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"What if I insist on leaving?"
Kakuzu showed no trace of anger at being challenged by a kid like Hanataki. He stared at her calmly.
That's what you get from living seventy, eighty years. Iron nerves.
"…"
What was Hanataki supposed to say to that? By her own logic, he could just leave! But the intention from the Deva Path in the distance was clear.
Kakuzu's gaze shifted towards the Deva Path. He seemed to finally understand who was really in charge here.
[Ding! Affection from Conquest Target Kakuzu: 10!]
Huh?
Hanataki was confused. Was this… pity?
"I don't want to waste time fighting a child. You face me," Kakuzu said, glancing at Hanataki before locking eyes with the Deva Path.
He wasn't here to waste time.
The Deva Path spoke. "Fight her. Win, and you may leave."
Said like it wasn't a choice.
A flicker of displeasure crossed Kakuzu's mind.
?
Hanataki's lip twitched. She'd fallen for his nonsense.
Kakuzu turned back, fully facing Hanataki now. The meaning was clear.
Konan frowned. "If he wins… we really let him go?"
If Hanataki lost, this whole trip would've been for nothing.
"If Hanataki loses," the Deva Path said, tone flat, "I will ensure he stays."
Konan blinked, looking at Kakuzu. So… he was getting swindled?
Since when did Nagato learn to lie with a straight face?
"Facing you feels a bit like bullying," Kakuzu remarked, shaking his head with a sigh. "But needs must."
With his bulky muscles, towering frame, and that bizarre patchwork getup, the line carried a certain… pretentious energy.
"…"
Hanataki saw it and sighed softly too. "Well, since I'm up against someone like you… I guess I'll take this seriously too."
Who couldn't talk a big game these days?
Kakuzu's face stiffened for a split second. This brat, knowing he'd once crossed blades with the God of Shinobi Hashirama Senju, still dared to be this arrogant.
She must have some skill, then. Kakuzu had lived long enough to know never to underestimate an opponent.
"Nagato!" Konan was still uneasy. The man's aura was on a completely different level from the previous ninja they'd faced.
The Deva Path gave her a brief, calm glance. "Have faith."
Konan pressed her lips together, forcing her attention back to Hanataki, ready to intervene at any moment.
The Deva Path watched the two who had now begun their clash, his expression unchanging. He understood Hanataki's potential far better than Konan did.
It was immense. If Hanataki could grow into that power… many things would be easier to entrust to her.
No one knew better than Nagato the state of his own body. A facade of power, masking a rapidly dwindling lifespan.
He had limited time. He needed to cultivate the next leader for the Akatsuki, someone to carry on the dream he and Yahiko shared in his stead.
No one was more suitable than the incredibly gifted Hanataki, who had grown up alongside them.
Every battle was Nagato's way of forcing that growth, accelerating it as much as possible.
WHUMP!
A fist of black threads shot past Hanataki's ear, the displaced air whipping her hair back. Her body spun, light and fluid, evading Kakuzu's follow-up strike.
At the same time, a wave of scorching heat rippled through the air.
A dazzling golden light enveloped Hanataki. But unlike before, the edges of the shimmering aura were traced with fiery red patterns.
An intense pressure radiated from her.
This was the Eclipse Mode. A level beyond Lunar or Solar Corona.
"Not bad at all!" Kakuzu grinned, a predatory, knowing smile as he sensed the shift in her chakra.
Black, writhing shadows surged from his body, letting out eerie wails. He looked utterly monstrous.
"Earth Style: Earth Spear!"
The shadow at his back launched the attack. Kakuzu himself became a blur, shooting towards Hanataki.
His Earth-reinforced body wasn't just hard as stone—his strength was multiplied. This punch would pierce right through most ninja.
He revised his earlier assessment of the 'brat.' He appreciated powerful shinobi.
And he appreciated powerful hearts even more.
In Hanataki's eyes, the shadowy fist grew rapidly. She raised a finger.
Kakuzu's brow furrowed. Did she think a single finger could stop his reinforced punch? Confusion and scorn warred in his gaze.
Gold light flashed.
A massive golden barrier materialized at her fingertip.
Kakuzu's fist connected.
BANG!
His charge stopped dead.
He stared at his fist, then at the thin, glowing barrier. Not a single crack.
Impossible. His reinforced punch could shatter a fortress wall.
Hanataki didn't move. The light at her fingertip flared—and erupted.
A beam of gold light lanced out. Pierced straight through Kakuzu's chest.
His eyes widened. His heart, right there in his center, disintegrated into ash.
The Cosmium Beam in Eclipse Mode wasn't just insanely fast and penetrating. Its extreme heat could vaporize a person instantly. Kakuzu only survived thanks to his unique Jiongu physiology.
The black threads receded. A moment later, four new, distinct shadow-monsters erupted from his back.
His expression turned murderous.
"Wind Style: Pressure Damage!"
"Lightning Style: False Darkness!"
"Fire Style: Intelligent Hard Work!"
"Water Style: Water Formation Wall!"
He held nothing back. All four masks unleashed their fury at once.
A high-pressure sphere of wind carved a path of destruction, its vortex-like storm tearing through everything with explosive force.
A spear of crackling lightning shot forth, piercing a massive boulder near Hanataki with terrifying ease.
A sea of flame erupted from a monster's maw, spreading across the ground into an inescapable inferno.
A torrential water cannon surged towards her.
The four elemental attacks surrounded Hanataki completely.
"You can't win," Kakuzu said, a smile tugging at his lips as he watched her trapped in the onslaught. That heart-piercing earlier? A momentary lapse.
"Hanataki!" Konan's hands clenched, her eyes fixed on the figure at the center of the maelstrom.
Four different elements collided. A massive cloud of steam erupted, obscuring Hanataki from view.
"Do not worry." The Deva Path's voice was calm. He saw it clearly.
The moment he spoke, a pillar of golden light exploded upwards from within the steam.
All four attacks… were sucked into the light.
"Nani?!" Kakuzu's face changed. What technique was this?
The jutsu vanished. And then, they returned.
Amplified. Multiplied. Reflected back at their caster with several times their original power.
Super Reversal Gudgeon.
The ability to absorb an enemy's attack, amplify it to its limit, and send it screaming back.
This wasn't his old jutsu. This was Hanataki's Infinity, applied to destruction.
Fire, water, lightning, wind—all blended into a cataclysmic roar that shook the forest, loud enough to burst eardrums.
"This…" Konan's eyes were wide. She stared at the distant golden figure for a long moment before a slow smile spread across her face. She really had underestimated Hanataki. While she wasn't looking, the girl had soared far beyond her.
The very air warped under the immense pressure.
Kakuzu had lost all composure. His hands flew through seals, his movements frantic and desperate.
His own counters met the amplified onslaught. A deep, resonant BOOM echoed through the woods.
Leaves rained down. A massive trench was carved between them.
A shockwave rippled out from Kakuzu, flattening trees, tearing grass from the earth.
Sent flying with the debris was Kakuzu himself, his body battered and broken. He slammed into a giant rock with a sickening crunch and slumped to the ground.
He gasped, blood and chakra churning in his chest.
Hanataki had, almost subconsciously, woven her Infinity into the attack. The Wind, Lightning, Fire, Water… they weren't just powerful. They were infinite. Unending. Relentless.
Forget the raw power. The sheer, inexhaustible chakra behind them was something Kakuzu simply couldn't match. That was why four 'ordinary' jutsu had wreaked such havoc.
Under Infinity, the assault never ceased. Even a 'chakra ton' would eventually run dry. Hanataki's power wouldn't.
She usually held back against opponents. Otherwise, Kakuzu would already be dead.
Wrapped in golden light, Hanataki appeared before him.
"I'll join," Kakuzu rasped, utterly drained.
Just an organization, right? Fine. He'd join. Better than dying here.
The Deva Path and Konan landed beside Hanataki.
"Well done," the Deva Path said suddenly, looking at her.
?
Hanataki glanced at him, surprised. An actual compliment?
Konan placed an Akatsuki cloak next to Kakuzu. He looked thoroughly wrecked.
Hanataki flicked a finger. A small orb of golden light shot into Kakuzu's body. The light spread, enveloping him. His wounds closed in seconds.
The power of Cellular Manipulation. It could kill. It could also heal.
Shock flashed in Kakuzu's eyes. He scrambled into the cloak with surprising speed.
[Ding! Affection from Conquest Target Kakuzu: 30!]
Kakuzu was beginning to think joining might have its perks. If a young kunoichi like this was so strong, these other two were probably monsters. An organization like that… surely wouldn't be short on funds.
"Wait. I need to collect a mission payment first." He'd completed a job just before they'd ambushed him. Joining or not, he wasn't leaving that money behind.
The Deva Path was silent. He, who saw money as dirt, didn't understand the fixation.
Konan frowned but said nothing. No need to delay for a pittance.
"Sis Konan, I'll go with him," Hanataki offered. That way, they wouldn't hold up the others, and Kakuzu wouldn't try to run.
The Deva Path nodded first.
Konan relented. She forced a smile. "Come back soon. Sis will make you something good to eat."
Hanataki: "…"
Aside from plain congee, Konan couldn't cook anything else. She'd rather eat out.
As Hanataki and Kakuzu vanished from sight, Konan turned.
"How old are you, kid?"
On the road to the mission desk, Kakuzu studied Hanataki's face.
"Eighteen," she answered automatically.
Kakuzu nodded. At that age, with that talent… she could rival the God of Shinobi himself at his peak.
"Wait, what are you asking?" Hanataki snapped back to reality.
"…"
Kakuzu was momentarily speechless. He glanced at the white dress visible under her open robe. "What do you think I was asking?" Could he, a sane man, ask a female kunoichi that? But her answer… was intriguing.
"…"
Hanataki coughed. "I thought you meant my hair, of course."
?
Kakuzu frowned. Really? Was that how female ninjas thought? His eyes drifted to her long silver-white hair. That length… was definitely more than eighteen centimeters.
"I mean, from the shoulders down is eighteen centimeters," Hanataki explained, seeing the clear doubt in his eyes.
"Oh." Kakuzu nodded.
Hanataki awkwardly changed the subject. "Money really is a great thing, huh?"
[Host's topic change is extremely clumsy.] The system, offline for hours, popped back up.
"System! You're back!" Hanataki was touched.
"So fast?" She was surprised. When it went offline, she'd thought it'd be gone for weeks.
[Was concerned you would get into trouble.]
"…" Hanataki felt vaguely greased. "My skills in this world are actually pretty safe!"
[Energy consumption was initially high. But during hibernation, I encountered a superior entity who performed repairs.]
"…" Typical nepotism. Hanataki immediately said, "Just glad you're back, System! Missed you!"
[…] Now the system felt greasy.
[Ding! Affection from Conquest Target Kakuzu: 60!]
Kakuzu looked at Hanataki with sudden excitement. "You… like money?"
The System, which had just mocked the clumsy topic change: "…" It really shouldn't try to understand the minds of Naruto characters with normal logic.
"Of course," Hanataki said, as if stating the obvious. "Who in this world doesn't love money?"
[Ding! Affection from Conquest Target Kakuzu: 70!]
Kakuzu nodded in vigorous agreement. "True."
"After joining the Akatsuki, you can still take outside missions. Earn your own fees," Hanataki added.
[Ding! Affection from Conquest Target Kakuzu: 75!]
"And everyone in the organization is strong. Our mission pay isn't small either." She looked at him. "You seem like the type who's good at handling money." A total miser. "Maybe you could be in charge of the Akatsuki's mission funds."
[Ding! Affection from Conquest Target Kakuzu: 90!]
Hanataki was startled by the jump. She glanced at Kakuzu.
He was staring at her, unmoving, his eyes gleaming with a distinct green light.
"…"
The ease of conquering Akatsuki members was almost frightening. In some ways… they were terrifyingly simple.
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