At the border of the Land of Grass, a tall figure trudged along, muttering to himself. "This time's haul wasn't bad. Time to collect the bounty."
He wore a headband bearing the symbol of Takigakure, slashed through with a line, a mark of a rogue ninja. Black cloth concealed half his face.
This was Kakuzu.
Long ago, Kakuzu had clashed with the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, and suffered a crushing defeat. Yet, his village showed no mercy for his failure against such a formidable foe. Instead, they punished him harshly. In retaliation, Kakuzu stole Takigakure's forbidden technique, Earth Grudge Fear, and fled, leaving the village's leaders dead, their hearts claimed by him.
This forbidden technique was why Kakuzu, now in his seventies, remained a formidable force. Few could maintain such combat prowess at his age, save perhaps the Tsuchikage, Onoki, who would fight well into his later years.
Even Madara Uchiha, lurking in the shadows, was a shadow of his former self, his body ravaged by age. Madara sought resurrection, having acquired the Rinnegan and entrusted one eye to Nagato, a carefully chosen Uzumaki whose clan's vitality could withstand its power.
After defecting, Kakuzu wandered aimlessly, driven by a singular passion: money. He frequently took on black-market missions, eliminating targets for bounties.
This time, he was en route to claim a reward when he sensed a presence. His expression shifted as he glanced skyward, where a figure descended.
"Flying Technique." Kakuzu muttered, frowning. Against an aerial opponent, he was at a disadvantage. Few ninjutsu could effectively target someone in the air, making such foes notoriously difficult to defeat.
A young figure landed not far from him, catching Kakuzu's attention. He seemed vaguely familiar.
"Konoha's Chunin, Tengen." Kakuzu said, recognition dawning.
"You know me?" Tengen asked, surprised. His reputation wasn't that widespread.
"You're worth a fortune on the black market, 20 million ryo. I won't hold back." Kakuzu said with a grin, his greed overriding any concern about Tengen's flying ability. To him, Tengen was a walking goldmine.
"Twenty million?" Tengen blinked. After the Third Great Ninja War, he could believe his bounty would soar, but he wasn't that prominent yet.
"I don't know why a Chunin like you is worth so much, but since we've crossed paths, don't blame me." Kakuzu said, chuckling.
He was thrilled with his luck, stumbling upon such a prize before delivering his latest mission.
Tengen pondered the high bounty. Potential culprits included Orochimaru, Danzo, or someone from Kumogakure. But Orochimaru and Danzo, aware of his strength, wouldn't resort to such crude tactics. Hiring bounty hunters to target him seemed unlikely.
That left Kumogakure.
Unbeknownst to Tengen, he was correct. The Fourth Raikage, A, had placed the bounty on the black market but didn't pin high hopes on it succeeding.
Pushing those thoughts aside, Tengen smiled brightly at Kakuzu's words. "Kakuzu, I know you too. A former rogue ninja of Takigakure, still alive after all these years. Do you know why I'm here?"
"Why you're here?" Kakuzu's curiosity piqued, his expression tinged with suspicion.
Why would Tengen confront him, knowing his true identity?
"I'm here to propose a partnership. But first, I'll need to prove my strength to earn your respect." Tengen said.
His words were pure fabrication. Initially, Tengen had come to collect a standard video signal. After completing that task, a new mission triggered during their conversation: destroy three of Kakuzu's hearts to earn another standard video. Tengen continued the ruse, playing on Kakuzu's greed.
In the future, Kakuzu's allegiance to the Akatsuki was partly driven by financial incentives.
"Prove your strength?" Kakuzu sneered. "A Konoha Chunin telling me that? Not a funny joke."
"Shall we find out?" Tengen challenged.
Kakuzu's gaze darkened. Being taunted by a kid, even he felt a surge of irritation.
"Then die." Kakuzu growled. Countless black tendrils erupted from his body, and half his arm detached, hurtling toward Tengen.
"Tentacle Heavy Fist!"
The attack rivaled Tsunade's monstrous strength, capable of shattering a wall.
Tengen didn't dodge. He clenched his fist, infusing it with Armament Haki.
A thunderous boom erupted as their fists collided.
The sheer force unleashed a gust of wind, kicking up clouds of dust.
Kakuzu's face registered shock. He had expected an easy victory, but Tengen's raw taijutsu power repelled his attack.
"My turn." Tengen said, hurling a kunai at Kakuzu.
"Too easy." Kakuzu sneered, dodging the kunai. At their level, such weapons were of little consequence, despite the projectile's speed.
"Is it?" Tengen's figure vanished.
Flying Thunder God Technique.
***
Every 5 reviews and 200 power stones, a bonus chapter will be dropped.
(5,10,15, 200, 400, 600, and so on then two bonus chapters will be dropped, 1 for 5 reviews and 1 for 200 power stones, so that's 2 bonus chapters!)
And if you want to read more than 50 chapters early, feel free to visit pat re on. com / Xelenea (remove space).