When Kazuyama Gekkō arrived, all he saw was Bobosai lying lifeless, his heart ripped out.
"Yahiko, where's Kakuzu?"
Yahiko shook his head, eyes bloodshot.
From his reaction, Kazuyama understood—Kakuzu had already escaped.
A monster who had lived for who knows how many years had certainly honed some extraordinary survival skills.
Staring at the now-departed Bobosai, Kazuyama suddenly felt it was all fate. He and Yahiko had been secretly plotting something, and now Kakuzu had just killed him?
And he hadn't even used Jujutsu...
Wait—curse...
Yes! Without hesitation, Kazuyama crouched down, stretched out his right index finger, and began drawing a circle on the ground. As he traced it, he silently chanted Kakuzu's name in his mind.
"Circle-drawing curse technique, activate!"
Yahiko and the Takigakure shinobi stared at him wide-eyed, completely confused.
"This is a ritual from my hometown, a way to pray for the dead."
"Don't mind me, go on."
"I'll be done soon."
Hometown? Konoha?
The Takigakure shinobi memorized the gesture—eyes closed, drawing circles. Maybe they'd try it themselves someday.
What if their fallen comrades could really feel it?
...
Meanwhile, Kakuzu, still on the run, was adjusting to his new heart. This was a necessary part of the Kinjutsu: Earth Grudge Fear.
The technique allowed him to forcibly extract a target's heart and chakra nature, transplant it into his own body, and stitch it in to function as his own. But to maximize compatibility, Kakuzu was usually selective with his targets.
Today, Kazuyama had destroyed one of his wind-attribute hearts, which led him to target Bobosai.
He had to admit—Bobosai's heart was a perfect match. The rich wind chakra felt incredibly satisfying.
Just then, as he sprinted forward, he suddenly ran into something and came to a stop.
Kakuzu checked his condition and let out a frustrated growl.
"Damn it... the numbness still hasn't worn off. What kind of technique did that little brat use?!"
Despite all his experience, he couldn't recognize the jutsu Kazuyama had used.
After all, for all his years, Kakuzu had never fought a Tailed Beast, nor studied them in depth.
"BZZZZ!!"
"Huh?!"
A loud buzzing snapped him out of his thoughts.
When he looked up, his expression darkened.
A massive swarm of wasps had completely surrounded him.
That's when he realized he was covered in honey. He instantly understood—he'd crashed into a cluster of beehives.
Tentacles flailing at wasps... tsk, what a bizarre sight.
Normally, Kakuzu wouldn't be bothered. But for some reason, the numbness intensified in that moment.
Even his Earth Grudge Fear tentacles went limp. Stunned, Kakuzu could only stand there as the swarm engulfed him.
In his mind, he was already hacking Kazuyama to pieces a thousand times over.
All because of that damn brat!
"Ding! Curse technique successful. Kakuzu has been cursed and swarmed by poisonous wasps, triggering maximum resentment toward the host! Special reward: 200 million ryo!"
"Ding! Curse will remain effective for three days."
Kazuyama heard the system notification and saw the sudden deposit of 200 million ryo. A strange thought crossed his mind, and he couldn't help but ask the system...
"System, this 200 million ryo... it's not Kakuzu's savings, is it?"
[Ding! The host is correct. This is indeed Kakuzu's savings—the full balance of one of his accounts.]
Damn, just as he suspected. This sly system... but he liked it.
If Kakuzu wanted to treat himself like money, then draining his assets through the system felt perfectly justified.
"Hm? Kazuyama, are your prayers done?"
"Yeah... yeah, all done."
Kazuyama glanced at Bobosai, then at Yahiko. No matter what happened, Bobosai was dead—their next plans could move forward.
"Man, I didn't expect the one to show up this time would be Kakuzu, the rogue ninja from Takigakure."
"Don't worry. Once I return to the village, I'll inform the higher-ups. We'll increase the manhunt for Kakuzu!"
"Someone like him won't be allowed to get away with this!"
Kazuyama spoke with conviction, and in the eyes of the Takigakure shinobi, he suddenly appeared noble and commanding.
Yahiko, understanding how crucial the follow-up plan was, quickly supported him.
"Thank you, Kazuyama. If Konoha is willing to help, Takigakure will be deeply grateful."
"And Kazuyama, you'll always be a friend of our village."
"If you hadn't been there, I might've been the one Kakuzu killed."
"Thank you!"
When it came to acting, teamwork mattered.
Look at Yahiko—he knew exactly what to say.
As someone with status in Takigakure, his words carried weight. As soon as he spoke, the others quickly accepted it.
One by one, they began thanking Kazuyama.
"My condolences."
"I still have a mission to complete, and Kakuzu's situation needs to be reported."
"My teammates are still on the way, and I'm worried Kakuzu might double back. Everyone, I'll take my leave."
With that, Kazuyama turned and left.
After all, with the village head gone, Takigakure would be in chaos for a while—but he believed in Yahiko's capability.
Now that Bobosai was dead, Yahiko was sure to take control of the village.
And when that happened, Takigakure would basically become Kazuyama's personal backyard.
As for Kakuzu—hmph. The curse had already taken effect, and based on the system's feedback, Kakuzu wasn't having a good time.
That was a relief. At least Kakuzu hadn't caught up with Pakura and the others.
"Chōmei, lend me some chakra. I want to fly straight to Pakura and the others."
"Alright."
During the previous fight, Kazuyama hadn't used even a trace of Chōmei's chakra. He was worried Bobosai might pick up on it.
Bobosai had been village head for a long time and was very familiar with the chakra of the Seven-Tails. Kazuyama didn't dare take that risk. If Bobosai had realized it, the one doing the killing might've been Kazuyama—not Kakuzu.
Chakra surged, and Kazuyama immediately activated the Flying Thunder God Technique.
In a flash, he crossed the distance and appeared in front of Pakura and the others.
"Huh? Kazuyama, you're back!"
The four of them quickly stopped. By now, they had already reached the outskirts of Takigakure.
"Yeah, Kakuzu got away. Takigakure's village head, Bobosai, is dead."
"After saying goodbye to the village, I used Flying Thunder God to catch up."
"I was worried Kakuzu might go after you. We're all on his hit list, after all."
"Let's head back to the village. We still need to report everything that happened with Kakuzu and Takigakure."