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After a fierce battle, Danzo Shimura, Torifu Akimichi, Uchiha Kagami, and Aki had taken down all the enemy chunin and genin. Now, only two jonin from Takigakure remained on the battlefield. But the victory came at a heavy cost—Kagami's left arm was completely broken and numb, Torifu's back was riddled with wounds and he could only slump against a tree, unable to stand. Danzo's arms were covered in bleeding cuts, and even though Aki didn't have any serious injuries, he was totally exhausted after killing so many enemies.
One of the Takigakure jonin looked around at the complete wipeout of his comrades—almost thirty ninja gone in less than twenty minutes. There was no time to feel anger. All he wanted now was to escape. The other jonin gave a subtle signal: "Let's fall back." The first nodded and disappeared into the trees. Danzo and the others didn't bother chasing—they all knew another enemy was still lurking somewhere.
Just then, the two retreating jonin were ambushed. Two black, monstrous creatures suddenly appeared and pierced their hearts with tentacle-like appendages. A tall man stepped out of the forest behind them—the same man Danzo had met earlier in the small town.
The man walked up to them and said, "Wow. Takigakure's ninja have gotten pathetic. Nearly thirty of you couldn't even handle four Leaf ninja. You guys have really gone downhill."
Danzo looked at him and replied, "You don't seem like a Takigakure ninja. We don't have any grudge with you. I'm sure you already figured out we're from the Leaf Village. Reinforcements are on their way as we speak. I don't think you'd risk attacking us right now."
The man had a mask over his lower face, but his sharp eyes locked onto Danzo as he said, "Is that a threat? You say we don't have a grudge—but you don't know how big our grudge really is."
Danzo froze for a second, then replied, "And what grudge would that be? I believe someone of your level wouldn't want to pick a fight with Leaf ninja for no reason…"
The man interrupted impatiently, "The name's Kakuzu. I need money. Twenty million ryo—I'll take your heads in exchange. How about it?"
Danzo glanced at Torifu, who gave a subtle nod. Danzo's eyes turned cold as he growled, "Then I guess there's nothing to talk about. Let's do this."
Torifu pulled out a yellow pill from his pocket and swallowed it. The moment he did, chakra surged around him, and he suddenly stood tall, fully recharged, and charged straight at Kakuzu.
Kakuzu observed the charging Akimichi. "Huh, didn't think you'd be able to stand again after taking all those jonin-level attacks. That pill you took must be something special." As he finished speaking, the black monster that had killed the Takigakure jonin appeared again and stood in front of Kakuzu.
"Earth Style: Earthen Spear!" the creature roared, and sharp earth spikes suddenly erupted from the ground under Torifu.
Without even looking down, Torifu shouted, "Akimichi Style: Human Boulder!" His body transformed into a massive spinning ball that crushed the spikes and rolled straight at Kakuzu.
From behind his mask, Kakuzu chuckled. "In front of my Earth Grudge Fear, you might as well just die quietly. Too bad there's no bounty on your heads—could've made even more." Then, he threw off his black cloak and yelled, "Secret Technique: Earth Grudge Fear—Activate!"
Three more black monsters burst from Kakuzu's body and charged at the Leaf ninjas. One rushed toward Kagami, spitting a huge fireball from its mouth.
Aki immediately jumped in front of Kagami, formed hand signs, and countered with "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" The two fireballs collided mid-air and canceled each other out.
Aki handed Kagami a scroll and said, "Take this and run! The three of us will hold them off. The mission has to be completed."
Kagami protested, "If anyone should go, it's you!"
Aki shot him a cold glare. "Your right arm is useless. You can't fight. Don't slow us down."
Danzo appeared beside them, nodding at Aki's words. "You're the only one who can't keep fighting. If you get captured, it'll put the entire mission at risk."
Kagami knew they were right, but he still felt reluctant. Aki cut him off, "What, you still want to drag us down? If you don't go now, Torifu will die—do you get that?!"
Danzo added, "The mission is what matters most."
Kagami glanced at Torifu, who was tangled up in battle with two of the monsters. "I'm sorry… I'll go. You guys better hang on until backup arrives!" He disappeared into the forest.
Kakuzu watched the Leaf ninja escape and dodged a giant punch from Torifu. "That one must've had the scroll worth twenty million. Damn it, this fat guy is such a pain… I can't mess around anymore."
He commanded all four monsters to attack Torifu. Each one unleashed a jutsu:
Fire Style: Head Burner
Lightning Style: False Darkness
Earth Style: Earth Spear
Wind Style: Pressure Damage
Torifu was about to be overwhelmed when Danzo and Aki appeared at his side. Aki released "Fire Style: Dragon Flame Dance," and Danzo added "Wind Style: Great Breakthrough." The wind boosted the fire into a massive flaming dragon that circled around them, blocking the incoming jutsu.
But Aki wasn't done. He directed the fire dragon into the sky, then had it dive straight down toward Kakuzu.
Kakuzu was shocked. "He can control it even now?!" He waved his hand, and one of the monsters shot up to intercept with "Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet." The water dragon shot up—but the fire dragon instantly evaporated it and crashed down, swallowing the water-style monster and smashing straight into Kakuzu.
Aki collapsed right after the jutsu, and Danzo caught him, propping him against a tree. He stared at the scorched area. That jutsu… even the Second Hokage would have to dodge unless he used an S-rank technique. That guy's probably dead, right?
Just as they started to relax, cursing echoed from the smoke.
"Damn it! I didn't think the fire style would be this strong with wind added in. That kid's definitely a Uchiha—the way he controlled the fire dragon was just like someone I saw back then. Can't believe I actually got hit. But now... how much chakra do you have left to fight me?! Die!!"
Torifu roared, "Don't underestimate us! We're Konoha's elite!" He launched "Akimichi Style: Super Multi-Size Technique" and grew into a towering giant, slamming his hand down with "Taijutsu: Super Push!"
Kakuzu countered with "Earth Style: Giant Rock Fist," forming a giant earth hand to block the strike. He dodged sideways and avoided the blow. Torifu kicked at him again, and Danzo joined the fray. The three of them got tangled in a chaotic melee.
During the fight, Kakuzu's monsters flew around attacking. Danzo managed to hit one with wind style, and Torifu followed up with another Super Push, crushing it. Another one down.
Kakuzu sneered, "Give it up. I'm immortal!"
One monster shot "Lightning Style: False Darkness" at Danzo, but he dodged with wind style. Another suddenly struck from behind with "Earth Style: Earth Spear," stabbing Danzo in the shoulder and pinning him to a tree. He passed out.
Kakuzu turned to Torifu. "Looks like it's just you now. Time to skin you alive."
Torifu yelled, "I'll smash you into meat paste! Akimichi Style: Human Boulder!" He charged like a giant wrecking ball.
Kakuzu sneered, "Die here." One monster used "Earth Style: Earthquake Core," creating a giant pit. Torifu couldn't react in time and fell in.
Kakuzu raised his hands: "Earth Style: Falling Clay!" The sky cracked open and poured tons of sticky clay into the pit.
Then, another monster hit the clay with "Lightning Style: Heavy Current Storm." Electricity surged through it, and Torifu's screams echoed out.
"If my fire-style monster wasn't dead, I'd have burned you into a statue," Kakuzu muttered and turned to go finish off Danzo.
Suddenly, a giant hand shot out of the pit and slapped Kakuzu mid-air. He went flying, smashing through several trees before stopping.
Torifu climbed out, still giant-sized and gasping for air. "Told you… don't underestimate Konoha ninja. If you wanna go after my teammate, you'll have to go through me first."
Kakuzu got up, glaring. "Guess I did underestimate you. Didn't think you'd still be standing."
Torifu, barely holding himself together, repeated, "You'll have to walk over my dead body if you want to kill them. Leaf ninja don't abandon their comrades."
Kakuzu launched "Water Style: Water Cutter," while two monsters fired "Earth Style: Giant Rock Fist" and "Lightning Style: False Darkness."
Torifu roared with all his strength, "SUPER PUSH!!" and charged like a moth to flame.
With a huge crash, he was sent flying, knocked out, and reverted to his normal size.
Kakuzu walked toward Danzo. "Guess I'll take your heart now." He raised his hand, releasing "Forbidden Jutsu: Heart Seizure." Tentacles flew toward Danzo's chest.
But right then—"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" A blast of fire burned the tentacles to ash. Aki appeared, smashing the earth spear and pulling Danzo down from the tree.
"I'm not down yet. What's the rush?" Aki growled.
Kakuzu saw the chakra radiating from Aki—it had formed a full armor around his body. That amount of chakra... it was insane, almost equal to his own.
Kakuzu sneered, "You guys are full of surprises. Even if I lost that twenty million ryo scroll, your Sharingan and those pills that boost chakra like this are worth the trouble."
Aki shot back coldly, "Careful you don't bite off more than you can chew—you might break your own teeth." Then he created shadow clones and charged.
"....."