Chapter 38 (Patreon)

The attacker was Kakuzu, who had only recently arrived on the battlefield.

He had come for the bounties placed on Konoha shinobi, and both Tokuma Hyūga and the captain beside him were among his targets.

However, the combined Fire and Wind Style attack he had used to break through Konoha’s defensive line was stopped by Kushina and Roy, who had rushed over and used Kidō.

The sea of flames slammed into Bakudō #81: Dankū.

The transparent wall shook under the impact, but the flames could not push past it.

At the same time, Kushina began casting Hadō #31: Shakkahō.

Using the flames to block Kakuzu’s sight, she fired the spell straight through them.

By the time Kakuzu sensed something coming, it was already too late.

The red blast tore through the fire and struck him directly.

With Kakuzu no longer feeding chakra into the technique, the flames created by the combined ninjutsu began to fade.

Even so, no one could see where the enemy had gone.

The only exception was Tokuma, whose Byakugan was still active.

“ANBU?”

The Konoha shinobi along the defensive line stared at the newly arrived group in confusion.

A moment later, several of them turned toward Tokuma.

Someone had approached from behind, yet he had not warned them.

Had the newcomers been enemies instead of allies, the entire unit might have been attacked before they even realised what was happening.

Tokuma did not explain.

He had noticed Kushina and the others approaching from the rear.

However, Kushina was the Nine-Tails’ jinchūriki, and she was clearly using a Transformation Jutsu to hide her appearance. On top of that, Commander Shikaku had said nothing about her coming here.

That meant she and the ANBU were probably hiding their identities on purpose.

They might have been carrying out a separate mission and had only happened to pass by the defensive line.

If Tokuma had announced their presence and they had continued on without stopping, the others might have relaxed.

The real enemy could have taken advantage of that opening.

Flame showed the identification papers given to them by Shikaku, then turned toward Fuya.

“The attack landed, but the enemy doesn’t seem to be injured.”

Tokuma spoke immediately after him.

“I can still see traces of defensive ninjutsu around his body.”

Standing behind Kushina, Roy stared at the empty ground beyond the defensive line.

He had only seen the attacker for a moment, but the black cloak covered in red clouds and the powerful elemental attack were enough for him to recognise the man.

It was Kakuzu of the Akatsuki.

Kakuzu was a bounty hunter.

Many Konoha shinobi currently had high prices on their heads, so it was not strange for him to appear here.

What Roy could not understand was why he had attacked so openly.

At this point, the Akatsuki should still have been hiding its existence and gathering strength in secret.

Attacking Konoha’s defensive line in front of so many witnesses did not fit with that.

Elsewhere, Kakuzu had hidden himself behind the terrain.

He looked toward Konoha’s position with a guarded expression.

What was that technique?

It was even stronger than Fire Style: Searing Migraine.

He did not have enough information on his enemies, so Kakuzu decided to retreat.

He had survived since the time of the First Hokage, but it was not only because of his forbidden technique.

He had survived because he knew when to pull back.

If he had relied on his strength and charged into every fight without thinking, he would have died long ago.

Kakuzu was known as an immortal shinobi because of the forbidden technique inside his body—Earth Grudge Fear.

The technique had changed his entire body.

It allowed him to steal the hearts of others and place them inside himself.

By taking those hearts, he could use the chakra natures of their former owners and extend his own life.

Kakuzu could carry five hearts at once.

As long as even one remained, he would not die.

However, he was not at full strength.

Before coming here, he had encountered Pain, and two of his hearts had been destroyed.

That was why he had come to the battlefield.

He planned to kill Konoha shinobi with high bounties and take their hearts to replace the ones he had lost.

Instead, he had nearly lost another heart as soon as he attacked.

For now, finding replacement hearts came first.

Once he had recovered, he could return and deal with the Konoha shinobi who had stopped him.

The Kumogakure forces had also witnessed everything.

“Did anyone recognise that technique?”

“Which one? The combined Fire and Wind Style attack, or the transparent wall Konoha used to block it?”

“The wall, obviously. It stopped an attack that powerful. If it can block something like that, most of our ninjutsu might not work either. Since when did Konoha have someone who could use a technique like that?”

No one had an answer.

They had never seen any of the three techniques used in that exchange.

They had not even heard of them.

For shinobi, an unknown technique was always dangerous.

Kumogakure was not the only side left frustrated.

Kushina was in a bad mood as well.

This had been the first time she had used Shakkahō in a real battle, yet it had failed to produce the result she wanted.

Worse, the enemy did not appear to be injured at all.

The moment she realised Kakuzu was retreating, Kushina prepared to chase him.

Roy quickly stopped her.

He leaned closer and spoke quietly into her ear.

“That man is much stronger than an ordinary jōnin. It isn’t strange that he managed to block Shakkahō.”

Kushina glanced at him.

“Roy-kun, you know him?”

“Kakuzu. He’s a bounty hunter and a missing-nin from Takigakure. Judging by that cloak, he has already joined the Akatsuki.”

“Takigakure?”

Kushina frowned.

“The village that has a tailed beast even though it isn’t one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages?”

She looked toward the place where Kakuzu had disappeared.

“A missing-nin from that village is this strong?”

Before Roy could answer, she continued.

“And what is the Akatsuki? Did they come here to fight Konoha?”

Her questions came one after another, leaving Roy unsure which one to answer first.

“The Akatsuki is a group that recruits powerful missing-nin. Kakuzu probably came here on his own because of the bounties.”

He paused.

“I’ll explain the rest later. For now, the Akatsuki has no reason to fight Konoha directly.”

They had made sure no one nearby could hear their conversation.

Even so, to everyone else, Kushina appeared to be quietly talking to herself.

This was not the place for Roy to explain everything he knew.

Besides, he still needed to sort through his own memories about the Akatsuki.

If Kakuzu had already joined, then Sasori of the Red Sand, the missing-nin from Sunagakure, had probably joined as well.

Other than those two, the current members should only be the Six Paths of Pain controlled by Nagato, Konan, Zetsu, and Obito.

There might also be a few weaker missing-nin working under them, but Roy did not know who they were.

There are still several years before the Akatsuki begins hunting the tailed beasts and puts the Eye of the Moon Plan into motion.

Right now, Konoha’s problems come first.

While Roy was thinking, Kushina went to speak with the jōnin in charge of the defensive line.

“If those bounty hunters hadn’t shown up, neither we nor Kumogakure would have been able to gain the upper hand,” the jōnin explained. “But because they keep attacking us, our formations are being disrupted, and our people can’t get enough rest.”

Kushina frowned after hearing his report.

The situation was worse than she had expected.

Unless the bounty hunters were dealt with, the shinobi guarding the defensive line would not get any proper rest.

Kumogakure, on the other hand, could hold back, save its strength, and wait for Konoha to wear itself down.

If this continued, Konoha’s defensive line would eventually collapse.

“This is all Danzō’s fault,” Kushina said angrily. “If he hadn’t attacked those merchant caravans and angered nobles from different countries, they wouldn’t have placed those bounties on Konoha shinobi, and those bounty hunters never would have—”

“My lady, please be careful what you say.”

Flame, still wearing his ANBU mask, hurriedly cut her off.