"I advise you not to act rashly. The Bounty Exchange has stood firm in the ninja world for years. Its backing is far beyond what a mere ordinary ninja like you could ever—"
The man forced himself to stay calm, making one final attempt to resist, hoping his words would deter the two young people before him.
Takeshi had no interest in listening to his nonsense and lightly shook his head.
"Say something I'm actually interested in—like where Kakuzu is right now."
"You two are Konoha ninjas. This is the Land of Fire. If word gets out that something happened to me, the Hidden Leaf Village will suffer—"
"I see."
Takeshi showed a look of sudden realization and interrupted the man for the second time.
"You're right. If word gets out, it would indeed cause me quite a bit of trouble. So…"
The man's eyes briefly lit up with hope from Takeshi's words—only for that hope to be instantly crushed.
Right before his eyes, Takeshi and Pakura removed their Konoha forehead protectors and swapped them for Sunagakure ones.
"You—!"
The man laughed.
He proved with his actions that when people are completely speechless, they really do laugh out loud.
"I'm a kind person. I can't bear to see people suffer, so I'll leave this to you."
Seeing the man still unwilling to submit, Takeshi sighed helplessly and handed this arduous task to Pakura before quietly turning his head away.
Pakura, burning with betrayal-fueled rage and with nowhere to vent it, didn't hesitate. She sneered coldly and stepped toward the man.
...
Land of Fire, border forest.
At this moment, Kakuzu looked like a wild man—his hair a mess, bare-chested, sitting beneath a large tree. No one would ever guess this was once a man who had wrestled with the First Hokage.
"Who's there?"
His head snapped up. Years of survival in the wild had honed Kakuzu's senses to an extreme. His green eyes gleamed sharply.
"Nice to meet you, Kakuzu-san. I'm here to invite you."
Takeshi strolled slowly into Kakuzu's line of sight. Behind him, Pakura followed closely, her gaze toward Kakuzu filled with caution.
"Invite me? Sorry, I'm not interested in any organizations—especially Konoha. However..."
His eyes narrowed in disdain at the Konoha forehead protector on Takeshi's head. Every time he saw that symbol, Kakuzu felt a phantom pain in his heart.
He shifted his gaze to Pakura. For the first time, his tone wavered slightly. He pulled out a small notebook from the ragged pocket of his pants, flipping through it page by page until he found hers.
"Pakura of the Scorch Release. Bounty: twenty-five million ryo. That's a valuable head."
"Hey, hey, hey! Are you just ignoring me?"
Takeshi felt a little hurt. He thought he had some fame in the ninja world, but from Kakuzu's expression, it seemed no one had placed a bounty on him at all.
"Hmph. Worthless little girl, stay out of the way and keep your mouth shut!"
Suddenly raising his right arm, Kakuzu launched it like a cannon, aided by black threads, directly at Pakura.
"Scorch Release."
Facing the incoming arm, Pakura summoned three fireballs to orbit around her as defense.
"Who are you calling a little girl?!"
Takeshi furrowed his brows and flung a handful of kunai.
Three kunai shot straight at Kakuzu, clanging against his body with metallic impact.
"Kunai? Pathetic—"
Before Kakuzu could finish speaking, he caught a glimpse of the etched seals on the kunai. Years of battle experience triggered an instant warning in his mind.
Realizing something was wrong, Kakuzu didn't finish his sentence. He immediately tried to escape.
Using the Flying Thunder God Technique to close the distance, Takeshi's White Fang blade crackled with both lightning and fire, slicing through Kakuzu's tough body.
Kakuzu took a heavy blow to the waist, forcing him to leap back several steps, distancing himself from Takeshi.
Without hesitation, Kakuzu launched a Fire Release jutsu the instant he landed.
A raging sea of flames burst forth like a tsunami, the sheer force reducing every tree in its path to ash.
"Water Style: Water Formation Wall!"
A wave equally as powerful as the Flame appeared out of thin air, colliding with the fire and creating a massive burst of white steam.
"Who the hell is this brat? His ninjutsu's no weaker than mine!"
Kakuzu wasn't shaken by his technique being countered. What unsettled him was that a teenager had reached the same level of mastery.
"Wind Style: Pressure Damage!"
But now was not the time for reflection. As the mist began to cloud vision, Kakuzu, worried about a sneak attack from the Scorch Release, launched a powerful Wind Style jutsu.
"Wind Style: Vacuum Great Sphere!"
From within the fog came Takeshi's voice. Almost simultaneously, both unleashed large-scale wind jutsu capable of shattering stone.
The moment the two jutsu collided, a deafening explosion shook the entire forest. The mist evaporated instantly, revealing both of their figures.
Water Style. Wind Style. And just now—the Lightning-Fire nature chakra that tore through his body.
Could it be...
After just a few exchanges, Kakuzu guessed that this kid had likely mastered five chakra nature transformations—just like him.
Terrifying.
Kakuzu's ability to use five natures came from his Earth Grudge Fear and stolen hearts. But this kid—he couldn't even be twenty!
Pakura, watching from the sidelines, was equally stunned.
She had only heard fragments of Takeshi's exploits before. Though she'd seen him train in the Shikkotsu Forest, this was her first time seeing him in real combat.
A terrifying kid. If she'd faced him alone, she'd likely have done worse than that masked freak.
"Wind Style: Vacuum Serial Waves!"
Armed with full intel on Kakuzu, Takeshi didn't need to analyze while fighting. He was a single-threaded type—he just needed to seize the right moment to strike.
Blades of wind shaped like a cross charged at Kakuzu. For those without the Sharingan or Byakugan, such invisible wind attacks could only be dodged by pure instinct.
The attack landed, and thick smoke momentarily obscured Takeshi's sight.
As the dust settled, Kakuzu's bizarre form was revealed.
"What is that thing?" Pakura gasped. She had never seen such a terrifying… human? No, this was no longer human.
Only the Earth Grudge Fear state could make Pakura exclaim like that.
Knowing that Takeshi would easily crush any separated hearts in combat, Kakuzu didn't bother holding back—he immediately entered his strongest state.
Countless black threads extended from every crack in Kakuzu's body. More and more threads wove together, transforming him into something unspeakable.
Two masked faces emerged from his shoulders, clicking sharply as their mouths opened wide.
"Die!"
Two thick black tendrils suddenly shot out from underground, tightly binding Takeshi.
Fire and Wind chakra combined, forming an even more terrifying inferno that engulfed the restrained Takeshi completely.
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
+100 chapters and support me on Patreon(.)com/Jixo