Cold-hearted

With Gaara still stuck inside his own mind, Rasa fought two opponents at once.

The current Kazekage, known for being able to beat the one-tail into submission, was giving the Akatsuki a proper fight. The ninjas aiding him now and then all stared in admiration at their ruler's power, chanting his name with vigor.

(AN: Here, Rasa holds a significant geographical advantage. I suspect that Orochimaru employed deceitful tactics to kill him.)

Kakuzu started to grow tired of fighting this useless battle. What would they gain from this meaningless confrontation?

Nothing.

The mission only required them to scout out the village's current economic situation and return to make a report. Messing with Rasa was something that he would rather avoid at all costs. Although he knew that Rasa couldn't kill him, these weren't the most favorable of conditions; Not to mention that his partner was a lost cause.

"Crap! Oy, give me a hand you bast*rd!"

Kakuzu's jade-like eyes shifted away from the incoming sand, as he glanced over at Denki. The gold-dust had consumed half of his body, making him unable to move an inch. Seeing this, his expression became icy and he sped over to his associate... Reaching him in the blink of an eye.

"Perfect! Now pull me out of this junk you dumb zo-"

Incapable of finishing his sentence, he coughed out warm blood. It trickled down from his lips, reaching his chin before landing on the sand. Looking down, he saw only half of Kakuzu's arm; The rest was right where his heart used to be.

His eyes started closing as his vision faded. Not believing his current situation, he stared at the hawks in the sky and spat out some last words.

"So this is where it all ends... Well, at least I'll be able to see you again, mas-"

With Denki's words were cut short once more, Kakuzu yanked his arm out of his chest and retrieved a throbbing heart. He devoured it with his hair before dodging an incoming attack from the Kazekage. Landing on top of a tower, he looked at Rasa right in the eye and spoke a few words.

"I should head back now. Sorry, but our business here is ove-"

This time it was his turn to have a sentence cut short; He started to feel scorching pain from his left hand, which was carrying the unconscious body of Gaara. Shifting his gaze from Rasa, he witnessed a massive amount of red-colored chakra starting to coat the boy. The skin on his hand began peeling off, and he let go.

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Regaining consciousness, I felt warm chakra flow through my body. My mind started filling up with thoughts of murder, which I suppressed by gritting my teeth... Before I could do anything though, I heard a soft jingle sound in my head.

『 System notification: Quest available.

Description: Escape from Kakuzu with the aid of Shukaku's chakra.

Reward: 1500 EXP and 30 points 』

A quest... Who cares! I might die here!

Breathing deeply, I allowed the chakra to consume my body. A crimson cloak encapsulated me as my pupils shifted and became star-shaped; My teeth grew sharper and strange tattoos started to appear all over my skin, glowing with a sinister blue light.

The cloak quickly grew in size and started vaguely assuming Shukaku's body structure. A single tail grew behind my back and short ears sprouted above my head instead of Kurama's massive ones.

The biggest change was inside my brain. Although I could still think normally, due to the vast influx of Shukaku's chakra, my body was running on semi-auto pilot. It seemed like I could still give it orders, but it acted how it wanted. I wonder if I can practice controlling this form better in the future...

As all of those changes were happening in my body, Kakuzu let go of my collar and I fell on the ground with a thud.

All eyes on me, I gradually got into an animal-like posture with my hands and feet on the ground. Looking up at a surprised Kakuzu, I started gathering air inside my lungs. The sand in the vicinity converged right in front of me and formed hundreds of microscopic needles that wavered in the air.

"GRAAAH!"

Howling, I blasted out an enormous wind current that launched the needles towards Kakuzu at startling speeds.

Reacting swiftly, Kakuzu covered himself with hair and prevented my attack from hitting him. When he lowered his defenses, the fact that I had disappeared shocked him. Not waiting for him to retaliate, I employed all of the power in my arms and legs as I strode in Rasa's direction like a beast.

My father stared at me with disappointed eyes and sent a wave of sand my way, while keeping his attention on the now escaping Kakuzu. Feeling anger well up in my stomach, I looked at him and yelled at the top of my lungs.

"Father! I am in fine! There's no need to use force... Shukaku hasn't seized control!"

As if shaken by my words, Rasa turned his head towards me and stopped the sand. He observed me silently, deciding whether he should believe me or not. After some hesitation, he sighed and returned his attention onto Kakuzu. The sand that was hovering above me had now scurried back in his direction.

Well, even he can listen sometimes... Or so it seems.

"I want someone to take him to the shelter and keep an eye on him. Go!"

Raising his arm, Rasa signaled for an Anbu to take care of me. He bowed and flickered before appearing at my side.

Feeling my mind cool off from the adrenaline rush, I concentrated on stopping the flow of Shukaku's chakra; To my surprise, it didn't resist and quietly returned to my abdomen. The cloak disappeared, returning my body to normal.

Was this Shukaku's doing?

The Anbu looked startled, even though he was wearing a mask. Ignoring him, I spoke in an annoyed tone.

"Which way."

He looked a little annoyed but pointed in a certain direction before taking me to the shelter. Sorry, I'm not in a positive mood right now. My own father just raised his hand against me. Well, it would be sand in this case.

(AN: Anbu POV: 'Damn brat, bossing me around like that... If it wasn't for his father I'd... Whatever. Orders are orders.')

On the way there, I heard the system's jingle once more.

『 Congratulations. Quest completed. Rewarded with 1500 EXP and 30 points.』

『Congratulations. The host has reached level three. Do you wish to open the shop?』

Oh, I had forgotten about that... Of course, I want to open the shop!