"Mitsuki."
"Yeah, I see him."
The newcomer didn't even bother hiding his presence. From the shadowy treeline, he walked toward Mitsuki and Ruri openly, his steps heavy and confident.
"Shimizu Mitsuki, bounty: 110 million. Ruri Uchiha, bounty: 15 million. Looks like I'm pretty lucky today."
Kakuzu tossed the corpse slung over his shoulder onto the ground with a dull thud. He had only come here to cash in a bounty… and unexpectedly found two massive walking paychecks.
Although to receive the full 110 million, he needed to retrieve the Mist Swords Mitsuki had taken, Kakuzu had absolute confidence he could force that information out of him.
News of Mitsuki killing the Third Mizukage and destroying Kirigakure had not yet spread. Only villages with high-ranking spies surviving the Tailed Beast Bomb massacre had received the intel.
And even if Kakuzu did know, he still wouldn't back down. His greed outweighed his fear.
Ruri frowned as the man blocked their path.
"Who are you?"
Kakuzu had no interest in small talk. He walked straight toward them.
Ruri scoffed, her black pupils shifting into the three-tomoe Sharingan.
She glanced at Mitsuki. "You're only here to help me with my errand. Leave this small fry to me."
A lie.
Ruri fully intended to use this opportunity to test her Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
Anyone bold enough to attack them after recognizing who they were… should at least be strong enough for a real test.
Mitsuki needed only one look at her eyes to understand, offering a light reminder:
"Open your Eternal Mangekyō right away. He's weaker than you, but three-tomoe won't be enough."
"…Wait—how do you know about that?"
She never told Mitsuki she had awakened the Mangekyō, much less the Eternal Mangekyō.
Mitsuki shrugged. "I've known for a while. Back in the Kiri battlefield, your ocular power was far beyond a typical three-tomoe. And now it's even stronger. It could only be the Eternal Mangekyō."
There was another reason he didn't mention.
Mitsuki knew En had awakened his Mangekyō. If his daughter was now buying normal eyes, it didn't take a genius to connect the dots.
In any case, Mitsuki would help. For Ruri as a friend — and for En as Kento's friend.
Ruri, meanwhile, assumed the Senju heritage Mitsuki inherited must contain records on the Mangekyō. With his monstrous sensory ability, it was only natural for him to figure it out.
She felt stupid for thinking she'd been hiding it well.
"Tch…"
She snorted and turned away to face the enemy.
Her Sharingan spun—three tomoe melting into a six-petal snowflake wrapped around three interlocking tear-drop shapes.
Kakuzu didn't interrupt their conversation. To him, they were already two walking bags of money.
He accelerated, coating his arm with Earth Style: Earth Spear, charging straight at Mitsuki—the more expensive target.
Ruri clicked her tongue and flashed forward, lightning bursting from her right hand.
Chidori.
Lightning, the natural counter to Earth Release. In a single clash, Kakuzu's arm was sliced clean off.
But something was wrong.
Kakuzu's body wasn't human.
From the severed stump erupted a mass of black tendril-like threads—Earth Grudge Fear—lunging toward Ruri like a net.
Just as they were about to bind her, Ruri's left Mangekyō spun.
Her body liquefied like water, sinking instantly into her own shadow.
Kakuzu's tendrils crashed into the earth, stunned.
Inside the shadow dimension, Ruri formed hand seals and exhaled a massive torrent of fire outward.
"Great Fire Annihilation!"
The intense blaze surged out from the shadow, incinerating the tendrils waiting above.
Kakuzu immediately severed his connection to the burning threads and leapt back, creating distance.
He retrieved his severed arm using more tendrils, reattaching it cleanly.
He hadn't expected his ambush to fail. But anyone capable of teaming with the "Konoha's Gale" couldn't be underestimated—even a young girl.
From behind, Mitsuki evaluated the technique's scale with a lazy tone:
"Mm. Not bad. About one-third the size of Madara's flames."
Every evolution of the Sharingan boosted an Uchiha's senses, reflexes, and chakra control—but nothing surpassed the Eternal Mangekyō in sheer amplification.
As the flames stopped, three Ruris burst out of the shadow, each holding a crackling Chidori.
"Shadow Clones?"
Kakuzu quickly executed a series of seals and slammed his hands onto the ground.
"Earth Flow Divide!"
A circular shockwave of stone and mud erupted from beneath him, rapidly expanding toward the three Ruris.
All three responded identically.
"Susanoo."
Three white chakra giants manifested, towering over the battlefield. The earth wave slammed into their legs, accomplishing nothing.
Ruri had activated third-stage Susanoo instantly.
Kakuzu's eyes widened. His ancient memories surged violently.
A gigantic chakra warrior… had he heard of this before?
Desperate, Kakuzu performed more seals and launched sharp bolts of lightning.
"Lightning Style: False Darkness!"
Arcs of lightning struck the Susanoo—
—and vanished like raindrops on steel.
Kakuzu cursed internally.
"Damn that bounty office… this kind of monster is worth only 15 million?!"