I, who just wanted to be lazy, was forced to become the Hokage.

Chapter 41 One mission, three rewards, a win-win situation for all three parties!

"The mission objective has been killed once, but the mission is not complete?"

Nara Rinka, who was using [Camouflage] to remain transparent, looked at the message that popped up on the panel with some confusion.

"But the important thing is... they even gave us an A-rank [Ninja Scroll]?!"

The battle situation is constantly changing.

Nara Rinkaku had no time to ponder the contents of the panel; he simply looked at Kakuzu.

His chest was pierced by the Spiral Shadow Piercing Bullet, revealing a huge gash around his heart.

Even Nara Rinka could see the scenery across the river through Kakuzu's wounds.

Kakuzu's body swayed slightly a few times, then he collapsed to the ground like a stone, and no more sound came out.

Watching Kakuzu's sincere and dedicated performance of feigning death, Nara Rinkei said he would give him a 9 out of 10.

I only damaged one of your hearts; you still have four.

You should still be able to jump around and be lively right now, instead of pretending to be dead. Stop faking it, old man.

Nara Lan Gui flicked his fingers a few times, wondering if he should take advantage of Kakuzu's feigned death and play along with his performance, then fire a few Spiral Shadow Piercing Bullets at Kakuzu's "corpse".

"no."

Nara Rinkazu thought to himself, and very rationally stopped what he was doing.

"I still can't determine what type of heart the one that was just destroyed was."

"If Kakuzu's earth-attribute heart still exists, given his previous ability to withstand Akimichi Choza's Human Bomber Chariot, the [Spiral Shadow Piercing Bullet] wouldn't be able to penetrate his surface defenses."

"Once the corners are specifically protected, the difficulty of destroying his heart will definitely increase dramatically!"

For Nara Rinka, the most suitable battle strategy at present is to cooperate with the Ino-Shika-Cho squad, which is launching a frontal assault, and to launch a surprise attack from the shadows.

Nara remained unmoved, embracing the cassia tree.

They didn't move an inch.

The sea of ​​fire created by Fire Release: Head Diligence dissipated into the air.

The opposing Ino-Shika-Cho team finally noticed the anomaly.

"What's wrong with that guy?"

Akimichi Choza withdrew his hands. After the direct collision with the sea of ​​fire, his palms were now charred black, the skin dry and cracked, with a few dark red blood streaks sticking to them, making them look extremely horrifying.

Clearly, after the head-on collision, Akimichi Choza's hands were badly injured.

"Was he slapped to death by the force of my Super Push Palm strike?"

Super Push Hands, an advanced secret physical technique of the Akimichi clan, can greatly enhance the power of physical attacks.

"Ding, your thinking is a bit too naive."

Nara Kano stared at Kakuzu, who lay motionless on the ground not far away, with a look of surprise and uncertainty in his eyes, and casually replied.

"Under normal circumstances, I might have laughed at this lame joke."

"But I can't laugh at an enemy of this caliber."

"Haiyi, assess the situation!"

"Yes, Uncle Kano."

Yamanaka Inoichi put aside his relief at surviving the ordeal and quickly used the Yamanaka clan's perception technique to investigate Kakuzu's situation.

"Something's not right, the other party just faked their death!"

"His chakra shows absolutely no sign of dissipating!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Yamanaka Inoichi detected the presence of another target.

He was about to shout, but then he realized his mistake and used the advanced secret technique of the mountain clan, "Perception Transfer".

Another ninja has appeared on the field, but he cannot be seen with the naked eye!

Given the urgency of the situation, Yamanaka Inoichi couldn't afford to conduct an in-depth investigation and could only focus on explaining the key points.

"Kakuzu's feigned death might be related to that ninja!"

"In this situation, the ninja who appeared here and seemed to be attacking Kakuzu... could he be his enemy?"

Nara Kano was unable to draw any effective conclusions for the time being.

But after what Yamanaka Inoichi said...

Kakuzu, who had been lying on the ground pretending to be a corpse for a long time, could only stand up awkwardly and casually take off his outer clothes.

"I never expected you guys to have such methods..."

Kakuzu threw off the oversized, dusty coat he was holding, revealing his true physique.

His body, as pale as a corpse, was covered with countless black stitches, and there was a huge gash in his chest, with black lines like worms constantly wriggling and converging at the wound.

Kakuzu feigned death, intending to launch a surprise attack when the enemy was careless and went to check the body.

To his utter surprise, neither side made a move.

These Konoha ninjas are far too cautious!

What was clearly a cautious tactic of feigning death to launch a sneak attack turned into a clownish act in this situation where neither side was making a move.

Even with Kakuzu's thick skin, he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.

Especially since he just boasted about having "invincible defense"...

"Kakuzu seems to have mistaken the attacker in the shadows for one of ours."

Nara Kano was constantly communicating in her mind.

"And to have his heart pierced, yet he didn't die... This guy really is a monster!"

"With the strength of the three of us, we can't hold off Kakuzu head-on for long... We need to create an opportunity for the attacker lurking in the shadows, just like we did before!"

Upon receiving the order, Yamanaka Inoichi and Akimichi Choza immediately agreed.

But at this moment, a sudden change occurred.

"Heh—"

A strange groan, like that of a dying man, came from Kakuzu's throat.

A huge shadow emerged from his back, the entire shadow composed of dense black lines, with a white mask with huge damage dotting the upper part of the black lines.

"Wait! Don't act rashly! Observe the situation first!"

Upon seeing this, Nara Kano instinctively called for a halt to the operation.

"Roar!"

The black-lined monster also emitted a strange sound.

It fell to the ground and crawled a short distance toward the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, a special black, oily substance flowing from its body. Then... it remained completely still.

"..."

And that's how he died!

It felt as if tens of thousands of alpacas were galloping through the minds of the mismatched pig-deer-butterfly trio.

But just as this black-lined monster was drawing attention,

Kakuzu had already condensed enough Wind Release chakra and seized the opportunity to unleash his ninjutsu.

"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"

The wind-style chakra, after undergoing a change in nature, transformed into a powerful high-pressure storm, surging out once again from in front of Kakuzu.

However, this time the target of the "Wind Release: Pressure Damage" attack was no longer the opposing Ino-Shika-Cho team, but the area around Kakuzu.

For Kakuzu, after the recent battle, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio no longer poses a significant threat.

The attacker lurking in the shadows is the real threat.

And the level of hatred is even higher!

Wind Release: Pressure Transformation into a powerful hurricane that swept across the entire area.

The Ino-Shika-Cho trio resorted to their old trick, retreating backward repeatedly to avoid the first wave of Wind Release: Pressure Damage's head-on impact.

Nara Rinka, who was still present, merely had a thought when faced with this level of wind-escape technique.

"Shadow Transformation!"

【Shadow Clone】Instantly transforms into a shadowy form without any physical form.

The storm swept past the shadows as if it were merely blowing through the air, causing no harm whatsoever.

Unaware of this, Kakuzu was not satisfied with the power of Wind Release: Pressure. He raised his hands and released it again—

"Fire Release: Head Carving!"

The wind fueled the fire, and the fire fueled the wind; the combined use of these two B-rank ninjutsu created a vast sea of ​​fire.

Faced with this situation, the Ino-Shika-Cho team could only retreat again and again; they had no way to withstand this level of fire-style ninjutsu.

However, for Nara Rinka, who possesses the ability of "shadow transformation," such flames can still be completely ignored.

The raging flames consumed everything, completely blocking the view.

"How's the situation over there, Inoichi?" Nara Shikano asked in his mind.

"The chakra formed by the mixing of Wind Release and Fire Release is too chaotic for me to perceive accurately at the moment."

"In that case, let's take this opportunity to create some distance," Nara Kano decided.

"Okay—wait, someone's rushing over there!"

Yamanaka Inoichi's timely warning caused Nara Kano and Akimichi Choza to tense up instinctively.

"Shadow Slap Technique!"

Nara Kano formed hand seals, and the thick shadows transformed into strong steel cables, connecting to Akimichi Choza beside him.

Meanwhile, Akimichi Choza was also mentally prepared to use the Expansion Technique.

"It's Kakuzu!"

Yamanaka Inoichi's voice resonated in their minds, simultaneously transmitting a sensory image.

Nara Kano, Akimichi Choza, and Yamanaka Inoichi worked together to instantly unleash the strongest combined secret technique of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio.

A meat yo-yo!

The Shadow Steel Cable of Nara Kano connected Akimichi Choza's humanoid tank, which slammed towards Kakuzu who was charging towards it like a yo-yo, with the force of an earthquake.

Faced with such a powerful attack, Kakuzu's pupils contracted slightly as he unleashed a ninjutsu he had been accumulating for a long time.

"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"

The Thunder Giant Gun and the Meatball Yo-Yo collided with each other, instantly unleashing a deafening roar.

And it was at this moment of stalemate between the two sides.

Another unpredictable Spiral Shadow Piercing Bullet was fired at the back of Kakuzu's armor, bursting forth at supersonic speed.

puff!

The Spiral Shadow Piercing Bullet effortlessly pierced Kakuzu's mask, taking his life once more.

You have obtained an A-rank [Ninja Scroll]!

At the same time.

The giant, thunderous spear that had collided with the fleshy yo-yo suddenly disintegrated into the air.

"Nani..."

Caught off guard, the corner was slammed hard into the ground by the fleshy yo-yo.

When Akimichi Choza was pulled back to Nara Kano's side, only a huge crater remained on the ground.

Bounty hunter Kakuzu, however, has vanished without a trace.

[Target detected has disengaged from combat. [Rank A Mission: Rogue Ninja Kakuzu] Lost]

Speedrun!

You've speedrunned the [Rank A Mission: Rogue Ninja Kakuzu]!

You have obtained a Grade B [Ninja Scroll]!

Regarding the "meat yo-yo"...

Don't criticize the name.

[Single volume, 66 volumes, 633 chapters].

Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino, and Akimichi Choji.

Using a combination of Shadow Slap Technique, Expansion Technique, and Sensory Transfer, he unleashed the "Human Bouncing Yo-Yo" combo attack, wiping out 25 Ten-Tails clones in one strike...

This is actually comic book content.

Of course, regarding the issue of the disastrous power spikes during World War IV...

Ashin couldn't explain it.

(End of this chapter)