Land of Fire.
At the battlefield,
Splash!!!
Warm blood spilled on the face of Maki, her stunned eyes gazing into the brown eyes looking back at her, a blade drilling out of the stomach of the tall cloaked figure who had appeared out of nowhere.
These brown eyes looking back at her, Maki despite seeing them for the first time getting a strange familiar feeling from them, though unable to identify the feeling.
"Made it...
SHAMBLES-
The cloaked figure who had a blade coming out of his stomach, finding the girl before him safe spoke in a relieved tone, next moment waving his hand.
An extraordinary scene happened on the battlefield, whether ot was Tsunade, Sakumo, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, Isumi and Maki,all baffling.
The remaining bounty hunters all vanishing from the spot, a few pebbles falling in there stead.
The cloaked figure vanished as well, along with the bounty hunter whose blade had pierced him, Maki eye's widened at the sight.
Swish! Swish!!
"What was that?"
"Just what in seven hells happened?"
Around Maki quickly gathered the whole squad, all baffled, just what happened to the enemy? How did it vanish suddenly.
"He did it, am I right Maki?!"
"Most likely!"
Sakumo though looking at Maki told his guess, Maki with a dazed face agreeing.
He, who was trying to save Maki naturally saw the figure who appeared out of nowhere and took the attack himself and saving Maki.
Just like he appeared, he disappeared the same way, the bounty hunters fighting them vanishing along with him.
"Yes, I think so as well"
Orochimaru who was fighting quite near Maki witnessed the scene of the cloaked man disappearing as well, his guess the same as Maki and Sakumo.
Tsunade, Jiraiya and Isumi though were confused, they were fighting at some distance and everything happened so quickly, so they didn't saw the cloaked man at all.
"The situation is too confusing so let's first hurry to kagami sensei, we can think about this later!"
Um!
Maki explained what happened to other three as well, as at the end Sakumo suggesting to regroup completely, others agreeing with his plan.
Swish!
Immediately the squad of six headed in the direction where even fighting, they could hear sounds of explosion.
---------------------
Shuu!!
The fire and water sword collided again, though this time both the swords vanishing, only steam left in the air.
Ha...Ha...
With the disappearance of the sword, the two figures fighting each other jumped back and created distance, both panting heavily.
"Ha...you can easily be hokage with your strength, why you are instructing mere kids?"
Asked Kakuzu while taking in deep breaths, he had truly underestimated Kagami's strength or more proper, the whole world had underestimated it.
He clearly had kage rank strength, his real bounty should be hundred million at least.
"It's simple... Sarutobi is stronger than me and being honest I can say the same for you"
"With your strength, why disgrace yourself and be what you are, a mere bounty hunter!"
Asked back Kagami with a smirk on his exhausted face, this battle had truly forced out everything he had.
"As you live longer and longer, you find out that at the end of the day you can only trust money!"
Said Kakuzu in response to his question, somewhere deep in his green eyes, a person who had suffered a lot living.
"Only trust money huh...all I can say then is that you have lived long for nothing!"
"Friends, Village, there is so much that you could trust and leave your back to!"
"No one can survive alone in this world!"
Said Kagami back to him with a proud face, the village he served had given him everything, a loving family, trustable friends and a safe place for his clan to prosper.
"Friends? Village? Don't joke with me!!"
"The same village that left you to die here!"
"Why do you think I and the others appeared so precisely here to ambush you?"
"Haha!! Don't tell me you are so stupid that you haven't even given it a thought!"
Asked back Kakuzu laughing, a hint of anger in his tone as well, in Kagami he saw his past the self that he hated, the self that blindly trusted the village, only to be betrayed and left to die.
"No...it can't be...
His words shook Kagami completely, his hair standing up as shaking his head he tried to deny, but his voice low and unconvincing.
"Huh? Guess you have capable kids under you, I'm in no condition to fight them along with you!"
Suddenly Kakuzu frowned as he sensed few chakra signatures approaching quickly, and he recognised them as well, the squad that was along with kagami.
"This was truly a wasted effort!"
Poof!
His chakra was nearly all exhausted, he already had doubts of being able to emerge victorious fighting Kagami before him to death, and adding kids who could deal with jonin, he'll definitely die.
Taking out a smoke bomb, Kakuzu burst it and disappeared, leaving Kagami alone who stood silent on the spot.