Hunter of Hunters (10)

Poof!

Watching as Akashi's clone exploded back into the ashes, Kakuzu stood on the spot, unable to believe that he was tricked not once, but twice.

"Are you telling me..."

Kakuzu let out a laugh while placing his hand on top of his forehead,

"that he used a little amount of time given within that spark, to replace himself with a clone?"

Kakuzu was aware of the fact that Dai was pulled down to the ground. However, he believed that it was Akashi's clone who yanked Dai away, and not the original himself.

Oh, how wrong he was.

"You truly are talented, Akashi," Kakuzu muttered at himself, "in terms of angering me."

Kakuzu now locked his eyes on the dark forest ahead of him, for he knew in which direction Akashi and Dai ran away. Furthermore,

"I sent my wind mask after them," Kakuzu began his dash immediately, "and it marked the trees while tailing after them."

Although there exists a distance limit in which the separated heart can be separated from him, the markings made by his monster-like creature were enough for him to track down his preys.

Simply put, it was only a matter of time before Kakuzu caught up to them.

"And this time around, I will finish you off—all for the sake of money."

Kakuzu, although enraged, and to some extent, embarrassed perhaps, kept himself calm and rational; he was the professional bounty hunter, after all.

__________

"First, tell me," I asked Dai, "Are you currently capable of moving your body even?"

The incredible feats that Dai showcased previously, were based on the Eight Gates opening. I could tell that he opened up quite a lot of gates, and I've personally experienced that this technique is followed by repercussions—Dai, if unable to move any longer, would be no more useful than a meat shield to me.

"Heh, what do you take me for?" However, Dai simply stood up while clenching his fists with determination, "It would take much more than this to render me immobile!"

"Good to hear. Then..." Acquiring the answer I needed, I shifted my lone eye to the trees that lied ahead of us, "we need to reposition ourselves as quickly as possible."

'Just a few minutes ago, one of Kakuzu's creatures was chasing after us. And I sighted—the cuts made on each and every tree that we've passed by. Additionally, if I were to assume that Kakuzu currently is closing in on us, then the creature that we managed to lose is likely to be... further ahead of us now, in order to ensure that we don't get to leave this village."

"Waiting here means that we have no other option but to fight him again. But it was proven beforehand that we have a low chance of victory in a head-on confrontation." I muttered while thinking as fast as possible, "There must be another way."

'What unorthodox means do we have to successfully assassinate Kakuzu?'

Think, Akashi. We don't have to win a fight. Hell, it doesn't even have to be a 'we.'

'By what method am I able to kill Kakuzu, and secure my life?'

'What of the aftermath? There, for sure, are many other bounty hunters hidden, waiting for their chances—'

—that's it.

"Then what?" Dai asked in urgency as he sweated profusely, unable to conceal his nervousness against the calamity named Kakuzu.

"It's a gamble, but a worthy one in a current situation." I raised my head up and said with confidence, "Follow me."

__________

Tap.

"...The footprints, and the ground with signs of being sat on top of. Without a doubt, they were here for some time until now." Kakuzu, who appeared in the dark forest where Akashi and Dai took a brief rest at, immediately began his analysis, "But the footprints ended here. If so..."

Kakuzu looked up at the tree branches knowingly, "They changed their means of travel. But to where?"

While traveling, Kakuzu sent his masked creatures ahead of him, surrounding the outer border of the forest. However, none of them sighted Akashi and Dai, whose movement should be much slower due to the injuries that they've accumulated.

'Branches...'

Kakuzu jumped up and landed on top of one branch that he found suspicious.

Raising his finger up, Kakuzu created a small candle flame, enough to produce light in this darkness, and found,

"A... taint."

Kakuzu's eyes formed arches in a twisted joy, upon looking at a faint footprint marked on the branch.

"Heh, so you've gone back to the village, knowing that it was too late to escape." Kakuzu's green eyes flashed dangerously, "The only advantage that they can gain in the open area of a village, is being able to blend in. However, the civilians are keeping themselves hidden out of fear of being killed... meaning that if they are trying to blend in, it must be,"

Kakuzu instantly turned his track and began to dash quickly, as the creatures flew back at him from far distance away, before entering his body through the open sleeves of his cloak.

"among ninjas."

__________

One knock. Followed by,

"Hosho-kin, are you there?"

A simple wordplay that seems to hold no special meaning behind.

As Dai stood behind me in silence, upon my whisper in front of the door,

Creak—

the door slowly opened, revealing nothing but darkness ahead of us.

'The bounty hunters live and die for money alone. The crazed ones do not consider the risks, but the rewards only; Kakuzu's rampage, and the underworld's no.1 bounty hunter having a trouble acquiring the head of his target, will attract the attentions of others without a doubt, whether they can have a chance in this as well.'

What chance, you ask?

'The chance of attaining the head of none other than Kakuzu himself, who has the sheer total amount of 100 million on his head—30 from Takigakure, and 70 from Konohagakure.'

And if I wasn't wrong, this mayor's house where Dai and I were standing in front of now, needed to be the bounty station that I've been looking for all along.

"Let's go, and don't take off your mask."

"I won't, although wearing a belonging of a dead one doesn't feel nice."

Dai and I entered the darkness ahead of us, before the door creaked back close immediately after.

'Information flows fast, especially for the destruction of this scale. Though things now seemed to have settled down, and the town seems to have settled down now,'

It isn't the case for the world of ninjas,

I thought as we've come into sight of a huge area, packed with multitudes of dangerous-looking ninjas—who all turned at us upon our entry.