In the silent, deep night, faint sounds of flesh colliding could be heard, almost imperceptible. Tonight's night breeze seemed more fervent than usual!
The next morning, Nagato walked towards Takigakure, his eyes resembling those of a panda, his expression indifferent. Obito, behind him, extinguished the campfire and whispered, "What a ruthless guy!"
The space rippled, and Obito limped, disappearing into the Kamui dimension.
...
"Wind Style: Greedy Wind!"
The masked monster, its body entwined with black lines, unleashed a high-pressure wind ball from its mouth, striking a bald, nameless ninja. Dust and smoke scattered around. A ninja with a bare upper body, revealing only a pair of dark green eyes, choked the bald man, disdainfully remarking,
"Is that all? Seems you're not worth much."
"Hm?"
As if sensing something, the dark green-eyed ninja threw the bald man aside, then performed several flips and landed on a tree branch, intently watching the figure gradually emerging from the smoke.
Just then, spatial ripples appeared on the tree branch, and a cold voice stated, "Kakuzu of Takigakure, known as the immortal ninja. That must be you."
"What!"
Kakuzu's eyes widened in shock. The black threads in his hand immediately shot out, aimed at Obito, who wore a spiral mask, but they passed straight through Obito's body, piercing a thick tree branch.
Startled by this bizarre sight, Kakuzu quickly flipped to the ground, observing the red-haired figure emerging from the smoke. The circular tomoe eyes on his mask made Kakuzu feel as if facing a formidable enemy. He shouted sternly,
"Who are you?!"
Nagato's panda eyes had long since vanished. He said coldly, "Immortal ninja Kakuzu, I've come to have you join the Akatsuki."
Gods do not need to ask; God's words are commands!
Obito sat on a nearby tree, watching Nagato, who was in the throes of chuunibyou, as if he were just missing a bucket of popcorn.
"Akatsuki?"
Kakuzu's dark green pupils showed confusion, "What organization is that?"
Nagato remained silent. Gods disdained explanation!
"Akatsuki is an organization founded to create true peace!"
A White Zetsu clone emerged from the ground. It was this clone that had led Nagato and the others to Kakuzu.
Kakuzu glanced disdainfully at the emerging weakling, scoffing, "I don't care about such an organization. Right now, I'm only interested in money!"
Nagato took a step forward, his eyes showing a hint of displeasure, "Your interests are irrelevant. If I say you join, you join!"
Kakuzu seemed to have analyzed the enemy's combat strength, sneering, "What arrogant words. It seems you are just an overconfident fool!"
"Although you don't look very valuable, since you've angered me, I'll take your head!"
The black threads on Kakuzu's body gradually emerged, and the four masks on his back twitched as if about to detach.
"Are you going to fight me? Foolish mortal."
Seeing the situation was not optimistic, the White Zetsu clone immediately burrowed into the ground, not wanting to be swept away like trash.
A light breeze blew aside Nagato's red hair, revealing his right eye. He raised his palm towards Kakuzu and said coldly, "If I win, I will take you into the Akatsuki."
Kakuzu did not dare to be careless. The fire and wind element mask monsters on his back quickly detached and attached themselves to his shoulders. In the blink of an eye, Kakuzu transformed into a monster entwined with black threads, with two masks on his shoulders.
Earth Grudge Fear Mode!
Kakuzu unleashed his trump card from the start. After all, there was still a ninja with a spiral mask on the tree whom he greatly feared. He intended to use his strongest power to eliminate this red-haired chuunibyou youth first, and then deal with the spiral-masked ninja!
"Come on! I'll turn you all into bounties!"
Eight giant black threads from within Kakuzu's body propelled him forward, launching him towards Nagato with such speed that the sound of rushing air could be heard!
Nagato slowly closed his eyes, then suddenly opened them: "Almighty Push!"
...
After a sound like the sky collapsing and the earth cracking, the smoke and dust dispersed. The surrounding trees were in ruins.
In a circular crater, Kakuzu knelt on both knees, his body covered in wounds. The headscarf he wore had come undone, and his disheveled hair hung over his shoulders. He looked utterly pathetic.
Kakuzu struggled to lift his head, gritting his teeth, "This power... who are you..."
Nagato turned, his hands behind his back, "God will correct this world. Come, join us!"
Kakuzu's face showed unwillingness. He could not abandon his faith! He would fight to the death!
Just then, the White Zetsu clone burrowed out of the ground and said to him, "Join the Akatsuki! We can give you a salary and a place!"
"Hey! Salary!"
Kakuzu, who was about to risk his life, immediately stopped. His dark green pupils blinked a few times, and after coughing twice, he said, "Hmph, if it's an organization founded by someone like you, there shouldn't be a shortage of opportunities to fight famous bounty hunters!"
Kakuzu trembled and stood up, saying, "Akatsuki, huh? It seems I can make quite a bit of money there!"
Damn it! If you had told me there was a salary earlier, what would I have fought for!
If you had told me there was a salary, I would have joined long ago! And I wouldn't have ended up so battered and bruised!
Kakuzu immediately followed, glancing at the unapproachable Nagato. After a slight hesitation, he found the white lump nearby and whispered, "By the way, is your organization profitable? How much salary can a member like me expect?"
The White Zetsu clone also wanted to know how much the salary was! But it hadn't seen a single cent since waking up, so it could only bluff, "Cough! Well! Of course, the more you work, the more you earn! The more you earn, the higher your salary!"
"Really!"
Kakuzu's eyes lit up upon hearing this. The more he earned, the higher his salary! Wasn't this a clause tailor-made for him?
He, Kakuzu, loved making money. Money was his faith, and the more he earned, the higher his salary!
This Akatsuki organization was Kakuzu's paradise!
Alas! Now I increasingly regret why I didn't ask about the salary and benefits earlier! If I had asked clearly earlier, I wouldn't have been beaten so badly by the leader! I wonder if he'll hold a grudge against me later!
Kakuzu, dragging his wounded body, followed Nagato with unsteady steps, his heart resolute!
I, Kakuzu, will definitely earn a lot of money for the organization! No grudges!
...
"How was it?"
"Extremely strong!"
Orochimaru recalled the battle, his face still filled with shock. It was an absolute crushing defeat!
But the one being crushed still possessed power above that of a Kage. Ordinary Kage were no match for the ninja named Kakuzu; Orochimaru could see that much.
But what astonished him even more was the red-haired young man. He possessed the legendary Rinnegan! Could he be the black-robed figure from the Eternal Organization?!
However, the other party claimed their organization was called Akatsuki, not Eternal Organization, which puzzled him somewhat.
But all of that was fine. What made Orochimaru most wary was the mysterious person wearing a spiral mask, staring intently at him from a nearby tree branch!