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

Chapter 159 Mr. Kakuzu, are you interested in becoming my minister?

As Kakuzu was about to emerge from the dense forest, his view gradually widened, and he could see several evergreen hills in the distance, as well as the scattered villages and towns among them.

As long as he can slip out of the sight of the Takigakure ninjas behind him and blend in, his stealth abilities will allow him to shake off these stalkers...

But at that moment, an incredibly dense fog surged from behind, instantly engulfing the surroundings and causing Kakuzu's dark green pupils to freeze.

The distant low hills and houses, which were barely visible, turned into a vast expanse of white, everything shrouded in thick fog, making it difficult to distinguish between reality and illusion.

"Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique?"

Worried about losing his way or falling into a trap, Kakuzu stopped and stood on a tree, looking up with a serious expression. The open view in front of him was blocked, and the visibility was less than a meter.

Moreover, the thick fog was not pure white; it contained some dark purple hues.

Although the breath was faint and difficult to detect, Kakuzu, who was already breathing slowly, noticed it and held his breath before inhaling.

It seems that it's not just the Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique that Kirigakure is good at, but the Water Release: Poisonous Hidden Mist Technique that Takigakure and the others are good at?

puff!

Countless black threads, like living tentacles, were awakened, twisting and breaking through his skin and emerging from behind his clothes.

As the countless flying threads surged, two monsters wearing similar white masks appeared on the shoulders of the figure, representing the wind and fire attributes of the heart, respectively.

"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"

The masked monster with blue stripes on its right shoulder and the corner of its mouth opened its mouth, and wind-style chakra was compressed and released.

hum! !

Like a howl emanating from the masked monster's mouth, the hurricane, after a violent contraction and burst, transformed into a gale that swept across most of the dense jungle in front of it!

However, Kakuzu's face turned ugly as he watched the poisonous fog quickly fill up again after being dispersed by the hurricane, and he spat out black lines from his mouth.

"Does the guy leading this group have a grudge against me? Or did I kill some of his relatives or friends...?"

While the foggy nature of the jungle environment plays a role, to achieve this level of skill would require at least several Jonin-level Takigakure ninjas, who would unleash their full chakra without restraint.

Clearly, the other side was determined to keep him there, even if it meant using people to resist.

"Then give it a try, you overconfident fool."

After realizing the determination of the group of pursuers from Takigakure Village behind him, Kakuzu's already furrowed brows deepened even further, and the fire-attribute masked monster on his left shoulder opened its red mouth.

"Fire Release: Head Carving!"

The fire-attribute masked monster spat out tongues of fire, and a vast expanse of flames, like a tidal wave, landed and instantly expanded to engulf everything around it, spreading out like waves surging in the ocean.

Wherever it passed, the vast swathes of poisonous fog were swept away by the terrifying heat wave, revealing towering trees that had been ignited and were now gradually spreading with the fire, as well as the charred ground that had been eroded and swallowed by the fire.

However, Kakuzu showed no joy at the sight before him.

The flames gradually dissipated in the air, and a large number of sparks fell like a swarm of fireflies. His dark green pupils pierced through the air distorted by the high temperature and looked at the Takigakure ninjas standing in the distance with their hands forming hand seals.

In the dense jungle, a gentle, nourishing rain enveloped the entire area, settling on Kakuzu's shoulders.

—Water Release: Cutting Rain.

This is a secret technique that can weaken all ninjutsu and chakra except for water-style ninjutsu. When used by several Takigakure ninjas together, it can suppress other elemental ninjutsu to their weakest level.

Feeling the attack weakened several times over, Kakuzu couldn't help but feel annoyed: "If I had known I would encounter this kind of trouble, I should have kept that Iwagakure rogue ninja's water-attribute heart."

The rogue Iwagakure ninja he sent to the gold exchange had acquired his Earth Release chakra nature transformation through training; his innate chakra nature was actually Water Release.

He had previously disliked the water-attribute heart, deeming it rubbish, which was why he hadn't replaced it with the new one and instead sent it intact to the gold exchange to collect a larger bounty.

At his peak, he possessed five hearts. He also mastered five chakra nature transformations: Fire Release, Earth Release, Water Release, Lightning Release, and Wind Release. As long as his five hearts were not destroyed, he would not die.

However, he has not replaced his water-attribute heart with the one he previously possessed. Apart from the lightning-attribute heart that he lost, he now only has fire and wind hearts, as well as his original earth-attribute heart.

No, even if we had replaced it with that water-attribute heart, it wouldn't have made much of a difference.

Because these Takigakure ninjas were far too well-prepared, with several Jonin-level ninjas who worked together seamlessly, each specializing in sensory perception, taijutsu, ninjutsu, genjutsu, and so on.

This is hardly the configuration for a squad hunting down rogue ninjas; it's clearly a force configuration for a surprise attack in war. Using it to deal with a single rogue ninja is a waste of its potential!

"If Takigakure is really targeting me, such an obvious personnel relocation could not have escaped the notice of my spies in Takigakure."

Kakuzu's eyes flickered as he thought to himself, "So, these guys weren't here for me at all; I just had bad luck and ran into their trap."

"Is their real target the Mountain Kingdom?"

"No, it should be Kagerou Village!"

It was precisely in this sub-peak state that he encountered the Takigakure force, which consisted of over a hundred men preparing to launch a surprise attack on Kagerou Village. The leader of the force had a grudge against him, and upon seeing him, he disregarded everything and led his men to turn their spears against him.

This is incredibly bad luck.

Kakuzu, who understood everything, couldn't help but twitch his eye.

"Kakuzu!"

Just then, the blue-haired Takigakure, who was leading the group at the front, suddenly spoke up, shouting, "If you don't want to die, hand over the Earth Grudge Feast immediately and come back with us to face judgment!"

Should I go back to Takigakure Village with you to face trial?

Can an unjust trial be called a "trial"?

That's clearly just vigilante justice driven by profit; once all the remaining value has been squeezed out, it will be discarded!

Sensing the hatred in the other person's tone, which could not be concealed despite their efforts to suppress it, Kakuzu's dark green eyes revealed a cold smile that was neither self-mockery nor sarcasm.

"These kids these days are getting more and more arrogant."

Kakuzu's voice was hoarse and cold as he looked at the blue-haired Takishino in the distance and sneered, "No wonder you look familiar. I recognize you. Your father is that guy who plays with souls, isn't he? Same blue hair, same face."

"He was so proud of learning the soul technique passed down in Takigakure, but I killed him with a single strike when his soul left his body. It's such a shame that I couldn't see his expression when he faced his own torn body."

"You probably don't know this, but your father, who is so proud and arrogant in front of others, is actually terrified of death. Every time he makes a move, I have to be there to watch over him. I wonder if he's become a homeless ghost..."

Upon hearing Kakuzu's disrespectful and insolent remarks about his father, the blue-haired Takigakure, who had been forcibly suppressing his hatred, suddenly erupted, roaring, "I'll kill you!"

"If you can do it!"

Kakuzu, whose body was brimming with chakra, retaliated, and the two masked monsters on his shoulders opened their mouths wide at the same time.

By combining the fire-attribute masked monster and the wind-attribute masked monster, and using Fire Release: Head Carving and Wind Release: Pressure Damage simultaneously, the wind fueled the fire, transforming it into a vast sea of ​​flames.

"Composite Ninja Technique: Strange Face Explosive Flame!"

boom!!

This attack was several times more powerful than the previous ones, and faint cries of agony could be heard amidst the scattering of flames.

Clearly, when faced with the raging fire and the immense wind pressure, the Takigakure ninjas who were hiding nearby waiting for an opportunity were unable to dodge in time and were directly swept into it, turning into blackened, charred corpses.

"Water Release·Water Formation Wall!"

Once the Takigakure ninjas realized what was happening, they immediately formed hand seals and spewed water from their mouths to create a massive water wall in front of them, intercepting the surging, terrifying tide of fire.

Fire and water caused white steam to rise and cover the surroundings, making the already invisible fog even thicker.

However, it also diluted the chakra of "Water Release: Poison Mist Concealment Technique," causing the Takigakure ninja, who were originally able to clearly sense it, to become flustered for a moment.

"Wind Release: Typhoon Passes!"

The blue-haired ninja spewed out a violent hurricane, blowing away most of the fog that was originally very difficult to dispel, and saw the fire-attribute masked monster left behind.

The black giant wearing a red mask is composed entirely of black threads, yet it can detach from Kakuzu's body to form an independent entity for attack.

"That traitor Kakuzu actually mastered the Earth Grudge Fear to this extent?!" Blue-haired Takishinobu's face immediately darkened, and a trace of jealousy rose in his heart.

Such a powerful secret technique—if it hadn't been stolen by Kakuzu, how could Takigakure have fallen to this state, barely surviving on its past glory and resources?

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The fire-attribute masked monster made a crackling sound, spewing out not a sea of ​​fire but fireballs instead.

The fireballs were far less powerful than the sea of ​​fire, but they were faster and more numerous, cutting through the air as they headed towards the Takigakure ninja.

Watching the figure fleeing into the distance, hidden in the thick fog, the blue-haired Takigakure realized that the other party was trying to slow down their pursuit with indiscriminate attacks, and quickly ordered, "Don't get entangled with this thing."

"Stay in small teams of three, the rest of you come with me to chase Kakuzu!"

Based on his information and understanding of Earth Grudge Fear and Kakuzu, the power of using all five elemental chakra techniques simultaneously is terrifying, but a masked monster with only one element is not so scary.

A monster that only knows fire-style ninjutsu can be suppressed with ninjutsu of the opposite chakra nature, so it is not a threat at all.

Regardless, Kakuzu's body must be brought back today to comfort his father's spirit in heaven!

Boom boom boom!

Several people were sent to hold back the fire-attribute masked monster, while the blue-haired Takigakure ninja led the remaining Takigakure ninja in pursuit.

No longer concerned about disturbing the people of Yangyan Village, they equipped all their kunai with explosive tags.

Even though Kakuzu had hardened his body using Earth Release: Earth Spear, he still felt waves of tremor pain after being hit by the blast waves repeatedly.

The kunai posed no threat to him, but the kunai falling like raindrops were accompanied by extremely powerful explosive tags. Even if his hardened skin could block them, they would still cause his internal organs to resonate and tremble.

hum! !

The wind-attribute masked monster let out a sharp shriek behind it, sending the incoming explosive tag kunai flying.

Even so, Kakuzu could clearly sense that the sensory ninja was still locking onto him.

Explosive tags were constantly exploding around me, and I couldn't hear anything else because of the constant buzzing in my ears.

Sensing that his chakra was about to be depleted and that several gusts of evil wind were coming from behind him, Kakuzu could only turn around and raise his arms to block them.

boom!!

Multiple explosive tags shattered and exploded in front of him, blasting away the stone-hard arm.

Kakuzu was sent flying backward from the smoke and dust, using the impact of the explosion to create distance. He rolled several times on the ground in a somewhat disheveled manner until he crashed into a tree and came to a stop.

"Ahem!"

Looking at his empty arms, now only covered by waving black threads, and the wind-attribute masked monster on his shoulders that was gradually withering away, Kakuzu's tightly furrowed brows and constricted pupils gradually relaxed.

With only his two hearts, Wind and Earth, remaining and his personal information exposed, he lacks sufficient chakra to break through the encirclement, facing a truly deadly predicament.

But it doesn't matter.

Kakuzu's dark green pupils remained calm as he watched Taki Shinobu approaching from afar.

From the moment I embarked on this solitary path, I was prepared to be killed.

Compared to the impending death before him, Kakuzu only felt a little regretful that he hadn't been able to complete the mission worth hundreds of millions.

This is a stain that is hard to erase for someone who has a 100% mission completion rate.

"Seize this traitor and cut off his hands and feet."

Blue-haired Takishinobu stood on the tree, looking down at him.

Seeing Kakuzu alive despite his injuries, the deep-seated jealousy in his eyes was almost impossible to conceal. He said coldly, "I'd like to see how he tries to escape this time!"

"yes!"

Several Takigakure ninja behind him responded and instantly appeared under the tree, within a few meters of Kakuzu.

As one of them took a step forward, Kakuzu suddenly raised his lowered head, his eyes filled with the murderous intent of a trapped beast, and the masked monster on his right shoulder opened its mouth.

"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"

hum! !

A bloody storm surged in like a hurricane, causing the ground in front of them to tremble and crack.

The first person to step out, Taki, was swept into the hurricane, which resembled a meat grinder. Even his voice was buried within it, and he was reduced to flesh and blood, and the mist was completely dispersed.

Upon seeing this, the other Takigakure ninjas' expressions changed. They withdrew their steps before they could take them and threw out the kunai with the explosive tags attached.

"This time we've been completely driven to the brink of despair."

Kakuzu's calm pupils, like the still surface of a clear green lake, clearly reflected the several explosive tags that were being fired at him.

He was still desperately trying to extract as much chakra as possible, attempting to drag a few more people down with him before he died.

However, in the next moment, Kakuzu suddenly felt a chilling wind from above, as if a mountain of immense weight was collapsing down, bringing with it a suffocating pressure.

boom!!

The blinding light of the explosion enveloped everything, but the force of what was hitting the ground shattered the ground within a hundred meters.

It was as if a giant had slammed his fist onto a table called "Earth," and the lush trees were shaken and tilted like models on the table.

"Compared to the explosive tags of Yangyan Village, your explosive tags are nothing."

A hoarse, violent voice echoed from the smoke and dust of the explosion.

Kakuzu, using the flickering firelight, could make out the exaggerated figure, over two meters tall, that was barely visible. The shadow of the terrifying back muscles that couldn't be concealed was enough to evoke a primal fear even from a corner of it.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Kakuzu."

Just as Kakuzu was stunned and lost in thought, a gentle, yet untimely voice suddenly rang out beside him.

He subconsciously turned his head to look, only to be met with a pair of deep blue eyes, full of amusement and a smile.

At some point, Yun Chuan, with his arms resting on his knees, squatted down next to Kakuzu and said with a smile, "Interested in becoming the Minister of my Finance Department?"

(End of this chapter)