, for someone like him whose body consisted of Hashirama's cells and Ten-Tails' chakra, this injury was merely a minor scratch.
It wouldn't take long to heal completely, leaving barely a scar.
"Hehe!" Rasa stood atop golden sand particles, suspending himself midair while panting heavily. Sweat dripped down his forehead, first collecting into clusters before forming larger drops that fell downward.
There was a piercing wound across his abdomen caused by Saitama, already severely affecting his combat abilities.
Moreover, he himself hadn't felt death approaching so closely in quite some time, making him feel somewhat behind the times.
Such a seemingly young figure had forced him to use his full strength without gaining any advantage.
After taking a brief rest, Saitama sprang into motion again.
He surged forward toward Rasa, chakra flaring across his body. Blue-white arcs of electricity constantly crackled up and down his clothes, producing a zapping sound.
His trench coat had been torn into short sleeves during previous fighting, exposing both of Saitama's arms.
"I've never heard of you before. Who exactly are you, and what do you want!"
Behind Rasa, golden sands began surging. As he spoke, his gaze stayed locked on Saitama, not even easing for a second despite the pain.
Although it was getting darker, Saitama could still clearly see those gold sands. Rasa's behavior indicated he truly feared Saitama, preparing defenses accordingly.
Saitama moved with such speed that closing the short distance took no effort at all.
Rasa narrowed his eyes, channeling considerable amounts of chakra through his body while preparing for Saitama's sudden attack.
"After fighting this long, I haven't even introduced myself yet. Seems like my mistake," Saitama replied upon hearing Rasa's words, stopping his advance.
With this incident, his exposure was inevitable since many people from Sunagakure had seen his face.
Besides, he didn't plan to remain hidden anymore. The Akatsuki ('Dawn' Organization)'s plan to collect Tailed Beasts had officially begun, soon drawing attention from the entire shinobi world (the realm of hidden villages and ninja).
At that point, his identity would come to light anyway. Rather than having others reveal it, he might as well declare it openly.
This way, he could act freely!
Once his identity came to light, certain individuals naturally would know he was still alive. This information might come as welcome news to some—especially someone as venerable as Ka Uchiha.
"You may call me Saitama. My former name was... Uchiha Saitama!"
Saitama raised the sword in his right hand high. Electric shocks erupted from its tip, cutting through the encroaching darkness like lightning across a stormy sky.
Rasa's eyes narrowed. Upon merely hearing the name "Saitama," Tu Yi felt an immediate sense of familiarity but couldn't recall any recent memories containing relevant information.
Then, he heard the surname "Uchiha" again. Memories from a few years ago slowly surfaced in his mind, causing their pupils to constrict to varying degrees.
"It's you!" Rasa stared with wide eyes, fixing Saitama with a heavy gaze.
According to Rasa's intelligence reports, Saitama Uchiha had been an exceptionally talented ninja from Konoha — even at such a young age, he had already grown formidable, a potential major threat to Sunagakure.
But before Sunagakure could dispatch shinobi to assassinate him, he was reported dead during the war between Konoha and Iwagakure!
Without dwelling on why someone marked as deceased had returned to life, Rasa instead urgently wanted to understand what this Saitama Uchiha hoped to achieve by coming to Sunagakure to seize the Tailed Beast — or more importantly, who he was actually working for!
"Don't be surprised. I already said that was the past, so now I have absolutely nothing to do with Konoha! My actions aren't ordered by Konoha either!"
The Tomoe within his Sharingan continuously rotated as Saitama leaned forward slightly; simultaneously, he gradually lowered his blade backward along his right side. It was a small motion he performed while building chakra — a subtle prelude to battle.
Rasa's strength was formidable! Even when he'd used [Susanoo] earlier, he hadn't managed to kill him.
Finally, since the chakra consumed and damage dealt were disproportionate, Saitama had no choice but to stop using it and switched back to close combat, which felt much more familiar.
Still, Saitama knew Rasa had expended quite a lot too — probably significantly more than himself. Moreover, due to physiological differences, Rasa's endurance couldn't compare to his.
Beneath Rasa's composed exterior lay visible weakness and fatigue — something neither needed to say aloud.
After battling this long, Saitama had also figured out the patterns of [Magnet Release]. If they continued fighting now, he felt confident that today, right here on this very ground most familiar to Rasa, he could finish off Rasa once and for all.
And if left alive, Rasa would surely cause unnecessary trouble for the Organization in future Tailed Beasts collection missions!
Realizing this, a fierce killing intent flickered across Saitama's eyes, and his expression turned even colder.
No hesitation — Saitama didn't plan on letting him live to see next year.
Zzzsh! Saitama forcefully stamped down upon the ground. Instantly, sand beneath his feet exploded violently, creating a large depression, while he himself vanished from the spot.
Rasa exhaled deeply and swiftly elevated his position, increasing the distance between himself and Saitama.
Yet directly below him, a figure rocketed upward toward him, wrapped entirely in crackling Lightning chakra, like a lightning bolt itself.
Crrrash! The blade cut through Gold Dust, breaking open the metallic barrier formed by it.
Saitama knew such attacks wouldn't hurt Rasa meaningfully anymore, so he decided to charge up something big, just to properly greet the Kazekage.
[Magnet Release – Gold Dust Coffin Binding]
Rasa's voice came from above. Looking up, Saitama saw Rasa extending one hand downward toward him, fingers starting to clench shut, invisible waves pulsating all around Saitama.
Boom! Planting one foot firmly, Saitama swung his Ninja Sword fully around, spinning his entire body where he stood.
Pilipila!
The electric current from the blade and his body extended outward, forming a glowing oval around Saitama as he moved.
This scene was similar to how someone from the Hyuga Clan would use their secret technique – [Kaiten].
However, what surrounded the outside of Saitama wasn't pure chakra like the Hyuga's, but rather the damaging [Chidori Current]! (an electrified energy stream)
The Gold Dust rushing toward Saitama was swept away by his technique, first turning into countless uncontrollable sand particles. Then, thanks to Rasa's innate control, it reformed into sharp, concentrated bursts, resuming its relentless strike on Saitama.
Bang! Crash! Boom!
The Gold Dust continuously collided with Saitama, who became completely surrounded by the Chidori Current rotating at high speed.
"Whooa!" Saitama exhaled deeply, his body seemingly pausing for a moment before the electricity erupted outward across a wide area!
Whoosh! The Gold Dust was instantly scattered by this impact, dispersing in all directions under the influence of the current.
"Sh*t!" Rasa manipulated the Gold Dust beneath his feet to rise higher as his face paled.
Whoosh! Saitama hurled the ninja sword at Rasa hovering above!
"Hmph!" Rasa saw Saitama's action and realized anew just how wise it had been to elevate himself.
In his mind, flight gave him an unbreakable advantage. Even if he couldn't kill Saitama, he could retreat at any time!
The blade flew like an arrow, with a streak of dazzling electricity still visible at its tip.
Zzzt! The blade brushed past Rasa's shoulder, then continued flying higher into the sky, eventually becoming a shining star among the heavens.
"Tsk tsk!" Seeing his attack had no effect, Saitama actually laughed, his right hand still frozen in the throwing pose after releasing the blade.
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