Naruto: Kurotsuchi Mayuri

Mist surrounded the dense forest.

Several swift figures moved quickly between the trees.

"You're late!"

A disgruntled voice echoed through the fog. Kakuzu, dressed in a black robe with snake-like patterns, stepped out from behind a tree, blocking the newcomers' path.

"We had to leave the village; it takes time. Thank you for waiting, Mr. Kakuzu," a calm voice replied.

The speaker, Kagetsu, came to a halt with Shisui and Anko by his side. The three stood in front of Kakuzu.

"This is such a hassle! Why couldn't I handle this myself?" Kakuzu grumbled.

It's just a medical-nin, after all!

Everyone knows that unless the medical-nin is someone like Tsunade Senju, they're not much of a fighter. 

Shinnō, who wandered the lands, might be a bit trickier to deal with, but Kakuzu, whose strength had grown significantly, was confident he could take him down.

To Kakuzu, Kagetsu's decision to come in person was entirely unnecessary.

"The debt deduction will proceed as agreed. Where is he?" Kagetsu's words instantly calmed Kakuzu down.

"He's in the town ahead. Honestly, he seems like a nice guy. I actually enjoyed working with him," Kakuzu said as he turned and started leading the way.

"Sounds like he's good at hiding his true nature, even fooling someone as experienced as you," Kagetsu replied with a faint smile, following Kakuzu.

"You're saying it's an act?" Kakuzu's tone showed a flicker of surprise but quickly returned to its usual indifference.

For Kakuzu, it didn't matter if Shinnō was a good person or not. It wouldn't stop him from treating him as a target to settle his debts. As a notorious bounty hunter in the black market, Kakuzu never let morality interfere with his work.

"Watch out!"

Shisui suddenly shouted, swiftly forming hand signs.

A wall of earth erupted in front of them, blocking a sudden barrage of kunai that emerged from the mist.

Thud, thud, thud!

The sound of kunai striking the wall echoed sharply, accompanied by the rapid clatter of mechanisms. In an instant, several volleys of projectiles turned the wall summoned by Shisui into something resembling a porcupine.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

Anko quickly formed hand seals, her puffed-up cheeks releasing a powerful gust of wind as she turned her head. The fan-shaped blast cleared away the thin mist, revealing a radius of clear visibility spanning about a hundred meters.

In front of the now-dispersed earthen wall stood a group of shinobi holding strange mechanical devices. They surrounded a figure that Kakuzu immediately recognized.

"So, my sensory abilities weren't mistaken. Someone has been secretly tailing me," Shinnō said as he raised his hand, his gaze fixed on Kakuzu and his group of four. 

"Kakuzu-san, haven't we gotten along quite well so far? Why are you harboring such hostility toward me? Is it because of these Konoha shinobi?"

Shinnō's eyes shifted to the trio behind Kakuzu: Nara Kagetsu, Anko, and Shisui.

"You do have secrets, don't you?" Kakuzu replied indifferently, completely unfazed despite being surrounded by numerous shinobi. His eyes carried an odd glint as he observed Shinnō. "These shinobi don't look like people a wandering medical ninja could rally to their cause."

"Everyone has secrets; why pry into mine? Tell me, what is it that you want?" Shinnō demanded loudly.

Shinnō had no intention of exposing his secrets, but circumstances had forced his hand. Now that he'd been uncovered, Kakuzu and his group had to be eliminated.

He was stalling for two reasons: one, to allow the encirclement to be completed, and two, to figure out why Kakuzu had been targeting him and why he'd teamed up with these three Konoha shinobi.

"Zero-Tails."

Kagetsu stepped forward from behind Kakuzu, meeting Shinnō's gaze directly as he uttered a name that caused Shinnō's expression to darken instantly.

"Wait a second! That's not what you told me!" Kakuzu scowled. "Weren't you after the Third Raikage's corpse? And what the hell is the Zero-Tails?"

Kakuzu, a living relic of the ninja world, was shocked—he'd never heard of the Zero-Tails before! But judging by Shinnō's sudden change in expression, it clearly existed.

Could it be some unknown type of tailed beast?

"I knew it! Konoha must've discovered that I'd stolen the technique to control the Zero-Tails, so they sent people to eliminate me!"

Shinnō's face darkened further as he quickly pieced together his own explanation in his mind. But soon, he realized there was something off about his conclusion.

"Third Raikage? How do you know the Third Raikage's body is in my hands?" Shinnō's gaze shifted back and forth between Kakuzu and Kagetsu, mistakenly thinking that the two of them were working together for their own separate purposes.

"Is there really such a thing as the Zero-Tails?" Kakuzu grinned, "If we sold it to a major ninja village, it would definitely be worth a lot, right?"

"The Zero-Tails is mine! Kill them!" Shinnō's friendly and compassionate expression had disappeared, replaced by a cold and ruthless demeanor.

"Underestimated, huh? But do you mind if I warm up a bit first?" Kakuzu glanced at Kagetsu, and seeing him take a step back, Kakuzu quickly formed hand seals.

Lava Release: Starburst Break!

Kakuzu's chest and abdomen swelled up as he shot out sticky, acidic liquid toward the oncoming ninjas.

The acid spread like water splashing, covering a large area ahead. Any ninjas who couldn't avoid it had their flesh instantly begin to dissolve, revealing their white, bone structures beneath.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Amidst the tragic screams, the ninjas whose bodies had melted into skeletons struggled miserably in the acidic liquid. Under Kakuzu's control, the liquid exploded upon contact with the air, causing a chain reaction of explosions in front.

Flames filled the air, obscuring the view.

The ninjas who had rushed forward were wiped out. The remaining ninjas stopped in their tracks, stunned by Kakuzu's display of power.

Shinnō's face grew even darker, but he did not order his ninjas to keep advancing. Instead, he made a hand signal. Seeing this, the ninjas around him immediately pulled out a cylindrical object and fired a flare into the sky.

Soon, a loud rushing sound came from above.

Shisui looked up at the sky, and his Sharingan spun rapidly in his eyes.

"A group of ninjas with special ninja tools are flying towards us," Shisui said, his expression changing. He then asked Kakuzu and Kagetsu, "Should I handle them?"

Kagetsu nodded.

In an instant, Shisui's three-tomoe Sharingan transformed, its shapes twisting into a four-point windmill. A green skeletal structure extended from his body, and a massive green giant, holding a long green spear, rose from the ground.

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