The young man was thrown heavily to the ground, the intense pain making him cry out. As he struggled, he felt others Surrounding him. He looked in a panic at the mysterious figures staring at him, their gazes like those of people looking at precious prey.
"Is this ghost the sacrifice that meets the requirements?" one of them asked.
"Yes, it was hard to catch. Two Konoha ninja suddenly appeared. Fortunately, their target was this ghost's father, otherwise it would have been more troublesome," another person said. The young man knew this was the one who had captured him.
"That's good. Because of the oracle's prophetic ability, I was worried we might encounter some trouble, but it seems it didn't work," the first speaker nodded slightly, looking at the young man surrounded in the middle, and showing a chilling smile.
The young man couldn't hide his inner fear, his face full of panic. Although he came from an official family, he was pampered by his family due to his age and was not a very strong person. At this sudden drastic change, he felt his thoughts completely stop, leaving only a blank.
Looking at the young man's dazed and stunned appearance, even the Evil God Believer felt a trace of boredom. Since he was a sacrifice to the evil god, he had wanted to talk to him and see his painful expression, but this was the result.
"Take him down and guard him. If there are no surprises, those Konoha ninja will soon come knocking," the Evil God Believer, who appeared to have a high status, waved his hand, signaling to take him away, and then said to the others, "It's time to let Konoha Village see our power. Let's see how they viewed us during the Shinobi World War."
While the Evil God Believer were discussing how to deal with Konoha Village, Kakuzu silently watched everything. He was completely wrapped up, no one could see his expression, but he knew that he was looking at these Evil God Believer with a mocking expression.
"What a bunch of arrogant fools," Kakuzu thought to himself.
In all fairness, Konoha Village had been benevolent and righteous towards Yugakure during the Shinobi World War. At least in Kakuzu's opinion, the Land of Fire, as a great nation, did not simply use the Land of Hot Water as a buffer zone for war, but gave a certain degree of compensation and preferential treatment. Although it was a gift and pity from the strong to the weak, it was far superior to other countries and could be considered a model.
It was precisely because of this that the Land of Hot Water gave up part of its own status and moved closer to the Land of Fire, submitting to it while ensuring the survival of the country. So, they began to cut funding for the ninja village and no longer vigorously developed their military. For the ninja village, they no longer had to bear heavy responsibilities, and life could be more comfortable. Although it came at the cost of giving up complete independence, from Kakuzu's experience, this was the best way out for a country.
As early as the Warring States period, Kakuzu had witnessed those self-righteous countries blindly strengthen themselves, only to be targeted by great nations and annihilated without any power to resist. In the current ninja world, the Five Great Nations occupy the most vast lands, and all countries are surrounded by them. Due to the existence of war buffer zones, they also closely monitor the situation of every country. To become strong under the gaze of a great nation is almost an impossible task.
Compared to the countries on the ninja continent, Kakuzu felt that island nations overseas were more likely, after all, the maritime countries were scattered, and the Land of Water could not monitor every country as closely as the other four great nations. However, the resources of those island nations did not seem to provide a strong foundation.
Therefore, if Kakuzu were to choose, he would definitely choose the same path as Yugakure. Although he was powerful, Kakuzu had long lost any grand ambitions. He just wanted to live well. As long as no one came looking for trouble, what was wrong with giving up some independent power?
Kakuzu used to be a person willing to sacrifice for the village, but the betrayal of Takigakure's higher-ups made him no longer willing to prioritize the organization. He cared more about himself. Instead of sacrificing for others, he would rather research methods to make himself immortal.
However, the thoughts of these Evil God Believer were clearly different from Kakuzu's, and even different from those ninja who were unwilling to see their village become a subordinate. Their dislike for Konoha Village was purely due to their faith; it was because the peace maintained by Konoha Village affected their Evil God Doctrine.
To this, Kakuzu could only let out a cold sneer. He believed that these Evil God Believer would inevitably be completely annihilated. They had not considered anything else; their fanatical faith led them forward with a certain self-destructive tendency, leaving no room for themselves. Kakuzu had no intention of dying with them. It was only because of the ninja rules – one must uphold credibility in this line of work and cannot simply abandon their employer – but as soon as the employer died, he would have no reason to stay and avenge them. The two parties were merely bound by money, there was no such deep affection.
Kakuzu's plan was to be slightly less active in the battle. After the Evil God Believer were completely annihilated, he would leave directly, ignoring everything. However, the appearance of a certain person changed his mind slightly.
Kakuzu reached out and touched the corner of his eye, where there was a wound cut by Fumori Masaki's sword. His eyes narrowed slightly, and at the same time, he felt a faint pain in his body. That was a huge mark cut open by Fumori Masaki's ninjutsu. If it weren't for Earth Grudge Fear, he might have died from being cut in half.
Fumori Masaki's Wind Release level was clearly more powerful than the Wind Release of the person Kakuzu had obtained, which made Kakuzu want to obtain the chakra pathways on his body. However, the opponent's strength was somewhat beyond imagination, so Kakuzu had to carefully plan what to do.
He knew that Fumori Masaki would definitely participate in this operation, and with his strength, he would very likely come to deal with him. Thinking of this, Kakuzu felt his blood boil. A full-scale battle with such an enemy, exhausting both sides' stamina and wisdom, would be such an accomplishing thing.
"Come quickly, Fumori Masaki," Kakuzu muttered in a low voice, "I really want to feel what kind of power will come from your warm heart."
At this time, Fumori Masaki, who Kakuzu was thinking about, led the others silently to the vicinity of the old Shinobi Sect site, and together they surveyed this ancient ruin full of vicissitudes. It was overgrown with weeds and other plants, and due to the passage of time, there was no longer any trace of a normal building.
Except for Fumori Masaki, Hyuga Hajime, and Sarutobi Konosuke, the others were seeing the old Shinobi Sect site for the first time. It was somewhat beyond their imagination, but it was normal. No matter how beautiful a building, after hundreds or thousands of years, it would lose its original appearance.
"Where are the Evil God Believer?" Tsunade looked around, as if trying to find the figures of the Evil God Believer.
"Don't worry, Sister Tsunade, the enemy is hiding inside the rock wall. They've carved out a living space there," Hyuga Hajime said, pointing in one direction, "They're right there."
"How should we deal with them? Should we directly attack?" Tsunade asked again.
"No, because the paths carved out by the enemy are very complex and filled with numerous traps. If we rush in directly, we will definitely fall into them. Even if they don't do much, they will expose our weaknesses, allowing the enemy to take advantage," Hyuga Hajime said.
"Is that so?" Tsunade still lacked experience in ninja battles. This was not a sparring match, but a life-and-death struggle to kill. "Then let's not slowly dismantle them. Let's just destroy them all. Have Uncle Konosuke use Earth Release to collapse that entire area. No traps will work then."
"We can't do that. If the movement is too big, it will destroy the old Shinobi Sect site along with it," Fumori Masaki shook his head. He still needed to get what he wanted from inside, and he had to ensure the integrity of the old Shinobi Sect site. At least the places that preserved important experiences must not be damaged.
Everyone knew Fumori Masaki's emphasis on the Shinobi Sect. When the battle plan was drafted earlier, Tsunade's method had been proposed, but Fumori Masaki immediately rejected it.
"Let's stick to the original battle plan. Let small creatures sneak in and destroy the key points of those traps. This way, the enemy won't notice, and we can avoid large-scale destruction," Fumori Masaki said.
"But where do we get microorganisms? To accomplish something like this, a certain level of intelligence is required," Hatake Sakumo was somewhat puzzled.
"If someone from the Aburame clan were here, we could adopt this battle method. However, there's no one here. But, Sensei Kazamori must have creatures similar to the Aburame clan's Kikaichu, that's why he said that," Hattori Heizo said.
"That's right. Originally, I thought I wouldn't need it, after all, I don't know any medical ninjutsu myself, and some other abilities aren't that significant to me." Fumori Masaki bit his finger, blood beads oozing from his fingertip. He quickly formed hand seals and slammed his hands on the ground, "Summoning Jutsu!"
A puff of white smoke immediately appeared, followed by a slug, smaller than Inuzuka Shigeru's ninja dog, appearing before everyone's eyes. Its ethereal voice rang out: "Lord Kazamori, long time no see. You actually have a use for me."
"That sounds familiar," Fumori Masaki smiled, then said, "I have something to trouble you with. Can you help me?"
"Of course," upon hearing the contents of the battle plan, Katsuyu agreed without hesitation. "Since we have a contract with Lord Kazamori, when Lord Kazamori needs us, we are duty-bound."
"Good." Fumori Masaki nodded slightly. "I'm counting on you."
"Please rest assured and leave it to us, Lord Kazamori." With that, Katsuyu's body suddenly "collapsed," transforming into countless tiny slugs, crawling densely on the ground and heading towards the rock wall where the Evil God Believer were staying.
"Kazamori, is that Grandpa's summoning animal?" Tsunade asked Fumori Masaki, who was pressing one of his eyes, after Katsuyu had left.
"Hmm? Oh, yes, that's right. What, Tsunade, do you want one too?" Fumori Masaki's attention seemed to be elsewhere, and he answered after a moment.
"Grandpa's summoning animal…" Tsunade was thinking about how to answer when she noticed Fumori Masaki's unusual actions and asked curiously, "Kazamori, what are you doing?"
"Don't disturb Captain Kazamori, Sister Tsunade," Hyuga Hajime crouched down slightly and explained to Tsunade, "Captain Kazamori is linked to Katsuyu's vision. Because Captain Kazamori also has sensory abilities, the two combined will greatly enhance his sensory abilities, making it easier to destroy those traps."
"Are all summoning animals like this, capable of combining forces to enhance power?" Hatake Sakumo immediately asked about summoning animals he didn't know about.
"Heizo-kun, your family should also have summoning animals, right? What do you think?" Hyuga Hajime didn't answer directly, but looked at Hattori Heizo.
"I don't think so," Hattori Heizo thought for a moment and said.
"That's right. As far as I know, the only one who can link with the contractor's power is Captain Kazamori's Katsuyu. Although the First Hokage also had Katsuyu as a summoning animal, with the First Hokage's strength, he didn't need Katsuyu as an auxiliary at all. We only occasionally saw Captain Kazamori use Katsuyu, and that's how we learned about Katsuyu's function."
Tsunade let out a surprised sound. At this moment, Fumori Masaki spoke, "That's right, Tsunade, I think you can also form a contract with Katsuyu. For me, I can't fully utilize Katsuyu's power, and only at times like this can Katsuyu appear. If it were you, you should be able to use Katsuyu with incredible skill."
"Huh?" Tsunade was a little stunned. She didn't expect Fumori Masaki to give her such a high evaluation, and her heart immediately beat faster. However, when she thought of Katsuyu's appearance, she couldn't help but hesitate. After all, she was a girl, and Katsuyu's appearance made her feel uncomfortable.
Fumori Masaki was currently connected to Katsuyu's mind, helping it disarm traps, and didn't see Tsunade's expression. If he knew, he would definitely say that Tsunade was overthinking, because although Katsuyu looked slimy on the outside, it actually felt very comfortable to the touch, and its body was cool, making it a treasure for cooling off in the summer.
When it was scorching hot in summer, Fumori Masaki would summon Katsuyu and let his two precious daughters use it as a pillow, allowing them to sleep comfortably. For Fumori Masaki, most of the times he summoned Katsuyu were for this kind of thing. It had been since the Shinobi World War that he needed Katsuyu for battle like this.
After some time, most of the traps had been dismantled. The remaining ones were those that couldn't be dealt with quickly, but as long as they were remembered, they could be avoided during the operation. Fumori Masaki thanked Katsuyu, and after releasing the summoning, he said to everyone, "Proceed according to the plan. Begin!"