In the dense forest.
Yahiko and his party were on the move when they suddenly heard faint explosions coming from behind.
Yahiko immediately tensed up. "Brother Kaze, it seems like there's a fight going on behind us. What should we...?"
"Don't worry about it. Keep moving forward," said the [Kage Clone Jutsu] of Kaze calmly.
That direction is where the original body went. It must be the noise from the original body's fight with the enemy. No need to pay attention.
"Yes, Brother Kaze (Master)!"
In the lush and green glade.
"Humph, if it's only this level, it won't be worth much money," sneered a man in black, grabbing a ninja by the neck and lifting him up in front of his face, his eyes full of disdain.
"Sp... spare me..."
The ninja's face turned purple from suffocation as he tried to pry the man's wrist open with both hands, but to no avail.
The man's hand was like an iron hoop. No matter how hard the ninja struggled, he couldn't budge it an inch.
Crack.
The man coldly snapped the ninja's neck, tore off the ninja's [Forehead Protector], and casually tossed the body to the side.
On the open ground beside him, there were already more than a dozen corpses lying.
"I have to find some more valuable prey. These guys are just a waste of time," the man murmured.
And time was money.
The man appeared to be in his early thirties. He was of a strong build, with black hair and green eyes. Most of his face was covered by a black mask.
His gray clothes were torn in the fight, revealing well-defined muscles and strange suture marks.
"Well, even a mosquito is still meat..."
The man let out a long sigh and then bent down to search the corpses.
"Who's there?"
The man, who was cleaning up the [Battlefield], suddenly looked behind him warily and asked indifferently.
"Alas, my lousy luck," sighed a masked figure as he slowly emerged from behind a tree with a self - deprecating smile. It was Kaze, who had come to check the situation.
"Oh? It seems I've run into someone valuable," the man sized Kaze up and down, a thoughtful look on his face.
He took out a roster from his bosom and started flipping through it as if Kaze weren't even there.
Kaze didn't make a move rashly. Instead, he quietly opened his [Poison pouch].
"My ridiculous luck! Just wandering around and I actually run into a [Kage - level powerhouse]..."
"Indeed!"
The man glanced at Kaze and then at the roster. A glint of excitement flashed in his green eyes.
"You're the Black Flash of Konoha, the reaper who charges through [Poison Mist] and fire!
"The bounty on your head is twenty million [Ryo]!"
Indeed, The Black Flash is the title Kaze earned in the [ninja world] after mastering the Flying Thunder God Technique.
He and Minato are known as the Two Poisons of Konoha, infamous for their cunning and cruelty.
Just the mention of their names is enough to make many ninjas shiver.
(Don't ask why the bounty for him isn't as high as Asuma's. It was more than twenty years ago, and inflation wasn't that bad yet.)
According to the rules in the Jianghu (martial world), when someone calls out your name, you should also loudly call out theirs as a sign of respect.
Kaze took a deep breath and loudly proclaimed in a resonant voice, "You are the strongest rogue ninja from Taki Hidden Village, the immortal warrior who once fought the First Hokage - Kakuzu!"
They say Kakuzu's so - called fight with the First Hokage was just him chucking a shuriken at the First Hokage from eight hundred miles away. But that's just a rumor. Since a shuriken can't be thrown that far, in fact, Kakuzu threw the shuriken from a hundred miles away. Even so, it shows Kakuzu's got some serious arm strength!
"Oh, you can recognize me?" Kakuzu looked at Kaze in surprise and didn't rush to attack. He knew that Kaze could leave at any time using the Flying Raijin Technique. Without the certainty of taking Kaze down instantly, he naturally wouldn't act.
Kaze smiled and said. Even though he might not stand a chance against Kakuzu and his poison seemed useless to Kakuzu, he wasn't worried at all. Because he didn't have to fight Kakuzu to the death! This guy's a total money - grubber. Unless you're on the black - market bounty list, he won't even bat an eye at you. The four young ones have just started out and have no bounties on their heads. Kakuzu won't waste his time on them. So why should he fight Kakuzu desperately? The guy has four "revival coins," while he only has one life.
"Then, I'll..." Just as Kaze was about to leg it, the system prompt sounded.
[Fellow cultivator, please stay. Why not do a multiple - choice question before leaving?]
[Option 1: As long as you run fast enough, danger can't catch up with you. Just run away! Completion reward: Speed 1.]
[Option 2: Promote the 'Will of Fire' and try to brainwash Kakuzu with it. Completion reward: Secret Technique - Earth Grudge Fear.]
[Option 3: Fight Kakuzu and give him two Italian - style shurikens (a unique reference in the story). Completion reward: Secret Technique - Earth Grudge Fear (Fragment).]
"System, are you getting addicted to messing with me?" Kaze snapped irritably. He found that the system had been going against him lately!
Kaze kept an eye on Kakuzu warily while checking out the reward details.
[Earth Grudge Fear: Conceal life beneath the battlefield. The restless black tentacles are an evil secret technique that plunders others' vitality.]
[Characteristics: 1. Use chakra to manipulate and release black tentacles to form a ninjutsu that can attack both at a distance and in close - range. 2. Use the tentacles to take others' hearts and transplant them into your body to obtain the target's chakra nature and vitality. 3. Use the black tentacles for body stitching. Even if separated from the main body, they can move freely.]
While Kaze was looking at the system interface, Kakuzu wasn't idle either.
Although he didn't know why the other guy suddenly zoned out, it was a good opportunity.
Hiss, hiss.
The black lines under Kakuzu's clothes churned, and two eerie human - face masks squeezed out of his skin and slowly crawled towards his shoulders.
On the other side, Kaze stared at the Earth Grudge Fear and fell into deep thought.
"This thing can change its length and shape at will... Hmm... Something's wrong with me..."
After looking at the Earth Grudge Fear, he clicked on the Earth Grudge Fear (Incomplete).
After taking a quick look, he understood immediately.
"Oh, it's just a castrated version of the Earth Grudge Fear. The effect is weaker, and it can only carry one extra heart."
Facing those beady, menacing eyes, Kaze didn't dare to waste time. After looking at the rewards, he quickly made up his mind.
"System, I choose Option 3!"
Although the complete version of the Earth Grudge Fear was very tempting, it was useless if he couldn't get it.
You know, Talk - Jutsu only works on people with ideals and beliefs.
Kakuzu only cares about money and doesn't care about people. He's got no ideals or beliefs, so he's naturally immune to Talk - Jutsu.
And his family isn't rich enough to knock Kakuzu out with money, so he'll just choose Option 3.
[Maoqiu wishes all the readers a happy Mid - Autumn Festival.]
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