That legendary man is somehow… alive today.
With someone like him-someone whose plans ran thirty years ahead-his survival wasn't just possible. It felt inevitable. If he hadn't remained hidden for the sake of unifying the ninja world, then the only alternative explanation was that aliens had invaded the planet. (T/L: tbh i am really confused with the timeline... sarutobi was supposed to be early twenties and 30 years had passed since akira's death? Wtf? And back when he was edo tenseid it was 10 years after his death... lets not talked about how the fuck tsunade is a fucking thing.. her parents should be around 10... at this point i gave up with the timeline cause the author took some drugs or something... just ignore the timeline cause it looks like the author also ignored it.. i could also just be having brain damage and missed something..)
Even so, that last idea was too far-fetched for the average shinobi. In the end, there was really only one answer anyone could settle on…
At the realization, the Pufferfish Ghost broke into cold sweat. He could feel it soaking through his entire back in seconds.
Kakuzu glanced at him and noticed the shift right away-the nervous breathing, the subtle panic behind his eyes-and the corner of his mouth lifted in silent amusement. The script was unfolding as it should.
He had to admit-watching events unfold from this position was intoxicating. From here, it felt almost divine, as if they were watching from above rather than playing within it.
"Following that man… It's better than gold sometimes," he thought-but he dropped the fantasy as quickly as it came and returned to his role in the plan.
"What's your name? Oh, me? Yes!"
Caught off guard by the sudden question, the Pufferfish Ghost answered automatically.
"Xiguashan Puffer Ghost…" (T/L: tbh honest, i don't know who the fuck this guys is.. i decided to just literally translate his name, he's probably gonna last a few more chapter before disappearing.. so yeah...)
Kakuzu frowned. "Is this really the strength of someone with a nine-million ryo bounty?"
Nothing about this shinobi matched what Akira Senju had described. Where was Samehada? This wasn't how it was supposed to be-there should've been traits or tools of value. Instead, he stood before someone of barely average strength… and panic painted across every feature.
Kakuzu narrowed his eyes and spoke again but mostly to himself.
"Where's Samehada? Why is this nothing like what Lord Akira said?"
He could tell this man wasn't lying-not intentionally at least. He'd seen enough desperate shinobi to recognize when someone was just trying not to die.
Fine then. If there was no use dragging out information...
"I'm sorry if those were your last words."
Lightning sprang from his frame-crackling violently-
"Lightning Release: False Darkness."
Heat flared across his hands and throat-
"Fire Release: Head Hardening!"
Wind howled from one of the masks as its mouth opened-
"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"
Water surged high from another-
"Water Release: Water Curtain Tent!"
Earth took on weight-
"Earth Release: Earth Spear!"
Five deadly techniques began their charge in sync. Each one gathered in his body and from the masks behind him-chakra surged wildly from every attack point.
Even before anything struck, most of the Mist shinobi were frozen in place by sheer terror. The Pufferfish Ghost? He couldn't move even if he wanted to-not against this kind of power.
It was only under that overwhelming pressure that his survival instinct kicked in-he screamed with everything he had-
"Lord Kakuzu, please stop! We're on the same side!"
His words rang out quickly-raw panic laced with desperation.
Survival trumped pride here-he threw it away without hesitation and begged for his life.
"...Oh?"
Kakuzu halted without hesitation. The attacks teetered but didn't launch. He stared hard at him now-calculating.
"Lord Akira hired you too?"
Gasps scattered through the field-all heads snapped toward them at once. Confusion and disbelief flared in every expression around them.
Nobody messed around with Akira Senju's name lightly. If this man lied now-and one of Akira's actual subordinates heard it-then not even Water Country would protect him.
And worse than their agreement with Konoha leaking… was the possibility that Akira was alive.
Pufferfish hesitated for only half a second before speaking again-placing every chip on the table with one shaky breath-
"No-Lord Kakuzu-we have…a secret agreement with Konoha. Even when fighting Whirlpool Country-we're under strict orders not to harm their ninja."
His words stumbled over each other-panicked-with none of the confidence needed to back them up but just enough desperation to make them sound believable.
Kakuzu tilted his head slightly.
"Really? So why did you fight someone who killed for Konoha?"
No blinking now-no flinching-the question came fast and cut deep. The Pufferfish Ghost froze under it completely.
Silence followed-and then sweat broke across his brow again as he struggled for some kind of answer. Finally-
"Th-there must've been…some mistake-Lord Kakuzu-I just-I thought they were disguised Whirlpool nin…"
His sentence fell apart before it finished. He looked down-his hands clenched at his sides-completely exposed and vulnerable.
Kakuzu didn't respond for several seconds. He watched him squirm instead… watched him lie and beg and pray it would stick.
In the background, every other Mist shinobi had started reconsidering their loyalties. Their eyes darted around nervously-not because of the enemy-but because that one line had said too much: Konoha and Hidden Mist… secretly allied?
And against Whirlpool? That was supposed to be Konoha's closest ally…
Suddenly it wasn't just about betrayal-it was about survival after knowing too much. Once they returned home and reported this… would they even be allowed to live?
Only two options remained now-and everyone in that clearing knew it: be silenced or be branded as rogue shinobi and hunted down forever.
It was painfully obvious who would be chosen as scapegoats for everything gone wrong.
Ordinary soldiers were always first in line for blame.
Like wildfire, panic swept through them-not openly-but silently-as each one slowly began backing away… calculating escape paths...
All except one-the Pufferfish Ghost was already thinking about how to vanish before Kakuzu finished watching him burn alive.
Kakuzu didn't miss any of it-and then he began to laugh under his breath.
"Hahaha..."
"Good timing."
Just as those thoughts clicked across their faces-a disturbance appeared beside him on the water's surface.
Bubbles rose across the waves at his feet-steady at first-then rapid-as if boiling heat had been dropped into the sea beneath them. Every eye shifted toward it-locked onto those trembling bubbles as they burst one by one and widened outward.
"What now?"
"Reinforcements?"
"Is it enemy backup?!"
No one knew-but tension rose everywhere as they stared at that shadow beneath the waves stretch longer-and closer-and clearer-
One figure emerged slowly-a small shape breaking through water-floating up until her feet touched solid ground again-
It was Uzumaki Kushina-the girl said to have been kidnapped days ago.
"So..." Kakuzu's eyes narrowed slowly, "...Uzumaki Yusuke, did you hear that?"
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