Chapter 193: "Sorry... I Also Have the Rinnegan."
"Good," Uchiha Akira nodded, his voice as level as the flat, rocky plains around them. He was very satisfied with Tanaka Jin's execution.
"You did well."
Tanaka Jin's face, hidden beneath his mask, flushed with excitement. To receive praise directly from the Fifth Hokage-sama... it was an honor beyond measure.
"Lead the way," Akira commanded.
"Yes! This way, my lord!"
Tanaka Jin immediately led the way. The two moved like shadows, one a loyal, nervous guide, the other a silent predator. They walked silently, one after the other, towards the dilapidated, low-profile building that served as the bounty exchange office.
Inside, the air was thick with the smell of stale sake, sweat, and old, dusty money.
Kakuzu of the Akatsuki was immersed in the sheer, tactile joy of his harvest.
[Inorin's Note: Kakuzu is an S-rank missing-nin from Takigakure and a member of the Akatsuki, partnered with Hidan. He is obsessed with money and possesses a forbidden jutsu, Earth Grudge Fear (Jiongu).]
He used his eerie, black tentacles—the threads of his Jiongu technique—to roll bags of cash, one by one, into his voluminous black robe. The threads slithered over the counter, coiling around the canvas bags with a lover's care.
His secret technique not only gave him multiple lives and hearts, but also a massive, perfect "mobile vault."
The feel of each banknote, the weight of the coins, the smell of the ink... it brought him an immense, profound satisfaction that no battle ever could.
"Kakuzu-sama, you are truly a marvel!" the Fat Manager said, bowing and scraping, his forehead glistening with sweat.
"If there are any such good opportunities in the future, please, please frequent our humble establishment more often! You are always welcome!"
An S-rank missing-nin who could consistently provide high-value rogue ninja bounties... he wasn't just a client. He was the most top-tier VIP client this backwater exchange office had ever seen.
"Hmph. Depends on my mood," Kakuzu replied coldly, his voice a low rumble from behind his mask. His threads had just finished stowing the last bag.
Just as Kakuzu was about to turn and leave, savoring the feeling of being several million ryō richer, the old, warped wooden door of the exchange office was pushed open from the outside.
"Creak—"
The rusted hinges groaned in protest, a sound that cut through the low chatter of the room.
Inside the exchange office, every bounty hunter, every drunk, and the manager himself turned their gaze towards the door.
Kakuzu also frowned, his green, stitch-rimmed eyes casting an displeased glance. He hated interruptions during a transaction.
Two people stood at the doorway, silhouetted against the harsh, bright light of the Land of Earth.
The one walking in front was an ordinary-looking ninja, masked, probably a local. He looked somewhat familiar, like a bounty hunter Kakuzu had seen before, but couldn't place. He was insignificant.
But when Kakuzu's gaze fell upon the person standing behind that ninja...
Kakuzu froze.
Time, it seemed, stood still.
The noisy chatter around him... faded.
The Fat Manager's fawning, greasy smile... vanished.
The rough, satisfying texture of the banknotes still pressing against his body... disappeared.
In Kakuzu's mind, which was usually a precise, running ledger of bounties and profits, only one image remained.
That face.
That chakra.
Uchiha Akira.
Boom—!
A jolt of pure, unadulterated terror, an emotion he had not felt in decades, shot through Kakuzu's body. He trembled uncontrollably.
How... How is he HERE?
How could he have found me?!
Kakuzu had joined the Akatsuki Organization, had hidden himself in the distant, barren Land of Earth, and had meticulously avoided all areas related to the Land of Fire... precisely, specifically, to stay away from this one man!
The last bag of cash on the counter, the one he hadn't had time to put away, now seemed no different from a pile of wet, useless waste paper in his eyes.
Money? Bounties?
In the face of life... in the face of him... they were worthless.
Escape!
Must escape!
This was the only thought in Kakuzu's mind. There was no calculation. No analysis. Only pure, primal instinct.
"Roar—!"
Kakuzu let out an inhuman roar, a sound of pure panic.
The black tentacles within his body, the Jiongu threads, burst forth from beneath his black robe. They weren't precise or controlled. They were a chaotic, violent explosion.
Like countless wildly dancing pythons, they smashed madly in all directions!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The counter was smashed to kindling. The bar was shattered. Tables were flipped, and banknotes, his precious money, flew everywhere.
The surrounding bounty hunters shrieked in terror, scrambling backward to dodge the black, lashing tendrils.
The entire exchange office instantly plunged into absolute chaos.
Using the instant, explosive burst of his black tentacles as a distraction, Kakuzu launched himself like a cannonball. He didn't aim for the door. He aimed for the wall.
Rumble—!
The earth-and-stone wall, which was two feet thick, was directly blasted through, leaving a huge, gaping hole.
Kakuzu fled frantically, without a single look back.
He pushed his speed to the absolute limit, his chakra flaring as he crashed through the wall and into the dusty street outside.
Inside the exchange office, it was a mess.
Banknotes fluttered down from the air like expensive snowflakes.
The bounty hunters, who had been stunned by Kakuzu's frantic, animalistic actions, froze for a few seconds.
Then, letting out greedy, primal shouts, they began to madly scramble, fight, and claw for the banknotes on the floor.
Tanaka Jin stared blankly at everything. He looked at the chaos, the flying money, and then at the large, smoking hole Kakuzu had made. He was unable to react for a moment.
He... he just... ran?
That... that was Kakuzu of the Akatsuki! A legendary S-rank rogue ninja!
And he... just seeing Hokage-sama... he didn't even dare to fight back. He was so scared he broke through a solid wall and fled?
All of this happened in a flash.
From Uchiha Akira entering the door to Kakuzu bursting through the wall, the entire process took no more than three seconds.
Inside the chaotic, greedy exchange office, Uchiha Akira still stood quietly at the doorway. He hadn't moved a muscle.
He watched the men fighting over the money, his face impassive, as if everything that had just happened had nothing to do with him.
"He didn't even care about the money," Akira mused, his voice quiet. "It seems he's truly terrified."
"Hokage-sama... should... should we pursue him?" Tanaka Jin stammered, his mind finally catching up.
"Of course."
Uchiha Akira chuckled softly, a cold, dry sound.
"How could I let the fish I finally caught get away?"
The moment his words fell, Uchiha Akira's body suddenly burst forth with an extremely dazzling, bluish-white electric light.
Zzzzt—!
Violent, untamed lightning, like a suit of crackling armor, covered Uchiha Akira's body, popping and hissing.
Lightning Release Chakra Mode!
[Inorin's Note: Lightning Release Chakra Mode (Raiton Chakura Mōdo) is an S-rank jutsu that uses Lightning Release chakra to stimulate the user's nervous system, drastically increasing their speed, power, and reflexes to an unparalleled level. It is the signature jutsu of the Raikage of Kumogakure.]
The next second, Uchiha Akira's figure left a gradually dissipating afterimage of electric light in his original spot.
He himself had transformed into a blue bolt of lightning, instantly vanishing from where he stood.
The rugged, rocky terrain unique to the Land of Earth rapidly receded beneath Kakuzu's feet.
He was running. Running faster than he had ever run in his long, ninety-year life.
But he could feel it.
He could feel the vast, familiar, terrifying chakra signature behind him. It was getting closer. It was getting clearer.
Fast! Too fast! He's too fast!
Kakuzu pushed his speed to the extreme. His black figure, propelled by bursts of chakra, weaved and leaped among the jagged, brown rocks, leaving trails of afterimages. He used his threads to latch onto distant spires, pulling himself forward, desperate to gain any advantage.
But Kakuzu despairingly realized that no matter how much he accelerated, no matter how many twists and turns he made... he couldn't shake his pursuer.
The distance between them was slowly, but surely, closing.
He's not even running. He's a comet. He's just... coming.
"Damn it! Damn it! DAMN IT!"
Kakuzu roared frantically in his mind.
Why? Why is this happening?!
I hid! I hid in the Land of Earth, the place where Konoha's influence is weakest!
I joined Akatsuki! I gained the most powerful, mysterious backing in the entire world!
Why is this man... this demon... still haunting me?! Why is he relentlessly pursuing me?!
No! I can't keep running like this!
He was already at his limit. In a pure speed contest, he was no match for that... that thing.
Being caught was only a matter of time!
Kakuzu's mind, his greatest weapon, raced frantically, thinking of a countermeasure.
That's right! Akatsuki! Pain! The leader! The Rinnegan!
This was it. This was his only, and possibly his last, straw of hope.
Having made up his mind, Kakuzu suddenly, violently, came to an abrupt halt. He dug his feet into the gravel, his body flipping in mid-air, landing steadily on top of a large, flat rock. He turned to face his pursuer.
Zzzzt—!
A blue flash of lightning, and Uchiha Akira's figure appeared not far from Kakuzu, the electrical aura around him dying down to a low, humming buzz.
"Not running anymore?" Uchiha Akira looked at Kakuzu, his voice laced with mild, cold interest.
Kakuzu forced down the rising tide of fear in his heart. He straightened his chest, puffing himself up, and made his voice sound as confident and threatening as possible.
"Uchiha Akira! I admit you are strong! Stronger than any of the First Hokage's generation!"
"But!"
He jabbed a finger, a desperate, bold gesture. "I am now a member of the Akatsuki Organization!"
"Our leader is a powerful ninja with the legendary Rinnegan! If you touch me today, you will be making an enemy of the entire Akatsuki Organization! You will be making an enemy... of a GOD!"
[Inorin's Note: The Akatsuki is the S-rank criminal organization. Its leader, Pain, possesses the Rinnegan, the most exalted of the Three Great Dōjutsu (Eye Techniques), fabled to be the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths.]
Kakuzu shouted everything he wanted to say in one, single, breathless torrent.
"Akatsuki Organization? Rinnegan?"
Uchiha Akira repeated the words, as if confirming them. As if he were a student, learning them for the first time.
"Yes!"
Kakuzu thought his words were working. He saw a flicker of... something... in Akira's eyes. He quickly pressed his advantage.
"Our leader, Pain, is a true god! His Rinnegan possesses power you cannot possibly imagine! You can still back down now, Akira! Leave, and we will forget this happened! Otherwise..."
"The Rinnegan you speak of…"
Uchiha Akira interrupted Kakuzu, his voice still quiet, still curious.
"...Are you referring to this?"
As his words fell, Uchiha Akira's eyes... changed.
The black pupils, the crimson irises, the Eternal Mangekyō pattern... they dissolved.
One circle.
Two circles.
Three circles.
Layers of faint, perfect, concentric purple ripples, centered on the pupil, instantly spread across his entire eye socket.
The air, which had been buzzing with Akira's lightning, suddenly fell dead silent. A new, ancient, and divine pressure settled over the rocky wasteland.
The Rinnegan.
The ferocity, the desperation, and the false, blustering bravado on Kakuzu's face completely... froze.
His mind... went blank.
His thoughts... completely stopped.
How…
How... could this be?
Rinnegan!
Those... those are the eyes...
The legendary eyes of the Six Paths Sage! They were the proof that Pain, their Akatsuki Organization leader, was revered as a "god"!
Why?
WHY...
...ARE THEY APPEARING ON UCHIHA AKIRA?!
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