Chapter 41: Love Around the Corner, Kakuzu: Hello

Chapter 41: Love Around the Corner, Kakuzu: Hello

"Shut up, or I'll kill you!"

Hidan immediately flew into a fit of helpless rage, since he indeed couldn't walk on water or climb trees.

Seeing this,

Shinno, who had been silently standing aside as a mere spectator, narrowed his eyes slightly and said calmly, "I don't need to fight. I can carry him down."

Uchiha Ci glanced over at him sideways, thinking, Not only could you carry him down, but you could probably run a marathon with him on your back without any problem.

However, letting Shinno carry Hidan down would be like throwing a meat bun to a dog.

This guy had already been eyeing Hidan, hoping to gain something from him. Even though he currently had a facade of innocence and only watching, there was no guarantee that something unexpected wouldn't happen if he were given free rein.

"Let's scout the area first." Uchiha Ci shook his head and pointed toward the city wall clinging to the cliff below.

Then, he turned his head and looked at Hidan:

"Also, Hidan, be ready to stay here."

Hidan remained silent, while Terumi Mei nodded and reminded, "I'll leave it to you, Uchiha Ci."

"From here, there's a tree midway down. Hide there. With your Sharingan, you should be able to clearly observe the defenses on the wall. Record them every fifteen minutes, and after three rounds, we'll move out."

"Time is short. Dawn is approaching."

With that, Terumi Mei took off her ninja tool pouch from her slender waist and tossed it over.

"I'm not a ninja specialized in shurikenjutsu, so I don't have many tools—just three kunai, ten shuriken, and two explosive tags."

"That's enough."

Uchiha Ci caught the pouch, weighed it briefly, and quickly gauged its contents. He strapped it to his waist.

Standing at the edge of the cliff, he looked down, estimating the nearly 400-meter drop.

The wind blowing up from below lifted the hair at Uchiha Ci's forehead. Thin mist swirled in the shadows of the cliffside, resembling the maw of a deep abyss hiding monsters.

He smiled, and under the gaze of the three others, leaped down.

Whoosh!

He plummeted rapidly!

In mid-air, Uchiha Ci opened his Sharingan and quickly spotted the tree Terumi Mei had mentioned.

He pulled out a bandage from his body, folded it, and tied it to the end of a kunai before throwing it downward.

The kunai, with the bandage trailing behind, wrapped around the tree trunk. Uchiha Ci grabbed the bandage and swung, changing his falling trajectory before lightly landing on the tree.

Then, he carefully observed the city wall below, which was now clearly visible.

As Hidan had said, the castle's defenses were indeed tight.

The night passed quietly, and after about fifteen minutes, Uchiha Ci climbed back up the cliff using both hands and feet.

Compared to running up the cliff using chakra, this method saved energy.

Just as Uchiha Ci's head appeared over the edge of the cliff, Terumi Mei, with a tense expression, looked at him and asked, "How's the situation?"

"Reporting, ma'am," Uchiha Ci grinned and briefly relayed the information he had gathered. "A bunch of nobodies, no real threat. There are six chakra signatures, all Genin-level, patrolling in two shifts."

"Most are guarding the entrance to the underground cave, with two on the wall."

After climbing up, Uchiha Ci quickly analyzed, "As long as we take out one guard, we'll have at least ten minutes to rush underground, then..."

But before he could finish, Uchiha Ci suddenly froze, staring beyond Terumi Mei's head.

In the darkness of his Sharingan's vision,

A massive chakra source, terrifying in size, was slowly approaching.

"And then what?" Terumi Mei frowned.

Uchiha Ci suddenly felt his mouth go dry. He pursed his lips, his gaze becoming more focused.

"Well... I see a large crocodile."

"A crocodile?" Terumi Mei was stunned, thinking this young man was actually afraid of seafood.

She immediately responded, "Don't be afraid, Ci. In fact, the crocodile is probably more scared of you."

"Tsk," Uchiha Ci clicked his tongue, one hand quietly reaching for the ninja tool pouch at his waist.

"You can't say for sure."

Seeing Uchiha Ci's movements, the other three turned their heads, following his gaze toward the dense darkness behind them.

Then,

From the dense forest behind the cliff, a steady set of footsteps echoed.

Under the moonlight, a tall man wearing a forehead protector marked with the symbol of the Hidden Waterfall Village, clad in a black cloak with glowing green eyes, walked toward them.

Seeing the man's appearance, Uchiha Ci's heart sank.

This person was none other than the man with the secret technique "Earth Grudge Fear," the future finance manager of the Akatsuki organization, and currently a top enforcer for the underworld bounty network—

A Kage-level powerhouse,

Kakuzu!

Step, step—

His feet crushed the dust beneath him, kicking up a small cloud of debris.

Kakuzu's eyes were cold and indifferent as he slowly approached.

"I've been looking for you for a while. I didn't expect you to come back here on your own."

His eyes scanned the four of them, pausing briefly on Shinno before settling on Hidan behind them.

Muttering to himself, Kakuzu sneered, "Tch, what a hassle."

"This amount of money isn't enough. I'll ask them to raise the price when I get back."

With that, Kakuzu took a sudden step forward, his gaze icy, and shouted in a deep voice:

"Hand over the kid behind you."

"Or die."

As his words fell, an overwhelming and terrifying killing intent erupted from Kakuzu, spreading across the area!

Under this immense pressure, Uchiha Ci and Terumi Mei involuntarily took a step back.

As for the still-young Hidan, faced with his future "best partner," his pupils shrank to the extreme, and his body trembled uncontrollably as he unconsciously retreated several steps.

It wasn't until his foot touched the edge of the cliff that he snapped back to reality.

"W-What kind of person is this?!"

Hidan's face was filled with fear.

He had never encountered a high-level fighter like this before, someone who could intimidate a person into losing control of their body through sheer killing intent.

Meanwhile, Shinno remained completely unfazed. To him, Kakuzu's killing intent was like a gentle breeze.

Even so, he still stepped back, retreating seven or eight paces, distancing himself far from the other three.

His posture clearly said: You guys go ahead and fight. I'm just here to watch.

"S-Rank rogue ninja from Hidden Waterfall Village, top bounty hunter in the shinobi world, Kakuzu..." Terumi Mei's pupils shrank as she recognized the newcomer.

She pulled a kunai from the holster strapped to her leg, her hands already forming a Snake seal, preparing for battle.

Uchiha Ci stared grimly at Kakuzu, who had come for Hidan, feeling a sense of absurdity.

The butterfly effect he had caused was now creating a storm!

The duo once known as the "Zombie Combo" had now turned against each other, and Uchiha Ci...

He was about to fight Kakuzu to protect Hidan's brain?!

Am I playing some bizarre version of Plants vs. Zombies here?

After a moment of bewilderment, Uchiha Ci immediately turned his head, his gaze fierce, pointing toward the cliff. He shouted at Hidan:

"Hidan, jump off!"

"What did you say!?"