The Anbu's tracking skills were undoubtedly top-tier. Following the trail step by step, they questioned a few bandits outside the village. After a brief search within, they found no sign of Aoyama and simply abandoned the area, heading further out.
From his hiding spot, Aoyama watched their silhouettes disappear, then casually slipped back into the village.
He had spent two days together with Uchiha Obito—currently disguised as "Tobi"—but when Aoyama was about to propose leaving, it was Obito who unexpectedly brought it up first.
This was the period right after the death of the Fourth Hokage. To maintain stability in Konoha, the retired Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, had once again taken up the mantle of Hokage.
Knowing Obito still had unfinished business in Kirigakure, Aoyama didn't try to stop him. He was more than eager to send him off.
Aoyama himself had no grand ambitions. He had already survived the cruel Shinobi World War and, as a transmigrator, had received the standard "golden cheat." It wasn't one of those brainless "sign in and win" systems, but it was still a decent benefit.
But trouble has a way of showing up right when you're thinking of peace—almost as if it could overhear your heart.
So when a knock came at the door, Aoyama immediately grew alert. A kunai had already slipped into his hand without him realizing it. Carefully, he asked through the door:
"Is that you, Tobi?"
Silence. No response came from outside. The knocking seemed almost like the wind had nudged a loose stone, playing a cruel prank.
But only a ninja could sense it—that pressure, a chakra so strong it felt like fire roaring to life.
Boom!
A surge of blazing flames exploded, smashing the shabby wooden door apart like a wild bear charging out of the forest.
The moment Aoyama sensed the danger, he didn't hesitate. Even before the flames consumed the door, his body had already moved instinctively, dodging left to avoid the incoming Fire Release.
As the fire scattered, the figure of his attacker was revealed.
A black cloak adorned with red clouds. A straw hat with little bells hanging from it. And on the raised hand forming seals—a distinctive ring.
Aoyama's pupils narrowed. A member of Akatsuki.
The man cracked his neck and set his gaze on Aoyama. His throat bulged unnaturally, as if he had swallowed something whole—or perhaps as if something inside him was alive.
"Fire Style: Searing Migraine!"
The torrent of flames he unleashed made Aoyama's heart jolt. Just a graze from that technique would leave him gravely injured.
There was no way he could afford to take it head-on. Before the fire wave even reached him, Aoyama used a footwork technique similar to the Navy's "Soru"—slamming his feet against the ground dozens of times in an instant. His body shot forward like a cannonball, moving so fast that only afterimages were left behind.
The firestorm crashed into those afterimages, incinerating everything in its path into ash.
Using the opening, Aoyama pivoted sharply and dashed at the enemy. Kunai in hand, he blitzed to his side and stabbed toward the man's nape.
But the moment the blade pierced, Aoyama felt something was wrong. The body he stabbed melted into mud—it was only an Earth Clone, a substitution technique.
Aoyama's mind raced. With a battle this loud, why hasn't anyone in the village noticed?
The real enemy emerged again, his voice low and heavy:
"To withstand my attack without being harmed… No wonder the leader has taken an interest in you."
"...Huh?" Aoyama blinked, utterly confused.
At first, he thought the man had come to collect a bounty placed by Konoha—big enough to tempt even him. But judging from his words, it wasn't about Konoha at all. This was more like… a test.
So… Akatsuki is scouting me?
"What do you mean? Who are you people? Why attack me out of nowhere?"
The man didn't answer directly. Instead, he tugged at his cloak, exposing his torso. Aoyama's eyes narrowed—the body beneath looked stitched together, grotesque and monstrous. On his back were four eerie masks, twitching as if alive.
"Defeat me in combat, and I'll answer your questions. Otherwise, you'll die here. Those without qualification don't deserve to know too much. Understood?"
As he spoke, the masks on his back began to stir. Black threads wriggled forth, raising the masks like puppets.
Aoyama immediately recognized him—Kakuzu.
Once a shinobi of Takigakure, master of the village's forbidden Earth Grudge Fear technique, and infamous for even surviving a clash against the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, from eight hundred meters away.
Aoyama almost laughed. So it's Kakuzu… standing in front of him, I can feel it—he is at Kage-level.
Aoyama smirked, nodding seriously.
"So if I beat you, I get to ask questions? Fine. Don't worry, I'll hold back—make sure I don't kill you."
"Heh. Arrogant brat," Kakuzu sneered. "Even the First Hokage himself I fought with. I'll kill you and show you just how ridiculous your words sound."
His combat stance, twisted and grotesque, made Aoyama's stomach turn. It reminded him of late-night horror movies from his old world—bioweapons and zombies straight out of a survival film.
But fear? No. He wasn't afraid of anyone. Even if Senju Hashirama rose from the dead, Aoyama would still throw down.
So when Kakuzu finished preparing, Aoyama clenched his fist and charged. His speed was so great that to the naked eye, he simply vanished, covering a hundred meters in the blink of an eye.
"Oooh, a shinobi who fought the First Hokage. I'm sooo scared."
"Konoha-ryū… Eh, forget it. Just a regular punch."
He had meant to call out his style, but as his fist crashed forward, he changed his mind mid-swing.
Kakuzu didn't dodge. One of the masks on his shoulder twisted grotesquely, intercepting the strike with its face.
Crack!
The bone-crunching blow slammed into it like a sledgehammer, leaving deep cracks across the mask. But fueled by chakra, it didn't shatter completely.
In response, Kakuzu's black threads erupted, writhing like obedient tentacles. They lashed out, wrapping tightly around Aoyama's arm.
Die! Secret Technique—Heart Extraction!