Chapter 286: Hiruko

Atop a towering cliff, mist swirled around, leaving only the very peak bathed in sunlight.

At this lofty summit stood a palace, its eerie presence an anomaly in the otherwise natural landscape.

At this moment, Kakashi stood in front of the palace, motionless and vacant-eyed, still under the control of the Puppet Technique. It was as if he had lost all independent thought.

Behind him stood three subordinates of Hiruko.

Just then, a figure slowly emerged from the palace, it was none other than Hiruko. He walked barefoot towards Kakashi, speaking as he approached.

"Kakashi, come! Come now, your Kekkei Genkai will be the fifth one!" Hiruko looked at Kakashi, who had arrived just as planned, and couldn't help but laugh in excitement as he thought about finally obtaining his long-awaited fifth Kekkei Genkai.

"I'm finally about to become the immortal, perfect shinobi!"

According to his plan, Konoha's Hokage would inevitably be pressured by the Land of Fire. At that moment, he would use the Puppet Technique to control Kakashi, confirming that Kakashi indeed possessed the final Kekkei Genkai he needed.

Furthermore, he had already spread the message to Konoha: once he obtained Kakashi, he would abandon his previous plans, thus allowing Konoha to resolve the situation.

Perhaps they suspected it was a trap...

But so what if they did? Would they really risk defying the entire Land of Fire just for one Kakashi?

He was just a mere Jōnin, someone Konoha could discard at any moment. Even his father, powerful as he was, had been forced to his death, Kakashi's reputation was nowhere near as formidable.

Now, it seemed the Hokage of Konoha had indeed chosen to hand over Kakashi. Maybe they had other plans, but Hiruko didn't care.

He had heard countless rumors about Natsuro, and he knew the Hokage was powerful. But he had prepared accordingly.

With his precautions in place, even if he couldn't stop Natsuro for long, as long as he could delay until he fully absorbed the five Kekkei Genkai, that would be enough.

By then, even if he realized what had happened, it would be too late!

"Hah, blame your incompetent Hokage," Hiruko sneered at Kakashi.

"Tch, what a frog in a well. You really thought this barrier could block my Flying Thunder God?"

A voice filled with ridicule suddenly echoed in his ear.

Hiruko's expression changed drastically as he turned to see two figures suddenly appear beside Kakashi.

In the previously empty space, Natsuro and Naruto now stood there, both looking relaxed and unconcerned about the situation.

Natsuro gazed at Hiruko with interest and said, "And this is the first time someone has called me incompetent. If the Akatsuki members heard that, I doubt they'd agree."

"You, how is this possible?!" Hiruko's eyes widened in disbelief. "How could you break through my barrier so quickly?!"

"That's why I said, ignorance leads to arrogance. If you had gathered intel from the Akatsuki or consulted Orochimaru, you'd know that your level of barrier techniques is nowhere near enough to isolate my Flying Thunder God."

But of course, that was impossible. Hiruko was not a member of Akatsuki, and they would never share information with him.

As for Orochimaru, he and Hiruko weren't exactly on good terms, and even if Hiruko wanted to find him, he probably wouldn't be able to.

Natsuro didn't actually think his sensory abilities were invincible, Pain had taught him a lesson in that regard. Using the Rinnegan, Pain had effectively suppressed his ability to sense chakra.

Now, he believed that certain barriers might indeed limit his perception, but such barriers likely did not yet exist in this world. Even if they did, they would require top-tier abilities, like the Rinnegan, to function.

And a barrier that needed a legendary bloodline to operate wasn't particularly practical in the first place.

At this moment, Natsuro placed a firm hand on Kakashi's shoulder. Kakashi instinctively resisted, but he held him down with ease, preventing him from struggling.

Hiruko wanted to step forward and stop him, but he dared not act rashly.

Soon, the puppet seal on Kakashi's forehead appeared once more.

Moments later, the seal dissipated, and Kakashi's eyes regained clarity.

"Lord Hokage… Naruto," Kakashi smiled upon seeing Natsuro and Naruto, a sense of relief washing over him.

"Heh heh, Kakashi-sensei! We're here to help you get some payback!" Naruto gave Kakashi a thumbs-up, proud that they had successfully located the enemy's hideout.

"Damn it!" Hiruko clenched his fists in frustration, realizing that he was no match for him. But giving up now? That was unthinkable.

This was the culmination of over a decade of planning, he was so close to success! Who could have predicted such an unforeseen setback?

Hiruko had believed he had sufficiently accounted for this generation's Hokage, but in the end, he had underestimated him.

"Kakashi, Naruto, take care of those three behind you," Natsuro said casually. "I'll play with Hiruko for a bit."

"Yes." Kakashi and Naruto both agreed.

"Play?"

The moment Hiruko heard that word, he flew into a rage. Even though he hadn't yet reached his perfect form, he was still a shinobi possessing four Kekkei Genkai!

What gave Natsuro the right to look down on him?!

Hiruko's eyes burned with fury as memories of the past flooded his mind. They had all been shinobi of the same era, yet his talent was completely inferior to the Sannin. On top of that, his body had congenital weaknesses.

He could only watch as the Sannin were taken in as students by the Third Hokage, while no matter how hard he tried, he saw no hope of surpassing them.

To compensate for his natural shortcomings, he began secretly researching the Chimera Technique, Girogakure no Jutsu. But at first, the results were unsatisfactory. Even with its enhancements to physical strength, it still did not bring him any closer to surpassing the Sannin.

Until…

After the Third Great Ninja War, when Obito Uchiha died in action and left his Kekkei Genkai to Kakashi.

The moment he saw Kakashi's Sharingan, he suddenly had an epiphany.

So this was the power he had been seeking all along, Kekkei Genkai!

If he could acquire Kekkei Genkai just like Kakashi, no, even more of them, then he would surely become stronger!

And naturally, his Chimera Technique had to evolve as well. What once was merely a technique for physical fusion had now become a terrifying jutsu that could steal Kekkei Genkai.

As for how many lives had to be sacrificed in the process? Who cared about that?

Hiruko firmly believed that by using the Chimera Technique to plunder Kekkei Genkai, one or even multiple at a time, he could eventually become as strong as Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru!

But just as he was brimming with ambition, his experiments were somehow discovered by the Third Hokage, who immediately sent the Sannin to hunt him down.

At that time, though he had not yet obtained any Kekkei Genkai, he had already enhanced his physical abilities using the lifeforms he had gathered. That was the only reason he barely managed to escape from the hands of the Sannin.

Afterward, he spent many years collecting Kekkei Genkai from various nations. During this time, he used the Chimera Technique countless times, leaving behind a trail of bloodline limit users who perished at his hands, all in the name of his research.

Finally, he had perfected his Chimera Technique. He only needed five Kekkei Genkai to achieve invincible power!

Currently, he had four, all carefully chosen and extracted from the fresh corpses of his victims before they had time to decay.

He had worked so hard for so long, and now, just when he was on the verge of success, he was forced to watch his plans crumble before his eyes.

Already seething with anger, Hiruko was completely enraged by Natsuro's indifferent attitude.

"Then let me see the strength of the Sixth Hokage!" Hiruko said furiously.

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