Other than that, Jiraiya truly could not imagine how Konan could possibly amass six hundred billion Explosive Tags.
"Six hundred billion?"
Hatake Kakashi felt his scalp go numb when he saw the number.
Six thousand was already outrageous. Sixty thousand was absurd. A normal ninja heading out on a mission might carry ten or twenty at most.
How many could you even use in a single battle?
If this had not been written in Kaede Kitahara's diary, he would not have believed it for a second.
"Akatsuki…"
Uchiha Sasuke silently wrote down Kakuzu's name.
That was the organization Uchiha Itachi belonged to. He needed to understand how many members it had.
So far, he knew of Itachi, the shark-faced Hoshigaki Kisame, the treasurer Kakuzu, and their leader who had destroyed Konoha in a single blow, Yahiko. And Konan.
Every name represented at least an elite Jonin, possibly even Kage Level.
Each additional name made his path to revenge that much harder.
"Six hundred billion Explosive Tags?"
When Uchiha Itachi read that line, his hand trembled slightly.
He tried to picture it. Six hundred billion Explosive Tags detonated at once. How many minutes would the explosions last? What kind of devastation would that cause?
He could not even begin to imagine.
He had never expected the usually calm and distant Konan to be hiding something so terrifying.
[Fortunately, it looks like Kakuzu took the bounty privately. It wasn't an Akatsuki mission. So the Immortal Duo only includes Kakuzu, not Hidan. If those two were together, things would get messy.
Hidan's technique is especially disgusting. If he so much as scratches you and draws a drop of blood, it's game over. Didn't Sarutobi Asuma suffer because of insufficient intel and end up dying to the Immortal Duo? If Kurenai hadn't been pregnant, the Sarutobi line might've ended there.
Honestly, Kakashi is impressive. He goes fifty-fifty with everyone. Fifty-fifty with Zabuza. Fifty-fifty even with Kakuzu, a Kage Level powerhouse.
After all, this is a guy who once ambushed the First Hokage. Well, if throwing a Shuriken from eight hundred miles away counts.
Hahaha, just kidding. The only reason he survived the First Hokage was probably because the First Hokage was kind. Otherwise, there's no explanation. Back then or even now, if Kakuzu stood in front of the First Hokage, it would be a three-seven split.
Three punches from the First Hokage. Seventh day memorial for Kakuzu.]
"Kakuzu and Hidan…"
Itachi frowned slightly.
Even within the Akatsuki, members knew little about each other beyond their partners. The organization discouraged prying. For someone at their level, having one's jutsu secrets exposed was taboo.
"Immortal Duo… Does that relate to immortality?"
He scribbled notes.
Knowing Kaede's style, the nickname likely hinted at their abilities.
Were they truly immortal? Or simply extremely hard to kill?
He needed more information.
Konoha must have suffered due to lack of intel. Sarutobi Asuma had died because of it.
Asuma was the Third Hokage's only surviving son.
When he counted it all up, the Sarutobi family's future was grim.
Sarutobi Hiruzen would die protecting Konoha at Orochimaru's hands. Sarutobi Biwako would fall. The elder son gone. Asuma gone.
Only Sarutobi Konohamaru remained.
"Hatake 50/50… so that's what it means."
Kakashi rubbed his forehead.
At first, Kaede's teasing had annoyed him. But now he understood.
It was not entirely mockery.
Going fifty-fifty with Kage Level opponents. Fifty-fifty with elite Jonin like Zabuza.
It depended on the comparison.
Going fifty-fifty with a random Chunin would be embarrassing. But holding even ground against a Kage Level powerhouse?
That was not shameful at all.
What truly unsettled him, however, was Asuma's death.
Asuma was not his closest friend, but he was still a friend.
The thought of his future death left a weight in his chest.
Then again, this was the life of a ninja. Death was inevitable.
"He ambushed Grandpa? How old is this guy?"
Tsunade narrowed her eyes.
If Kakuzu truly had fought her grandfather, the First Hokage, then he had to be absurdly old.
Older even than the old man.
And he was still active in the shinobi world.
"Immortal…"
She caught the implication.
Perhaps that was how he had survived so long.
When Kaede joked about her grandfather, about three punches and a seven-day memorial, even about throwing a Shuriken from eight hundred miles away, Tsunade burst into laughter.
That brat had a wicked sense of humor.
Jiraiya, however, remained serious.
According to Kaede, Kakuzu was Kage Level.
Yet even a Kage Level ninja surviving the First Hokage's hands required the First Hokage to show mercy.
Three punches. Seventh day memorial.
Kaede rarely exaggerated like that.
The last time he had praised someone that way, it had been Uchiha Madara.
Back then, the two were twin stars of the shinobi world. One the God of Shinobi. The other the Ninja World Asura.
Legends said they were evenly matched, though the First Hokage was slightly stronger.
"Were the First Hokage and Uchiha Madara really that powerful?" Jiraiya muttered.
Officially, Konoha claimed the Third Hokage had been the strongest in history.
Whether anyone truly believed that was another matter.
From Jiraiya's estimation, even Sarutobi Hiruzen at his peak would not have been able to effortlessly crush a Kage Level opponent.
They were roughly in the same tier.
By that logic, Kaede's descriptions suggested that Uchiha Madara and the First Hokage had been far beyond normal standards.
Above them all stood the Otsutsuki Clan.
Godlike beings.
Below that, perhaps the First Hokage, Uchiha Madara, and Yahiko.
Maybe this was what Kaede meant by Super Class.
Below that, Kage Level was dangerous but not invincible.
Kaede had clearly drawn a line.
Above Super Kage Level, one was nearly unbeatable.
But how strong was that, exactly?
The only clear reference was Yahiko leveling Konoha with a single move.
Even Kakuzu's so-called ambush of the First Hokage had been reduced to a joke about long-distance Shuriken.
And then there was the Ten-Tails.
That was beyond conventional understanding.
[Shikamaru designing a counter-kill against Hidan to avenge his teacher was peak early-stage tactical combat. Unfortunately, that kind of effort becomes useless later. What's the point of jutsu when your opponent pulls out a giant armored avatar and flattens mountains with a single slap? In the face of that kind of power, all your effort looks laughable.]
Silence.
Everyone reading froze.
Flatten a mountain with one slap?
Even if they did not understand what "giant armored avatar" meant, they understood that.
Was the future really that terrifying?
Uchiha Sasuke felt something different.
If the future was that dangerous… and future him was a savior…
Then how strong would he have to become?
Strong enough to avenge the entire Uchiha Clan?
The weight of Kaede's words pressed down on all of them.
Then suddenly, a video appeared.
No one lingered on Asuma's death or mountain-flattening terror.
They opened it immediately.
On screen, Hidan and Kakuzu walked side by side in their Akatsuki cloaks.
Behind them, Shikamaru quietly extended his shadow.
The Shadow Imitation Technique crept forward.
"Three years later… Shikamaru?"
Sasuke narrowed his eyes.
His impression of Shikamaru was vague.
Lazy.
Top scores in theory, just like Sakura.
But in practical combat classes, always middle of the pack.
Unremarkable.
Much like the Nara Clan's status in Konoha.
And yet, generation after generation, someone from that clan served as Jonin squad captain, a trusted aide to the Hokage.
Even the Legendary Sannin had never held such a pivotal post.