Chapter:28

In a dark cave stood a massive, rock-like creature. Its body looked as though it had been carved from stone, giving off a rugged, textured appearance. Its ten massive fingers were pointed toward the sky, each large enough for a person to stand on.

*Swish, swish, swish—*

Figures began to appear on the fingers, one by one.

One had a face split between black and white, with pitcher plant-like structures covering his head.

Another carried a massive sword on his back, the blade strange in design, with a hollow circle near the tip.

One figure was short, hunched like an old man.

Another had bluish-purple hair, adorned with a light blue flower.

Some bore cold expressions, their eyes marked with strange ripple patterns.

Each of these figures wore dark robes with red clouds and rings that signified their rank.

They were members of the Akatsuki, a group that would later become infamous across the ninja world, ultimately triggering the Fourth Great Ninja War.

"Kakuzu is missing," said the man with the half-black, half-white face.

"Missing? No way. With Kakuzu's strength, only a handful in the entire ninja world should be able to kill him," replied the man with the large sword on his back. This was Biwa Juzo, a former member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist who had become a rogue ninja before joining the Akatsuki.

"He might not be dead. He could have defected," added the short man in a raspy voice.

This was Sasori of the Red Sand, a rogue ninja from the Hidden Sand Village, renowned for his puppetry skills and hailed as a genius.

"If he's defected, can I turn him into a puppet?" Sasori asked, glancing cautiously at the man with the rippled eyes, Nagato, the nominal leader of the Akatsuki. Despite Sasori's confidence—he had even turned the Third Kazekage, the strongest Kazekage, into a puppet—he knew he stood no chance against Nagato.

"Where was Kakuzu last seen?" Nagato asked, his voice calm and cold.

"He was last spotted at an underground black market in the Land of Fire, where he accepted a bounty to assassinate Uchiha Fugaku, the head of the Uchiha clan," Zetsu's black half answered.

"Uchiha?" Nagato's expression remained unchanged, though internally he felt a twinge of concern. His Rinnegan granted him immense power, but there was one person who unsettled him—someone who claimed to be Uchiha Madara. Though he couldn't confirm if it was truly Madara, the man's spatial abilities made him an extremely dangerous opponent.

"What have you found so far?" Nagato asked.

"The White Zetsu clone I sent out is still on its way, but we should have results soon," the white half of Zetsu replied.

At that moment, a White Zetsu clone emerged at the site of the battle between Uchiha Fugaku and Kakuzu. It quickly made a discovery, finding a ring among the ashes, though it had been burned and warped.

"There's an update," Zetsu said. "There was a battle at the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain. Kakuzu's ring was left at the scene."

"Kakuzu's ring? Was he really killed?" Biwa Juzo asked, shocked. Although they had speculated, he was still surprised to learn that Kakuzu, a ninja with a fearsome reputation, had been defeated.

"It seems so. His killer is most likely the target he was hunting—Uchiha Fugaku," Zetsu's white half confirmed.

"I never imagined Kakuzu would die at the hands of his own target. If Uchiha Fugaku managed to kill him, he must be Kage-level at least," Juzo commented.

"It might not have been Fugaku. Kakuzu could have encountered another powerful enemy before that," Konan, the woman with the light blue flowers in her hair, speculated. She was the only female member of the Akatsuki and Nagato's closest ally.

"Anyone strong enough to kill Kakuzu is worthy of being turned into a puppet," Sasori said, intrigued. His passion for turning powerful ninjas into puppets was well-known, and anyone capable of defeating Kakuzu was clearly worthy of that fate. If he was lucky, Sasori could end up with two powerful puppets from the incident.

"Fine," Nagato said indifferently. Kakuzu had been powerful, but to Nagato, his death wasn't a major loss.

Suddenly, Zetsu made a surprised sound.

"Fire Style, Water Style, Lightning Style, Wind Style, Earth Style—there are traces of all five elements of ninjutsu here. There's no doubt that one of the fighters was Kakuzu," White Zetsu concluded after analyzing the battlefield. As a key member of Akatsuki with a specialty in intelligence gathering, Zetsu knew Kakuzu had five hearts, each capable of using a different elemental ninjutsu.

"Could Uchiha Fugaku have been Kakuzu's opponent?" Zetsu wondered aloud. Though Kakuzu's target had been Fugaku, it was still unclear if he was the one fighting Kakuzu. Kakuzu, after all, was an S-rank rogue ninja with a high bounty, and many powerful individuals across the five great ninja villages would want to eliminate him.

"But if Fugaku did kill him, then his strength is..." Zetsu's expression grew serious. Kakuzu was definitely Kage-level, and if Uchiha Fugaku had the power to defeat him, then Fugaku had to be at least at that same level, if not beyond.

Still, Zetsu considered the possibility that Kakuzu had simply fled or faked his own death to avoid pursuit. Many Akatsuki members were rogue ninjas with questionable loyalty, so it wouldn't be shocking if Kakuzu had tried to disappear.

"It wasn't a waste waiting here," thought Uchiha Fugaku, who was watching from the branches of a tree nearby. He had originally planned to enter the Land of Rain to search for White Zetsu but realized it would be better to wait and let the Akatsuki come to him. Since Kakuzu was a member of the organization, they were bound to investigate his disappearance.

There was a risk that other Akatsuki members could show up, and if there were too many of them, Fugaku could find himself in trouble. But fortunately, it was only Zetsu who had arrived.

(End of chapter).

Read 12 Chapters ahead.

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