Kakuzu looked down. Fmes licked at the sealing marks, erasing them.

  "A Sharingan-based teique, huh," Kakuzu muttered.

  He had seen this teique before, which meant the person before him wasn't just an ordinary member of Konoha's ANBU but a powerful Uchiha.

  "I thought the current Uchiha o longer had anyone who could use this teique."

  As one of the rare individuals in the shinobi world who genuinely didn't care about the Uchiha name, he could afford to say such things.

  He had, after all, oried to assassinate Hashirama.

  But when Hashirama got serious and started "g to the beat," Kakuzu had been thhly defeated.

  It couldn't be helped; once Hashirama used his Wood Release, only Madara could stand toe-to-toe with him.

  But aside from those two, Kakuzu believed that no one could stop him from making money.

  "Don't you think we call it even and walk away?" he asked sincerely.

  "What do you think?" Masashi looked at him. "Don't tell me you see Konoha ninjas and instantly think of the time you got beaten up by Hashirama."

  "Old memories are painful a fotten..."

  Kakuzu's skin began to bulge, as if somethirying to break free.

  In Masashi's eyes, Kakuzu's body was brimming with an explosion of chakra.

  The Earth Grudge Fear fually altered the body's structure and required an intricate bination of modifications and rare items. Mastering it was extremely difficult and impossible to copy with the Sharingan.

  Kakuzu was the st person to fully master this teique, and he had destroyed any ce of others learning it when he defected from his vilge.

  Masashi didn't uimate this oppo at all.

  As the battle begaivated Sage Mode. Natural energy flowed into him, sharpening his senses beyond even what the Sharingan provided.

  A frigid chill filled the pce.

  The temperature in the underground space plummeted rapidly as frost spread over the coffins one by ohe ice crag as it expanded.

  In Kakuzu's eyes, Masashi made a movement that brought back vivid memories.

  And then, everything was engulfed in white.

  Boom!

  The mountain began to tremble. In the deafening roar, a massive white hand burst from the mountainside, sending rocks and dirt flying everywhere.

  Kakuzu emerged from the ground, looking sour.

  His money was gone.

  The oppo's Ice Release teique had immediately destroyed everything, and the giant fist had struck him directly—too fast, too powerful to block.

  But such raw strength couldn't harm Kakuzu himself, as he excelled at Earth Release teiques.

  He had once survived the onsught of Wood Release, thanks to his Iron Skin teique.

  It could only be tered by suffitly powerful Lightning Release.

  Kakuzu turned his gaze to the massive hand protruding from the mountain wall.

  The icy hareated, and moments ter, two hands gripped the edges of the cave opening and tore it apart.

  A plete ice giant emerged from the mountain!

  "It looks just like..."

  Kakuzu couldn't help but think this.

  But resembnce was all it was—pletely inparable.

  Taking advantage of the moment, he unleashed his Earth Grudge Fear extensions.

  His back swelled, skin splitting open as four masked monsters burst out, their bodies formed by what looked like bck threads. Each mask bore a different, twisted expression.

  But these weren't threads—they were highly densed chakra.

  "Holy, I don't have to fight you, but...you just piss me off, brat."

  Kakuzu watched as the ice giant turoward him, stepping closer.

  Each step made the ground quake, leaving crystalline footprints in the frozeh.

  "Is this teique modeled after Hashirama?" he suddenly asked.

  He khe other could hear him.

  With Sharingan of this level, even if the user couldn't hear, they could "see" it.

  A hatch opened in the ice giant's head, revealing Masashi standing inside.

  He also gazed at this "old acquaintance."

  "Old memories are painful a fotten," he finally said. "That's a good line."

  "Hey, Kakuzu. Want to join Konoha?"

  Kakuzu's face twisted into a cold shis brat really knows how to push buttons.

  "Are you payment for this mission?"

  "How much?" Masashi asked curiously. If it wasn't too much, maybe he'd sider it.

  Recruiting an S-rank ninja and charging it to the vilge? Not unreasonable, right?

  "Ten million ryō," Kakuzu said, holding up a hand. "Cash only."

  What the heck... That's too expensive! Masashi immediately gave up on recruiting him.

  Spending ten million to hire an S-rank ninja who might bolt at any moment? No way Minato would agree. Fugaku wouldn't pay either.

  The money would have to e out of his own pocket.

  "So we 't e to an agreement?" he sighed regretfully. "A ninja like you, obsessed with money..."

  "Spare me the lecture. I smell it on you—you're the same as me," Kakuzu retorted bluntly. His eyes narrowed knowingly. "In this world, money is the only thing worth trusting. Want my service? Pay up. Don't waste words."

  "No way you'll tell me who's paying you, then?" Masashi asked.

  "Not my ."

  "Aren't you worried about being stiffed? You know ten million ryō isn't something anyone just fork over."

  "o worry about that. I'm very good at colleg debts," Kakuzu said.

  "Is that so? What a shame."

  The ice giant's head hatch closed as Masashi stepped back.

  The colossal figure raised a hand and smmed it down.

  Boom!

  Aire se of forest was fttened as the giant's hand plunged deep into the earth, ice spreading in a crystalline wave.

  Bck dots leaped onto the giant's arm, sprinting upward with inhuman agility.

  Earth Release experts are so troublesome. o train my Lightning Release more.

  The Earth Grudge Fear extensions moved quickly, their chakra bodies capable of perf any acrobatics.

  He even thought they looked like huskies bounding along.

  One "husky" leaped into the air, the mask on its face opening its mouth.

  Masashi didn't stop it; he wao see Kakuzu's Five Nature Transformations. From the moment he'd seen Kakuzu, he'd decided.

  The missing-nin was nothing more than a dist version of Hiruzen.

  Why go all-ht away when you could milk the situation?

  Fmes surged toward Masashi, the intense heat radiating even through the ice. The fire took on an almost intelligent pattern, seeking oints in the giant's structure.

  "Fire Style: Searing Migraine."

  A good teique. This is worth learning.

  A single spark could ignite a prairie fire. This aptly described the Searing Migraine.

  Among the B-rank Fire teiques that Masashi khe Searing Migraine was sed only to the Majestic Destroyer Fme in terms of area of effect.

  The difference was that the tter required the caster to tinuously e chakra, while the first rocess of pression and explosion.

  First, a fireball was pressed and unched. Upon losing the chakra maintaining its pression, it bursted into fmes, making it far more effit than the Majestic Destroyer Fme. The chakra pressioed a dense core of thermal energy, ready to unleash devastation at a moment's notice.

  But this jutsu had another application.

  In midair, the fmes pressed to the extreme became a angible bde of fire. The bde whistled through the air, heading straight for Masashi's neck.

  He leao the side, the heat of the fire sword singeing a few strands of his hair.

  Strohan I remember. This world might be different from my memories—a parallel universe, perhaps? Or he was always this strong? He observed Kakuzu.

  Taking advantage of the opening, the fire bde tis ard sliced through Prometheus.

  The ice giant, still in its initial phase without its armor or the Sage Mode buff, stood no ce against the trated heat.

  As its head fell, steam hissing where the fire bde had cut, Masashi leapt out. Propelled by a gust of wind, he charged toward the Earth Grudge Fear e. The wind chakra ed around him like a co, enhang his already formidable speed.

  The fire e barely had time to react before he sent it flying with a powerful kick. The impact resohrough the air, a sharp crack followed by the whoosh of a body being unched.

  It truly flew far.

  Kakuzu, watg from the ground, twitched visibly. The dispy of raas ued.

  If that were a person, their head would've been kicked off, he thought, reassessing his oppo's capabilities.

  This Uchiha doesn't feel like an Uchiha...

  The oppo's movements were bold and fluid, and his teiques seemed unusually chakra-intensive for an Uchiha, whose style was typically more precise and eical.

  With a thought, the Water Earth Grudge Fear e approached.

  A barrage of water projectiles merged into a rain-like torrent, raining down mercilessly on Masashi. Each droplet carried enough force to pierce stourning the air into a deadly maze of liquid bullets.

  It seemed he wanted Masashi ba the ground.

  So, the Uchiha decided to humor him. After all, paying ts deserved special privileges. Besides, this erfect ce to test aheory.

  Opening his mouth, he unleashed an even rger arrow of fmes, which streaked through the sky like a bzing et. The heat was so inte created its own updraft, dist the air around it.

  The first wave of water projectiles evaporated in an instant as the inferno roared on, ing everything in its path and surging toward the Earth Grudge Fear e. Steam exploded outward where fire met water, creating a temporary smokes.

  Masashi nded on the ground, now face-to-face with Kakuzu.

  Two more Earth Grudge Fear es materialized at Kakuzu's side almost simultaneously.

  Although he had suspected as much, seeing Kakuzu staring at him unabashedly, Masashi promptly used a genjutsu.

  Almost instantly, one of the Earth Grudge Fear es extes "tentacles" and stabbed into Kakuzu's body.

  "Ah, so that's how it works," Masashi mused, nodding. "I was w why you're so different from other people."

  "I've entered many Uchiha," Kakuzu replied, his green eyes narrowing slightly. "Their genjutsu isn't as effective as you might imagine. Not when you've lived as long as I have."

  Not only did he show no fear of the Sharingan's genjutsu, but he also had no qualms about using his mastery of the five elemental releases in front of Masashi.

  The Earth Grudge Fear es required no hand seals to use jutsu, and they cked chakra pathways. Since mastering the Earth Grudge Fear, Kakuzu's ninjutsu couldn't be copied by the Sharingan.

  If Masashi somehow mao copy his teiques, he could only grudgingly accept it.

  "You seem fident. Did you try to assassinate Madara?" Masashi asked smilingly.

  "If you had his abilities, I wouldn't bother talking."

  Thunder rumbled in the sky as vast amounts of steam enveloped the area, a result of evaporated water. The Majestic Destroyer Fme Arrow had beeinguished, leaving behind a charged atmosphere.

  "Few Uchiha have chakra reserves like yours," Kakuzu remarked. "What's your name? I bet you're worth a fortune."

  "Masashi."

  Upon giving his name, he asked, "Is my bounty already up at the exge?"

  "Ah, that expins it," Kakuzu nodded, pieces falling into pce. "Unfortunately, not yet. But with your strength and personality, it won't be long. Fighting you now would be meaningless." And potentially costly.

  Masashi shook his head at this, and an arc of electricity fshed in the air as his fist stopped just inches from Kakuzu's fabsp;

  The Earth Grudge Fear's bck threads formed a barrier, abs the impact. They pulsed with wind chakra, ralizing Masashi's Lightning Release, while more threads surged toward him like striking serpents.

  But they struck empty air—he had already reappeared some distance away, leaving behind only the st of ozone.

  "That move looks like Kumo's Lightning Body Flicker..."

  Kakuzu pted this and switched pces with the Wih Grudge Fear e.

  So far, Masashi had not used Earth Release teiques, which Kakuzu saw as a weakness.

  Ahead, the bck-thread barrier dispersed, clearing the way for the Earth Grudge Fear e to unleash a jutsu.

  As it leapt forward, its spiended like a pore's quills, eae thrumming with trated wind chakra.

  At the same time, Masashi bit his finger and pressed it to the ground.

  Both released their jutsu simultaneously.

  As the Earth Grudge Fear e's high-pressure wind sphere emerged, three massive gates rose from the ground. Their monstrous, grimag faces symbolized hell and an unbreachable barrier, earning them the title of "ultimate defense."

  The third Rashomon gate fully materialized just as the wind sphere unched. It collided with the first gate and exploded, unleashing a swirling storm. The impact sent shockwaves through the earth.

  The tempest ripped through trees and tore into the ground. Its mountain-shattering power was unleashed entirely upon the colossal gates.

  When the chaos subsided, the ndscape was unreizable. The forest was gohe ground carved away like a giant had taken bites from the earth. Yet in the area where the gates had stood, the nd remained untouched.

  Masashi stood unharmed in this lone oasis within the devastation.Like an isnd in the sea.

  "This jutsu is excellent," he praised with a smile. "Thanks, Kakuzu. I really appreciate you teag me this."

  "If you take it, it's yours." Kakuzu remained expressionless, ued by the remark. He tinued Masashi closely.

  The clusion was clear: this oppo couldn't be easily killed. More importantly...

  Even if he could kill him, there'd be no bounty to cim.

  From birth, every life holds value.

  For him, wasting life without value was intolerable. His years of experience had taught him to be selective with his targets.

  Pointless killing was something he adamantly opposed.

  Moreover, he truly believed that once Masashi's bounty was listed, it would be astronomically high.

  If anyone dared list it at a low price, he'd personally "advise" them otherwise.

  "Enough. I'm done." Kakuzu said. "I won't interrupt your mission anymore. Let's leave it at that."

  The Earth Grudge Fear es returo his side, threads retrag smoothly bato their bodies.

  "Calling it quits already?" Masashi seemed a little disappointed.

  Three jutsu, all highly satisfying.

  "I'll fight you again when your bounty's up," Kakuzu replied coldly. "My jutsu? Take it if you want; I'm not short on teiques." sider it an iment in future profits.

  In a way, he was a freeloading master, with aensive repertoire of jutsu collected over his long life.

  "Ever sider ing to Konoha? Their missions pay well." Masashi's tone was casual.

  "Ninja vilges are trash," Kakuzu refused ftly. "But if you're thinking of freeng, I wouldn't mind having you as a teammate."

  "Do you even have teammates? Haven't you killed them all?"

  "Are you questioning my judgment? I only act when their heads are worth the highest price."

  "You're quite the talent," Masashi said, uo retainst Kakuzu's unashamed logic.

  As a missing-nin, cashing in on your teammates' heads at peak value seemed almost... reasonable.

  If it were him, he'd do the same.

  The two stared at each other for a while, finding themselves increasingly alike. Twmatists in a world of idealists.

  Finally, the two of them vanished with the Body Flicker Teique, leaving behind only the scarred ndscape as evidence of their brief but intense enter.