Naruto: I, the villain template, was hailed as a savior.

Chapter 152 Konan's Gift, Kakuzu's Creed

Yun Chuan gently raised his right hand, and syllables came out of his mouth.

Then, a fire rose before him, and a perfect, flawless ring nestled in Yun Chuan's outstretched palm, like a small sun.

The rain and light have never felt so vividly.

The next moment, a sound like shattering glass seemed to ring out in the air, but what shattered was not glass, but the flames compressed to their limit in front of Yun Chuan.

"Hado No. 31: Red Fire Cannon".

As the indifferent decree was issued, the sun shattered, and a tide of flames surged forth.

boom!!

The deafening explosion swept away the rain around Yun Chuan, and the terrifying impact caused the ground beneath his feet to crack, lifting his bangs to reveal his deep blue eyes.

Behind him, the strong wind and heat almost blew the thin Yahiko away. Fortunately, Yoru reached out and hugged him tightly, but even at close range, the wind distorted his face!

"What is this?!"

Mei Yu had already dodged behind the wall the moment Yun Chuan began to sing, thus avoiding being thrown around by the aftershocks.

However, like Yahiko and the others, the oppressive heat wave distorted the air as if it were a physical force, rushing towards them like an invisible hand of fire choking their throats, causing them to instinctively hold their breath.

His pupils trembled slightly as he stared intently at the scene, imprinting it into his mind.

The crimson flames resembled a mighty torrent, their light dividing the two sides into distinct spaces.

The massive tongues of fire that spewed out in front of Yun Chuan unleashed a torrent of flames towards the Sand Ninja in the distance, instantly evaporating the continuous rain curtain, as if the burning river water was dyed the world-burning red.

"ah!!"

Before the surging flames, the light illuminated those faces filled with terror, their mouths agape as they uttered cries and screams.

Then, the fire, carrying intense heat and impact, engulfed Hiruko and the Sand Ninja.

The shadowy figure, appearing and disappearing in the flames, struggled desperately, seemingly embracing itself and dancing wildly.

The torrential rain was instantly evaporated into a large amount of gas, and a thick white fog enveloped the entire area in a moment.

But soon, the dense fog was blown apart by the flame pressure, and after the fog was filled again by rain and strong winds.

Behind Yun Chuan, everything was intact, but the area in front of him, which had been engulfed by the fire, was now "empty," leaving only a patch of scorched earth.

The burst of concentrated shock and high-temperature fire waves plowed a one-meter-deep gash in the ground, revealing several skeletal remains that, though charred black, still retained an astonishing residual heat.

The largest figure, nearly three meters tall, had its black robe reduced to ashes, leaving only a puppet covered in mechanical gears standing in place.

Sizzle! Sizzle!

Rain poured down on the charred puppets, still making sounds and releasing white mist.

"Hiss! Cough cough!"

Yahiko instinctively gasped for breath, but instead inhaled a strange and tempting aroma of meat, which instantly turned his pale face ashen.

However, he quickly suppressed the surge of heat that was rising in his throat.

But at that moment, the eerie voice of "Night" came from behind him: "This smell... reminds me of that newly opened shop in the city sponsored by Lord Yun Chuan, the ridiculously expensive beggar's chicken."

"Take off that metal shell, the meat is firm, chewy and springy, sprinkle some cumin and chili, and it's ready to serve."

"...I can't take it anymore, ugh!"

Yahiko's face, which had turned from deathly pale to ashen, turned pale again. Whether intentionally or not, he opened his mouth, turned his head, and vomited onto "Yoru" behind him.

"..." Looking down at the things on her body, "Night" couldn't help but have a few black lines appear on her blood-stained face.

"Ahem, stop teasing that kid."

At this moment, Mei Yu walked over from behind, looked up at the corpses and the money boxes that had been perfectly avoided, and said, "Hurry up and load the things onto the ship, we still have a journey ahead."

Upon hearing this, Yahiko, who was leaning over and vomiting while supporting his thighs, seemed to remember something, suddenly raised his head, and sighed, "Oh right, we still need to get there before Takigakure destroys Kagerou Village, otherwise the gift that the boss prepared for Konan will be nowhere to be found."

--------

Meanwhile, within the Land of Grass at this very moment.

A dilapidated toilet overgrown with weeds, a place that no one would ever visit unless they were desperate, was the location of a branch of an underground money exchange.

Bang! !

A man wearing a mask and a Takigaku headband threw the corpse he was dragging in front of the person in charge.

The dull sound made a flicker of pleasure in his green pupils, as if he were carrying not a corpse, but a heavy box full of money.

"A-rank rogue ninja wanted by Iwagakure, bounty: ten million ryo."

The person in charge was clearly used to this situation. He expertly pulled out a booklet from his pocket, briefly compared it with the corpse's intact face, then looked up at the silent man in front of him and smiled:

"As expected of Mr. Kakuzu, the corpses are always so intact, saving us a lot of trouble."

After saying that, he took a black leather case from the counter and respectfully pushed it in front of Kakuzu.

As one of the top bounty hunters, Kakuzu enjoys unparalleled prestige in the black market. Every time he completes a bounty mission, the black market will advance the bounty to save him time in redeeming it.

But Kakuzu still opened the box on the spot, his dark green pupils appearing even deeper as the green banknotes were reflected in them, and he reached out to count them one by one.

Looking at the line of bounty hunters behind him, the person in charge sighed helplessly, "Mr. Kakuzu, you're already a regular customer. You don't need to count them out one by one in front of me every time, do you?"

"No." Kakuzu counted the money without looking up, his voice booming, "In this world, only money can be trusted."

Money will not betray him, and he will not betray money.

Money is his only true friend; everything else is utter nonsense.

This is the lesson he learned after being ruthlessly abandoned by the higher-ups of Takigakure and wandering the ninja world alone for decades, and it is also the life motto he adhered to as a bounty hunter.

And so, amidst the rustling sound of money notes rubbing together, the captain finished counting all the money in the money box.

However, after the first repetition, Kakuzu frowned slightly.

Then, under the helpless gaze of the person in charge, he actually started counting a second time.

After counting the money three times, he sighed, pulled out a bill, and slapped it on the counter in front of the person in charge, saying, "There's a hundred taels too much. Remember to count it carefully next time."

After saying that, he closed the box again with satisfaction and was about to turn around and leave when he heard the person in charge behind him speak.

"Mr. Kakuzu, we have a big order. Would you like to consider it?"

Upon hearing this, Kakuzu paused halfway with his foot, then slowly withdrew it, turning around to stare at the person in charge with his calm, dark green eyes.

"...A big order?"

Only after staring at the person in charge until he broke out in a cold sweat did he speak in a muffled tone, his voice cold, "You'd better pray it's really 'big' enough."

(End of this chapter)