*Two days later, Hidden Waterfall Village.*
Yuto stood before the great waterfall, letting the morning breeze wash over him, a look of pure contentment on his face.
"Lord Yuto."
The portable communicator on his wrist flashed blue, and the hologram of Uzumaki Rina—a woman with a teardrop mole under her eye—flickered to life on the screen.
"White Zetsu No. 058 and 070 have made contact with the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki. He's agreed to buy 400 short-range comms units from us for 40 million ryō."
"Short-range comms units" was just a fancy way of saying walkie-talkies.
But since ninjas needed everything to be sneaky, Yuto had redesigned them to be extra concealable.
"Good. 40 million is fair," Yuto nodded. "No luck selling the other stuff?"
"Ōnoki said the Hidden Stone only wants 'strategic supplies' right now," Rina replied, her bangs swaying slightly as she shook her head.
"Strategic supplies?" Yuto smirked. "So he's dead set on attacking Konoha during the Chunin Exams. Planning to turn the streets red from a bloodbath, huh?"
"Hayashi Yuto."
A cold voice cut through the air behind him. "You're surprisingly punctual."
"Well, it is my first mission for the organization. Showing up late would be terribly rude," Yuto turned around with a smile. "Wouldn't you agree, Kakuzu-senpai?"
Indeed.
Standing before Yuto was none other than Kakuzu, clad in the signature black-and-red cloak of the Akatsuki. At 185 cm tall, he towered over Yuto, who barely scraped 150 cm, creating a comical contrast.
"What a shame," Kakuzu's emerald-green eyes gleamed with dark amusement as he looked down at him. "I was planning to use tardiness as an excuse to turn you into mincemeat."
"My, my. How unexpected," Yuto chuckled, switching off his communicator with a flick of his wrist. "So, punctuality saved my life today?"
"Temporarily, brat!" Kakuzu's voice dropped to a frigid growl. "For this mission, you'd better stay sharp the entire time. There's no Nagato or Konan here to protect you."
Despite the blatant threat, Yuto merely nodded earnestly. "Understood. Thank you for the warning, Kakuzu-senpai."
*BOOM.*
The moment the words left his mouth, an overwhelming surge of chakra erupted from the heart of the Hidden Waterfall Village.
Gale-force winds whipped through the air, sending debris flying in all directions. The shockwave rippled outward, rustling Yuto's hair and making his clothes flap violently.
"Ah, the chakra of a Tailed Beast. To think its influence reaches even here," Yuto mused.
"That's just the residual energy leaking out," Kakuzu remarked coolly, his gaze fixed on the epicenter of the disturbance. "You should be grateful the Seven-Tails is still in a semi-sealed state."
As he spoke, the wild chakra fluctuations began to subside.
"Hmph. Looks like the sealing is complete. Time for us to get to work, brat."
With that, Kakuzu leaped down from the waterfall's edge, landing with a thunderous *CRASH* on the ground below.
*Hidden Waterfall Village, Central Hall.*
The current leader of the village, a square-jawed middle-aged man named Mizuhashi Shintarō, sat stiffly in the main seat, his expression tense.
"Report! The Seven-Tails has been successfully sealed!"
Only when a subordinate hurried in, carefully cradling a white jade jar, did the village leader's face relax slightly. He motioned for the jar to be placed before him and asked quietly, "What of Tōzan?"
"Lord Tōzan... has passed away from exhaustion," the subordinate replied, head bowed. "His last words were that this was the fate of a jinchūriki, and that you should not blame yourself."
"...Bury his remains on the back mountain," Mizuhashi sighed deeply before issuing his next order. "And have the sealing team prepare to transfer the Seven-Tails into Fu's body as soon as—"
"I'd say that won't be necessary."
A voice, cold as steel, cut through the hall.
"Who—? Who's there?!" Mizuhashi's head snapped toward the source of the sound.
*BAM!*
The main doors burst open, revealing two figures—one tall, one short—standing in the entrance.
"Y-You…!" Mizuhashi's eyes locked onto the taller man, his face paling. "Kakuzu?!"
"Tch. To think a useless fool like you could become the leader," Kakuzu sneered. "This village has truly fallen far."
"What do you want?!" Mizuhashi instinctively clutched the jade jar to his chest, his voice shaking with anger. "You have no place here anymore!"
"A 'place'?" Kakuzu's emerald eyes glinted with disdain. "I never needed one. I'm only here for that jar in your arms."
"You—you're after the Seven-Tails?!" Mizuhashi staggered back, his grip tightening. "This is the foundation of our village's survival! I won't hand it over!"
"Do you really think you can stop me, boy?" Kakuzu took a step forward, his voice dripping with menace.
"Stay back!" Mizuhashi's fingers trembled against the jar's lid. "If you take another step, I'll break the seal right now! We'll all perish together!"
"Go ahead," Kakuzu said flatly. "I'd love to see how the Seven-Tails reduces this village to rubble after decades of worship. But do you dare?"
"I—"
Mizuhashi's retort died in his throat as he suddenly realized the jar in his arms was… gone.
Blinking in confusion, he frantically scanned the room—only to spot the jar now resting in the hands of the shorter figure, a boy who smiled at him pleasantly.
"Looking for this?"
"H-How?!" Mizuhashi's jaw dropped.
How had the jar ended up in his hands? When had he—?
Even Kakuzu's eyes widened in shock.
All he'd seen was a streak of white—then, in the blink of an eye, the jar had changed hands.
'A Body Flicker?'
But at that speed? He'd never seen—no, never even heard of such a technique!
This rookie… was far more than he appeared.
Kakuzu's gaze sharpened, reassessing the boy with newfound wariness.
Meanwhile, Yuto paid no mind to Kakuzu's scrutiny. Instead, he addressed the jar in his palm as if holding a conversation.
"Such a massive creature, crammed into such a tiny jar… You must be suffocating in there." His voice was almost sympathetic. "How about joining us? You could soar freely through the skies again."
"???"
Kakuzu's visible eyebrow twitched. "What the hell are you doing?"
"Isn't it obvious, Kakuzu-senpai?" Yuto glanced at him, still smiling. "Recruiting a new comrade."
'That's a Tailed Beast!'
Since when were Tailed Beasts "comrades"?!
Kakuzu had no words. This kid's mental state was clearly not okay.
"Enough nonsense! Mission accomplished—we're leaving!" Kakuzu snapped, already turning to go. He didn't trust what might happen if this lunatic kept talking.
"Oh, but it's not nonsense," Yuto's grin widened. "See? The Seven-Tails agrees."
'Agrees to WHAT—?'
Before Kakuzu could process that, Yuto popped the lid off the jar.
*BOOOOOOM!*
A cataclysmic wave of chakra erupted, coalescing into the form of a giant, six-winged, one-tailed insect.
"You little—!"
For the first time in his long, long life, Kakuzu felt the overwhelming urge to scream.
Under his mask, his face contorted into pure, unbridled despair.
_____
_______
Show your support with Power Stones guys!
For every 10 Power Stones I'll drop 1 Bonus Chapter as Thank-You
Every 10 Power Stones =1 Bonus Chapter
[email protected]/Raven_scroll (30+ Advance Chapters)