Chapter 124: Kakuzu Remembers the Fear of Being Dominated by Wood Release

Haruki stood in the sky, watching the fight between Tsunade and Kakuzu.

In terms of combat experience, there were few people in the ninja world who could match Kakuzu.

This was the advantage of living a long life.

Although Tsunade has Wood Release, she isn't her grandfather. Without a vast amount of chakra and the Sage Body, its power might be only half as strong.

She seemed to be at a disadvantage when facing Kakuzu.

For ordinary ninjas, being able to proficiently use two types of chakra was already a sign of genius.

Kakuzu, however, had five types.

What was most astonishing was that he was extremely proficient in each of them and had even developed combination techniques.

Just now, he used the Wind Release mask and the Fire Release mask to perform the Composite Ninjutsu: Blazing Wind Turbulence, which was incredibly powerful.

If Haruki hadn't quickly covered the area with a barrier, the people in Omi Town would have seen the towering flames.

He landed and stood between the two of them.

"What do you mean? Are you going back on your word?"

Kakuzu took a breath. Although he had the upper hand due to his experience, Tsunade wasn't in too much of a mess and hadn't even used her Yin Seal.

On the contrary, he vaguely noticed that Tsunade was becoming more and more proficient in Wood Release.

He felt like he was being used as a training dummy.

"Of course, I keep my word."

Haruki shook his head and said, "But judging from your current situation, it's hard to tell the winner even in three days and three nights. In the end, when it comes to a chakra contest, you won't be her match."

"We haven't finished yet. How do you know?"

Kakuzu wasn't convinced.

The biggest psychological shadow in his life and his greatest wish was to defeat Hashirama Senju.

But Hashirama was already dead, and it was impossible for him to go to the other world to find him.

As for Tsunade, she didn't have Wood Release before, so he wasn't interested in her.

Now that she had Wood Release, defeating her would at least bring him some consolation.

But he hadn't managed to beat her after such a long fight, and he was getting angry.

"Get out of the way."

Kakuzu's face darkened slightly. Tsunade was the second Wood Release user he'd ever encountered, and he couldn't miss such an opportunity.

Haruki clicked his tongue softly and then smiled.

What do you do with a disobedient child? Give him a good spanking.

He looked at Kakuzu and clapped his hands.

A huge, surging aura shot up into the sky like a tidal wave.

Black eye shadows instantly appeared under his eyes.

As natural energy combined with chakra, the area around him suddenly cleared. All the dust and air seemed to shrink back in fear.

From the faintly visible soil, a seed took root and germinated.

Kakuzu felt a shiver run through him even in the middle of summer.

In that instant, Haruki seemed to overlap with Hashirama Senju.

His face turned pale, and he stood there stiffly.

He remembered the fear of being dominated by Wood Release.

A huge wooden dragon rose from the ground.

Haruki stretched out his hand and made a gripping motion towards Kakuzu.

The wooden dragon wrapped tightly around Kakuzu.

"Damn it! Who the hell are you?!"

Kakuzu felt the breath of death. Even he, who was usually calm, lost his composure.

Black tentacles kept emerging from his body. The four masks tried to mobilize chakra, but to their horror, all their chakra was being suppressed by the wooden dragon.

Haruki stood with his hands behind his back, and the wooden dragon obediently lay at his feet. He softly said, "You should know the answer to this question."

"..."

Kakuzu wanted to curse. Seriously, in all these years, this was the second time he'd been rendered speechless with frustration.

What on earth were those people in the black market thinking? Were they blind or crazy to put a bounty on a ninja as powerful as Hashirama Senju?

No, that was wrong. It was his own greed that had gotten the better of him.

"Give it up. I'll tell you whatever you want to know."

Kakuzu dejectedly gave up resisting.

Compared to Tsunade, Haruki's Wood Release went beyond the normal limits.

Even if he had nine lives, there was no way he could escape this Wood Release.

His own chakra was rapidly draining away. Before long, his body would be completely emptied, not a single bit left.

A slight smile curled Haruki's lips.

He'd kept Kakuzu alive because he valued his experience.

Surviving an encounter with the First Hokage and living all the way until he met Naruto Uzumaki, over a span of ninety years, Kakuzu had accumulated an enormous amount of knowledge and experience.

Haruki had gained great power through the Deep Blue stat points, but in fact, he lacked experience.

It was like Kaguya Otsutsuki and Madara Uchiha in the original story.

Both were almost invincible, but Kaguya Otsutsuki had far less experience.

Madara Uchiha clearly posed a greater threat to the main characters.

It was just a pity that he'd been attacked by a back - stabbing sneak attack from Black Zetsu and turned into an ultimate pawn (someone who is exploited for others' benefit).

Haruki snapped his fingers and dispelled the Wood Dragon Jutsu.

Hashirama Senju had used this ninjutsu to trap the Nine - Tailed Fox, so there was no way Kakuzu could break free.

Kakuzu silently moved his body.

The extremely strong restraint of the wooden dragon made him extremely uncomfortable.

And the loss of chakra had left him weak.

"Let's talk somewhere else."

Haruki looked around. There wasn't a single decent place.

After using Wood Release to patch up the place a bit, he returned to his residence.

The atmosphere on the way was extremely quiet.

Kakuzu never thought he'd be defeated by Wood Release again, so he was rendered speechless with frustration.

And Tsunade was greatly shocked.

Haruki's previous use of Wood Release far surpassed their usual sparring sessions. She vaguely felt that it was no less powerful than that of her grandfather.

She found it hard to believe.

In her heart, her grandfather was the God of the Shinobi World, and no other ninja could compare.

But Haruki seemed to be gradually taking her grandfather's place.

However, she soon came to terms with it.

There was no use dwelling on these things.

One was her grandfather, and the other was her husband. Shouldn't she be proud?

Moreover, Haruki's strength gave her an unprecedented feeling.

Which woman didn't like a strong and capable man?

Haruki poured a cup of tea for Kakuzu.

Kakuzu took it, cautiously not drinking.

"Come on, come clean and you'll get leniency; resist and you'll face harsh consequences."

Haruki poured another cup for Tsunade and received a sweet smile from her, which dispelled some of the gloom in the room even with Kakuzu there.

"The other day, your bounty in the black market skyrocketed to ninety million ryo."

Kakuzu pondered for a moment and then spoke.

"…?"

Haruki finally understood the reason why Kakuzu had come here.

As a well - known bounty hunter, with ninety million ryo right in front of him, it wouldn't be Kakuzu if he wasn't tempted.

The ones who can afford it are none other than the Five Great Countries and the Five Great Villages.

The first person he thought of was Tanzo Shimura.

It wasn't about making him take the blame.

He really was the most suspect.

After all, he had forced Tanzo out of power not long ago.

"Nine ten-million ryo is a price that the black market in the Land of Fire hasn't seen in over a decade. The last person was Hashirama Senju," Kakuzu sighed. It was ruined by Hashirama and his family.

"The higher the amount, the more troublesome the ninja put on a bounty. However, you're a medical ninja, and the contrast made me suspicious. So I rallied five rogue ninjas to test you for me, but Tsunade was by your side, so I decided to step in myself... You know the rest."

After hearing this, Haruki nodded slightly.

It was about what he had expected.

"Is there anything else?"

"There is one thing."

Kakuzu hesitated for a second, then said without reservation, "The person who put a bounty on you contacted me. They said that after killing you, I had to tell them about your battle process."

"Interesting."

Haruki pondered for a moment and said, "If they know the battle process, they can understand my abilities. I've more or less figured out who it is."

It's him, yes, it's him, our scapegoat Kage, Tanzo Shimura.