The base of the Akatsuki Organization.
Jiraiya and Akihara Kagura finally arrived here.
In fact, it wasn't particularly easy for them to infiltrate this base, because Orochimaru was in the base, and snakes and toads are natural enemies. Using the Toad Concealment Technique to sneak in might be detected by Orochimaru.
Akihara Kagura raised his palm, ready to start forming the hand seals for the Summoning Technique: "I will summon the Great Toad Sage to help us look at the layout of this base..."
"Wait..."
Jiraiya hurriedly tried to stop him.
However, Akihara Kagura's movements were a step faster than Jiraiya's!
"Ninjutsu: Summoning Technique!"
Accompanied by the formation of a black summoning circle, the Great Toad Sage, who was originally in a slumber, unconsciously responded to the call, and his huge, aged body appeared in the summoning smoke.
"It's little Jiraiya..."
The Great Toad Sage opened his somewhat groggy eyes and stretched out his paw to rub his eye sockets: "It feels like we are meeting more and more frequently these days..."
"Ahahaha..."
Jiraiya could only laugh it off, bowing continuously to the Great Toad Sage and apologizing: "Sorry, sorry, it's the folly of my disciple..."
After apologizing, Jiraiya took the initiative to mention Nagato to the Great Toad Sage: "Nagato is still alive, he may have joined an evil organization formed by rogue ninjas, and he might be hiding in this base right now. We want to sneak in here, and need the Great Toad Sage to guide us..."
"That little guy with the Rinnegan?"
The Great Toad Sage didn't dwell on the minor issues anymore, he took out his crystal ball and started flipping through it with his paw: "It seems like the security inside isn't particularly tight..."
This base is the base of the Akatsuki Organization.
Aside from the S-ranked rogue ninjas recruited by the Akatsuki Organization, outer ninjas are not allowed to approach.
After all, the rogue ninjas recruited by the Akatsuki Organization are all significant figures, often temperamental, and might kill over minor issues at any time.
When Jiraiya and Akihara Kagura carefully entered, they found it surprisingly unobstructed, not even seeing a shadow of a person, only occasionally hearing voices from the lab...
"Your puppetry skills have improved really fast..."
"Hmph, your technique development is still so slow..."
"This isn't a technique I developed, I'm just learning from the results left by the Second Hokage, trying to see if I can make this technique more perfect... By the way, about the trade we mentioned last time, some of the Third Kazekage's body materials, are you going to give me some?"
"They're all here, use them sparingly."
One of the voices was very familiar, it was Orochimaru.
The other voice was also familiar, it was the puppet master Sasori of the Red Sand, who had acted together with Orochimaru.
"Orochimaru..."
Jiraiya quickly wanted to move over there.
However, remembering another initial purpose of his coming to the Akatsuki organization, Jiraiya stopped in his tracks and headed deep into the base of the Akatsuki, planning to find Nagato and Konan first.
Just after Jiraiya and Akihara Kagura left, Orochimaru in the laboratory sniffed lightly, frowned, and sneered, "It seems like I've smelled an unpleasant scent..."
"Is it the smell of a corpse?"
Sasori of the Red Sand coldly responded to him.
Since Sasori is Akihara Kagura's Asura Path puppet, he knew about the infiltration of Jiraiya and Akihara Kagura earlier than Orochimaru.
"Perhaps it's a corpse..."
Orochimaru knew his teammates all too well; he even sensed Jiraiya's presence but did not take any action to make it known.
Jiraiya and Akihara Kagura slowly entered deeper into the cave.
At that moment, Jiraiya heard Konan and another person's voices.
"This is the reward for the commissioned task."
"Kakuzu, did your teammate die again?"
"During the mission, that guy was too weak and got killed. I've already exchanged his body for money, all five million ryō are in the box."
"Konan."
"Next time, give me a teammate worth more money. This guy wasn't as valuable as the last one."
"..."
Suddenly, the room fell silent.
Both Konan inside the room and Jiraiya eavesdropping outside were silent, both feeling that the demand for teammates was somewhat too outrageous.
Ninjas usually form teams to carry out missions.
Some people like strong teammates, some like obedient teammates, some like cooperative teammates.
Some people like valuable teammates, which was a first for many to hear.
Just as Jiraiya sighed in his heart, planning to continue searching for Nagato's whereabouts inside the base, Akihara Kagura suddenly grabbed Jiraiya's shoulder!
A paper shuriken flew past Jiraiya, pinning itself onto the hard stone wall with its fragile origami, they had been discovered!
"Konan has found us!"
Jiraiya took a deep breath, not planning to hide any longer.
"And others..."
Akihara Kagura's gaze moved towards the deeper parts of the cave.
In the darkness of the cave, a pair of eerie eyes appeared!
These eyes, with concentric circles, were none other than the legendary Rinnegan, the Sage's Eyes!
"It's been a long time, Teacher Jiraiya."
A figure with orange hair slowly emerged from the darkness.
This man appeared still young, with a pair of Rinnegan eyes, wearing strange black nose piercings, and draped in a black robe adorned with auspicious clouds.
"Pain!"
Konan's figure also appeared beside the man with orange hair, looking at Jiraiya and Akihara Kagura who had infiltrated the base, and uneasily said, "They really found this place..."
With the appearance of Pain and Konan, individuals wearing black robes adorned with auspicious clouds came out one after another.
"Something interesting is going to happen!"
Among them, Orochimaru sneered, clearly in a mood to enjoy the spectacle.
It was Orochimaru's command that allowed Akihara Kagura and Jiraiya to track down Akatsuki's whereabouts, and he had been looking forward to seeing trouble within Akatsuki.
"These two are quite troublesome enemies."
Sasori of the Red Sand, with his puppet Hiruko, was always ready to enter battle.
The last person to come out was the rogue ninja who demanded that teammates must be valuable, the S-ranked rogue ninja from the Land of Waterfall, Kakuzu.
"We're surrounded..."
Jiraiya immediately realized they were encircled.
"Has the enemy infiltrated?"
Kakuzu's gaze surveyed Jiraiya, speaking slowly, "Jiraiya of the Legendary Sannin, his corpse could fetch a good sum of money at the exchange..."
This guy seemed to never care about who the enemy was, only how much they were worth.
When Kakuzu's gaze fell on Akihara Kagura, his expression suddenly became serious: "The Wood Release kid, Akihara Kagura! The price for this kid is not cheap; we must keep his body intact!"
"How much?"
Akihara Kagura asked with the curiosity of a child.
Kakuzu took out his notebook, glanced at the records, and continued in a deep voice, "Thirty-five million ryō, that was last month's price, the month before it was twenty million ryō... The price for corpses might have been updated this month, it could even go higher!"
"Kagura!"
Jiraiya stopped Akihara Kagura, his gaze turned to Pain who had appeared; he had recognized the face of his former disciple, and he also heard Konan's address.
Is this Pain?
Isn't this Yahiko's appearance?
Didn't Hanzo of the Salamander say that Yahiko had died?
Then, where is Nagato, who is still alive?
Jiraiya didn't understand the specific abilities of the Rinnegan and could only speculate where his other disciple, Nagato, was hiding.
"Kill this kid first!"
Kakuzu directly lunged at Akihara Kagura!
Because, in his eyes, Akihara Kagura was extremely valuable!
"Retreat for now!"
Jiraiya quickly took Akihara Kagura, attempting to escape from the cave!
However, he didn't just want to let his disciple take him away using the Flying Thunder God Technique; he also wanted to use this opportunity to uncover the truth and probe where Nagato was hiding!
"Fire Release: Big Flame Bullet!"
Jiraiya rapidly exhaled a burst of intense flames!
"Water Release: Water Wall!"
A masked creature emerged from Kakuzu's shoulder, quickly releasing a sphere of Water Release ninjutsu.
As water collided with fire, a cloud of smoke instantly began to spread throughout the cave!
Jiraiya and Akihara Kagura, using the smoke as cover, quickly retreated and escaped from the cave. However, it seemed that the members of the Akatsuki organization understood their intentions. Except for Konan, who stayed inside, several members directly pursued them out of the cave!
"One, two, three, four."
Akihara Kagura slowly counted the number of enemies.
The situation was subtly delicate.
On our side: Jiraiya, Akihara Kagura (a double agent).
The Akatsuki Organization: Pain, Orochimaru, Sasori of the Red Sand, Kakuzu.
If one were to seriously consider, Jiraiya was actually the most likely to encounter danger, but most members of the Akatsuki did not know Akihara Kagura's identity.
However, before Akihara Kagura and Jiraiya could discuss and divide the enemies among themselves, the leader of the Akatsuki, Pain, directly assigned them.
"Kill that kid."
Pain glanced at Akihara Kagura, his gaze then fell on Jiraiya, wanting to talk to his former teacher and also wanting to personally end his teacher's life.
"This one is mine."
"Hehehe... Fine."
Orochimaru chuckled lightly, standing still without moving: "Is it really necessary for the three of us to act together against just a kid?"
"Leave it to me!"
Kakuzu took it upon himself to deal with Akihara Kagura.
"Orochimaru."
Sasori of the Red Sand turned his head to glance at Orochimaru and mockingly said: "You really are cunning, Kakuzu might not necessarily be a match for that kid..."
"Hmm hmm hmm..."
Orochimaru still smiled, shaking his head: "Kakuzu won't be careless. He knows how much Akihara Kagura's corpse is worth; wouldn't he also know the intelligence on Akihara Kagura?"
The wind gently blew.
The branches outside the cave swayed one after another.
Pein and Jiraiya faced each other on the opposite side.
Kakuzu and Akihara Kagura made eye contact, speaking in a hoarse voice about his pasts.
"Kid, when I saw you, I was reminded of the first Konoha ninja I ever fought against. Coincidentally, that guy was also a Wood Release ninja, the First Hokage Senju Hashirama..."
Normally,
An average Konoha ninja would have been scared off by Kakuzu's words.
Akihara Kagura glanced at Kakuzu and asked proactively, "Oh? You've fought the First Hokage before? Who won between you two?"
"..."
Kakuzu was silent for a while, feeling that this kid was not quite sincere.
That was Hashirama, the God of Ninja, who had ended the era of warring states. How could his strength not defeat Hashirama?
"I lost."
Kakuzu shook his head, feeling too ashamed to lie in front of everyone, and simply told the truth, "In the ninja world of that era, Hashirama's brilliance was too dazzling. No ninja of his time was his match, and I was also inferior to him in our clash..."
"..."
For the first time, Akihara Kagura felt unable to find fault with the other party.
"Of course."
When Kakuzu said this, something like hair began to grow out of his body, "Back then, I hadn't gained the power I have now. The current me might not lose to Hashirama again!"
This figure, who once lived in the same era as the God of Ninja, suddenly rushed towards Akihara Kagura, swinging his fist towards Akihara Kagura's head and said in a deep voice, "Since that guy Hashirama is already dead, let's use the life of you, a Wood Release kid, to test my power!"
"Earth Release: Stone Spear!"
As Kakuzu spoke, his fist turned black!
This was one of Kakuzu's abilities, his body could harden through the Earth Release chakra, greatly enhancing his strength!
Akihara Kagura was startled.
If it weren't for sensing that the opponent's fist was infused with Earth Release chakra, he almost thought Kakuzu had acquired some strange power from another world!
"Water Release: Water Mirror Technique!"
Akihara Kagura lifted his finger and touched the air!
Suddenly, a water mirror appeared in the space, and a figure identical to Kakuzu emerged from the mirror, even using the same abilities, directly colliding with Kakuzu with a punch before dissipating into water droplets!
Kakuzu's figure was sent flying!
A thick tree root drilled out from the ground and fiercely grabbed Kakuzu's body!
Kakuzu's eyebrows furrowed as strands of hair-like threads suddenly burst out from within his body, anchoring into the ground. These threads stabilized Kakuzu's body, allowing him to dodge the attack of the tree roots!
"Wood Release: Wood Human Technique!"
The next moment!
Kakuzu suddenly felt the sky darken!
When Kakuzu instinctively turned his head, he realized it wasn't the weather turning gloomy but rather a vine that had grown in an instant, rapidly forming into a gigantic wooden figure!
This wooden figure was at least fifty to sixty meters tall!
"Since you've fought with the First Hokage..."
Akihara Kagura stood on top of the wooden figure, clasping his hands together in a hand seal: "Then it's just right for you to help me see how much difference there is between me and the First Hokage!"
"This kid..."
Kakuzu could hardly believe the scene unfolding before him!
Even the First Hokage, Hashirama, had never used this level of Wood Release in their battle, leaving him at a loss for how to judge. Moreover, this gigantic wooden figure didn't seem like an easy opponent to deal with!
As expected!
Before Kakuzu could react, the wooden figure smashed down with a punch!
Kakuzu had no choice but to leap away, but was directly hit and thrown to the ground by the wooden figure's punch, seemingly heavily injured and unable to get up!
"It looks like we might need to change our base."
Orochimaru stood by, smiling as he watched the scene unfold, even finding the leisure to converse with Sasori of the Red Sand, as if not at all worried about the threat of the Wood Release Technique: "Sasori, have you packed up the materials in the lab? Otherwise, we should go back and pack up the materials first, to prevent the precious materials from being buried..."
"Kakuzu, he won't die, will he?"
Sasori of the Red Sand hesitated, glancing at Kakuzu who was sent flying by the wooden figure, clearly feeling each step of the wooden figure shaking the earth.
"If he's dead, then he's dead..."
Orochimaru watched Kakuzu being beaten with a smile, seemingly not caring at all about his companion's life or death: "Could his death be more valuable than our experimental materials?"
Sasori of the Red Sand glanced at Orochimaru and stated a fact: "Most of our research funding comes from the missions Kakuzu completes... Maybe we should save him?"
"..."
Orochimaru was eerily silent for a moment.
As a scientist, no one understood the importance of research funding more than he did.
However, before Orochimaru and Sasori of the Red Sand could make a move, Kakuzu had already managed to get up, swiftly shedding his clothes, as countless threads rapidly shot out from his body!
In an instant, four masks made of black silk threads appeared on the field!
This is the ability of Kakuzu, the Earth Grudge Fear!
These Earth Grudge Fears are the treasures of Waterfall Village. Kakuzu was initially abandoned by Waterfall Village, killed many of its higher-ups, and stole the Earth Grudge Fear!
Kakuzu has always relied on these Earth Grudge Fears to snatch the hearts of his enemies to sustain his life, allowing him to survive from that era to today. Moreover, the hearts taken by Earth Grudge Fear, besides prolonging life, could also be used to release the chakra attributes and ninja techniques contained within the hearts!
The four Earth Grudge Fear mask monsters opened their mouths together, simultaneously releasing powerful ninjutsu of lightning, wind, water, and fire attributes, spraying towards the wooden figure!
"Fire Release: Intelligent Hard Work!"
A vast wave of flames, like the sea, swept over!
"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"
A high-pressure ball of wind blew towards the wooden figure, instantly boosting the flames of Fire Release: Intelligent Hard Work, engulfing the large wooden figure's legs in a sea of fire!
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
A high-pressure water cannon, like a water knife, flew towards the top of the wooden figure's head, seemingly intending to pierce through Akihara Kagura standing on top of the wooden figure's head!
"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"
A lightning spear followed into the high-pressure water cannon, forming a lightning-water combination ninjutsu, enhancing the penetrating power of the Water Formation Wall!
At this moment...
Kakuzu was like a warrior!
The four Earth Grudge Fears were like the warrior's assistants!
One after another, ninjutsu converged, continuously attacking the mountain-sized wooden figure, as if they could destroy this wooden monster with their own attacks!
This battle was destined to be tough!
This battle was destined to be long!
This wooden figure was destined to be destroyed!
However...
The wooden figure was alive.
These ninjutsu attacks were like tickles to it.
Akihara Kagura stood on top of the wooden figure, controlling it to slightly squat down, extending a wooden finger, and crushed an Earth Grudge Fear like crushing an ant.
"The Wooden Figure Technique is the First Hokage's jutsu."
While controlling the wooden figure to crush the Earth Grudge Fears one by one, Akihara Kagura watched Kakuzu, who was fleeing in a sorry state: "When you fought with the First Hokage in the past, how did you break this jutsu?"
~~~
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