"Heh… you should be thanking us," Kakuzu said with a low chuckle. "We killed Hanzo of the Salamander for you. His bounty was quite impressive."
Yahiko was about to retort when a woman's voice cut through the forest from the dense trees to the left.
"Oh my, how lively."
Konan's eyes lit up. "Lady Tsunade! Shizune! Hikari!"
Tsunade stepped out from the shadows, golden hair swaying in the night breeze, her gaze cold as frost.
"In the Land of Fire," she said calmly, "I don't ignore people trying to kill Konoha ninja."
Kakuzu laughed darkly. "One of the Legendary Sannin, Tsunade-hime. Your head is worth a fortune at the exchange."
Tsunade smirked and shrugged off her green haori.
"Then come take it. I just lost an entire day gambling—I've got plenty of anger to burn."
Before her words fully fell, she shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow. The ground shattered beneath her feet.
Her fist tore through the air.
Kakuzu barely raised his arm to block.
Boom!
He was blasted backward, crashing through several thick tree trunks before stabilizing.
The sudden attack forced the other three to widen their distance.
Kakuzu rose slowly, rolling his neck.
"As expected of the monstrous-strength Tsunade. That hurt."
"How is he still alive?!" Shizune gasped.
Kakuzu grinned.
"I'm eighty years old. And I'll tell you a little secret, Tsunade-hime—I fought your grandfather, Senju Hashirama."
Tsunade's pupils shrank—but she didn't slow down.
She lunged again.
"Heavenly Foot of Pain!"
Her kick struck the ground.
Within a ten-meter radius, the earth fractured and collapsed, debris erupting like artillery fire.
Kakuzu leapt into the air.
Suddenly, four masks burst from his back.
Black threads extended, weaving into grotesque forms midair.
Four masked entities roared simultaneously, unleashing four elemental techniques:
Earth.
Fire.
Wind.
Lightning.
A destructive web of chakra hurtled toward Tsunade.
And then—
"Amaterasu."
A cold voice echoed.
Black flames materialized instantly, devouring the elemental barrage before it could reach Tsunade.
Crackling.
Hissing.
Everything was consumed.
Uchiha Hikari stared at Kakuzu, her Mangekyō spinning slowly.
"I remember that technique. Some minor village's forbidden art. During the Warring States period, I was sent to investigate them."
She paused.
"That was before I was sealed."
Tsunade froze.
Kakuzu's pupils contracted.
Warring States era?
The same era as—
Kakuzu swallowed.
Then he saw it clearly.
That pair of eyes.
"It's you… the Uchiha's human weapon."
Hikari's gaze turned glacial.
Kakuzu immediately avoided eye contact.
"Retreat!" he barked. "She's older than Uchiha Madara! During the Warring States, the Uchiha suppressed the Senju largely because of this girl!"
The declaration stunned everyone present.
Even Hidan blinked in disbelief.
"There's someone older than you—?"
His words cut off mid-sentence.
His eyes went unfocused.
Hikari stared at him coldly.
"Who told you it was safe to look directly into a Sharingan?"
She then glanced at Sasori.
"You're unusual. I couldn't enter your mind."
Of course she couldn't.
Sasori was hiding inside Hiruko. The exterior was merely a shell.
Zetsu had already sunk underground the moment Kakuzu moved.
Sasori wasted no time retreating. Hiruko's tail wrapped around Hidan's waist, dragging him away.
"Don't run!" Yahiko shouted, forming seals.
"Water Style: Water Shockwave!"
A torrent surged forward, blocking Sasori's retreat path.
But Sasori burrowed underground.
When the others rushed forward—
Only ten empty holes remained.
"Damn it!" Yahiko slammed his fist into the ground.
"They were targeting you," Tsunade said seriously, looking at Nagato's eyes. "Or rather, the Rinnegan."
Nagato touched his eyes silently.
These eyes had brought him nothing but trouble.
"Should we pursue?" Shizune asked.
Tsunade shook her head.
"That one claimed to have fought my grandfather. True or not, we won't take that risk. Priority is getting them back safely."
Just as she finished speaking—
She spun around.
"Who's there?!"
A golden flash landed in the clearing.
"It's me."
Wen Lan.
He surveyed the battlefield, frowning.
"You encountered them."
"Yes," Yahiko nodded grimly. "They're using the name Akatsuki. And they claimed they killed Hanzo."
Wen Lan understood immediately.
Obito.
In this timeline, Yahiko's Akatsuki had relocated to Konoha, but the name still carried weight in the Land of Rain.
Obito was likely exploiting it—recruiting under the false banner, gathering funds.
With Kamui, assassinating Hanzo would have been trivial.
"We're returning to the village," Wen Lan said firmly.
He looked at Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan.
"For now, you three are suspended from external missions."
"Their target isn't just the Rinnegan. It's the Tailed Beasts."
"Iwa, Kumo, and Suna have already been attacked."
He paused.
"I'm assigning you an S-rank mission."
"Protect Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchūriki—Uzumaki Kushina."
"Yes!" the three answered in unison.
On the surface, it was a mission.
In reality—
Wen Lan was consolidating defenses.
Protecting Nagato.
Protecting Kushina.
Concentrating power in one location was safer than splitting forces and risking a diversion.
The enemy was cunning.
But this time—
Konoha was ready.
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