Remember the name

"Alright big guy, if you want to dance I'm game but let's take it away from here. I don't want to set off all the fucking Exploding Tags Zangei has set up. I like my ass as it is I don't want to see it flying away." Ringo spoke out with a fierce look even if her words were ridiculous.

I did feel a cold sweat going down my back. I did not think Zangei would have something like that set up but it made a certain amount of sense.

If you knew you were walking into the jaws of a beast people are less likely to do something stupid. It is safety in audacity. No wonder he had the balls to snark back at Ringo.

Fucking crazy ass ninja.

Kakuzu just snorted at the potential threat but followed Ringo with out much fuss. The fucker could survive the nuking but he would not risk it either.

If he did he would not have a good place to gather money. That was just not an acceptable consequence so Kakuzu would not even think about trying that.

"Do you think you can take him with me boosting you or should we just make a break for it?" I asked Ringo mentally as we walked. I figured we could take him but I am being a bit cocky.

Ringo knows every little trick Kakuzu can do. Information is a powerful tool in battle. That fucking dumbass Hidan could kill a large number of people because of his skills.

Once people figured out what he was doing he was as good as dead. Shikamaru is a cool guy but he had no business taking on a S-Rank Ninja.

"Eh, It's a bit of a coin toss. I could only handle him with you on my back and that's just asking for shit to go wrong. Not much point in killing him if I lose you. I do want to take at least one heart from him before we retreat. Can't have people thinking they could fuck with me after all." Ringo sent back a surprising answer back.

She was right about this being risky but a part of me wanted the sweet loot we would get if we killed him. We could also gain a massive amount of experience. Even Ringo would Level up a few when fighting someone like Kakuzu.

I let out a mental sigh. I was letting my greed get to me again. Still, maybe Ringo was underestimating us. I'll rig the game as much as I can and we will see how things turn out.

We finally reached a nice open area for the fight. Kakuzu was watching us like a hawk waiting for us to try to run. He was not the type of person to let prey leave his claws after all.

"Stall him as much as you can. I want to set up a shit ton of traps. We still might not be able to kill him but we can certainly hurt him." I sent another message to Ringo and she just gave a subtle nod.

I started spreading out my Mana engraving runes all over the place.

"You want to send the brat away? He ain't got no bounty so he is a non-factor." Kakuzu offered rather kindly. I blinked as that was not something I would expect from him. I figured he would just use me as a weakness to exploit.

"Ha, that's a fucking joke. Someone like you would not leave any loose threads. Makes bad business when traumatized kiddies grow up with vendettas" Ringo spat out with a roll of her eyes. I raised an eyebrow as that was not really productive to stalling.

Although I would admit I would not leave this place without her. Mainly because she was my ride out of here. I could not escape the I.D in a boss fight and this fuck certainly counted as one.

Kakuzu let out a deep rumbling laugh.

"You're right that would be the proper way to go about this but I see things a little differently. The kid is going to grow up angry and wanting revenge. Meaning he will eventually piss someone off in his journey of vengeance meaning I get more money in the long haul." Kakuzu explained his motives and I felt a shudder run through my body.

I guess that was a way to go about things but it was fucking psychotic. It was also way too arrogant but I guess Kakuzu really believed in his own hype.

The guy had lived in an era in which the fucking God of Shinobi lived. The Era that had the strongest and the most monstrous of ninjas.

He had the balls to assassinate Hashirama and while he failed he lived to tell the tale. That was not something your average scrub could claim.

"That's fucking bonkers. Are you really so confident that you would leave a loose thread like him just for more money!?" Ringo shouted with a completely baffled look on her face.

This was not the way I saw stalling going but if it works it works. I should have expected Kakuzu to monologue he was a villain after all we needed to hear his backstory and everything that matters to him before we got to the good bits.

"Crazy? Maybe a little but I have lived a long time. I have seen the rise and fall of Eras. In my life, I've learned that there are monsters out there but those monsters are the only thing that could handle me. Someone begging for protection from a weakling like you is destined to be just as weak." Kakuzu shot out with a sort of calmness that was irritating.

I usually did not fall for taunts but god he sounded annoying. I got where he was coming from but give me a year and I could probably wipe Kakuzu out all by myself. Fucking smug prick.

I gripped onto Ringo a little harder as I noticed something. While I was irritated she was fucking furious. She knew where she stood in the big wide world around her but she did not like being underestimated.

She was the only female member of the 7 swordsmen. She was known as the greatest gift placed upon the Mist. If she did not have a frail body from sickness she could have grown to heights unmatched.

She was Ameyuri Ringo and this fucker was underestimating her. 

She was probably moments away from charging at him with everything she had.

"He is an idiot. He has no idea what he is talking about. You managed to claw your way up to one of the strongest beings in the world with a body that was on the verge of constant collapse. He might pretend like he is hot shit but he is just another face in the crowd in comparison to Hashirama or Madara and I know for a fact that you have the potential to reach those two." I shot out as many encouragments as I could in her mind.

I needed her to be more rational here. Ironically enough her current stat would be better for me as we probably had a good shot at killing him but that would put her at risk.

I would rather her take a few hearts as opposed to potentially losing her to a mad rush at this asshole. 

"Tough talk from some nobody I've never heard of." Ringo shot off after reining in herself. That was good. I concentrated on setting shit back up. 

Kakuzu let out a laugh at that.

"I'm not a fool who fights for his Village. I don't bring glory to my name or fame to my door but I get my job done. I've killed hundreds like you and I imagine I'll kill thousands more." Kakuzu let out cockly as he stood in front of us. 

Alright, I wish I could have laid some more traps but this guy was going to move soon. I did not think Ringo could improvise here when she was already bouncing in place to cut him.

We only managed to delay this much because Ringo was worth a pretty penny in his eyes.

I sent her a mental message to get ready and traced a proper blade for her to use. Kakuzu looked at the sword appearing out of nowhere with some interest but dismissed it.

I looked for a specific mask for Ringo to take out first and I told her where it was now. Now it was game time.

In a moment Runic chains bursted out of the ground snaking their way up Kakuzu's frame. He seemed surprised at the sudden attack but dismissive. Then the chains started to feed all the curses I had prepared into him.

I could do those curses without the chains but they were so much more effective with them.

Slowness, Weakness, Dulled reflexes, Vulnerability, Blindness, Deafness, Loss of touch, Pain, and Spasm were part of the many curses I fed to him.

At the same time, Ringo flashed from her place in a near sonic boom. Her blade crackled with electricity as it pieced through Kakuzu's threaded body targeting the Earth Mask.

Even with all that we had down to slow him down he almost managed to move the mask out of the way. In another flash of movement, Ringo was once again away from him.

Which turned out to be the right call as giant tentacles of threatened grey burst out of him like a porcupine.

"Not such a weakling right?" Ringo asked with a mocking smile as Kakuzu managed to throw off the curses with a chakra pulse.

I did not expect that to happen but he had plenty of chakra after all these years stealing other's hearts.

"No, I guess you're not." Kakuzu spat out as three masks burst out of his body. Fire, Wind, and Lighting. I guess he kept the Water Mask for himself.

Fire and Wind opened up their masks shooting out jutsu that combined into a giant wave of fire. Ringo flashed away from that location but I was honestly having a difficult time holding onto her.

I was enhancing her after all instead of myself.

Kakuzu seemed to know we would dodge that as he spewed out a wave of water that filled up the area where we were located at. Then the Lighting Mask opened its mask to make another combo attack.

Thankfully it was standing in an area with a large amount of Runic bombs. Before it could join Kakuzu the Lighting Mask lit up as a giant explosion took it out.

Again Ringo flashed again approaching the Lighting Mask as that explosion would only weaken it. Her blade once more was on track to piecing another mask when the Fire and Wind masks tried to make their move again.

If we chose to attack the Mask then we would have to tank this attack. I let out a curse and dumped all of my Mana that was not supporting Ringo into a wave of Water to protect us.

I took a sharp breath as the sudden loss of Mana drained me but I replenished it with the Kaleidoscope.

"I'm going to rip out your heart for that one you weakling!" Kakuzu shouted out with rage as Ringo managed to take care of the second mask.

He was enraged but he was not fearful. He had lost two of his hearts but we were playing cat and mouse here. One swipe of his claws and the both of us would lose our lives.

Seeing that we were targeting his masks one by one Kakuzu decided to place them all in one place. He got Fire and Wind to combine with him again and his body contorted and ballooned as threads started to burst out of him forming a giant beast with three heads.

Fuck, we had speed on our side but hitting those masks would put us in danger. I was already having a hard time hanging onto Ringo and if I stopped reinforcing her she would be killed at the speeds Kakuzu was capable of.

"Now, is probably time to call it quits. Killing him is going to be a pain in the ass. Maybe when we get your babies we can finish the job here." I spoke out loud this time.

Ringo frowned but as she looked at the lumbering beast before us she nodded. She then turned towards with Kakuzu with a mocking smile on her face.

" From what I have heard you seem rather proud to have survived a fight with Hashirama Senju. You can now take pride in surviving a fight with Ameyuri Ringo. Trust me you will be hearing my name whispered like his one day." She let out cheekly before she blurred into motion running away from here.

The roar of anger following our departure was music to my ears. Well, that and the sound of my remaining bombs blowing up.