At the border of the Land of Waterfalls and the Land of Fire.
The head of Takigakure, Funi, hailed as the unrivaled shinobi of the world and the strongest beneath the Five Kage, had at this moment completely lost the dignity of a village leader. He was being lifted off the ground by his throat, clutched in Kakuzu's grip.
Seeing the Takigakure forehead protector on Kakuzu's head, slashed through with a scar, Funi's heart was filled with both shock and rage.
Kakuzu's legend stretched back too far—so far it reached all the way to the era when the First Hokage first created the hidden village system. Though many shinobi of Takigakure knew that the secret technique of Earth Grudge Fear had been stolen and that Kakuzu might still live somewhere in the world, none had ever seen his face.
All around them lay corpses, scattered in disarray—the sealing squad Funi had brought, along with two jōnin bodyguards.
They had no power to resist Kakuzu's sudden attack and were easily dispatched.
Aside from Kakuzu's own overwhelming strength, another reason for his victory was the vast arsenal of five-element ninjutsu that Takeshi had freely given him.
"Hmph, hmph, hmph... say goodbye to this shinobi world, worthless old man."
As one of the great schemers of the shinobi world, Kakuzu was not one for long-winded villain speeches. With a squeeze of his hand, he prepared to snap Funi's neck.
But what had felt solid suddenly turned slimy. Funi's elderly body melted into mud, flowing up Kakuzu's arm, attempting to engulf him.
Behind Kakuzu, Funi's true body unleashed Lightning Release—sharp thunder spears pierced clean through his chest.
Restricted by the mud clone, Kakuzu's face twisted in surprise. He looked down at the hole in his chest, only for that body to liquefy as well.
"Not bad. You knew Lightning Release could break through my Earth Spear."
Like a matryoshka doll, Kakuzu's true body appeared behind Funi and launched a kick, which Funi narrowly avoided—he had anticipated it.
"Earth Release: Earth Spear. Both offense and defense in one jutsu—it used to be your signature technique before you stole Earth Grudge Fear."
Funi recited Kakuzu's intel with practiced ease.
"Though the village lost track of you long ago, we have preserved the intelligence we had—passing it down so that one day we might avenge our leaders who fell to your hands."
Kakuzu chuckled at those words, a rare sound from someone so grim.
"How amusing. The ones who betrayed me back then were your leaders. Their end was their own doing. And yet you speak of revenge?"
As he spoke, Kakuzu shrugged off his cloak, revealing a body laced with grotesque black stitching and patterns.
"I'll admit it—you've got some skill. But..."
The masks on his back began to pulse, as if alive, straining to burst from his flesh.
"Hmph, hmph... ahhhhh!"
With a muffled groan, the masked monsters tore free from his body.
"My hearts are plenty... but there's no harm in adding one more to the collection."
Stitching up his torn flesh, Kakuzu tilted his head, studying Funi.
By then, Funi had already raised his guard.
Since Earth Grudge Fear had been stolen, Takigakure never managed to record its full details. They could only infer its powers from fragments of information passed down.
Four monsters—representing four hearts.
Plus Kakuzu himself...
Funi took a deep breath.
What an unfavorable situation.
What he had thought would be a simple mission to capture the Seven-Tails had instead brought him face-to-face with Kakuzu, this god of slaughter.
Could Konoha be in league with him?
"You... could it be Konoha hired—"
"Fire Release!"
Before Funi could finish, the Fire Release heart unleashed its jutsu.
A modest fireball detonated upon impact with the ground, erupting into a storm of flame that consumed everything in sight.
Unfortunately, Funi was not skilled in Water Release.
He had no choice but to scramble for cover.
"No matter. You're about to die—I'll tell you anyway. I am the leader of the Integration Movement, the one who will bring liberation to this shinobi world."
Kakuzu denied Funi's suspicion, instead claiming the title of leader of the Integration Movement.
"The Integration Movement... so it was you!"
Funi had heard of this group. Even the Daimyō of the Land of Waterfalls had summoned him and warned him to beware them.
Before Funi could act, the Wind Release heart appeared outside his cover.
A volley of wind bullets shredded through the massive boulder Funi had been hiding behind, riddling it with rows of holes.
Funi barely escaped by resorting to Earth Release.
"Earth Release: Earth Tremor!"
Leaping down from his own earth wall, Funi tried to seize the initiative.
"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"
Bolts of lightning shot forth—too fast to evade, and with elemental advantage that nullified Funi's Earth Release defenses.
Funi had no choice but to meet it with the same element.
But that forced him to confront the limits of his aged body—his chakra reserves were nothing like in his youth.
Crackling thunder and blinding sparks filled the air until finally the last trace of electricity faded. Gasping for breath, Funi had managed to cancel out Kakuzu's attack.
Still panting, Funi searched for the Earth Grudge Fear creatures.
Beneath his mask, Kakuzu's lips curled. He drove the Wind Release heart to continue its assault, while he himself silently guided black tendrils to a hidden position.
As he had predicted, Funi, conserving chakra, dodged and rolled from the wind blasts—right into the zone where the black threads gathered.
The first thread coiled around his ankle. Shocked, Funi found himself bound just as a wind bullet pierced his abdomen.
Blood gushed forth as more black threads surged over his body, wrapping him tight.
Kakuzu lunged like a predator, pouncing onto him.
"As I thought—your aged body can't even form another Shadow Clone or Body Replacement Jutsu."
Seeing Funi still present despite such a wound, Kakuzu was thrilled.
"What a pity. After hiding from the world so long, you're not even worth a bounty."
Kakuzu shook his head in disappointment—so much effort, yet not a single ryō.
...
Out of courtesy, Takeshi himself walked to the gate to see Pakura off.
Suddenly, a messenger hawk swooped down from the sky, circled over his head, then landed neatly on his shoulder.
Removing the message from its leg, Takeshi read it, then shredded the note into dust with Wind Release.
"The touching meeting at the border is already over."
Pakura brushed a stray lock of hair from her temple.
"So that means... Takigakure's village head can wash up and go to sleep?"
"Ah, such is fate. The world is cruel. Safe travels, Kazekage-sama."
Watching her guards approach to escort her, Takeshi stopped and bid farewell to his old friend.