Naruto: Nawaki was already dead, how could you bring him back to life?

It is said that the two fought so fiercely that the mountains and rivers fell and the sun and moon lost their light, but in the end Kakuzu only lost to the First Hokage by one move.

"Why hasn't he made a move yet? What is he doing?"

Looking at Kakuzu, who was standing there behaving strangely, Nawaki whispered with suspicion, "Why did he pull out a booklet again? Is he preparing some terrifying sealing technique?"

"No, he's just after money."

Chiba rubbed his temples, looking a bit of a headache, and said, "I'll do my best to hold him off for a while. You guys seize the opportunity and run back. Don't worry about me, just get back to Konoha as fast as you can!"

"Chiba, but..."

"No buts, your presence here is actually distracting me!"

Nawaki wanted to say something more, but after being interrupted by Chiba, he had no choice but to shut his mouth reluctantly.

"It's all my fault for being too weak. Since when did I become a burden to Chiba?" Nawaki thought with a sense of loss.

He made up his mind that once he got back, he would ask Orochimaru for advice on how to become stronger. Only in this way could he continue to walk alongside Chiba!

Kosuke and Nonou looked worried, but didn't say anything. Although Nawaki was the nominal captain of the team, Chiba was the real leader. As team members, they trusted Chiba's judgment.

Chiba counted down in a low voice: "On my command, three, two, one... run!"

As the countdown ended, Chiba instantly unfurled two white paper wings, and before the other three could react, he shot into the nearby woods like an arrow.

"Um?!"

"what?!"

Kakuzu put away the roster and looked this way. Nawaki and the other two, who were stunned and hadn't reacted yet, also looked at him.

The four people looked at each other, speechless, and the scene became somewhat awkward.

"That bastard Chiba lied to us, saying he'd cover for us, but then he ran off first?!" Nawaki cursed inwardly.

"What is the deeper meaning behind Chiba-kun's actions? He just left like this, won't the other side attack us directly?" Nono wondered.

Kosuke, on the other hand, was a man of few words and ruthless actions. He silently drew his sword, preparing for battle.

"Tch, at most twelve million taels worth of goods."

Just as the three were preparing for a desperate battle with Kakuzu, they unexpectedly saw a hint of... disdain flash across his calm, emerald-green eyes!

Then, without even glancing at them again, the other party lightly touched the ground with their toes, raised their hand to take out the sealing scroll, put away the spoils of war, and headed straight for Chiba in the forest.

Kakuzu simply enjoys carrying his spoils, and Chiba will be his new spoils!

"What did that look mean? Was he looking down on us?!"

After everyone left, Nawaki pointed at Kakuzu's retreating figure and cursed.

"I think I understand what Chiba is thinking."

Kosuke sheathed his sword and urged, "Let's get away from here as soon as possible, and then contact Konoha for reinforcements!"

"well!"

……

In the woods.

Chiba did not take off directly, but sped through the forest. He was certain that Kakudo would abandon Nawaki and the others and head straight for him, the more valuable prey.

He only performed the Shikigami Dance to make Kakuzu recognize him.

This way, he could use himself as bait to restrain Kakuzu, giving Nawaki and the others time to escape.

Swish!

Sure enough, a few breaths later, Chiba caught a glimpse of Kakuzu's figure behind him out of the corner of his eye, and it was getting closer and closer!

"Speaking of which, Kakuzu is practically the natural counter to the Dance of Paper," Chiba muttered to himself.

The Dance of Shikigami is quite unbeatable in most situations, but it is vulnerable to two things: first, those with anti-air or flight abilities; and second, large-scale elemental ninjutsu, such as Obito's "Pants-Pulling Frenzy" (Explosive Wind Dance) and Madara's "Great Fire Annihilation."

Kakuzu possessed both of these qualities; otherwise, why wouldn't Konan have dared to spend money recklessly when Kakuzu was alive?

(Kakuzu: How much do explosive tags cost?)

"But I'm not Konan after all. With my mastery of both ninjutsu and taijutsu, I should be able to go toe-to-toe with Kakuzu... right?"

Chiba thought to himself with some uncertainty.

He did carry a "protective charm" with him, but it's useless now. In Kakuzu's eyes, he's all about money. Nobody listens to money; they just want to put it in their pockets first.

Therefore, Chiba must first prove his strength before this "protective charm" can work.

Swish!

Kakuzu was getting closer and closer behind, and Chiba threw three kunai at him with his backhand, each of which was attached with an explosive tag and a poison sac.

"Hmph, Earth Release: Earth Spear!"

With a cold snort, his arms instantly turned black, and he actually met the attacking kunai head-on without slowing down.

boom! boom! boom!

Three explosive tags detonated in succession, filling the air with poisonous gas. However, Kakuzu's figure did not falter at all, flashing out directly from the purple poisonous mist and relentlessly pursuing Chiba at the same speed.

"A futile attempt. No physical attack can harm me!" Kakuzu said coldly.

Lightning Release: False Darkness!

Angle formed a hand seal, let out a low shout, and a white mask emerged from his shoulder, opening its mouth wide towards Chiba.

boom!

A burst of lightning erupted from the shade of the trees as two thunderous spears, imbued with terrifying energy, whistled out, leaving trails of electric arcs as they swept towards Chiba's back in a flash.

Faced with such a terrifying attack, Chiba naturally dared not take it head-on. He was just about to take off when he was suddenly startled.

"No, Kakuzu must have seen my intelligence. How could an old hand like him waste his time?"

"...He just wants to force me to take off!"

At the crucial moment, Chiba, as if guided by a divine inspiration, guessed Kakuzu's intentions.

Just as Kakuzu had information about him, Chiba, who had played with Kakuzu in the arena, also knew Kakuzu's skills.

If he were to take to the air now, Kakuzu could use Wind Release: Pressure to control him, and then easily take him down with any of his skills.

"Oh?"

Seeing that Chiba had abruptly stopped her ascent, Kakuzu raised an eyebrow, a hint of surprise in his expression.

"Earth Escape·Multiple Earth Current Walls!"

Having abandoned the idea of ​​taking off, Chiba had no choice but to turn around and stop in place. He formed hand seals and slammed his hands hard against the ground.

boom! boom! boom!

Because of the power of the Thunder Release: False Darkness, and in order to be on the safe side, Chiba raised three thick earthen walls in front of him in one go to block the incoming lightning.

Zizzi~

The lightning struck in an instant, piercing through the two earthen walls. At that moment, Kakuzu, who should have been far away from Chiba, suddenly appeared behind the earthen walls.

"Earthly Grudge - Tentacle Fist!"

Kakuzu's two arms exploded without a trace of blood, and, pulled by the black tentacles, slammed into Chiba like a missile.

"Konoha Style: Oborozukiyo!"

Faced with a steel fist powerful enough to pierce a human body, Chiba chose to draw his sword to defend himself, unwilling to use the Shikigami Dance lightly and give Kakuzu an opportunity to strike.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

In the blink of an eye, the blade collided with Kakuzu's fists several times. Kakuzu's physical skills were very strong. With the black tentacles connecting them, his fists sometimes acted like whips and sometimes like hammers, completely dominating Chiba.

"not good!"

After Chiba blocked Kakuzu's right fist, he suddenly caught a glimpse of the white mask on Kakuzu's shoulder opening its mouth wide once again.

At the same time, Kakuzu's left fist came from behind, trying to block Chiba's escape space.

"Spiral pills!"

Chiba reacted quickly, instantly forming a dumpling with his left hand and retreating while slamming it hard into Kakuzu's incoming left fist.

boom!

The Rasengan and the lightning exploded simultaneously. Just as the lightning swept towards the ground beneath Chiba's feet, Chiba barely managed to deflect Kakuzu's fist and used Shadow Step to dodge to another spot.

pat, pat.

Kakuzu withdrew his fists, not in a hurry to attack, and stared at Chiba with his turtle-like eyes.

"Your skill level is worthy of your reward, but your combat experience is far inferior to mine. I will send you to the gold exchange immediately."

"call……"

Chiba didn't speak, but let out a long sigh, feeling somewhat exhausted.

Fighting against a powerful opponent like Kakuzu is extremely demanding, leaving no room for even the slightest mistake.

In just a few minutes, he experienced life-or-death crises several times, and what had just happened was merely a simple test.

Next, once Kakuzu has figured out his level, he'll probably have to unleash his full power!

Crunch~crunch~

With a strange sound, two fleshy growths appeared on Kakuzu's body, followed by two white masks that rushed out and climbed onto Kakuzu's shoulders.

"Three masks... these are probably the strongest wind, fire, and lightning!"

Chiba's expression turned solemn. Kakuzu's wind and fire escape techniques covered an extremely wide area, and their terrifying scale could be described as a hurricane or a sea of ​​fire.

"With the Dance of Shikigami restricted, how can I stop Kakuzu when he's going all out, or even severely injure him?!"

Chiba's heart rate spiked, and his expression became more serious than ever before.

Chapter 83: Is there a reward for opening your heart?

"Even if I open the Eight Gates, it will be difficult to suppress my opponent in taijutsu. To gain the upper hand, I still need to make use of my strengths..."

In the woods, just as Chiba was pondering, Kakuzu on the opposite side moved. Time is money, and he has never liked wasting time.