Anya dashed at incredible speed and soon reached the spot where the two had just parted.
Glancing around, she couldn't immediately tell which direction they had taken. With a soft sigh, she formed hand seals: [Spirit Transformation Technique].
A dark spiritual force floated out from her body. As soon as it emerged, she sensed a massive energy fluctuation.
"That direction... Such intense energy fluctuations. Don't tell me they've already started fighting."
Anya quickly withdrew her spirit and rushed toward that direction.
Just as she arrived, she saw Kakuzu forming hand seals and calling out, "Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation! Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
Kakuzu unleashed this wide-area composite ninjutsu. Powerful flames, combined with raging winds, burned everything before him to ashes. Then black threads surged from his body, bursting forth from various points. His form became light as a feather, and the numerous black threads behind him resembled tentacles, plunging directly into the flames.
"Roar..."
When the flames cleared, a massive ox stood there, its tail replaced by octopus-like tentacles. Once possessing two horns, one had now been severed. At this moment, countless black threads wrapped around its body. However, following a mighty roar, those threads snapped easily under its immense physical strength. Already gathered at its mouth was a Tailed Beast Ball, which it fired fiercely in Kakuzu's direction.
The black tendrils behind Kakuzu whipped away in an instant, dodging the blast. The Tailed Beast Ball's devastating power struck with such force that distant mountains collapsed.
"They really have started fighting," Anya couldn't help breaking into a cold sweat at the sight. Suddenly, beside her appeared a figure made entirely of black threads, upon which clearly sat a new mask.
"What is this?" Anya recognized it. "Isn't that the Lightning Release mask? Seems like you succeeded."
Seeing that Anya wasn't afraid of his current appearance, Kakuzu couldn't help but show slight surprise. "Yes, I succeeded. Turns out this guy is a Jinchuriki. No wonder he had a powerful Lightning Release ninja guarding him. That ninja's heart has already fallen into my hands, though it was discovered by this Jinchuriki, so now he's gone berserk."
Hearing that, Anya shot back immediately, "Since you succeeded, why bother fighting? Hurry up and leave!"
Kakuzu said slowly with a lingering tone, "I'd love to leave too, but two of my hearts have already been marked by him. If I flee right now, those two hearts might be destroyed here."
Understanding Kakuzu's meaning, Anya clenched her teeth in frustration. Originally coming here for the hearts, having just obtained one yet about to lose two—it was unacceptable for anyone. But the Eight-Tails' combat strength far surpassed that of the Seven-Tails. Kakuzu couldn't defeat it immediately, especially considering their current battlefield location—if things escalated further, they would face an entire village full of ninjas. Kumogakure wasn't like some minor hidden village like Takigakure—Kakuzu wouldn't stand a chance against an entire mobilized village, even with a hundred masks.
Putting it all together fast, Anya gritted her teeth and suggested, "Try taking me hostage."
"What use would taking me hostage serve?" Kakuzu looked confused.
Anya quickly explained, "That Jinchuriki knows me. He came to our school today acting as a teacher. Take me hostage and make him stop fighting."
Kakuzu thought it was pointless, but did it anyway since his other two clones were already in a desperate situation.
"Stop, or I'll kill him!" One of Kakuzu's clones stepped out from behind a boulder, holding a kunai to Anya's throat.
"Fools! Bastards! Let go of that student!" Hearing the threat, the Eight-Tails forcibly halted his attack.
It actually worked—Kakuzu took advantage of the moment to slash a wound across Anya's neck and warned, "If you dare attack again, I'll kill him immediately."
After that, the several mask-clad figures bound in black threads merged back into one person. Holding Anya hostage, he quickly fled toward the outskirts of Kumogakure.
Killer Bee de-transformed from his Tailed Beast state back into human form and chased closely behind.
Along the way, they encountered ninja from Kumogakure. Kakuzu didn't stay to fight—he released a wide-range ninjutsu and left without even checking the result, though it only caused the number of pursuers to grow.
Anya advised him, "Use Earth Release to clear the path and head this way—I can guarantee we'll lose them."
Without hesitation, Kakuzu complied. He fluently unleashed various Earth Release techniques: [Earth Dragon Bullet], [Earth Spear], and [Land Spike]—all of which caused great discomfort to the pursuing Cloud-nin.
"It's just ahead," Anya pointed toward a nearby forest edge, exuding confidence. "Once past here, we're safe."
With a Wind Release enhancement, the pair rapidly dashed out of the woods—only to find outside hundreds of gathered Iwa ninja. Seeing these unfamiliar faces, the Rock ninja expressed surprise.
However, the leader among them locked eyes on Anya and gritted his teeth in hatred. "Yunbai—it's you."
Anya teased with a grin. "Well well, isn't it Kitsuchi—the one our Raikage slapped flat on the ground? What are you lurking here for?"
Enraged by having this humiliating episode exposed, Kitsuchi wasted no time launching a broad-area Earth Release technique straight at them.
"Don't resist—hide quickly," Anya advised Kakuzu. Neither dodged nor avoided as they let the massive chunk of earth bury them entirely, vanishing without a trace.
"Huh? So easily killed?" Kitsuchi felt suspicious, recalling how their last battle had lasted ages without any decisive outcome.
Before he could finish pondering, the pursuing Kumogakure ninja also exited the woods and noticed the gathered Iwa ninja. Suddenly, the atmosphere became tense and strange.
Killer Bee charged out of the forest first, breaking the tension with his signature catchphrase: "Fools! Bastards! Have you seen the kidnapped student?"
How dare they speak to us like that! The Iwagakure ninjas stood ready for conflict, but Kitsuchi raised his hand to stop them. "What kidnapped student? What's his name?"
"What's his name?" Killer Bee honestly didn't know. At that moment, one of the Kumo ninja who'd summoned Yunbai into the Academy stepped forward from the pursuit group and loudly answered, "His name is Yunbai. He's a student at our Ninja Academy."
"Aha! So he really does belong to Hidden Cloud Village!" Hearing this, Kitsuchi finally had an outlet for his long-pent grudge. With a loud laugh, he declared, "Yunbai is dead. And I personally killed him!"
"What?!" Enraged, the Kumo ninja shouted furiously, "You destroyed his whole village already—and now you killed their last hope too? You despicable bastards! I'll make sure every one of you rock-faced punks dies!"
"Attack!"
The two sides stopped talking and quickly clashed in battle. Reinforcements from both villages kept arriving once they heard about the conflict. The fight between Iwagakure and Kumogakure soon turned into a fierce, full-scale clash—all because they had killed someone who didn't truly exist.
Hidden in the shadows, Kakuzu looked at his partner Anya and asked, "When did you use your clone?"
Anya replied calmly, "Of course when you were holding me hostage. I don't usually hand my life over to others."
"Fascinating," Kakuzu muttered. As he glanced toward the ongoing ninja village battle, all of a sudden, he found it dull—nowhere near as interesting as the boy next to him. He found himself asking, "Where are you headed next?"
Anya said simply, "Sunagakure."
"Then let's go." Kakuzu took the lead.
Anya asked curiously, "What exactly are you doing?"
Kakuzu answered naturally, "I'm working for you now."
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