Chapter 342: My Lord, It's Them
Under the cliff face, the tall ninja looked at the two "prey" in front of him, already calculating his earnings.
Having disappeared for so long, Kakuzu had only taken small jobs during this period. Naturally, he wanted to earn more. Hearing that Suna ninja were gathering in this area, he came to try his luck, hoping to find worthwhile targets. He didn't expect to hit the jackpot.
These little geniuses were Kakuzu's favorite targets. Their strength wasn't necessarily high, but their bounties were substantial.
He looked at Sasori's wooden arm. "It seems the bounty station's intel is outdated. You're missing two arms... Hope that doesn't affect the price."
Sasori remained expressionless, but secretly he was already mobilizing his puppets. The opponent seemed to know his and Pakura's intel, but they knew nothing about him.
Pakura and Sasori exchanged a silent glance, communicating without words, then attacked first to probe.
Scorch Release fireballs condensed rapidly, flying toward Kakuzu.
Knowing the intel on Scorch Release, Kakuzu dared not be careless.
"Water Release: Water Encampment Wall!"
Although called a wall, it was actually a mass of high-pressure water spheres intercepting the Scorch Release mid-air. Steam filled the area instantly.
Almost simultaneously, Sasori's puppet closed in. Having worked together for years, he and Pakura had long developed tactics unique to them.
However, to his surprise, the man didn't even dodge the countless poison needles shot by the puppet.
"Earth Release: Earth Spear!"
Kakuzu's body hardened. The poison needles struck him, making ding-ding-dang-dang sounds but failing to penetrate.
The humanoid puppet swung the blade on its elbow, but Kakuzu grabbed it with his bare hand, ripping the puppet's arm off directly.
However, even with its arm torn off, the puppet could still attack. A spike popped out from its wrist, aiming straight for Kakuzu's eyes. Kakuzu barely dodged it.
After the probing exchange, both sides looked at each other and silently opened some distance.
Sasori and Pakura were surprised by Kakuzu's strength.
But Kakuzu's heart was also beating a little faster.
He thought these so-called geniuses were just brats who hadn't realized their talents yet. Now it seemed they had some skills.
Leaving aside other things, the Scorch Release that evaporated all water in the human body required careful handling. Kakuzu didn't want to test how many of his five hearts would survive if all his moisture evaporated.
This red-haired brat's puppet technique was also tricky.
Thinking of this, he suddenly recalled... the last time he tried to kill someone with the title of genius... he ended up getting beaten badly...
"No, impossible. How can these two brats compare to that monster? I'll be fine if I'm slightly careful. Besides, that Scorch Release Pakura's heart is very valuable..."
Just as Kakuzu was contemplating whether he could master Scorch Release with her heart, he suddenly felt a pain in his chest.
Shocked, he looked down at his chest.
A bizarre white bone blade had pierced through his body, shattering one of his hearts.
"Urgh-HA...!"
Kakuzu spat out a large mouthful of blood—an inevitable reaction to a heart being destroyed.
Then, full of vigor, he ran away quickly. Looking back, he saw a person wearing a white bone mask standing there. The white bone blade in their hand hadn't even been retracted, and Kakuzu's heart blood dripped from it.
This person?!
Isn't this the Wood Release user I found in the Land of Lightning's Capital?!
The masked figure flicked the blood off the blade, also surprised. I clearly pierced the heart.
How can he run away so energetically with a pierced heart?
The masked figure stood in place, looking curiously at Kakashi—wait, no, looking at Kakuzu—with a large hole in his chest.
Now, the two-way confrontation had turned into a three-way standoff.
Sasori and Pakura didn't lower their guard against the white-masked figure just because they attacked Kakuzu.
Because they knew the white-masked figure, and it was hard to say if this person was friend or foe.
Sasori's thoughts raced.
"Why is the 'Butcher Overseer' here? To eliminate us? Or are there orders...?"
This white-masked figure had appeared suddenly a week ago, appointed by the Third Kazekage as the "Overseer" of Sunagakure. Roaming the border areas, they specifically supervised whether Suna ninja were executing missions according to orders. Anyone who dared disobey the Kazekage's orders was killed on the spot.
Sasori had personally witnessed the white-masked figure wipe out a Suna squad that tried to protest, using exquisite Earth Release and Taijutsu. Hence the nickname "Butcher Overseer."
The appearance of such an unknown, rootless person confirmed Sasori and Pakura's belief: the village was no longer normal, and they had to find a way to save it.
They had been slacking on the infiltration missions assigned by the Third Kazekage for days. With the Overseer appearing here, it was hard to say if they were friend or foe.
Three groups faced off, wary of each other. Danger lurked on all sides. Unconsciously, they began to keep their distance, slowly circling.
The most panicked was Kakuzu.
Kakuzu's thoughts spun rapidly. Back in the Land of Lightning's capital, the spy he left behind accidentally stumbled upon a huge secret and saw Wood Release reappear in the ninja world. His psychological trauma from years ago flared up.
Plus, he had been hired by Raihara Yukihiro to kill many great nobles of the Land of Lightning. Worried that a certain monster would come looking for trouble, Kakuzu ran thousands of miles to the other side of the ninja world, wanting to stay away from the whirlpool of conspiracy.
He lived a semi-retired life for a while to lie low.
Um... Kakuzu's semi-retirement meant only taking small orders, not big ones... resting was impossible.
Kakuzu thought: After so long... did this group find me anyway...? Is the matter of me discovering their conspiracy exposed?
So he shouted loudly:
"I didn't expect you to find me anyway... White Mask, listen! I have zero interest in your conspiracy! I'm just a mercenary ninja! Chasing me across half the ninja world... you really put in a lot of effort..."
Yotsuki Teru (Kaguya): "????"
Who are you...
Kakuzu sneered. "Daimyo, Wood Release, whatever—it has nothing to do with me! I won't tell anyone. How about we go our separate ways?"
Teru: ...Although I don't know who this guy is, it seems better to kill him...
She said to the wary Sasori and Pakura, "Sasori, Pakura, heed my order. Take this person down first!"
Kakuzu: "Meow meow meow?"
Sasori and Pakura exchanged a glance and didn't move.
The white-masked figure said coldly:
"What? Sasori, Pakura, do you want to defect?"
The two exchanged glances and could only make a move to attack Kakuzu.
Kakuzu retreated several steps, his scalp tingling.
Good lord, these three are in cahoots!
Is this a trap targeting me? A hunter all my life, now blinded by the hawk?
But the situation allowed no time for Kakuzu to think further.
Sasori's three puppets silently turned, aiming at Kakuzu. Pakura also held a fireball ready to strike.
Kakuzu realized the situation was bad. After a moment of hesitation, he gritted his teeth and said:
"I'll remember this grudge!"
Then he turned and ran.
The white-masked figure chased without hesitation. Sasori and Pakura hesitated slightly, then followed.
The three chased the fleeing Kakuzu.
Kakuzu was strong, but speed wasn't his forte. Even fleeing, it was hard to shake off the white-masked figure who excelled in Taijutsu. He relied entirely on his special constitution to tank damage.
Just dodging a Scorch Release fireball, he was pierced by the ghostly white-masked figure.
Not even a few kilometers out, his five hearts were reduced to two.
Using hearts to buy distance, disheveled and miserable.
In less than ten minutes, Kakuzu spat out a mouthful of old blood. He seemed to be poisoned too. Although his constitution was special, he panicked, especially against the white-masked figure whose attacks were impossible to guard against.
If this continued, he was done for...
"Stop and fight to the death, or keep running..."
Just as Kakuzu despaired, he burst through a patch of forest and saw several figures resting ahead.
Kakuzu's heart went cold at first, thinking it was another trap. But upon closer inspection, he was overjoyed.
He shouted immediately, "I'm Kakuzu! My lords, I'm Kakuzu! One of us!"
Sure enough, these people didn't stop him from approaching. Kakuzu sprinted and hid behind the group.
Then he pointed at the three pursuers. "My lords! It's them!"
The resting Ashen Bandits: "..."
Kakuzu hid among the Ashen Bandits and whispered, "It's that white-masked guy! He controlled the Thunder Daimyo! I mean the previous one! My lords, don't let him go! Get him!"
Yotsuki Teru and Sasori stopped in their tracks.
In the forest ahead, several figures sat in trees, meditated with eyes closed, manicured nails with kunai, or used senbon as toothpicks. In the dark shadows of the trees, they exuded a solemn and killing aura.
Just by looking at their presence, one knew these people were not weak.
And their characteristic was extremely conspicuous—everyone wore a Mahjong mask. Only one organization in the ninja world dressed like this!
Sasori and Pakura were startled. "The Ashen Bandits... the super mercenary organization from the Second Great Ninja War... said to be able to sway the outcome of a battle. Why are they here?"
Speaking of the Ashen Bandits, they once had a good cooperative relationship with Suna, helping the village find some face on the battlefield...
It was just that late in the war, the Ashen Bandits reportedly all went home to get married—a mass wedding... Later, many Suna high officials beat their chests, thinking that if the Ashen Bandits hadn't gotten married, Suna might not have lost to Konoha...
"Rumored to average Elite Jonin level... The leader, 'One-Dot', is extremely fast, invincible in Taijutsu, likes catching kunai with bare hands, and has a terrible personality..."
Sasori looked closely. Sure enough, the group seemed led by the One-Dot mask, and even Kakuzu was hiding behind this person.
Meanwhile, the newly appointed "One-Dot" mask wearer, underneath the mask, had a stiff face.
Hiroto Uzumaki: "First day on the job, and the situation is this complicated? What the hell is going on?!"
Yotsuki Teru had also heard of the Ashen Bandits' fame. After a moment of contemplation, she said, "Ashen Bandits... why are you here... were you hired by the Cloud-Thunder Federation?"
Hiroto, wearing the One-Dot mask, said, "We have our own business. It has nothing to do with Sunagakure..."
Simultaneously, Hiroto quickly verified Kakuzu's situation with the old members of the Ashen Bandits via Communication Snail. actually, as early as when Kakuzu approached, the members had reminded Hiroto that Kakuzu counted as half an ally, having cooperated many times before.
Otherwise, they