Chapter 79: Anyone Who Wants His Money Must Die!
"After we turn in this mission, we can split the money. I've used up all my leads."
Having wrapped up yet another bounty, Stelle took the initiative to broach the topic with Kakuzu.
Hearing this, a 'kind' smile stretched across Kakuzu's stitched face. Stelle felt that if a system notification were to chime right now, it would be a rather pleasant sound—another day of life successfully extended for the main body.
"Alright," Kakuzu rasped, his voice dry as old parchment. "Let's split the money. An eighty-twenty split, was it?"
He trailed half a step behind Stelle, his eyes fixed on the back of her neck. This woman's strength was pitiful; even her heart wouldn't be worth much. Still, considering she had earned him a tidy sum, he supposed he could grant her the mercy of a whole corpse.
His hand slowly detached from his wrist. Several writhing black tentacles, carrying his disembodied palm, slithered through the air toward the back of Stelle's unsuspecting form. He was about to crush the woman's heart.
Suddenly, a flash of silver-white light streaked across his vision, accompanied by the sharp whistle of a blade slicing through the air.
Two glints of steel vanished in an instant, moving far too fast for the naked eye to track.
By the time Kakuzu snapped back to his senses, his right hand had been cleanly severed at the wrist, tumbling to the forest floor.
Damn it, so fast!
Just a few days ago, this same woman was screaming for 'Lord Kakuzu' to save her from a pursuing Jonin. It turned out she was playing him all along. How utterly detestable.
Kakuzu leaped back, putting distance between them. A mass of black tentacles erupted from the stump of his arm, snatching the severed hand from the dirt. The threads squirmed and writhed, stitching the limb back onto his wrist with the practiced efficiency of a master tailor.
Stelle mused that if he ever gave up the bounty-hunting business, he'd make a fortune as a seamster. His handiwork was truly exquisite.
"Now then," she said, her voice deceptively sweet. "Can you give me my share of the money, Lord Kakuzu?"
She looked at him with a placid smile, casually twirling the short sword she'd 'conveniently' lifted from their last target.
Kakuzu studied her with newfound seriousness. Throughout their missions together, the strength she'd displayed was merely that of an ordinary Jonin who knew a few basic Wind Release ninjutsu. He'd assumed she had some hidden trump cards—one had to, to survive as a lone wanderer.
But to a veteran like him, that level of power was nothing. After all, Kakuzu had killed at least eighty, if not a hundred, Jonin in his long life.
The strike she'd just delivered, however, told a different story. She was far from simple.
So, what was her real objective? Why had she been following him around day after day?
It couldn't be as simple as wanting to slack off and leech a share of his earnings, could it? Was there anyone in the world that bored?
"Thinking about it," Kakuzu growled, his voice low and dangerous, "you must have a complete intelligence network to find so many rogue ninja in such a short time. Which village's intelligence division are you from? What do you want, following me for so long?"
Stelle simply held out her hand. "To make money!"
Absolutely not!
Money that entered Kakuzu's possession was his.
Anyone who wanted his money must die!
Kakuzu instantly shot backward, creating distance before launching into a furious bombardment of ninjutsu.
"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"
"Fire Release: Searing Migraine!"
Flames erupted from the Fire Release mask on his back, merging with the massive blades of wind that tore through the air, sweeping toward Stelle in a roaring vortex. The combination of fire and wind amplified the jutsu's power exponentially, the compressed chakra within the inferno humming with the promise of a violent explosion.
Stelle leaped into the air, landing lightly on a thick tree branch. Just as she found her footing, the second wave of attacks arrived.
Predictable. The first wave was a grand, flashy distraction designed to force her into the air. The second was the true killing blow. A shinobi is most vulnerable in mid-air, with no use to dodge or counter.
But Stelle didn't dodge. Instead, her hands flew through a series of seals.
"As it happens, I'm also quite good at Wind Release," she called out cheerfully. "Lord Kakuzu, why don't you try this little wind technique of mine?"
"Wind Release: Wind Blade!"
A gale howled across the forest floor. Amidst the whistling wind, over a dozen massive, scythe-like blades of pure wind materialized. They spun within a self-contained whirlwind, sweeping toward Kakuzu with unstoppable force.
The torrent of blades not only shredded Kakuzu's combination jutsu but continued onward, their momentum completely undiminished.
Seeing so many wind blades appear at once, Kakuzu's mind went numb.
She calls that 'Wind Blade'?! Whose version of Wind Blade summons over a dozen at once, complete with its own personal tornado? Getting hit by that would shred a heart to ribbons. Even with five of them, he doubted he could withstand more than a few hits.
Kakuzu scrambled backward in disarray. The masks on his shoulders spat out two more ninjutsu to cover his retreat, a desperate attempt to disrupt the woman's assault.
His specialty was long-range bombardment, but his true trump card was close-quarters combat. The ideal scenario would be for this woman, emboldened by her ninjutsu's apparent superiority, to close the distance and try to stab him.
He had five hearts, after all. If she stabbed one, he could feign death and launch a fatal counterattack when her guard was down.
Honestly, the last time he'd encountered such a powerful kunoichi was that woman from Konoha. That woman was truly a monster. No matter how strong her opponent was, she would cut them down without a second thought.
Unfortunately, she was also too good at escaping. He'd never managed to kill her, and the thirty million ryo bounty had slipped through his fingers. Now she was the Fourth Hokage, with a staggering bounty of two hundred million that no one dared to claim.
While his mind was momentarily distracted, the woman appeared before him in a blur. Her blade plunged deep into his chest, piercing one of his hearts.
Kakuzu's expression remained unchanged. His arm hardened and blackened as he swung a fist reinforced with Earth Grudge Fear straight at Stelle's head. This single punch was powerful enough to shatter her skull and scatter her brains across the forest.
His fist never connected. He only heard the woman's clear, almost gleeful shout.
"Wind Release: Wind Blade!"
A pale blue shield of pure wind erupted around her, a dome formed of countless, razor-sharp blades of air spinning at blinding speed.
His fist slammed into the vortex and was instantly shredded into a spray of black threads and flesh, leaving only the writhing tendrils of the Earth Grudge Fear jutsu exposed at the joint.
Kakuzu stared at his missing right hand, a deep sense of disbelief washing over him.
Wind Blade was the most basic, lowest-level Wind Release ninjutsu, something even a Genin could learn.
Why does she call everything 'Wind Blade'?!
That first attack, a storm of spinning scythes, was called Wind Blade. This defensive jutsu, a vortex of dense, rotating wind, was also called Wind Blade? What kind of fundamental misunderstanding did she have about the technique?
Kakuzu retreated again, desperately trying to widen the gap.
This woman was casually throwing around what were clearly S-rank ninjutsu—two of them—and she wasn't even breathing hard. Her chakra reserves had to be immense. She had to be an elite shinobi trained by one of the Great Nations.
But if so, why wasn't she serving her village? Why was she targeting him? Was there something wrong with her head?
Stelle, meanwhile, was quite pleased. The two ninjutsu she'd tested had performed beautifully. Since she was planning to visit the Land of Wind, it only made sense to have a few signature Wind Release techniques. These had been specially developed for her by the main body.
Using anything else would be problematic. If she used black flames, she'd be linked to the Black-Robed Man, a persona already 'certified' by Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara. If she used purple flames... well, would the Purple Flame Princess herself be moonlighting as a spy? What an honor that would be.
As for Wood Release... ha. Wood Release was a lost art. Why on earth would she ever use that?
"Wind Release: Gale Step!"
Wind Release chakra gathered at the soles of her feet and erupted in an instant, propelling her forward with such speed that she left a pale blue sonic boom in her wake.
In less than a breath, she was before Kakuzu once more. The sharp sound of a blade cutting through the air rang out again, and Kakuzu felt a sharp pain in his chest as his second heart was pierced.
He had lost another life.
A thought flashed through his mind. The first time, he had intentionally exposed a heart to lure her into a trap. This time, he could play dead for real. Without knowing his secret, who would ever suspect he needed to be killed five times?
Kakuzu let out a gurgle, his body going limp as he began to fall, feigning a mortal wound.
To his utter shock, the woman seemed to know his secrets inside and out. With a flick of her wrist, she twisted the blade and pierced his third heart.
Seeing the knife arcing toward his fourth, Kakuzu's carefully constructed composure shattered. A primal fear seized him. He threw himself into a desperate roll, scrambled to his feet, and fled.
If he didn't run now, he was a dead man.
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