Kakuzu suddenly opened his eyes.
At this moment, the others in the cave were preparing the necessary items for the ritual.
Blood was drawn on the ground in strange shapes, and the captured demon trembled fearfully nearby.
Kakuzu didn't care about the commotion of these people; in his opinion, whatever they did had nothing to do with him.
What truly concerned him was a fleeting premonition of danger.
Ordinary people are usually skeptical about such premonitions, with most dismissing them as illusions.
However, those who have survived on the brink of death, like Kakuzu, trust these premonitions the most, even if they seem illogical.
Kakuzu didn't hear any unusual sounds, but he believed that Fumori Masaki and the others had already arrived and were approaching, potentially appearing before him at any moment.
He glanced at the others; not all of the Jashinists were here.
Some were hidden elsewhere, monitoring, so they could quickly detect and counterattack if an enemy appeared.
Although, in Kakuzu's view, their hiding methods were too naive to fool his eyes, and probably wouldn't fool Fumori Masaki either.
However, Kakuzu had no intention of warning them, as he considered the Jashinists already dead men.
Helping them would be a waste of his energy.
Instead of worrying about them, he'd rather think about how to obtain Fumori Masaki's heart.
When Kakuzu stood up, some people noticed him.
Although he was a ninja they hired, the Jashinists didn't trust him—perhaps in their eyes, anyone who didn't worship Jashin was untrustworthy.
However, Kakuzu's strength was still needed, so they had to accommodate him in some respects.
"Kakuzu, is something happening?" someone asked.
"Nothing much, just going out to take a look.
If the Konoha ninjas appear, I can stop them in time," Kakuzu said indifferently.
"I see, then we'll leave it to you," the person nodded upon hearing this.
Kakuzu softly grunted and walked outside.
Of course, he wasn't really going to guard the Jashinists.
Instead, he was choosing a suitable battlefield for himself.
Based on his experience, if Fumori Masaki and the others could detect the Jashinists' locations, they would have to split up to quickly eliminate the enemies, as the Jashinists' positions were not evenly distributed.
Although the Jashinists weren't particularly formidable, they weren't entirely useless either.
Unless Fumori Masaki brought high-level experts, the scattered ninjas would need a certain level of ability.
In other words, the number of ninjas who could accompany Fumori Masaki to deal with him would be very limited.
Moreover, to participate in a battle at their level—what is called Kage-level in another world—one should at least be a Jonin.
Would Konoha Ninja Village deploy so many Jonin-level combatants?
At least, he didn't think it was possible.
Jonin were a rare commodity and couldn't be dispatched casually, and the incident in the Land of Demons wasn't that significant.
Therefore, the ideal situation would be a one-on-one duel between Kakuzu and Fumori Masaki, where Kakuzu would have a significant advantage.
If there were other people, he would have to be careful, as the combat power generated by ninjas working in perfect synchronization was far more than a simple sum.
If the Jashinists could cooperate with Kakuzu in perfect synchronization, he might consider helping them wipe out the Konoha ninjas in one fell swoop, but the answer was clearly no, so Kakuzu could only fight alone.
However, treating Kakuzu as a single person would be a grave mistake.
He touched his chest, clearly feeling the vibrations from five hearts.
These hearts not only provided other chakra natures but could also transform into masked monsters.
They could all act as Kakuzu's clones, meaning it would be like fighting five people.
Even Fumori Masaki, when suddenly facing masked monsters that could use five types of chakra, would surely be startled.
As long as he showed even the slightest flaw, Kakuzu would never let it go, and would incorporate Fumori Masaki's heart, with its powerful wind-natured chakra network, into his own body.
As he walked, Kakuzu suddenly slammed his hand into the nearby rock wall.
The dark blood vessels, mutated by Earth Grudge Fear, drilled out of his skin, stubbornly breaking through the obstructing rocks and moving freely within them.
This was Kakuzu's sensing range.
Although he couldn't sense chakra, the unique nature of Earth Grudge Fear provided him with other methods.
The black blood vessels continuously moved, feeding back information about everything they touched.
Soon, they encountered a trap secretly set by the Jashinists, but the trap didn't trigger.
It had been destroyed by someone without anyone noticing.
"Heh heh, as expected of Konoha ninjas, their methods are beyond what these people can achieve," Kakuzu showed a cold smile, quickly withdrew his hand, and the black blood vessels retracted with a whoosh.
"However, this is good.
If they didn't even have this much ability, I would be too disappointed."
Kakuzu's experience was truly vast; he could basically anticipate the combat plan Konoha ninjas might adopt.
Now, after verification, he could determine how the opponent would attack.
If he had truly sided with the Jashinists, Fumori Masaki might have been in some trouble, but fortunately, he hadn't.
Fumori Masaki himself could sense this.
His perception ability was like directly feeling the flowing natural energy, so he could sense any phenomenon caused by all things.
Therefore, Fumori Masaki personally saw that Kakuzu, after knowing the trap had been destroyed, did not take any measures to inform the others, but instead ran off in another direction.
Fumori Masaki confirmed that the other party had not used any other communication methods.
Although he didn't know what the other party was thinking, Kakuzu had no intention of tipping off the Jashinists.
Of course, even if he had, Fumori Masaki could have adjusted the battle plan in time.
Now, it seemed, not having to adjust it was even better.
"Kakuzu went in another direction, with no one else following him.
He's mine," Fumori Masaki said.
"The others are yours.
Tsunade, Sakumo, Hiraizo, you must be careful to stay with the others and not personally engage, unless you have permission or in an emergency, such as when others are overwhelmed and in danger."
"No need to repeat it over and over, Kazamori," Tsunade said, her ears already tired of hearing it.
Are all elders like this, fond of nagging?
"Sister Tsunade, Captain Kazamori is just worried about you all," Senju Risa said with a smile, squatting down to help Tsunade tidy her clothes and ninja pouch.
Tsunade would move with Hattori Hiraizo, Yamanaka Takuma, and Inuzuka Shigeru.
Hyuga Kei, Sarutobi Kounosuke, and Senju Risa would accompany Hatake Sakumo.
Adding Fumori Masaki, who was going to search for Kakuzu alone, this was the personnel arrangement for this operation.
"Pay attention to the enemy's movements, Shigeru, Kei, your responsibilities are great," Fumori Masaki said to Inuzuka Shigeru and Hyuga Kei, who possessed sensing abilities.
The two nodded.
"If there's any information that needs to be communicated, have Takuma tell the others," Fumori Masaki looked at Yamanaka Takuma, who also nodded.
"If anyone gets injured, the medical ninjas in both teams must pay attention to timely treatment," Fumori Masaki then instructed Tsunade and Senju Risa.
"There's not much left to say.
I'll just say one last thing: survive," Fumori Masaki uttered the last word, then immediately said, "Move out!"
The others immediately began to move, entering from two different entrances.
Only Fumori Masaki took a completely different route, which would be the place of his decisive battle with Kakuzu.
Both believed that it would be the other's final resting place.
Because the traps had been disarmed beforehand, everyone encountered no trouble along the way.
Fortunately, Katsuyu had disarmed them very carefully, so even the enemies hadn't noticed.
Their traps were basically rendered useless.
They were monitoring in the cave, completely unaware of the approaching danger.
The first to encounter the Jashinists was Hyuga Kei's team.
Before Hyuga Kei's Byakugan, all obstacles were as if nonexistent.
They unknowingly arrived next to the Jashinists, and before the opponents sensed anything amiss, Hyuga Kei struck first, a Gentle Fist blow hitting the opponent's vital point.
The opponent only felt a shock in their chest, and without even uttering a word, lost consciousness.
The main destructive effect of Gentle Fist acts internally.
Hyuga Kei, with a single blow, severed the opponent's main chakra pathways, causing instant death.
Hatake Sakumo watched this scene with wide eyes.
Sarutobi Kounosuke used Earth Release ninjutsu to suddenly restrain the enemy, then Hyuga Kei followed up with a fluid series of movements, a simple blow taking each person's life, basically without making any sound.
This amazing skill completely shocked Hatake Sakumo's young mind.
He had great talent and would one day become a legendary ninja whom even the Three Sannin would defer to.
But now he was still just a ten-year-old boy.
Facing the close cooperation of Hyuga Kei and Sarutobi Kounosuke, he felt he still had much to learn.
"It's okay, you'll be just like them very soon," Hatake Sakumo heard a voice at this moment, turned to look, and saw Senju Risa smiling at him.
Senju Risa said, "Captain Kazamori said you're the most talented among his students.
He believes in your future.
Don't be discouraged because of this, Sakumo-kun."
"Uh, okay," Hatake Sakumo paused slightly, then slowly nodded.
"Hurry up and catch up, someone has already noticed something amiss," Hyuga Kei said without looking back.
His Byakugan could basically cover a 360-degree range.
Only because he was from a branch family, the Caged Bird Seal on his body would leave about a one-degree blind spot.
However, with companions, it was nothing; companions could easily compensate for this blind spot.
Even without companions, unless it was something large enough to cover only one degree, it wouldn't escape his eyes.
"There are eight people, Kounosuke, prepare," Hyuga Kei said.
The moment the enemies at the corner appeared, Hyuga Kei suddenly flashed out, rushing towards them like lightning.
At the same time, Sarutobi Kounosuke slammed his hands on the ground, and sharp spikes drilled out from beneath the Jashinists, piercing their bodies.
While the opponents paused due to this, the Eight Trigrams Gentle Fist continuously flew out.
Even if they were discovered by the enemy, it seemed to make no difference to the outcome.
Hyuga Kei and the others had been through countless battles with Fumori Masaki.
If they couldn't even defeat these Jashinists, it would be too ridiculous.
As Fumori Masaki said, the only one worth paying attention to was Kakuzu.
The Jashinists on the periphery were basically dealt with.
What remained were the Jashinists in the large space inside the cave, where the kidnapped child also was.
Frankly speaking, the official's son held no significance for the Konoha ninjas.
The official was not Konoha's employer.
If he were an official of the Land of Fire, they might consider it, but as he was from another country, there was no value in rescuing him.
However, the priestess, as their employer, requested that they help bring the child back safely.
Fumori Masaki could only say he would do his best, and he told Hyuga Kei and the others the same thing.
From Hyuga Kei's observation, the Jashinists seemed quite persistent in certain aspects.
They hadn't yet laid a hand on the child, possibly genuinely waiting for the appointed time to perform the ritual.
But now the Konoha ninjas had already broken in, and there was still a long time until the appointed hour.
They shouldn't just foolishly wait, should they?
When cornered, they might directly start the ritual.
Hyuga Kei couldn't guarantee this, and he didn't know what kind of results an improperly timed ritual would bring.
In short, they now had to be careful, preventing the Jashinists from resorting to desperate measures and harming the child's life, while also eliminating all Jashinists.
Thinking of this, Hyuga Kei sighed.
He really hadn't expected that a simple mission to investigate the old site of the Shinobi Sect would get them entangled in so many things.
Captain Kazamori was really something.
Collecting his thoughts, Hyuga Kei made several hand gestures to the others.
Seeing them nod, he walked forward.
At this point, Yamanaka Takuma's mental link had already come through.
Their two teams would act together to quickly eliminate all Jashinists.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Fumori Masaki quickly moved through the cave.
Ordinary people couldn't see his figure at all, only vaguely catching blurry black lines.
In front of a rock wall, just as the "black line" was about to collide, a cold light suddenly erupted.
The rock wall turned into scattered stones, slowly collapsing.
The moment the rock wall fell, Fumori Masaki felt a strong wind blowing from inside.
That was a Wind Release ninjutsu released by Kakuzu.
As soon as Fumori Masaki began breaking through the wall, he knew of the other's arrival.
Therefore, he released the ninjutsu without hesitation, giving Fumori Masaki a head-on blow.
Fumori Masaki was expressionless.
He condensed an Eight-Division Wind Wheel with one hand, and with a fierce flick, the oncoming strong wind split into two, turning into two Impact that went to the sides, shattering the rock wall into fragments.
"Incredible, such a small ninjutsu can block my Wind Release," Kakuzu's voice rang out.
"Theoretically, ninjutsu of the same nature depends on which side has more chakra.
Another point is the degree of nature transformation and shape transformation.
Your ninjutsu doesn't seem to require much chakra, which means your ability in nature transformation and shape transformation is even above my Wind Release."
"I really am..." Kakuzu's back bulged, followed by a large number of "black lines" drilling out, moving like tentacles.
"I'm getting more and more excited about your heart!"