Under the hazy rain, a figure suspended in mid-air was slowly lowered by a mass of black threads, his eyes tightly shut, a Kunai half-embedded in his head; he was already a corpse.
"Phew, finally done."
Ren took two steps forward, crouched down, pulled out the Kunai, and looking at the peaceful face of the man, his mood became complicated for a moment.
The Konoha Elder, the man known as The Darkness of Shinobi, had died in such a manner, which couldn't help but evoke sighs of lament.
"What a troublesome fellow."
Kakuzu's low voice sounded from behind him. Ren slightly turned his head and saw him walking towards them, holding his previously severed hand. He then reattached his hand to its original position, with several black threads wrapping around it. In a few breaths, it was back in place and moved freely.
"Mr. Kakuzu's ability is truly convenient."
Seeing this, Ren couldn't help but exclaim.
A secret Jutsu like Earth Grudge Fear, which could achieve a form of "immortality" in some sense, was indeed very appealing to some people. However, Ren himself had no interest in this so-called "immortality"; he was merely curious about his ability.
"Hmm."
Kakuzu nodded in response, then came to Ren's side, met his gaze, and spoke.
"His heart is mine."
"Of course."
Ren didn't deny it. Anyway, a heart was useless to him, so if he wanted it, he could take it.
"The heart is fine, but please be careful, Mr. Kakuzu, and don't damage other parts of his body."
"Hmm."
Kakuzu responded and then knelt in front of the corpse. Immediately, dense black threads extended from his left hand, danced in the air for a moment, and then abruptly pierced into Danzo's chest. In the blink of an eye, a slowly beating heart was extracted, enveloped by the black threads.
"Not bad."
Seeing this heart, Kakuzu nodded in satisfaction.
The Wind Release heart he was currently using belonged to a Hidden Sand Village Jonin and hadn't been replaced in a long time. The Wind Release of this current heart's owner was much stronger, and once replaced, his own Wind Release would undoubtedly become even more powerful.
"The Darkness of Shinobi… nothing more than that."
Kakuzu retracted the surrounding mask creatures while glancing at the corpse on the ground, saying with a hint of disdain.
"Mr. Kakuzu, don't underestimate him."
"Hmm?"
Seeing Kakuzu's questioning gaze, Ren grinned, then took two steps forward and crouched down again. He reached out and lifted Danzo's clothing over his abdomen, then formed a few hand seals and finally slammed his hands down.
Soon, some black seals appeared on the skin's surface. Seeing this, Kakuzu's pupils immediately constricted, and a look of surprise appeared on his face.
"If he had used this Sealing Jutsu earlier, both of us would have been buried with him, with no chance of survival."
Ren pulled down the clothes, looked towards Kakuzu, and nodded.
The main reason their operation went so smoothly this time was due to a significant intelligence gap. Danzo had made numerous appearances, so most of his information was well-known, and Ren even knew about his hidden Sharingan and summoning beasts.
As for them, Kakuzu only knew his name and that he was skilled in various Ninjutsu, but he knew nothing else.
The appearance of the Seven-Tails and the fact that Ren was a sensory Ninja were also pieces of intelligence Danzo hadn't anticipated. This led to his frequent failures in battle, and he was decisively killed by Ren before he could even release his Sealing Jutsu.
If that technique had truly been released by the opponent, a Ninja like Kakuzu, who wasn't proficient in speed, would have virtually no chance of survival without precautions. Ren, being prepared, would likely have been able to escape, but he wouldn't gamble on that twenty percent chance.
Kakuzu remained silent, simply staring at Ren, which left the latter bewildered.
What's going on?
Ren scrutinized himself from head to toe, then conjured a water mirror in front of him to check his face. No problem, nothing on his body, and his disguise was still intact.
Suddenly, Ren seemed to realize something. He quickly slapped his forehead, took out a scroll from his person, placed it on the ground, opened it, then formed a few hand seals and slammed his hands down, muttering softly.
"Release!"
Another familiar puff of smoke burst open. Ren picked up the two appearing boxes, handed them to the other party, and smiled.
"My apologies, Mr. Kakuzu, I almost forgot."
"Hmm."
Kakuzu's eyes immediately showed satisfaction upon seeing the iron boxes Ren handed over. After taking them, he instinctively wanted to open the boxes and count the contents. Just as he was about to set the boxes down, Kakuzu paused, looked up at the still falling rain, and a conflicted expression appeared in his eyes.
"Mr. Kakuzu, why don't you help us create a shelter from the rain here first? We can leave once the rain stops."
Kakuzu glanced at Ren, pondered for a moment, and then agreed. He handed the boxes in his hand back to Ren, then turned and walked a few steps forward, beginning to form hand seals.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Divide!"
After forming the hand seals, Kakuzu slammed his hands onto the ground. The large section of ground in front of them immediately began to tremble, and then cracks started to appear on its surface. A section of ground, cut out, began to rise rapidly, forming a rock wall before their eyes in the blink of an eye.
Kakuzu did not stop his actions. After a moment of wriggling behind him, the white mask representing Lightning Release appeared beside him, opening its mouth to charge up.
"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"
Several bolts of lightning shot out, intersecting in the air to form a spear-like shape, striking the rock wall in front of them.
"Boom!"
With a loud bang, the rock wall was blasted with a large hole, approximately thirty square meters, by the Lightning Release, which was completely sufficient for shelter from the rain.
"Truly reliable, Mr. Kakuzu."
After handing the boxes back to Kakuzu, Ren turned around again and came before Danzo, lifting him by the back of his collar to carry him back into the cave. Kakuzu was already opening the boxes and counting money. Remembering that the stacks of banknotes had belonged to him not long ago, Ren couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache. The savings he had accumulated from two months of intense missions leading his team were instantly more than halved. Anyone would feel a pang of heartache for a while.
However, seeing Danzo's corpse in front of him, Ren instantly felt much better.
The value of killing this fellow couldn't be measured by money. Sixty million was nothing; he could earn it back. But Danzo, once gone, was gone for good.
Ren pulled out a Kunai and two blank storage scrolls from his person. He drew the Kunai across Danzo's head, catching a lock of hair that fell. He then placed it onto one of the storage scrolls and quickly completed the Sealing Jutsu. Next, he repeated the same steps, sealing Danzo's body as well, before Ren finally let out a sigh of relief.
As for Kakuzu nearby, his gaze was entirely focused on the money, showing no interest in Ren's examination of the corpse.
For him, the only things that could pique his interest now, besides money, were the hearts of powerful Ninja.