Upon hearing the white-clothed youth's bold declaration in the streets, Shikamaru was one hundred percent certain that the kid was none other than Uchiha Kaito, the one who had supposedly "electrocuted" himself to death under a power pole.
I knew it...
Someone who dared to claim in the village that he was the reincarnation of Uchiha Madara couldn't possibly die so easily.
At this thought, Shikamaru let out a relieved laugh.
His smile carried a hint of exasperation, along with a touch of joy.
But Kaito's sudden outburst in the street had startled Asuma so much that he thought he'd been exposed. He had already halfway drawn his weapon, barely stopping himself from charging forward to give the kid a piece of his mind.
The commotion also startled the people on the street, who stopped in their tracks to watch, curious about what the kid was up to.
With a flick of his hand, the cheap sword Kaito had just bought flew out of its scabbard with a metallic "clang," transforming into a streak of light that hovered at his feet.
He then stepped onto the sword and soared above the crowd.
The spectacle drew gasps of amazement from the onlookers. Though they had never seen such a miraculous technique, they assumed he must be a genius from some major ninja village.
Otherwise, how could he wield such powerful Ninjutsu?
On the ground, Kakuzu looked up at his boss, his eye twitching slightly, his expression somewhat unnatural.
Wait...
Boss, I'm still down here.
"Ahem."
Clearing his throat to mask his awkwardness and refocus the crowd's attention, Kakuzu began his recruitment spiel.
"Today, I, along with my Martial Uncle, descend upon the mortal realm. Our Sect has decided..."
Kakuzu's delivery was still unpolished, and midway through, he subtly pulled out a note from his sleeve to glance at it, reciting expressionlessly.
"Our Sect... has decided to recruit ten... ten gifted youths to cultivate the supreme... supreme path."
The crowd: "?"
Team 10: "??"
As Kakuzu finished his recitation, the previously noisy scene fell into dead silence.
Everyone was utterly baffled.
The locals of the Land of Fire were confused because they didn't understand, while the ninja village spies knew full well these two were here to poach talent—yet they were still stunned by the audacity of their methods.
Leaving aside whatever "new" nonsense Kakuzu was spouting...
The mere fact that people from the Hidden Rain Village had come to the Land of Fire to recruit was already hard to comprehend.
And they were doing it so brazenly.
Did they have a death wish?
"Foot-Standing Shuriken Technique?!"
Asuma, staring at the kid in the air, exclaimed in shock. From his vantage point, Kaito had a clear view of everything below. Seeing some fool misinterpret his Sword Control Technique, his face darkened with anger.
"Go."
With a single word from Kaito, a shuriken shot out from his sleeve toward the man. Asuma, despite his excellent disguise, barely had time to react before he realized...
He was slowly rising into the air...?
Asuma reached for his weapon to counterattack, but the shuriken beneath his feet seemed glued to his soles—and it was spinning rapidly.
As the shuriken whirled, Asuma realized in horror that his body was starting to spin too...
He was spinning.
"Ahhh!!"
"P-put... put... ugh—put me down!"
Standing on the spinning shuriken, Asuma experienced firsthand the amusement park rides Kaito had enjoyed in his past life—the pendulum swing, the drop tower...Kaito watched as Asuma's figure spun and swayed up and down, even performing a cobra maneuver with his Shuriken.
The crowd below was left utterly bewildered.
However, a few people, their hair splattered with vomit, shrieked in agony on the spot.
This sent Shikamaru and the others into a panic. They immediately sprinted toward their teacher, terrified that their squad leader—who had survived countless missions unharmed—might end up dying from a fall rather than an enemy's blade.
"Fools."
Kaito let out a cold snort, and that alone sent shivers down the spines of everyone present. Some even dropped to their knees, begging for mercy.
They were just bystanders who had come to watch the spectacle…
None of them understood anything about Sects or the Cultivation of Immortality, but now that they saw people in distress, they were terrified that the imposing figure above might turn his wrath on them. If they lost their lives by accident, where would they go to cry about it?
Seeing the opportunity, Kakuzu took another glance at the pre-prepared script in his hand before stepping forward and addressing the crowd in a soothing tone.
"I trust you've all witnessed the formidable power of our Sect's Martial Uncle."
"Now, all you need to do is…"
For the next five minutes, instead of being reassured by Kakuzu's attempt at playing the good cop, the crowd only trembled even harder.
The more timid ones had already pulled out their valuables, placing them obediently on the ground in front of them before prostrating themselves once more.
Up in the sky, Kaito was utterly speechless.
The words he had taught Kakuzu weren't wrong, but combined with Kakuzu's tone, demeanor, and years of… professional experience, the recruitment drive had somehow turned into a full-blown street robbery.
Under the "expert" handling of these two bandits, the citizens were both furious and terrified.
Was there no justice left in this world?!
Where were the ninjas from Konoha?
Weren't they supposed to protect everyone? Yet here were outsiders brazenly robbing people in broad daylight in the Land of Fire!
Robbery was bad enough…
But now they were even taking their children.
In the end, cowed by the two villains' overwhelming presence, the crowd reluctantly watched as their children shuffled toward them.
But just then, a young voice rang out from the end of the street.
"If you're looking for students…"
"How about you take us instead of those kids?"
Shikamaru stepped forward, leading Ino and Choji. Seeing someone finally standing up for them, the crowd quickly hid behind the ninjas.
Even the spies from other villages, unable to stomach the duo's actions any longer, hesitated for a moment before stepping out to stand beside the three Konoha genin.
"You bastards from Amegakure!"
"We won't let you get away with this!"
Shikamaru: ???
The sheer absurdity of the situation left Shikamaru stunned.
He had deduced that Kaito's purpose here was to recruit students—albeit with some… questionable execution. His reason for stepping forward was simply to ask Kaito directly what the hell he was doing, sneaking off to Amegakure without a word.
But these other ninjas…
Did they have a death wish or something??
"Fine by me."
Kaito canceled his Sword Control Technique and descended slowly. "Kakuzu, collect their money."
"Elder—Martial Uncle! I was waiting for you to say that!"
Other Village Ninjas: ?
Team 10: ??
The conversation between the two left them utterly baffled.
Wait…
So these two bastards were targeting them all along?!
Kaito stood at the scene, dozens of kunai floating ominously around him. After cutting down a few fools who dared to move, the rest wisely stayed put.
Kakuzu, upon receiving the order, immediately pulled out a sack and began weaving through the crowd of ninjas, collecting payment. The process went smoothly—until he reached the Konoha ninjas.
Shikamaru, unable to hold back any longer, glared at Uchiha Kaito, pointed at himself, and snapped furiously.
"Don't tell me…""Do I have to pay too??"
"Of course." Kaito nodded without even attempting to disguise his meaning. "Even if you're my desk mate, you still have to pay."
Ino: "....?"