After the deal was concluded, Jiaodu burst out laughing, clearly pleased.
"Hey, you dare to interfere in Uchiha matters even though you're just a rebellious ninja from Taki? That's bold… but unfortunately, this is where it ends for you!"
Uchiha Kitsune glared and silently cast several intensified genjutsu toward Kakuzu. Then he quickly formed hand seals: Tora, Tatsu, Uma, and unleashed a massive Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu — a giant fireball.
Boom!
The scorching fireball streaked across the river surface, sending ripples outward as it blasted straight at Jiaodu.
"Hehehe, Uchiha ninja, you dare attack me?" Jiaodu sneered, completely ignoring the illusions.
He shoved Fenghuo behind him and rapidly formed a complex seal sequence with both hands: Inu, Chū, Mi, Tora, Hitsuji, Inu, Uma, Tatsu, Inoshishi, Tatsu, Inu, Mi — an elaborate combination.
"Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!" (Water Escape — The Art of the Great Waterfall!)
Boom!
In an instant, the river water surged tens of meters into the air, spinning violently before crashing down like a devastating waterspout. It completely extinguished the fireball and then roared forward with unstoppable force, like a natural disaster.
Uchiha Kitsune's expression changed to alarm, and he nimbly dodged with swift body movement.
Boom!
The massive waterspout slammed into the opposite cliff, shattering rocks and sending huge waves crashing back into the river.
"Who are you?!" Uchiha Kitsune eyed Kakuzu suspiciously.
"Who am I? No need to be shy. How much are you willing to pay?" Jiaodu's eyes glittered greedily — money was always his priority.
"You dare joke with me?!" Kitsune growled and charged in close, kunai drawn.
In his view, only ordinary ninjas cared about money; for those at his level, power was the only currency.
"Your ninjutsu is powerful, but I'm only here to get close enough to—"
Suddenly, black tendrils erupted from Kakuzu's mouth and shoulders like grotesque tentacles, twisting and writhing. Two strange masks appeared among them, silently observing.
Each tentacle seemed to have its own malevolent will.
"This is… Jigokuzuki? You're the infamous rebellious Kakuzu from Taki Village?!" Uchiha Kitsune's eyes widened in shock.
He finally remembered — Kakuzu was an S-rank rogue ninja from Taki, infamous for once attempting to assassinate the First Hokage!
Without another word, Kitsune fled.
Jiaodu let out a roar, his presence blazing like a rainbow, then turned his gaze to Fenghuo.
"Sealing the fire is a bad move. Is this it? You want 500,000 ryō for this? You barely tried! You should at least kill or seriously injure him! If not, I'm filing a complaint with the Labor Bureau. Don't run if you're brave!"
Jiaodu stayed put.
"Hey kid, if you don't have 500,000 ryō in three days, hey, hey, hey," Jiaodu smiled as he spoke kindly to Fenghuo.
Fenghuo felt tears well up.
"Uncle, my lord is nearby. Let's go find him."
"Uncle Zhenhong, remember to bring half a million ryō next time you go out!" Jiaodu joked.
Despite the grim situation, Jiaodu gathered firewood and lit a fire with Katon: Hōka no Jutsu (Fire Escape Technique).
Crackle! The flames blazed fiercely, chasing away the chill from Fenghuo's body and drying his soaked clothes.
He sat by the fire, slowly recovering chakra, then used Tenpō Seikō (Palm Immortal Technique) on himself to heal.
Meanwhile, in the thick fog, the battle between Yuhi Makoto and Uchiha Rin neared its conclusion.
"Kyōka Suigetsu!" Rin countered Makoto's illusion, preparing for a finishing strike. Suddenly, detonating seals floated in the air and exploded nearby.
Yuhi Makoto shouted, "Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
A massive shuriken flew toward Rin, splitting into countless smaller ones that rained down like hail.
"Bastard!" Uchiha Rin's Sharingan spun wildly as he dodged the deadly barrage.
"Suiton: Shōyaku!" Rin tried to cast, but before he could escape, he was tied to a tree by the illusion.
"Damn, Kyōka Suigetsu!" Rin struggled to dispel the genjutsu but his vision blurred, failing.
Puff, puff! Sharp shurikens pierced his body, blood spraying.
Yuhi Makoto smirked as he stepped forward.
"Did you really think you could escape my illusion?"
With Rin's death, the thick fog dissipated. Yuhi Makoto checked on his allies — Inoue, Nakai, and Shangyue — all bleeding and unconscious. After bandaging them, he hurried to find Fenghuo.
Following Fenghuo's trail, he arrived at the cliff where Fenghuo had tumbled.
"Damn it!" Yuhi Makoto leapt off the cliff, landing lightly on the river surface to search. Finally, he spotted a figure on the opposite bank.
"Fenghuo, are you alright?!" he called out.
Yuhi Makoto reached Fenghuo quickly, eyes narrowing at the man by the fire — the S-rank rogue Kakuzu from Taki!
Fenghuo opened his eyes slowly, half-smiling, half-teary.
"Uncle Zhenhong, did you bring the money?"
Yuhi Makoto blinked, confused.
After Fenghuo explained, Yuhi Makoto nearly jumped.
"Five hundred thousand ryō?!"
Jiaodu's companions smiled cruelly nearby.
"Hey, can you give us a few days? We don't carry that much on missions," Yuhi Makoto pleaded.
Kakuzu was a Taki rogue ninja. For villages like Konoha, he was punishable, but Yuhi Makoto was still recovering from a tough battle and wasn't confident confronting Kakuzu directly.
"If you get an extension, interest will be added," Jiaodu said casually.
"Interest?" Yuhi Makoto and Fenghuo's eyes twitched.
"Ten percent per day," Jiaodu shrugged, as if discussing extra toppings on ramen.
Fenghuo felt like dying — 50,000 ryō extra every day! Too cruel!
In the rear, Uchiha Kitsune confirmed he was no longer pursued by the horns, then returned to the battlefield, finding Uchiha Rin's body.
"Rin! Damn it!" Kitsune was furious and full of resentment. If not for Kakuzu, the mission would have succeeded.
He sealed Rin's body inside a scroll, erased battle traces, and retreated, preparing to join Danzo's Root.
The fight between Konoha's Anbu and Genbu ninjas had stalemated for a while, devastating the environment around them.
When Uchiha Kitsune appeared, Genbu ninja cheered, believing the mission was complete.
Sensing danger, Anbu ninja began evacuation and searched for Yuhi Makoto's team.
"Where are the Uchiha's eyes?!" a Genbu ninja demanded.
"He's not dead!" Kitsune said bitterly. "My companion Rin was killed by Yuhi Makoto!"
"What?! You and Rin fought together but still lost to Yuhi Makoto?!" the Root ninja yelled furiously.
"It was Kakuzu — the Taki rogue. He saved Uchiha Fenghuo from me!" Kitsune snarled.
The Root ninjas exchanged looks. The leader said coldly,
"We must verify Rin's body."
Kitsune hesitated but summoned Rin's corpse from the scroll.
A Genbu ninja stepped forward and forcibly extracted Rin's Mangekyō Sharingan.
"What are you doing?!" Kitsune roared.
"The Uchiha sealing fire was protected by Anbu and Yuhi Makoto, and with Kakuzu here, our mission is impossible. We must retreat," the ninja said as he sealed the Mangekyō Sharingan.
"If we can at least capture the eyes, our effort won't be wasted."
Kitsune trembled with rage but controlled himself.
"Our eyes?" his pupils narrowed — but it was too late.
The Root ninjas attacked simultaneously, overpowering and killing the old Uchiha.
"Erase all traces and evacuate!"
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