Raimon Hayate, hearing what Musen said, not only didn't go off somewhere else but actually moved in even closer to Musen.
Leaning in next to Musen, he lowered his voice and said, "Musen-bro, believe me—heroes appreciate heroes, and I know how to value your ideas!"
Since Raimon Hayate was saying so, Musen also leaned over to whisper in his ear.
Meanwhile, over on Senshi's side, he felt that Lanyu was a bit too steady.
But in comparison to the likes of others, being cautious was no bad thing.
After all, they were not all-powerful like some others—nor did they have many life-saving techniques.
If they charged in recklessly, colliding head-on with Musen, it would be perfectly possible for Musen to wipe them out with one move.
From that angle, Lanyu's performance was acceptable. As expected of an outstanding youth from the Uzumaki clan.
As for Musen and Raimon Hayate... those two were giving everyone headaches.
Musen's plan was already quite silly; yet Raimon Hayate felt Musen had "room to grow."
That made Senshi understand a certain truth: when people are absolutely at a loss for words, they really do laugh.
Even he—professionally trained as a mercenary—could only smile helplessly while listening to Musen and Hayate's ideas.
But at that moment, Karin suddenly raised her little hand. "Senshi, I've got a plan!"
Senshi blinked. "You too have a plan?"
In the carriage, everyone's gaze settled on Karin right then.
Karin's ideas were… unpredictable.
Sometimes she had good notions, sometimes she roped Senshi into outlandish schemes as disorganized as he could be.
Now, who could say whether this cramped little carriage might produce a "Comedic Talent" or something along those lines?
With everyone staring at her, Karin said confidently, "Senshi, we can copy our success from Kumogakure! Last time we made a name for ourselves in the Land of Lightning's black market, we caused a huge impact on both the Lightning black market and Kumo. Finally, with no other choice, Kumogakure had to send someone to negotiate, and we made a killing."
"Not only that—even the boss of the Lightning black market couldn't handle the loss and almost wound up on the rooftop."
After Karin finished, Senshi promptly flicked her forehead. "Don't you know? The same trick doesn't work twice on a boss in a video game. Copying last time's winning move definitely won't cut it."
That forehead flick was largely because of his anger at Karin for sneaking Haruko and the others along without permission.
Haruko was only six years old; Mikiko was five. They were far too small to appear in a battlefield scenario.
Though Senshi flicked Karin's forehead, he soon cleared his throat and said, "But I do have an idea. We can fully absorb the lessons from our victory in Kumogakure, making the Land of Earth black market our entry point, and wage an economic war on Iwagakure.
"Once Iwa's shinobi can't get missions, the village finances will take a beating, and the Iwa ninjas' livelihoods will get tough. By the time Iwa is forced to come back to the table, we can demand exorbitant terms and cause them huge losses."
Karin: (O_O)???
She froze for a moment, then blinked and asked, "Senshi, didn't you just say you can't use the same trick twice?"
"And how is your plan different from the one I just proposed?"
Senshi waved it off. "Never mind whether it's different or not—just say whether it's a good plan!"
Karin: \(¬_¬)/ Huh…
At that point, she realized she'd been bullied.
Senshi's plan was obviously feasible, but he hadn't thought too deeply about it and flicked her forehead anyway.
Thinking of that, Karin gave a "hmph" and swung a fist at Senshi. "You jerk, Senshi! This time I insist on dueling you!"
The few "confused ones" in the carriage stared blankly at this scene.
All of them felt that, as expected of the black-market legend Lord Senshi, some of his talents were truly hard to surpass.
While Senshi led his group of up-and-coming mercenaries toward Iwagakure, Obito likewise decided to spring into action once more. In the end, he did not choose to resurrect Uchiha Madara right away.
Madara might be a powerful ally but also a huge uncontrollable factor.
Even the Black Zetsu created by Madara's will was now busy collecting junk.
Who could say whether, once revived, Madara might do something in cahoots with Black Zetsu for "some special reason"?
So Obito put the idea of resurrecting Madara on the back burner.
After a lot of thought, he decided to try once more by himself. He could set aside the problematic Tailed Beast for now. Maybe he could capture those Tailed Beasts that still hadn't shown any problems. Once he'd secured the other Tailed Beasts, he would have time to figure out what was going on with the One-Tails and Two-Tails.
In the Mountain Graveyard, Obito paced before the immense Gedo Statue, thinking to himself:
"I can't grab One-Tail or Two-Tail for the moment; Three-Tails is already locked in the Gedo Statue. Four-Tail and Five-Tail might be possible, but it'd be best not to risk it, because running into Senshi face-to-face would be dangerous."
"That means I should go for the Six-Tails first. After dealing with Six-Tails, I can decide which Tailed Beast to target next."
With that, he resolutely activated Kamui, warping over to the Land of Water.
He was fairly familiar with the Land of Water, having once controlled the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, and remained there a while. Even so, he felt a bit anxious this time.
He didn't rush into Kirigakure, knowing how Kiri, Amegakure, and Senshi all had extremely close ties. Still, he had underestimated how close Kiri and Amegakure were. Even outside Kiri, he saw a lot of Anbu operatives. Not only that—right at the village entrance, there were many kids wearing Akatsuki's red-cloud coat, frolicking about.
Obito couldn't help sighing. "Has Senshi and Amegakure infiltrated Kirigakure this deeply? Are the Kiri upper management just sitting by and ignoring it? They don't just have Kiri ninjas in Akatsuki, they're imprinting Kiri's new generation with the Akatsuki mark, too?"
While Obito was musing on that, from a large tree behind him, White Zetsu peeked out halfway and said, "You can't call it infiltration by Senshi and Amegakure. Their cooperation with Kiri is just extremely tight.
"The ninjas and those kids you see are all part of the Akatsuki branch in Kirigakure. This Kirigakure branch of Akatsuki is headed by Hoshigaki Kisame and Uchiha Itachi. But for some reason, Itachi's been hauling Kisame all around the Land of Water's black market lately, grinding missions like crazy. They won't interfere with your plan."
After listening, Obito felt even more emotional. The ninja world was insane these days—tons of bizarre events, one after another. Now an Akatsuki branch was set up in Kiri, one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages! But as White Zetsu said, so long as Itachi and Kisame didn't block him, he needn't worry about them.
Casually, Obito asked White Zetsu, "Have you found the Six-Tails Jinchūriki's location?"
White Zetsu answered, "Still confirming. He's a Tailed Beast Jinchūriki, so we never got too close. Speaking of which, there's one more piece of intel I should share."
Obito frowned. "What intel?"
White Zetsu paused, then said, "At first, the Six-Tails Jinchūriki lived with his teacher on a small island, rarely leaving it. Recently, though, his activity range has expanded a lot, covering all corners of Kiri and beyond. If he's inside the village, we'd have to wait for him to exit before we act—there are many of Senshi's Wood Clones in Kiri."
Hearing the name Senshi's Wood Clone made Obito angry. So much of his plan's trouble came from that man.
Meanwhile, no ninja could have bad luck all the time. He'd been unlucky catching the One-Tails and Two-Tails; hopefully this time with the Six-Tails he'd have better fortune.
Indeed, White Zetsu soon relayed intel that the Six-Tails Jinchūriki, Utakata, was training in a valley near Kiri, rather than inside the village.
With that, Obito at once moved to find Utakata. Utakata, totally unaware danger approached, was busy blowing bubbles in the valley. A swirl of transparent space appeared not far away. Next second, Obito, masked, emerged from the vortex.
Obito eyed him coldly. "Still blowing bubbles, huh? I'm here to take you out."
At his words, Utakata tensed. With the Tailed Beast matter "resolved," he'd been relaxed lately. Now out of nowhere, here came an uninvited guest with ill intent. Focused on Obito, Utakata realized he knew nothing of this ninja's background, so he tested him by asking, "Why are you looking for me?"
Obito didn't answer, launching a jutsu instead—forming hand seals, he shouted, "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!" A big orange fireball appeared and rushed swiftly at Utakata. Quick to respond, Utakata retaliated: "Water Release: Bubble Technique!" Through a special bubble-blowing item, he spewed a multitude of colorful bubbles, which collided with Obito's fireball. After a while, Obito's fireball vanished, replaced by countless sparkling bubbles around him. Hidden behind the bubble screen, Utakata's form was no longer visible. But Utakata's voice reached him:
"Last time—what's your purpose here, exactly?"
Obito sneered. "You're a dead man; you don't need to know." That reply enraged Utakata. If Obito was here to kill him, there was no need to hold back. On his command, the sea of colorful bubbles lunged at Obito like floating bombs.
"Susanoo!" Obito wasted no time, summoning it straight away.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Those colorful bubbles, colliding with a normal ninja's flesh, could maim or even kill. But against certain robust defenses, they weren't strong enough.
Meanwhile, the area around Susanoo filled with more and more bubbles. Naturally, Utakata wasn't trying to overwhelm him by numbers but to create confusion. He himself climbed into one large bubble, hoping to flee. Bubble Ninjutsu was versatile—good for large-scale attacks and also for flight.
Unfortunately, he didn't get far before a transparent vortex rippled behind him. "Oh no!"
That sound made Utakata's heart jump. Before he could react, Obito slammed an uppercut into his jaw, nearly knocking him out. Having grown skilled dealing with Jinchūriki after Gaara and Yugito, Obito unleashed a violent flurry of blows—fist, fist, knee—leaving Utakata no chance to fight back.
If the Tailed Beast were still present, Utakata might have tried partial transformation. Now, however, he couldn't. And Obito's onslaught was too fierce to let him blow bubbles.
While Obito rampaged, he also stayed wary in case Utakata tried using the Beast's power. But even after beating Utakata's face to a pulp, the man never tapped into his Tailed Beast.
Obito's heart sank at the all-too-familiar scenario. Just as with Gaara and Yugito, he carefully checked him over once the beating was done. Sure enough, he felt only despair—Utakata had practically lost his Tailed Beast.
Obito cursed bitterly in his mind, "Damn it! It's definitely Senshi's doing. Long ago he talked Nagato into hunting Tailed Beasts. Since Three-Tails had no Jinchūriki, it got sealed in Gedo Statue, while the rest were stolen quietly. Now the One-, Two-, Three-Tails are messed up, and the Four- and Five-Tails he's probably going for next. If all the Tailed Beasts end up in Senshi's hands, how can I push my plan forward?"
But as he ruminated, he thought of something else: the Seven-Tails Jinchūriki was Kakuzu's assistant, a member of Akatsuki and also Senshi's mercenary group. In other words, "one of their own." Even if Senshi had targeted other Jinchūriki, surely he wouldn't turn on his own people.
Deciding that, Obito resolved to go after the Seven-Tails next. He'd collect whichever Tailed Beasts he could; for those that weren't available, he'd see later. With that, he vanished via Kamui to start planning how to seize the Seven-Tails.
…
Originally, Kakuzu had mainly worked in the Amegakure black market.
Then he expanded to Kusagakure, Takigakure, and the Land of Fire's black market. But lately, with both his and Fū's growing power, the entire ninja world became their stomping ground.
If neither the village nor Akatsuki nor Senshi's group had any special jobs for them, they'd roam all around doing missions.
Normally, they should still have been traveling from one black market to another.
But upon hearing word the village was in trouble, they rushed back. Kakuzu's figure blurred through the forest, a black shadow moving at insane speed.
Since the mercenary group had unlocked "scratch-card powers," he'd grown exponentially stronger. Up to now, even Kakuzu himself had lost track of how many scratch-cards he'd used—only that he was terrifyingly powerful, with an extra 300 or so "points" of chakra.
He knew a staggering number of ninjutsu, basically all non-kekkei genkai ones. Plus, after countless missions, he'd raised the String-String Fruit to a very high level, which combined explosively with his Earth Grudge Fear. He'd also gotten a variety of cooking-card buffs.
Though he didn't think he could beat Senshi, he was sure no other ninja would give him trouble. Compared to the old him, he was on another level—those who used to fight him evenly would now die instantly. While Kakuzu soared forward, Fū did her best to fly behind him, wings out from her ribs. As she flew, she chatted:
"Kakuzu-sama, we'll soon be back home."
"Mm." Kakuzu only grunted. He was pissed about the chaos in Amegakure. Setting everything else aside, the Amegakure black market had been his starting point.
Although he now worked all over, he'd spent countless months forging a path at Amegakure's black market, so it felt like home. He was extremely fond of that place.
Even though his business was broader now, his bond with the Ame black market was eternal. Hearing the entire village had been struck was like hearing his home was nearly leveled. Of course he'd be furious.
While they sped through the forest, Fū took out a small notebook of intel she kept. "Kakuzu-sama, thanks to your long career, you already have a great rep throughout the ninja world. And with us taking on missions anywhere we can, your fame and influence have risen further. You're now considered the strongest black-market mercenary after Lord Senshi—second to one, above the rest!"
Kakuzu grinned in satisfaction, thinking it was well-earned. Dashing on, he told Fū, "That's good news, but we can't let our guard down. We need to keep boosting our skill. We must become the top mercenary team besides maybe Senshi and Karin, staying ahead of the rest."
Fū beamed at that. She'd been receiving Kakuzu's praise more often, training with burning passion, so her power soared. After he finished, she eagerly pumped a tiny fist and said, "Don't worry, Kakuzu-sama, I'll keep working hard to sharpen my mission abilities!" Then, silently to herself: "Fū, keep striving! You can't lose to Karin; you're the best assistant!"
"Stop," Kakuzu abruptly said, not knowing Fū's thoughts. They had reached a certain forest, and his well-honed mercenary instincts told him danger lurked ahead—he'd caught a flicker of something ominous. Over many missions, he'd learned to trust that sense.
Fū instantly halted as well, quickly scanning their surroundings with practiced composure. She, too, was now a seasoned merc. Sure enough, it turned out Kakuzu's instincts were right: from the forest emerged a masked figure walking calmly.
"You?" Kakuzu frowned when he saw Obito. He only knew that Obito was somehow linked to Akatsuki, but not the details.
"Yes, me," Obito said, striding forward. Kakuzu studied him a moment, then asked, "Why are you here?"
Obito continued forward casually. "No particular reason."
Yet inside, Obito was excited because it looked like he wouldn't even have to fight Fū to confirm the Tailed Beast was safe in her. If the Seven-Tails had been lost, she wouldn't be able to fly around.
Since she could, the Beast was presumably intact—he could snag it now. Time was short, so he wasn't messing around.
"Stop!" Kakuzu warned as Obito drew closer to him and Fū. He didn't know how he or Fū might have offended this masked man, but the man's intent was clearly hostile, so there was no way Kakuzu would let him just walk right up.
"Tch!" Obito snorted at that, ignoring Kakuzu's warning and continuing his approach. He knew a lot about longtime Akatsuki members like Kakuzu.
In his opinion, Kakuzu was just some mechanical freak. A normal ninja not understanding Earth Grudge Fear might get trapped, but he had solid intel. And now with Susanoo, he considered Kakuzu just a trivial stepping-stone.
Kakuzu saw Obito disregarding his demand and felt not fear but excitement. He spent most of his time on missions, rarely meeting any truly powerful ninja. He had loads of terrifying stats that seldom got tested. This masked man looked like he might have some skill, so it would be a good test.
Kakuzu turned to his assistant. "Fū, does this guy have a bounty? How much?"
Fū pulled out her notebook, flipped through it, then said, "Kakuzu-sama, there's no black-market bounty on him at all."
"Darn," Kakuzu cursed quietly. If there was no bounty on Obito, killing him would only net whatever valuables he carried, not a black-market payment for his corpse.
Of course Obito heard Kakuzu and Fū's words. When he realized they wanted to kill him and cash in, he flew into a rage. "I'll kill the two of you fools who don't know your place!"
With that, his figure shot forward like an arrow from a bow, heading straight for Kakuzu. Experts can gauge each other instantly. The moment Obito attacked, Kakuzu and Fū realized he wasn't an amateur but a master.
Fū's eyes gleamed. "Kakuzu-sama, we should team up and finish him quickly."
"No," Kakuzu confidently waved her off, eyes fixed on Obito. "You just watch. I need to stretch my muscles."
As he spoke, Obito drew closer still, but Kakuzu didn't retreat—he went right at him. Both men dashed headlong at one another at even greater speed.
"Tsk!"
Bang!
They collided midair in an instant. Kakuzu thrust a black hand aimed at Obito's heart, but it passed harmlessly through Obito's body. He hadn't managed to yank out the man's heart at all—though it looked like it went right through him, he didn't connect with anything.
"Clang!"
At the same time, Obito had a kunai aiming for the monstrous Earth Grudge Fear mask behind Kakuzu—i.e., his heart. But the kunai struck something as solid as a fortress wall, apparently blocked by some hard armor. The recoil left Obito's right hand somewhat numb.
They quickly separated again. Obito was unsettled—What's going on here? Kakuzu's not as intel portrayed him. He'd planned to use the enemy's carelessness to destroy one heart, then rely on phasing to pick off the rest. But Kakuzu's body had some alteration not listed in the data, foiling Obito's plan.
Kakuzu, failing to rip out Obito's heart in one go, eyed him thoughtfully. He'd assumed it would be easy to achieve a "heart-to-heart exchange," but apparently it wasn't so simple.
After they pulled apart, Kakuzu took the offensive. Rather than open with the String-String Fruit or Earth Grudge Fear, he used various ninjutsu he had mastered to near perfection. By drawing the same technique multiple times with the scratch cards, his familiarity and insight soared to extreme levels. He'd done so many tasks that these techniques were unbelievably refined.
Kakuzu gave a small smirk. Rapidly forming hand seals, he unleashed a jutsu:
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Obito: (O_O)???
Seriously? A backfiring scenario? Kakuzu's using the Uchiha signature Great Fireball in front of an actual Uchiha?
Still, Obito didn't hesitate to do the same. He was a true-blooded Uchiha, so how could he lose at the Great Fireball to an outsider? "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
In the next instant, two massive orange fireballs whooshed across from opposite sides toward each other.
Boom! Rumble…
They collided, erupting in a terrifying explosion that sent sparks flying. Obito wasn't injured, but truth be told, Kakuzu's Great Fireball outmatched his. That enraged him, so he decided no more messing around:
"Susanoo!"
He summoned the power of Susanoo, a huge bluish skeleton engulfing him, quickly growing flesh and legs, then sprouting armor and a sword in its hand. One more step and it would be a full-body Susanoo.
"Oh?" Kakuzu murmured at the sight. "No wonder you dared to pick a fight with me. You've got some skill."
At the skeleton's brow, Obito said coldly, "Enough talk—die!"
With that, he swung the Susanoo sword down on Kakuzu. Buzz! Slash— The effect was immediate. Where Kakuzu had been stood, he was now carved into wildly dancing black threads. Though Susanoo's blade easily slashed the Earth Grudge Fear strings apart, Kakuzu himself wasn't harmed. Those black threads could be sliced at will.
~~~
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