The Takigage grew even more furious at his words.
"You bastard! Not only did you steal the village's secret technique, Earth Grudge Fear, but now you want to take the Jinchūriki as well?"
"Damn it! Everyone, attack! Kill these three!"
At his command, the Hidden Waterfall ninja lunged toward the trio.
Kisame remained perfectly calm.
"It looks like negotiations have broken down."
Watching the Hidden Waterfall ninja charge, he swung the bandage-wrapped weapon from his back. These ninja were no match for him; they were far too weak to last even a single exchange.
On the other side, Biwa Jūzō brandished his Executioner's Blade, slashing through the surrounding Waterfall ninja.
The ninja of the Hidden Waterfall were utterly helpless against him.
His swordsmanship was truly formidable.
Kakuzu faced the largest number of attackers. He threw an explosive punch, wounding and killing many Hidden Waterfall ninja in an instant.
The screams of the Waterfall ninja echoed throughout the area.
The battle was entirely one-sided.
The Takigage was shocked. Kakuzu had truly integrated the secret technique, Earth Grudge Fear, into his own body. Otherwise, he wouldn't have lived this long.
The other two were also incredibly powerful ninja.
'Dammit, how dare they slaughter the ninja of Hidden Waterfall!'
He roared.
"I will never forgive you!"
He charged directly at Kakuzu.
But after a brief clash, he was slammed onto the ground.
His face was battered and bruised, and his clothes were soaked in blood.
Kakuzu reached out and hauled him up by his collar.
"The village has become so weak."
The Takigage was consumed with rage.
"You... I never imagined the Hidden Waterfall Village would be destroyed by a traitor like you."
Kakuzu gave a cold, mocking laugh.
"Isn't it being destroyed by your own hands?"
"It would have been better if you had just handed over the Jinchūriki obediently."
In truth, he didn't want to kill so many people; he was mostly just venting his lingering anger.
After all, the people who were actually in charge back then were long dead. Getting angry at these people didn't achieve much.
If the other party handed over the Tailed Beast now, he didn't plan on continuing the slaughter.
Those left were mostly civilians, and their heads weren't worth any money.
Having lived so long, there was little he cared about anymore, aside from money.
The Takigage's face remained etched with resentment.
'Damned bastard, I will never hand the Jinchūriki over to a man like him.'
With so many dead, how could he face the rest of the village?
But if he didn't, given Kakuzu's brutal nature, the man would surely wipe out the entire village.
'What should I do?'
He was overwhelmed with anxiety.
At that moment, a green-haired young girl slowly walked out from the streets of the Hidden Waterfall Village, approaching Kakuzu with trembling steps.
"I am the Jinchūriki. If you have a problem, take it out on me. Let the rest of the village go."
The Takigage said sorrowfully, "Fū, you shouldn't have come out."
"Nothing good comes from them taking the Tailed Beast. It will likely cost you your life."
It already pained him that a child like her had to be the vessel for the Tailed Beast because no one else in the village was compatible.
Now, seeing her sacrifice herself for the village made him feel ashamed as the Takigage.
Fū spoke with a determined gaze.
"Hiding won't help. This man won't let me or the village go. In that case, it's better if only I am sacrificed."
Ever since she became the village's Jinchūriki, she had been treated as an outcast. Leaving the village to die might even be a form of release.
Kakuzu looked at the resilient girl.
"You have potential. You see the situation more clearly than this foolish Takigage."
With a dismissive toss, he threw the Takigage hard against the ground, causing the man to let out a cry of pain.
Seeing this, Fū rushed forward and blocked the path to the Takigage, saying sternly, "Don't you dare hurt Lord Takigage!"
Kakuzu looked at the child, surprised by her courage.
"It's a pity. If you weren't a Jinchūriki, I might have spared you."
The Akatsuki's goal was to extract the Tailed Beast and seal it within the Gedo Statue, which meant certain death for the host.
He reached out to grab the girl.
At that exact moment, a figure appeared at the exit of the Hidden Waterfall Village's tunnel.
When the figure saw Kakuzu reaching for the green-haired girl, he surged forward.
Moving with incredible speed, he arrived in front of Kakuzu and delivered a powerful whirlwind kick to his waist.
The force sent Kakuzu crashing heavily into the mountain wall.
There was a thunderous boom.
The entire mountain wall shook from the impact.
On the other side, Biwa Jūzō and Kisame finished their battles and looked on in shock. The newcomer wore a black cloak with red clouds, nearly identical to their own.
However, the placement of the red clouds wasn't quite right. The primary color was still black, and he wore a white mask.
Jūzō felt a sinking sensation in his chest.
Could his luck really be this bad? To actually run into the legendary Uchiha Madara? He couldn't help but ask, "Who the hell are you?"
Ryōsuke looked at the two Akatsuki members.
It was Kisame and Biwa Jūzō.
The one he had just sent flying was Kakuzu.
He hadn't expected the Akatsuki to start moving already. Was it because they heard news of him collecting the Tailed Beasts, or was their original plan starting now?
He had almost been beaten to the punch. The Hidden Waterfall Village was incredibly difficult to find; even within the Land of Waterfall, few knew its location.
Naturally, he had his ways. He remembered the original story where the village was hidden behind a great waterfall. After having Zabuza conduct an extensive search, he had finally located it.
Looking at the wounded scattered across the ground and those clearly dead, he felt the chaotic, lawless nature of the shinobi world once again.
This didn't just apply to the Akatsuki. While this evil organization slaughtered the innocent, other powers in the shinobi world did the same.
It wasn't as idealistic as portrayed in the original stories.
But it made sense. In this world, with enough power, one could basically do as they pleased.
As long as you didn't provoke the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
Perhaps initially, his plan to pose as Madara and form the Illuminati was just to let the Akatsuki take the blame.
But seeing such tragedy gave him new ideas.
Since he was living in this world, if he couldn't unify the shinobi world, he should at least ensure a basic level of order.
He wanted to stop the daily massacres that annoyed him.
After all, this was the world he lived in. He wanted to purify it slightly and reduce the number of such slaughters.
Seeing that the stranger didn't respond, Jūzō gripped his Executioner's Blade warily.
He certainly wasn't going to strike first; he valued his life.
Such a troublesome opponent was best left to Kakuzu.
Although Kakuzu had been hit by a sneak attack, a man like him wouldn't die that easily.
Sure enough, Kakuzu slowly crawled out from the debris of the mountain wall.
That kick had caught him off guard. The stranger's Taijutsu was formidable.
However, his body had been modified by Earth Grudge Fear; it was no longer a normal human physique. The black threads within him had already mostly healed his injuries.
At that moment, a shout reached his ears.
"Kakuzu, Uchiha Madara is here. I'll leave him to you!"