https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-405-Fame-Throughout-the-Ninja-World/12558528/
Chapter 406: Mu Yue vs. Kakuzu
Chapter 406: Mu Yue vs. Kakuzu
Having confirmed his target, Kakuzu immediately set out for the Land of Rain.
Time was money for Kakuzu, and capturing Mu Yue sooner meant he could happily move on to his next target.
Upon entering the Land of Rain, Kakuzu began gathering intelligence on the ninja, Sosuke.
Although he wanted to complete his mission as soon as possible, Kakuzu wasn't about to rush in blindly. From the information he had gathered, his opponent seemed no pushover.
However, this task turned out to be much easier than he had anticipated.
Stories of Sosuke's exploits were widespread in the Land of Rain, and Kakuzu was able to gather intelligence just by walking the streets.
For instance, he learned about Sosuke's indiscriminate teaching of ninjutsu in the small village of Otsu, his mastery of three chakra nature transformations, and how he had schooled a powerful ninja who had doubted his abilities. He also heard about Sosuke leading a group of seventy-two ninjas around the Land of Rain, doing good deeds.
"A lucky, naive guy with a bunch of misfits," Kakuzu concluded after gathering this intelligence.
In his opinion, Mu Yue's actions were akin to those of a fool.
Teaching ninjutsu for free was just asking for trouble, bringing nothing but empty fame and no tangible benefits.
The ninjas taught by Mu Yue might feel grateful at the time, but those with thicker skins might not even bother to say thank you.
If all remained peaceful, perhaps they could coexist happily. But if danger arose, they would surely scatter and flee for their lives.
It would be better to charge for teaching, that way, he could at least make some money. Money was always reliable.
Kakuzu, who had once been betrayed by his village, could relate to this deeply.
He had risked his life on countless missions for his village, only to be met with accusations and punishment.
This was the reality he had witnessed in the village that raised him, and he didn't believe that the ninjas who had known Mu Yue for less than two months would be willing to risk their lives for him.
Thus, Kakuzu paid no heed to the seventy-two ninjas following Mu Yue. He believed that as long as he demonstrated his strength, those ninjas would be too scared to stand by Mu Yue's side.
If they were ninjas from a ninja village, even if their ninja levels were not high, Kakuzu wouldn't dare underestimate them. But a team composed of stray ninjas and weak ninja organizations was something Kakuzu truly didn't fear.
Kakuzu rarely bothered with opponents of this caliber, as they usually didn't have bounties on their heads. Killing them would be a waste of energy and serve no purpose.
With his intelligence-gathering complete, Kakuzu began his operation.
Since Mu Yue hadn't hidden his tracks, and their team had a large number of people, it was easy for Kakuzu to pinpoint their location. He quickly rushed over to launch an attack.
Mu Yue noticed the approaching Kakuzu and immediately threw an identification tag.
Name: Kakuzu
Chakra: 14,000
Skills: Earth Grudge Fear (Proficiency: 5100/15000), Lightning-style Chakra Nature Transformation (Proficiency: 3000/15000), Fire-style Chakra Nature Transformation (Proficiency: 2700/15000), Wind-style Chakra Nature Transformation (Mastery Level), Water-style Chakra Nature Transformation (Mastery Level), False Dark Lightning (Mastery Level), etc.
Mu Yue could only compare Kakuzu's stats to that of Sarutobi. He could be considered a second-hand, youthful version of Sarutobi.
With mastery over five chakra nature transformations and corresponding mastery-level ninjutsu, Kakuzu could indeed be likened to a young Sarutobi in terms of ninjutsu. However, the comparison ended there, as Sarutobi possessed a vast array of secret techniques, strong taijutsu, and a powerful summoning creature, the Monkey King: Enma.
"You all step back," Mu Yue said to the ninjas behind him.
Among the ninjas he had encountered so far, Kakuzu's strength was undoubtedly formidable, and Mu Yue knew he would have to bring out his full strength to fight him.
The ninjas were perplexed but trusted Mu Yue enough to retreat.
In the next moment, Kakuzu charged forward at full speed.
"Another bounty hunter motivated by money?" Yahiko frowned.
Although Kakuzu hadn't made a move yet, his arrival speed suggested he was no ordinary ninja.
"Yahiko, Nagato, Konan, you three keep a close eye on the others in the team," Mu Yue reminded them.
Although Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan were the youngest in the group, they were also the strongest.
The three nodded and warily watched Kakuzu.
"This is probably the legendary strongest black market assassin, Kakuzu. Many renowned strong ninjas have fallen to his hands, and he has even fought the God of Ninja," said a ninja, his face paling as he recognized the stitches on Kakuzu's arms.
Due to his training in Earth Grudge Fear, Kakuzu had high recognizability, especially if he wasn't wearing clothes that covered his entire body.
The ninja who shared the information about Kakuzu shook his head. How could he possibly know such details? He had only heard snippets of Kakuzu's exploits by chance once before.
Kakuzu paid no heed to the others and stared indifferently at Mu Yue. "It would be easier if you let me capture you willingly."
Since he would earn an additional five million ryo for a live capture, Kakuzu intended to take Mu Yue alive if possible.
After all, he took on black market missions for the money, and the more, the better.
Usually, Kakuzu was not one for idle chatter; he preferred to get the job done quickly.
"It would be easier if you willingly leave," Mu Yue replied with a faint smile.
Kakuzu frowned slightly. "Your naivety is misplaced."
Whoosh!
Kakuzu suddenly burst into action, his chakra erupting as he charged towards Mu Yue with lightning speed.
However, Mu Yue had already activated his Clairvoyance, easily seeing through Kakuzu's attack. He casually grabbed Kakuzu's fist, then punched him back, sending him flying ten meters away.
"You're quite adept at taijutsu?" Kakuzu probed, unmoved as he rubbed his abdomen that had been struck. He prepared to switch to ninjutsu.
While Earth Grudge Fear granted him exceptional resilience, Kakuzu was not foolish enough to engage directly in his opponent's forte.
As he activated Earth Grudge Fear, a multitude of black threads erupted from Kakuzu's back, forming a mask-like monster.
"What kind of ninjutsu is this?" Yahiko asked, turning to Nagato in confusion.
Since Nagato knew a wide array of ninjutsu, Yahiko would often consult him when encountering unfamiliar techniques.
However, this was before they met Mu Yue. Now, Yahiko would directly ask Mu Yue, but as he was currently engaged in battle, Yahiko turned to Nagato instead.
"I don't know either," Nagato shook his head.
He surmised that it was probably some obscure secret technique.
"Fire Release: Hard Work Pays Off!"
The red-mouthed mask monster opened its maw, condensing a substantial amount of chakra into what appeared to be a small fireball, which it then spat towards Mu Yue.
"Fire Release: Hard Work Pays Off!"
Mu Yue swiftly formed the necessary hand seals, gathering and converting a massive amount of chakra into fire-natured chakra. He then compressed and expelled it as a fireball, which was also relatively small in size but had a deeper hue than Kakuzu's.
Kakuzu was taken aback, not expecting Mu Yue to know this technique as well.
What happened next astonished him even more.
Hiss! Boom!
The two fireballs collided, igniting the compressed flames and instantly creating a sizable inferno that charred the ground.
However, Mu Yue's fireball clearly held dominance, effortlessly breaking through Kakuzu's flames and continuing to spread towards him as he retreated.
Kakuzu stared at Mu Yue, shocked.
His original plan had been for the mask to engage Mu Yue in a clash, creating an opening for his main body to strike.
He never anticipated that his fire release would be outdone by Mu Yue, and by such a significant margin.
Not only was Kakuzu astounded, but even the ninjas who had been following Mu Yue for over a month now wore expressions of surprise.
If Mu Yue hadn't instructed them to retreat earlier, they might have been engulfed by the terrifying inferno.
While Mu Yue had used Hard Work Pays Off before, its power hadn't been as formidable as it was now.
"Such fire release could probably burn down an entire forest," Shikamaru marveled inwardly.
Previously, Shikamaru had thought that he might have exaggerated Mu Yue's abilities, causing them trouble. But now, he felt that he might have still underestimated Mu Yue's strength.
Kakuzu swiftly retreated, summoning the water-attribute mask to spew a torrent of water, saving him from being roasted.
Kakuzu wiped the sweat from his brow and regarded Mu Yue with utmost seriousness. Mu Yue was arguably the second strongest opponent he had ever faced.
Without hesitation, Kakuzu unleashed the wind and lightning-attribute masks as well, refusing to underestimate his opponent any further.
"You all should move back a little more," Mu Yue said, turning back to address the ninjas behind him.
While his fire release could overpower Kakuzu's, his other elemental ninjutsu wasn't as overwhelmingly superior. He could still suppress Kakuzu with wind and water releases, but his lightning and earth releases were slightly inferior to Kakuzu's.
The ninjas obediently heeded Mu Yue's instruction and retreated further, with Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan moving back less to ensure they could support Mu Yue if needed.
Under Kakuzu's control, the wind and fire-attribute masks stood side by side and prepared to use their ninjutsu simultaneously.
A ball of wind and a ball of fire were spat out simultaneously, with the wind fanning the flames, instantly creating a vast sea of fire.
Muyue silently created a Shadow Clone, then had his original body use Fire Release, while his clone used Wind Release.
"Fire Release: Hard Work Pays Off!"
"Wind Release: Oppression!"
Once again, a fireball and a ball of wind were unleashed, with the wind intensifying the flames to create a terrifying blaze that rapidly engulfed Kakuzu's sea of fire.
Kakuzu: [...]
Kakuzu felt a bit numb, sensing that he was being toyed with. Muyue kept using the same ninjutsu as him, but with even greater power.
Kakuzu's main body and his Water-Style mask joined forces to barely hold off Muyue's sea of fire.
Fortunately, Kakuzu was a veteran ninja who had lived for over seventy years and had encountered all sorts of situations, so he remained calm.
He quickly devised a new battle plan: the Water-Style mask would distract Muyue, while his main body and the Wind and Fire-Style masks would look for an opportunity to strike.
His Earth Grudge Fear mask was much stronger than a regular Shadow Clone, and while it could die, it wasn't as fragile and easily shattered as a clone.
Indeed, Kakuzu's new strategy caused some trouble for Muyue, as Kakuzu's main body could also use the Earth Grudge Fear tendrils to interfere with him.
"How can I defeat Kakuzu using the least amount of chakra possible?" Muyue thought as he countered Kakuzu's attacks.
If he just wanted to win, Muyue had plenty of options.
With his perfect-level Fire-attribute chakra nature transformation and the Chakra Mode of the Breath of Flames, Muyue could catch Kakuzu off-guard and use his Fire Release to wipe out all of his masks with full force.
As long as he didn't use Fire Release ninjutsu on his body like Obito, he didn't have to worry about others discovering his Breath of Flames. They would only think that his Fire Release was ridiculously powerful.
Of course, such powerful techniques consumed a significant amount of chakra.
Muyue had chakra anxiety, feeling uncomfortable when his chakra levels dropped below fifty percent. He worried about encountering enemies like the Third Raikage, Third Tsuchikage, or Hanzo while his chakra was low.
So, Muyue wanted to use as little chakra as possible to defeat Kakuzu, conserving his strength in case of any unforeseen circumstances.
This was also because Kakuzu hadn't attacked Muyue's followers. Otherwise, Muyue would have aimed to defeat Kakuzu as quickly as possible to ensure their safety.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
Yahiko performed the necessary hand seals and spat out a water dragon that charged towards the Fire-Style mask.
"Uncle Sosuke, let's help you hold off some of those clones!" Yahiko shouted.
After witnessing the battle, he had gathered some information about Kakuzu, and with Muyue at a disadvantage, Yahiko felt the need to join the fight.
Konan also threw paper shuriken, while Nagato used Lightning Release ninjutsu in conjunction with Yahiko, transforming his water dragon bullet into a lightning-infused water dragon that was more powerful and had a paralyzing effect.
Not only Yahiko, but all the ninjas with long-range attack capabilities used their skills to target Kakuzu's masks.
However, due to a lack of coordination and practice, their attacks were chaotic and not very effective.
Muyue sighed softly. He had anticipated this, which was why he wanted to handle Kakuzu alone. It was difficult for several dozen strangers to work together effectively.
"Are you all so eager to die?" Kakuzu looked at the group of ninjas who had just attacked him, confused.
Seeing their strength and their boldness in facing him, he knew he wouldn't be able to defeat Muyue anytime soon, but he couldn't understand why they wouldn't at least try to flee instead of attacking him.
"Since that's the case, I'll finish you off first." Kakuzu controlled the Wind and Fire-Style masks to release a combination ninjutsu at the group of ninjas.
With this one attack, even if they weren't all wiped out, at least half of them would die.
In Kakuzu's opinion, there was little difference between half the team dying and the whole team being annihilated. After such heavy casualties, the remaining members would surely scatter and flee for their lives.
Suddenly, Kakuzu sensed a terrifying aura rising.
Muyue's breathing became extremely focused as the chakra burning within him provided a tremendous boost.
"Fire Dragon Dance!"
Muyue gathered a massive amount of chakra in his throat, and with the amplification of the Chakra Mode of the Breath of Flames, it was instantly transformed into powerful Fire-attribute chakra.
Muyue pretended to perform hand seals, then spat out an extremely intense and scorching flame.
Of course, Muyue, while in the Chakra Mode of the Breath of Flames, didn't need to perform hand seals, but he wanted to avoid exposing his secret.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
