"Go!"
Several kunai were thrown out, most of them flying toward Nanashi's position.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves!"
Taking a deep breath, Takeshi spun around and exhaled sharply. Razor-sharp blades of wind instantly severed the kunai and then swept unimpeded toward the attackers.
The sound of trees splitting apart mingled with one wailing scream after another, echoing through the entire forest.
A sharp blade lunged in from a blind spot. Before Nanashi could react, Takeshi stepped in front to shield her, his hand flipping out a kunai in return.
The moment the blades clashed, Takeshi caught sight of his assailant's face.
A man wearing a Prajñā mask.
"The Prajñā Group from the Land of Woods?"
As acting Hokage, Takeshi instantly realized the enemy's identity.
On paper, they were supposed to be allies of Konoha.
"Hmph, die, Hokage!"
His ninja blade blocked, the masked Prajñā loosened his force, pulled the blade back, and ducked just in time to avoid Takeshi's kunai slash.
At the same moment, he stabbed upward, catching the opening in Takeshi's kunai swing, ready to deliver a fatal strike.
"Since you know I'm Hokage, you don't really think taijutsu alone is enough to defeat me, do you?"
Takeshi tossed his kunai and instantly activated the Flying Thunder God Technique.
"Tch, my target... is her!"
The moment Takeshi slipped from his sight, the Prajñā redirected his thrust straight at Nanashi.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!"
The wind blade swept past right next to his face. Agonizing pain tore through his arm, and in the next moment his entire arm—ninja blade and all—was chopped off, crashing heavily to the ground.
"Argh!"
Clutching his wound, he stumbled backward—only for four more Prajñā to burst forth from the shadows.
One charged at Nanashi, while the other three formed a triangular encirclement around Takeshi.
"So much for protecting me—looks like you can't even protect yourself."
Nanashi calmly watched the masked attacker rushing toward her, sighed, and was about to act—when Takeshi's teasing voice cut in.
"Impossible. I told you, I'll definitely protect you."
A kunai sliced between Nanashi and the Prajñā. Takeshi's figure reappeared in front of her, his kick launching the attacker backward. At the same time, several senbon flew out and struck his opponent's acupoints.
"Damn it—Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
"Wind Release: Wind Wave!"
"Earth Release: Earth Prison!"
The three Prajñā, frustrated by the failed encirclement, unleashed a combination assault.
Earth Release sealed off retreat. Wind Release and Fire Release combined into a deadly combo. Used in a surprise attack, this could have instantly killed a jōnin.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"
The Fire Release, amplified by wind, blazed for just a breath before being extinguished by the massive wave.
The water dragon was far larger than any ordinary one, and the Prajñā panicked, scattering—only to realize their legs were suddenly frozen in ice. No matter how they struggled, they couldn't break free.
In the end, the three Prajñā, along with the already injured one, were swallowed by the water dragon—and then frozen solid under Takeshi's control.
The battle seemed decided.
Yet, from the shadows, three more figures emerged.
"Fire Release Combination!"
Three fire dragons roared together, merging into one massive beast.
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
Takeshi didn't counter with Ice Release. Instead, he launched his own Fire Release head-on.
A single man's jutsu—yet his Fire Release spread wider than the combined technique, glowing with blinding white light from its extreme heat.
The violent explosion blasted a wave of searing air across the battlefield. The three ambushers were engulfed in flames, their screams mixing with the sudden smell of roasted meat as the firestorm faded.
"Only one left."
Takeshi coated a kunai with Wind Release and drove it hard into the ground.
When he pulled it free, blood welled up from the fissure.
"Didn't they say Konoha was founded for peace? Then why are so many people trying to kill you, Hokage?"
Nanashi gazed at the still-warm corpses at her feet, curiosity flickering in her eyes about what exactly the Senju and Konoha had been doing all these years.
"We're still in the middle of trying, aren't we?"
Takeshi stepped up to the Prajñā he had kicked earlier and ripped off his mask.
Just an ordinary face.
"You know genjutsu, right? I need a favor."
He turned to Nanashi, beckoning her closer.
"Didn't you say you'd protect me and not let me fight?"
Her words contradicted her steps as she moved forward.
"The battle's already over. I've fulfilled my promise. Now it's your turn to help me—and tonight we'll eat teppanyaki."
At the mention of teppanyaki, Nanashi nearly drooled. She quickly covered her mouth and nodded, signaling Takeshi to wake the unlucky prisoner.
Once the senbon were pulled free, the captive—under genjutsu's sway—spilled everything about being hired by the nobles.
"Nankumo Reizan? That sly bastard."
After learning the details, Takeshi casually drove a kunai into him, sending the man to meet the Sage of Six Paths. In his heart, he already etched Nankumo Reizan's name onto the Intelligence Division's list.
"You sure make a hated Hokage."
Nanashi's expression grew strange as she studied him.
If Konoha really had been founded with the daimyo's permission to serve the Land of Fire's aristocrats, then why would nobles be hiring outsiders to assassinate the so-called Hokage?
...
"Correction—I'm only acting Hokage."
Takeshi clarified Nanashi's wording before explaining:
"I just want them to pay a little price to make Konoha greater. What's wrong with that? The truth is, those nobles are just too petty."
"And... the price you mentioned is...?"
"Their lives."
Nanashi understood.
This man didn't suffer assassination attempts without reason.
...
"Yeeaahhh!"
Hidan howled gleefully, swinging his scythe, cutting down the Takigakure ninja in his path.
Yakume stood quietly at the side, watching the lunatic slaughter without any intent to stop him.
He grabbed a severely wounded Taki shinobi off the ground and cast genjutsu on him, trying to extract the location of the Seven-Tails.
"Lord Jashin, behold! A sacrifice I offer to you! Hahahaha!"
With a flick, Hidan skewered the last standing ninja on his scythe, the blade piercing through his stomach. He cheered wildly, letting the blood drip across his own face.
In just a few minutes, the eight-man Takigakure squad was annihilated by Hidan and Yakume.
"I've got it. The Seven-Tails is currently sealed in the shrine."
Yakume dropped the shinobi's body at Hidan's feet.
After days of watching, he had already figured Hidan out: yes, he was insane, but as long as one didn't insult his bizarre faith, he could actually be reasoned with.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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