Infinite Anime [223-224] (Patreon)

Chapter 223 Kakuzu: Can I just kill him?

Itachi realized that as someone still inside the village, it was inconvenient for him to act. If the Konoha Destruction Plan was to be executed, only Gusion outside the village could plan and prepare.

The Uchiha clan's current situation was urgent; now was not the time for endless theorizing. The seniors were indeed more thorough in their considerations than he was.

Thinking of this, he summoned a ninja crow as a secret liaison to Gusion. "Senpai, before you leave, could you tell me what your last resort plan is?"

Gusion had just leapt onto a tree branch. Hearing this, he turned back and smiled, "Last resort? Actually, I think it's a pretty good plan. Why are you all so hung up on the tree that is Konoha? Just leave and become independent."

Itachi was stunned for a moment. He thought, this so-called last resort… actually sounds pretty feasible.

If they didn't stir up trouble and simply left, would Konoha really go so far as to wipe out their entire clan?

After all, the Uchiha were Konoha's founders. If the village wouldn't even let them leave, that would be hard to justify.

After leaving Konoha, they could find somewhere to establish a new ninja village. Then, following the Gusion's suggestion, let their bloodline spread throughout the ninja world. In time, they'd gain huge influence and live well.

Objectively, this was indeed a sound plan—but for the proud Uchiha, it was still a last resort.

Because Itachi understood: the proud Uchiha would never agree to flee like stray dogs. After all, they helped found Konoha; leaving would be too humiliating.

He wanted to say more, but saw that Gusion had already vanished, and could only shake his head regretfully.

In the chaotic battlefield of the forest, he gathered the bodies of several Anbu, helped organize their belongings. Though this was only a temporary Anbu squad with little camaraderie, they were still Konoha ninjas; Itachi didn't want them left exposed in the wild.

But Itachi felt no guilt in his heart, because this was the ninja world—if you kill, you must be prepared to be killed in turn.

If he hadn't personally experienced Gusion's plight, and hadn't struck up a conversation about the Uchiha, the result here would probably have just been one more corpse.

He wasn't so saintly as to blame Gusion for killing Konoha ninja. Konoha was in the wrong first; Gusion had every reason to fight back. Now, they were united in purpose.

Itachi's heart was now only for clan and village; individual ninja lives, aside from his loved ones, meant little to him.

…

In the ninja world, somewhere in an underground cavern.

The massive Demonic Statue of the Outer Path stood deep in the cave, both hands raised. Seven spectral figures stood atop its ten fingers.

This was the Akatsuki's Demonic Statue Projection Technique, a long-range meeting enabled by the Rinnegan.

"Why are we missing people again? Kakuzu, where's your partner?" Biwa Juzo questioned, seeing an empty spot opposite him.

"Weak, useless, I killed him," Kakuzu replied coldly. "If you care so much about my partner, why not team up with me?"

Juzo was annoyed; he valued his comrades and thought Kakuzu was going too far. He was about to curse him out when a commanding voice interrupted.

"I didn't summon you all here to argue." The man at the head's eyes bore six concentric rings—Pain, controlled by Nagato. "Also, Kakuzu, restrain yourself. Powerful rogue ninjas aren't so easy to find."

"I heard there's a strong rogue ninja making a splash in the Cloud Village lately," spoke Sasori, inside Hiruko.

"You mean Disaster Gusion? He's got a sixty-million bounty. I'm tracking him down," Kakuzu said, excitement in his voice—he already considered Gusion's bounty his.

"He cut off the leg of the Fourth Raikage, the world's fastest. He's not easy prey, Kakuzu. Don't get careless," Juzo taunted.

"Disaster… He's a Konoha rogue ninja, right? Orochimaru, do you know him?" Pain asked, growing curious about whether to recruit this powerful rogue.

Orochimaru, asked directly, stuck out his long snake tongue and licked his lips. "Disaster Gusion, huh? That's a nostalgic name. He was a hero of Konoha in the Third Ninja War, but he never became Hokage." There was a hint of mockery in his tone.

Orochimaru certainly knew about Gusion. Back then, Gusion was a strong Hokage contender like himself. But the one who became Hokage was Namikaze Minato.

To Orochimaru, it was no surprise. The old Third Hokage disliked him, Jiraiya didn't want the job, so by tradition, the Hokage spot went to Minato.

But Orochimaru still felt bitter. How had he performed as a Konoha ninja?

108 S-rank missions, 491 A-rank, 521 B-rank. Arguably the ninja with the most high-level missions in Konoha's history, a war hero in both great ninja wars—a model workhorse for the village.

But the Hokage title didn't go to him. It went to Minato. How could he accept that?

Experience, strength—where was he lacking? experimentation? Only because the village wouldn't fund his research. If he'd had money to buy bodies, he wouldn't have resorted to using villagers.

Human experimentation unforgivable? Please, the Second Hokage did far worse!

Orochimaru left Konoha in disillusionment, thinking the villagers didn't understand that science was the path to progress. After defecting, he joined Akatsuki and secretly set up a new research team in the Land of Rice Fields.

"Orochimaru, how strong is he, exactly?" asked Sasori, his teammate.

"Disaster is very strong—no weaker than the Fourth Hokage. His battle with Cloud is proof. If he joined us, he'd be a powerful asset."

Orochimaru's assessment showed his natural sympathy for Gusion.

He saw them both as victims of Konoha. Gusion had strength and talent, and unlike him, no stains on his record. But ultimately, he too was exiled for being too accomplished.

So Orochimaru felt they'd have a lot in common—maybe even plan revenge on Konoha together someday.

"If even you say so, he must be the real deal," said Pain. He looked at Kakuzu. "Kakuzu, forget the bounty. You're closest to Disaster—recruit him."

"Recruit him?" Kakuzu sounded reluctant. "He's worth sixty million. Can I… test him first?"

"Kakuzu, are you going to disobey the leader?" Juzo tried to stir the pot.

Kakuzu remained calm. As Akatsuki's treasurer, his status was above most members. "I only said I'd test him. If he can't withstand my test and dies, then he wasn't worth recruiting."

"Heh, Kakuzu, don't get yourself killed chasing a bounty," Orochimaru taunted, his reptilian eyes fixed on Kakuzu, irritating him.

"Orochimaru, want to die?"

"You can try. I'm in the Land of Rice Fields—not far from you."

Orochimaru was no pushover. Regardless of who was stronger, Kakuzu could never kill him.

"Enough. No more bickering," Pain interjected. This was routine for Akatsuki meetings—if not for his overwhelming strength, they would have killed each other by now.

He looked at Kakuzu. "Test him if you must, but remember the real mission."

He understood Kakuzu's greed: if he ordered him to just talk, Kakuzu wouldn't listen anyway—might as well be upfront. And Kakuzu had a point: if Disaster could be easily killed, he wasn't worth recruiting, and sixty million was a good payday.

"Relax, according to my intel, he's not far," Kakuzu said cheerfully.

…

The next morning, after separating from Itachi.

Gusion stood on the border of the Land of Waterfalls, having just killed an Explorer.

That was an explorer from the Divine Space, who'd been overconfident enough to try to ambush him.

Unfortunately, he didn't drop a Dead Man's Chest, making Gusion regret not trying to kill him in a more creative way.

By a stream, Gusion knelt to wash his face, removing the dust from days of travel.

He then headed toward a marked underground exchange on his side quest map, ready to cash in the explorer he'd just killed.

After killing that explorer, he triggered a new side quest called "Bounty Hunter."

The mission was simple: kill bounty-ninjas and cash them in at underground exchanges. Money earned this way counted toward the side quest and would be exchanged for "End Coins" at a 1000:1 ratio when he returned.

For example, Asuma would be worth about thirty thousand End Coins.

Not much, but the mission was repeatable, so by keeping an eye out in the Naruto world, he could accumulate some wealth.

Following the map, Gusion soon found the underground exchange—a shabby inn with a sleepy old man at the counter.

"Want a room?" the old man asked quietly, squinting at Gusion.

"Exchange."

Gusion was blunt.

The old man's eyes widened and he stood up. "Please, come with me."

He led Gusion down a side hallway, opened a hidden door, and entered a room reeking of corpses.

"An Iwagakure rogue-nin, Fūjin, worth eighteen million. Please wait."

Shortly, the old man brought out a box. "Please count it now. We're not responsible after you leave."

Gusion took the suitcase and, using his spatial appraisal, knew immediately how much was inside. As soon as he stowed the money, his side quest progress increased.

"You seem new to this. Hope I don't see you here as a bounty next time," the old man said—a customary blessing, but clearly recognizing Gusion as the recent high-bounty wanted man.

Gusion waved him off, not interested in chatting.

The old man moved to reopen the hidden door, but as it opened, both Gusion and the person outside froze.

Standing before Gusion was a man in a black cloak with red clouds, the high collar covering half his face, a rogue-nin headband from Takigakure atop his head, eyes lighting up at the sight of Gusion.

"Damn, you've got bad luck. Looks like I'll have to move some funds again," the old man muttered, glancing at Gusion—sure the hunter was about to become the hunted.

After all, Kakuzu was famous in these circles—there were few targets he couldn't kill. His efficiency at bounty missions was top-tier.

And facing a sixty-million-yen fat sheep, Kakuzu wouldn't let this go.

"Disaster?" Kakuzu confirmed, his tone flat.

"Oh? That outfit—Akatsuki, I presume?" Gusion confirmed with a smile, battle blood stirring.

Chapter 224: Kakuzu: Why is he so tough?

"Gentlemen, could you take this outside? It's not easy doing business here, you know?" the old man interjected nervously. If they started fighting here, the exchange would be instantly obliterated.

Kakuzu, hearing this, sealed up the corpse he'd brought to exchange and strode outside, unafraid of a sneak attack from Gusion. "Let's talk outside."

Gusion didn't mind—he didn't want to destroy the exchange either, as he'd need it for future quests.

The manager watched them leave and breathed a sigh of relief.

But the moment they turned the corner and were out of sight, a massive explosion and intense shockwave rattled the area.

"Wind Style: Pressure Damage!"

Kakuzu didn't immediately enter his Earth Grudge Fear mode; he attacked in his normal state, using Wind Style. He'd heard Disaster was a powerful Lightning Release kekkei genkai user, so he tested with Wind.

Kakuzu's chakra was substantial, and his jutsu's power was immense. The gale felled trees like a scythe, the wide blast sweeping toward Gusion.

Gusion jumped back, lightning spreading like a web, turning into a giant net that fell toward Kakuzu.

Kakuzu saw Gusion's speed and knew this level of wind jutsu wouldn't hit him directly. Gusion's lightning style wasn't stopped at all, descending on his position.

And, unlike the usual lightning style in the ninja world, Gusion's lightning was like natural lightnin, almost instantaneous from casting to impact.

If not for Kakuzu's experience and preemptive use of the Body Replacement Technique, he'd have been fried on the spot.

Even this brief exchange made Kakuzu realize that Disaster was a troublesome opponent. This sixty million wouldn't be easy.

He'd killed many lightning-style users, even possessed a powerful lightning-style heart. But most lightning users fell into two types.

One type, like the Raikage, used lightning to stimulate their bodies, giving them extreme speed and power for taijutsu. He'd heard Copy Ninja Kakashi had a similar technique. This was rare, but Kakuzu had defeated such opponents.

The other type used conventional lightning jutsu: converting chakra to lightning and attacking with it. Since these were ninjutsu, the lightning could be shaped and its path controlled—limiting its speed.

For example, his own Lightning Style: False Darkness, fired sharp lightning spears from the Earth Grudge Fear's mask mouth. These were tangible, their path controlled, and thus slower.

So, in fact, externalized lightning jutsu weren't that fast. From forming to hitting the enemy, there was always some travel time.

In summary, the Raikage-style chakra mode was even faster than most externalized lightning techniques.

But Gusion's case was different. From appearance to impact, his lightning was almost instantaneous. Kakuzu could only evade by predicting where Gusion would strike.

"You kids these days are terrifyingly strong," Kakuzu sighed. But he hadn't given up on that sixty million bounty—he'd only been saying hello.

"You're with Akatsuki, right? Judging by your outfit—Takigakure rogue-nin? The underground rumor is, you even tried to assassinate the First Hokage?"

Gusion asked, interested.

"Heh, didn't expect you to know that. I did fight your village's First Hokage," Kakuzu said, a note of pride in his concealed face. "But you're too young."

As he spoke, his Earth Grudge Fear hearts emerged from behind, unnoticed by Gusion. When he finished, four black-stitched masked monsters rose from the ground, encircling Gusion.

Three masks, black threads writhing like tentacles, empty eyeholes staring at Gusion. They stood in a triangle, with Kakuzu himself forming a four-cornered encirclement.

Kakuzu said Gusion was "young" because he dared to chat mid-fight. His casual sigh was just a distraction.

"Interesting secret technique—but you think these toys are enough to fight the First Hokage?" Gusion said playfully. Of course, he'd noticed Kakuzu's trick—his Observation Haki and sense of electric currents made everything in hundreds of meters clear.

But he didn't stop Kakuzu from using Earth Grudge Fear. He wanted to see what Kakuzu could do with his little toys.

From the original work, he thought Kakuzu was pretty weak. Earth Grudge Fear could surprise those who didn't understand it, but against anyone with strong analysis or raw power, Kakuzu would be easily defeated.

Those five hearts were just too weak. In a fair fight, even the Raikage could probably kill Kakuzu five times in an instant...

"You kids sure have big mouths," Kakuzu said coldly. Besides his earth (main) and retained lightning hearts, each Earth Grudge Fear mask unleashed jutsu.

Wind Style: Pressure Damage!

Fire Style: Head Hardening Jutsu!

Water Style: Water Curtain!

He wasn't a rookie—he'd done his homework on Gusion and wouldn't attack directly with external lightning jutsu.

He kept the lightning heart in his body, as insurance—if he couldn't dodge Gusion's lightning, he could counter with his own.

The other three hearts took the offensive, surrounding Gusion for an all-out attack. If Gusion couldn't break this, Kakuzu could just take his bounty and report back.

Boom—

Wind fanned flames, merging the Pressure Damage and Head Hardening into a new combo Firestorm, blasting Gusion directly.

Simultaneously, the water clone sprayed high-pressure water for follow-up suppression.

By his senses, Kakuzu was sure his ambush had succeeded; Gusion hadn't dodged, and all the water blasts hit.

He felt pleased but disappointed. "Still too young—far inferior to your First Hokage."

But then, from the smoke, a voice replied, "Is that so? I doubt you really fought the First Hokage. Maybe you just threw a shuriken at him from 800 meters away?"

Hearing the calm voice, Kakuzu instinctively leaped back, pulling his clones with him to increase the distance.

But to his annoyance, Gusion didn't attack—he waited for the smoke to clear, just standing there, aura farming.

Gusion dusted himself off. "All that flash and no substance. Go ahead, show me more. Is this all the 'Warring States-era ninja' have?"

Kakuzu's face turned ashen, shocked and angry. He was sure his ninjutsu had hit Gusion—but Gusion was completely unharmed! How?

He'd seen tough ninja before. In 80+ years, he'd encountered all kinds of kekkei genkai, but Gusion was a lightning user—not a defensive type.

And his jutsu was far above a typical jonin's. Even Hashirama couldn't just tank it, could he?

Gusion stepped out of the smoke and flames. Honestly, Kakuzu's jutsu was disappointing—he'd hoped for a real fight.

Kakuzu's power was too spread out, with no finishing moves. With all five hearts together, his mental stats barely hit 70; if he'd unleashed a massive combo, Gusion might have dodged.

But split up, each clone's mental stat was just over 60—strong for a jonin, but barely elite jonin level. Such attacks, Gusion didn't even bother dodging.

With his Armament Haki and two defensive items, he barely felt it.

"Bastard, how did you do that?" Kakuzu asked, quietly reabsorbing his clones.

"No secret. Your jutsu is just too weak," Gusion grinned. "I respect older people, so I let you go first. Now… my turn?"

Seeing Gusion's smile, Kakuzu—despite his eighty years—felt a chill down his spine. He realized this opponent was a terrible match for him.

His earth heart was weak to lightning; his usual multi-directional attacks were wasted on Gusion, who could dodge effortlessly.

In a chakra battle, he'd likely lose.

Even worse, as Gusion drew his ninja sword, his "chakra" surged, as if he were transforming.

"Wait!" Kakuzu raised his hand to stop Gusion's charge.

But Gusion didn't pause—he used Shunpo, instantly closing the gap.

Kakuzu, seeing Gusion unresponsive, summoned his wind, fire, and lightning masks to his right arm, unleashing the ultimate combo: Earth Grudge Fear: Final Shot!

Boom—

To Kakuzu's surprise, Gusion didn't dodge or stop his charge, taking the blast head-on.

But his Final Shot didn't kill Gusion, only striking an invisible barrier.

Even worse, Gusion was now just three meters away. The reflected blast spread fire and wind back toward Kakuzu.

At the same time, Gusion slashed diagonally with his sword.

It was as if the blade sliced through the air itself. Dozens of trees fell in a wide arc.

Kakuzu himself lost half his body, his right arm—just used to fire his attack—falling away.

Then, lightning flashed from Gusion's body, spearing Kakuzu's three hearts in the severed arm and several more at his main body.