I, Uchiha: Split Konoha

Chapter 277 A B-level mission worth 200,000 taels of silver? What are you risking your life for?!

The country of waves.

Kakuzu, standing on the bridge, watched as the three Jonin of Konoha were tempted by the bounty, yet he managed to resist.

But the old man protecting them was green with envy. Damn it, he finally managed to sneak out and take on a mission, thinking it would be easy, but he'd run into a tough opponent.

The bounty for a B-rank mission makes me take on the risks of an S-rank mission, damn it! More money! We absolutely have to pay more!

Fire Release: Head Carving

Wind Release: Pressure Damage

Just as everyone thought the hired ninja was about to leave when things went wrong, he suddenly launched a terrifying ninjutsu attack.

The towering flames surged forth, and most of the genin were stunned by what they saw. This was a terrifying ninjutsu that surpassed even the jonin level.

"let me!"

Just then, Karin shouted and formed hand seals, unleashing a terrifying ninjutsu with her surging chakra.

Water Escape·Water Formation Wall

Rumble~

Beneath the massive water barrier, the terrifying combination of ninjutsu was directly neutralized, and a huge cloud of water rose up.

Karin's water-style ninjutsu isn't particularly advanced, but its strength lies in its elemental advantage and the sheer quantity of chakra! Chakra is practically free.

Rumble~

"Watch out for enemy attacks!"

Several dark figures suddenly appeared in the mist, among them Kurenai Yuhi, who still remembered what had just happened. She sneered and formed hand seals.

Illusion - Dark Walk Technique

"This! This is a ninjutsu of the Second Hokage of Konoha!"

Kakuzu's masked clone originally intended to attack and draw away the enemy, but unexpectedly, the opponent used an illusion technique, and he was directly plunged into darkness.

As an old-timer, Kakuzu was so shocked that he directly revealed the existence of this ninjutsu.

Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet

Zabuza, standing to the side, also went berserk. Taking advantage of the favorable terrain, he unleashed a terrifying Water Dragon Bullet after forming only three hand seals.

Upon witnessing this, Kakuzu's earth-attribute masked clone exclaimed in shock, "This! Your Mist Ninja's Water Dragon Bullet requires forty-four hand seals! No! This is also the Second Hokage of Konoha's Water Release technique!"

Earth escape·Earth flow wall

Rumble~

The dazzling clash of various ninjutsu techniques left the inexperienced genin in awe.

Even Sasuke and Hinata, who had been trained beforehand, were somewhat shocked, as this was a rare clash of ninjutsu even among Jonin.

"Kakuzu, a rogue ninja from Takigakure, stole the village's secret technique 'Earth Grudge Fear', then killed all the high-ranking members and defected. He was a ninja who was active during the time of the First Hokage."

Suddenly, Kakashi appeared behind Kakuzu. The two stood back to back, neither of them turning around, but they could clearly feel each other's presence.

Kakashi spoke calmly, as if recounting an ordinary matter, while Kakuzu's face showed a solemn expression.

"Kakashi, once hailed as Konoha's most talented ninja, seems to have used the Sharingan's copy technique as an excuse. Your swordsmanship is the real strength."

At this moment, Kakuzu looked down and saw a wound on his chest, but his face showed no panic, only calmness.

"White Fang Sword Technique! Very powerful. I thought it had disappeared from the ninja world, but I never expected to see it today."

Kakuzu's body slowly turned into mud and water, and Kakashi was not surprised at all. He had sensed something was wrong when he felt the blade slicing through his flesh.

Swoosh~

As the mist dissipated, four terrifying black shadows burrowed into Kakuzu's body and merged with him. Only then did everyone realize that there was a hideous and terrifying black corpse in front of Kurenai Yuhi.

At this moment, cold sweat dripped from everyone's temples, especially from Momochi Zabuza, who had always looked down on Kurenai Yuhi. He fell silent, not even confident that he could kill her with a single blow.

Or rather, he doesn't have that ability.

Even Kakashi fell silent. Kurenai Yuhi had already mastered this ninjutsu, making her someone even he needed to treat with caution.

It's important to know that the Second Hokage's Dark Travel Technique was almost entirely designed to counter the Sharingan.

"I have underestimated you younger generations."

Seeing Kakuzu lose a heart, he couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache, but he still spoke coldly and arrogantly as a senior.

However, at that moment, the collar of his shirt suddenly ripped open, and a bead of cold sweat slid down his temple as the pretentious Kakuzu revealed a scratch on his collar.

The green eyes stared at Kakashi again, only to see the latter calmly sheath his White Fang short sword. At that moment, the two looked at each other and both knew what was going on.

That last strike was so close; if Kakuzu's earth clone had been even a fraction slower, it would have suffered the same fate.

It's important to know that Kakuzu is a veteran Kage-level ninja. As seen in the anime, he almost completely dominated Kakashi in both taijutsu and ninjutsu.

Keep in mind that this is Kakashi from the Shippuden era; his strength is definitely at the Kage level.

As a result, he was completely dominated throughout the match, which shows that Kakuzu's strength is definitely not weak.

Ultimately, their defeat stemmed from tactical shortcomings, not from a lack of strength.

"Kami no Yoru is really generous!"

At this moment, Kakuzu couldn't help but feel a surge of jealousy as he looked at the three people in front of him.

"The Mangekyou Sharingan fell into the hands of an outsider like you, and you not only didn't think about taking it back but also trusted it so much. You even taught the Second Mizukage's Water Release ninjutsu to a Jonin from Kirigakure. In this respect, it's no wonder that Shinnoyo is worthy of being the leader of two great ninja villages."

"No wonder Kirigakure and Konoha became so close after merging in just a few years."

Kakuzu felt a pang of envy and jealousy. If his village had had such a Kage back then, there would have been no need for him to be exiled in the ninja world.

However, Kakuzu was unaware that he hadn't mentioned Kurenai Yuhi in his statement, despite having achieved the greatest victory in the fight, yet he hadn't said a word about it.

Kurenai's face darkened, and she stared intently at the other person with a cold expression.

But she really had no choice. Whenever an enemy saw her, the first thing they would think of was Uchiha Yoru's woman. Even if she revealed her strength, the enemy would still look surprised.

As expected of a woman of the night!

It seemed as if she couldn't escape this vicious cycle, which made even the usually strong-willed Kurenai feel incredibly frustrated.

"Kakuzu, is it worth it for a few hundred thousand taels?"

Kakashi Hatake clearly didn't want to participate in this mission where the rewards were disproportionate to the effort. At the same time, after spending so many years with Yoru Uchiha, he still had the ability to talk his way out of anything.

Kakashi peeked out his lazy eye, looked at Kakuzu, shook his head and sighed, "A B-rank mission is worth at most 200,000 taels of silver. Why are you risking your life?"

Upon hearing this, Kakuzu also found it reasonable and nodded hoarsely, saying, "Kakashi, you're right. It's indeed not worth it for two hundred thousand taels."

Kado's task for him was only 200,000. He was thinking of making some extra money on the side, since assassination was much more lucrative than protection, and killing people could earn him money.

As a result, the loss of a Jonin's heart had already devastated him.

However, at that moment, the fog parted, revealing Kado's figure, along with a dense group of ninja, samurai, and others.

"Kakuzu, you piece of trash, why haven't you killed this old man yet? Bah! What kind of Black Market Mission Terminator is this? Is this all you've got?"

Good heavens, Kado's reckless and arrogant words caused a murderous glint to rise in Kakuzu's eyes.

Meanwhile, Kado, unaware of the danger, gazed arrogantly at his target in the distance and roared at the dark mass of people behind him, "Whoever kills this old man Tazuna will receive two hundred thousand taels!"

Hoo hoo~

Excited shouts instantly echoed across the bridge, while Kakuzu snorted coldly, called him an idiot, and then disappeared.

Ordinary people would have been terrified by the sight of the mad ninjas and samurai, their murderous aura palpable.

However, at this moment, Sasuke Uchiha sneered and stepped forward, "Hey, loser, I heard you studied with Jiraiya for a few years. Let me see your strength."

Naruto used to be the worst student in his class. Although the appearance of his shadow clones during the graduation exam had already proven him, Sasuke Uchiha still complained about it.

Upon hearing this, Naruto Uzumaki, who was being ostracized by everyone, let out an excited roar.

"You arrogant Sasuke, watch out for my power!"

Shadow Clone Technique

In an instant, hundreds of Naruto Uzumaki figures appeared densely on the bridge, while the ninjas rushing towards them roared wildly.

"Go! These are just ordinary clone techniques, they look intimidating, kill them!"

Because they hadn't witnessed the fierce battle, nor the strength of Kakashi's group, these frogs in a well thought it was just a bluffing ordinary clone technique.

As a result, they charged forward, shouting wildly. At the same time, hundreds of Naruto Uzumakis also roared excitedly and rushed forward, ready to unleash their fists and feet.

However, just as the others were preparing to make their move, and their Jonin leaders were ready to watch the show, Uchiha Sasuke stepped forward.

He reached out and stopped everyone, while Uchiha Sasuke revealed his arrogant and unruly eyes, looking evilly at Uzumaki Naruto.

"Hey, loser, so this is your true form, huh?!"

"Huh? Yes, what's wrong?"

At this moment, Naruto Uzumaki scratched the back of his head, looking puzzled. However, the next moment he saw a scene that angered him.

Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique

Sasuke Uchiha revealed a cold smile, as if taunting Naruto, and directly formed hand seals, spewing out a ball of intense and violent flames from his mouth.

A straight line passed by, and the raging, scorching fire dragon directly devoured all the creatures in front of it. Under Naruto's stunned gaze, all his shadow clones were caught off guard and turned into white smoke in the sea of ​​fire.

Ah ~

The screams lasted only a moment; under the intense heat of the flames, everyone was instantly suffocated and lost their life force.

"Sasuke!"

Under Naruto's angry and incredulous gaze and shout, Sasuke finally calmly stopped releasing his ninjutsu.

At this moment, the hundreds of charred corpses on the bridge were emitting a meaty aroma, while Uchiha Sasuke, as if nothing had happened, glanced at them indifferently and even snorted in disgust.

"A bunch of scum."

However, the next moment a fist swung directly at Sasuke's chin. With a thud, Sasuke caught it instinctively, but a surge of anger rose on his face.

"Naruto Uzumaki! What are you doing?!"

Enraged, Naruto Uzumaki stared at his fist being grabbed and roared furiously.

"How could you be so cruel! You wantonly slaughtered hundreds of people; they were all lives!"

"Are you crazy, you bottom-of-the-barrel guy? They're the enemy!"

"Damn Sasuke, all people need is mutual understanding..."

Faced with Naruto's long-winded speech, Sasuke Uchiha, in his anger, revealed a Sharingan with a single tomoe in his eyes as he stared intently at his opponent.

"You loser! You've wasted your life! These ninja and samurai only bring harm to the area. When no one hires them, they become bandits and robbers. All they do is rob, kill, and commit arson. Are you out of your mind?!"

"I cannot forgive you!"

Naruto Uzumaki angrily grabbed Sasuke Uchiha's collar. The atmosphere was extremely tense, and even Sakura couldn't help but feel afraid when faced with the angry Naruto.

"Naruto, release Sasuke now!"

However, the other squads of genin watched this scene with disdain. Even the kindest Hinata Hyuga muttered under her breath, "If we let them go today, they will slaughter even more innocent civilians in the future. Lord Yoru taught us the principle of killing one to save a hundred..."

Karin Uzumaki, seeing this, snorted disdainfully and quickly formed hand seals.

Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique

A terrifying, roaring water dragon appeared, startling Sasuke and Naruto into quickly separating to avoid it. Although the water dragon appeared menacing, it wasn't fast; rather, this seemed intentional.

Rumble~

The water jets washed over the bridge, restoring it to its original clean state. Meanwhile, Karin Uzumaki was grumbling to Sasuke.

"Sasuke, don't you know how much Lord Yoru works for the village every day? They might still have valuables on them, and you've destroyed them all with a single fire."

Faced with Karin's reprimand, Sasuke Uchiha lost his usual arrogance and could only nod obediently.

"Karin, I understand now."

Over the years, Sasuke has suffered a lot of beatings. Karin, who has no shortage of chakra, was a childhood nightmare for Sasuke. After Karin learned superhuman strength, she became even more terrifying.

Naruto, who had been left out in the cold, watched as everyone spoke of this matter so casually, which completely overturned his understanding of the situation. He stared at this scene in shock.

"Hey, Naruto, I really don't know how you've been getting around these past few years."

Kiba Inuzuka, with his carefree personality, walked over and shook his head as he looked at Naruto Uzumaki.

"Don't you know that there are so many bandits and outlaws in the ninja world who kill and burn countless civilians every year?"

Naruto wanted to say something more, but Kiba shook his head and said, "When you see a problem, you should not only solve it, but also find its root cause. It's written in Lord Yoru's book. Take a look."

"When these people are employed, they are ninja, samurai, and thugs; when they are not employed, they are bandits and mountain robbers who wreak havoc on the local area."

Naruto was stunned. Seeing the problem and solving it wasn't enough? He needed to find the root cause?

Kiba Inuzuka slowly took out a red-covered book from his ninja tool pouch and gently shook it in front of Naruto.

"Naruto, almost all of Yoru's ideas are in this book. Haven't you read any of it?"

Seeing Kiba Inuzuka's suspicious gaze, Naruto Uzumaki showed an embarrassed expression for the first time. He seemed to remember that Jiraiya-sensei had once told him to take a closer look.

But Naruto Uzumaki is thick-skinned, especially when it comes to humanities subjects, where he's practically clueless. How could he possibly study them?

Embarrassed, Naruto scratched his head and grinned foolishly, saying, "Kiba, I only saw the Third Hokage's Will of Fire back in the Ninja Academy."

Kiba Inuzuka was speechless at this point, and shook his head in disappointment. The contents of those few thin sheets of paper were all empty promises, and not a single one of them had been implemented.

It's not as informative as a flyer; it's completely devoid of substance and constantly misleads people.

Please support me.

(End of this chapter)