Katsuyu thought for a moment, its two tentacles twitching, feeling that what Kairen said made sense.
Its soft body jumped upwards, landing on the place above where the Daimyo was tied to a tree branch. It was going to persuade the Daimyo not to seek death by provoking Kairen.
After all, if the eldest son was gone, there were still several other sons. If he continued to speak rudely to Kairen, the opponent might overthrow the entire country, and even the coffins of the royal family would be dug up.
Kairen turned his gaze to Kakuzu, a Kage-level ninja, and an old-school Kage-level ninja at that.
Rich in combat experience, he wondered how much interest he could bring him.
Kairen crossed his arms over his chest, his whole body emanating a faint Sasuke-like temperament.
For some reason, thoughts of wanting to kill the opponent suddenly multiplied in Kakuzu's heart.
Kairen cleared his throat, Pretence Release exploding!
He looked at Kakuzu, his eyes full of the look of a goshawk watching a mouse on the ground:
"I recognize you! That forehead protector on your head, and that appearance of yours, it seems you are the famous Kakuzu of the underground world, right?!"
"Hmph!"
Kakuzu grunted, considering it a response to the other party.
Kairen continued: "I heard you fought with the First Hokage of our village?"
Kakuzu nodded proudly: "Of course!"
The experience of fighting with the God of Shinobi, Senju Hashirama, was the greatest pride of Kakuzu's life.
He had to brag about it to everyone he met. If he didn't brag, he couldn't show how powerful he was; if he didn't brag, he couldn't see the shocked faces of the juniors.
Unfortunately, after Kairen finished speaking, he felt a bit uncomfortable inside because he didn't see the shocked face of the other party.
Not many people could fight Senju Hashirama and retreat unscathed, and still be alive today.
He, Kakuzu, was just such a man. If there was a ranking list in the Ninja World...
If Kakuzu were to rank it, Senju Hashirama would be first, and he would directly rank second. He didn't even think much of Uchiha Madara.
After all, hearing that Uchiha Madara was defeated by Senju Hashirama, since they were both losers, why should he rank Madara second?
Kakuzu felt that he and Uchiha Madara were six of one and half a dozen of the other. If he were a bit more arrogant, he would directly ignore Uchiha Madara; he was the second in the Ninja World.
Kairen then added: "Then may I ask, Kakuzu-san, how does it feel to throw a shuriken from eight hundred miles away?"
"What did you say?" The anger in Kakuzu's heart slowly rose.
Kairen said loudly again: "In that ancient era, there weren't even cameras. How can you prove you fought with the First Hokage? Is it just based on your one-sided words?"
"I even suspect you threw a shuriken from eight hundred miles away. I don't know if it hit the First Hokage, but you brag to everyone you meet that you fought with the First Hokage."
"You damn brat, you are insulting me!"
Kakuzu was furious, his hands forming seals.
"You are right! I am insulting you."
"Damn kid, when I was struggling in the Ninja World, your grandfather hadn't even been shot out yet, and you actually insult me like this."
Kakuzu shouted loudly: "Lightning Release: False Darkness!"
He opened his mouth and suddenly released a sharp lightning spear. The sharp lightning struck the falling rocks on the ground, turning them into scorched ash, and in the blink of an eye, it pierced through to Kairen's front.
"Sharingan: Copy!"
Kairen's Sharingan opened, copying Kakuzu's Lightning Release ninjutsu in an instant.
Kairen stepped on the ground and ran forward. The lightning spear penetrated Kairen's body, and the intense high voltage directly paralyzed him for a moment.
"Ding!"
"Kakuzu caused 200 points of damage to you!"
In the space of a breath, the light of the lightning dissipated. Kairen's skin was somewhat charred, and a large hole had been blown in his chest.
"Ninja Art: Creation Rebirth!"
A layer of green light suddenly covered Kairen's body. The Sage Body activated, and the powerful regeneration ability instantly regenerated his organs, healing all the injuries on his body.
Kakuzu's dark green pupils contracted slightly, muttering: "Such strong regeneration ability. What kind of ability is this? Is it a Kekkei genkai? Wood Release's super-speed regeneration applied to the body?"
"Roar—" Kairen gave a loud roar, followed by a cloud of white smoke exploding from his body. He turned into a white-fronted tiger.
Jumping forward, he lunged at Kakuzu like a beast.
Kakuzu opened his palm, and the threads of Earth Grudge Fear attacked Kairen.
Kairen's claws tore forward fiercely. The claws carried Wind Attribute Chakra, incomparably sharp, and tore the Earth Grudge Fear threads to shreds in one go.
"Roar—"
Kairen opened his bloody mouth, looking as if he was about to bite Kakuzu's head in half, but Kakuzu released more threads from his body, directly binding Kairen.
Kakuzu pulled hard, wanting to strangle Kairen to death.
But Kairen continued to transform: "Hundred Transformations: Tyrannosaurus!"
He suddenly expanded into a large dinosaur, and with one sweep of his tail, he swept Kakuzu out of the main hall, rolling down the steps.
Kairen, supporting himself on two small short legs, stomped on the ground and ran towards Kakuzu's direction.
...
Kakuzu landed on the square outside the palace. The square was very wide; it was a place where troops were usually concentrated, allowing him and Kairen to fight to their heart's content.
Kakuzu looked at the large dinosaur coming with the force of a landslide and tsunami, thinking to himself:
What kind of Transformation Technique is this? The mimicry effect is so high, it has already departed from a simple Transformation Technique.
Kakuzu didn't think much more, his hands forming seals: "Fire Release: Intelligent Hard Work!"
It was the same Fire Release as before. A small spark fell on the ground, followed by a tsunami-like flame engulfing everything, covering Kairen in the blink of an eye.
Amidst the scorching burning, Kairen turned into a pile of ash.
"Ding!"
"Kakuzu caused 500 points of damage to you!"
The intense flames slowly faded, and the marble slabs in the original spot were burned to pieces.
Kakuzu breathed a sigh of relief, looking at the thick black smoke and smiling:
"I have lived from the Warring States Period until now; did you think I couldn't deal with you?"
"Is that so? Living for so many years, you have indeed lived in vain!" A cold voice rang out.
Kakuzu's pupils suddenly contracted, looking at a pool of permeating white smoke in the original spot.
The white smoke slowly dispersed, and a young man, shirtless and wearing a black belt, stood quietly in the original spot.
Kairen smiled: "Is this your strength... Kakuzu? Even if you fought with the First Hokage, the other party must have let you off. Otherwise, with your strength, how could you have escaped Wood Release?"
"Damn brat!"
Kakuzu cursed inwardly, the expression on his face turning cold:
"You forced me. I will use my full strength to end you, this seed of the Senju clan."
Kairen hugged his arms and looked at him askance, not taking the other party to heart at all.
"Hmph!" Kakuzu snorted coldly and tore open the large robe on his body with one hand, revealing a naked upper body with four masks sewn onto his back.
His whole body was covered in traces of sutures, looking extremely bizarre and terrifying.
...
On the spectator stand in the distance, Kairen's Goshawk Shadow Clone sent Koyuki to Miroku's side, and the two were protected within.
Looking at the battle below, Koyuki saw Kakuzu's terrifying appearance, immediately shrank her head behind Miroku, and said fearfully:
"What a terrible monster, like a ghost doll sewn up hundreds of times."
Miroku rubbed her head, sat down, and quietly watched the battle below, her gaze focused on Kairen's naked muscles.
As a shrine maiden, her intuition was very good. At this moment, she could feel the immense power within Kairen's body, continuous like the ocean.
By the way... this man is so strong, suitable to be the father of the next generation of shrine maidens.
Seeing that Kakuzu was preparing to use his real skills, Kairen hooked his little finger at him:
"Come on! Come on! Maybe today you can escape my battle. In the future, when you tell people you fought with me, others will have to give you a second look."
"Go to die! Brat!"
Kakuzu could not tolerate Kairen looking down on him. Four masks rushed out from his back, attacking Kairen like four Menos Grandes.
One fire and one wind, two masks stacked together. One spit out Fire Release, one spit out Wind Release.
"Compound Ninjutsu!"