Kakuzu wore a calm expression as he slowly walked up to the nearly charred Sunagakure squad leader.
Suddenly!
An earth spike thrust out from the ground in front of the squad leader, stabbing toward Kakuzu's heart.
Unfortunately, just as the spike was about to reach Kakuzu's heart, it was restrained and blocked by the black threads emerging from Kakuzu's body.
Then the black threads contracted sharply, crushing the earth spike into dirt that scattered across the ground.
"A dying struggle? Too weak, I'm afraid."
Kakuzu's voice carried a hint of disdain as he slightly bent his body, looking down at the half-kneeling squad leader, and continued in a flat tone:
"I told you, I've taken a liking to your heart!"
Blood splattered!
A faintly beating crimson heart was ripped directly from the squad leader's chest by Kakuzu.
The squad leader's eyes completely lost their luster as, carrying a trace of unwillingness, he collapsed to the ground for good.
Meanwhile, not far away, the puppet that had trapped Sasuke had been subjected to the widespread assault of Kakuzu's Fire Release. Its once-indestructible surface now showed dense cracks.
CRACK!
Accompanied by a series of sounds, the puppet split apart, and the figure of Sasuke that should have been inside was nowhere to be found — it was empty.
Clearly, from the very beginning, Sasuke had never been captured by the Sunagakure puppeteer.
Not far from the puppet, a hand suddenly thrust up from underground, followed by Sasuke emerging from the sand.
"Cough, cough..."
Sasuke brushed the sand off his body and, smelling the charred scent permeating the air, couldn't help but cough lightly.
After surveying the surrounding scene, the pupils in Sasuke's eyes couldn't help but contract, but they quickly returned to calm.
If he had seen such ninjutsu in the past, he probably would have felt fear.
But now, after that man's guidance!
Just this level alone was still far from enough!
Sasuke clenched his fists tightly, his gaze flashing with unparalleled determination.
"Oh? Coming out unscathed from my ninjutsu?"
"It seems you came prepared. Not bad, brat."
Kakuzu looked at the somewhat disheveled but completely uninjured Sasuke, his tone carrying a hint of surprise.
"Knowing the nature of the jutsu in advance, if I still got hurt, that would be underestimating me too much!"
The Sharingan in Sasuke's eyes slowly spun as he stared at the imposing Kakuzu before him, speaking in an icy tone.
"As long as you don't die easily, that's fine. After all, if you die, I'd be in quite a bit of trouble." Kakuzu was completely unconcerned about the coldness in Sasuke's tone, cracking his neck.
"Things are about to get wild!"
"Of course, you can back out anytime."
Kakuzu turned back around, facing the direction of Sunagakure. The two mask creatures perched on his shoulders gave off a terrifying, fearsome aura.
It wasn't that Kakuzu was kindly reminding him. Rather, Sasuke's mission from the start had been different from theirs.
Besides, if not for the fear of Uchiha Madara's existence, whether Sasuke lived or died was of no importance to Kakuzu.
If Sasuke actually got killed, Kakuzu would even be pleased. He'd personally remove Uchiha Sasuke's head — if he recalled correctly, Uchiha Sasuke's head was worth quite a fortune.
"If I die, it just proves my ability only amounts to this much." Sasuke brushed past Kakuzu, his figure rapidly surging forward.
Hearing Sasuke's words, Kakuzu couldn't help but grin.
What an arrogant brat!
One slip-up from here on out, and someone really would end up dead.
But since the brat before him didn't care about his own life, Kakuzu had even less reason to care.
"The One-Tail capture operation begins!"
A cold gleam flashed through Kakuzu's eyes as he stomped hard on the ground and similarly charged forward.
Kakuzu's initial mission had been to divert a portion of Sunagakure's forces for Uchiha Obito, making it easier for Uchiha Obito, who was positioned inside the village, to operate.
And now, the puppet squad of Sunagakure had been completely wiped out by Kakuzu alone. This would surely make Sunagakure's ninja realize they had underestimated the strength on his side.
At this point!
Sunagakure would certainly dispatch more ninja, so the real battle was about to begin!
In the residential area for civilians near the center of Sunagakure.
Inside a remarkably ordinary house.
KNOCK! KNOCK!
A measured knocking sound suddenly rang out.
Before long, the door opened, and a middle-aged man with a bewildered expression looked somewhat puzzled at the person knocking.
"A ninja... sir?"
Upon seeing the Sunagakure ninja wearing a forehead protector at his door, the middle-aged man quickly showed a respectful yet confused expression.
The moment the middle-aged man opened the door, the ninja swiftly scanned the room, taking in the entire space in a single glance before withdrawing his gaze.
"Sorry for the disturbance."
"There may be some unusual activity during this time."
"Lady Chiyo asked me to inform you that things will be resolved soon. Please rest easy."
After confirming nothing was amiss, the ninja gave a slight nod and vanished in a blur, leaving nothing but an afterimage.
Seeing the ninja depart, the middle-aged man shook his head gently, a somewhat dazed expression on his face, and closed the door once more.
As the door shut, the middle-aged man's expression quickly turned grave. He turned his head toward a corner of the room.
"Lord, the person has left."
The middle-aged man spoke respectfully toward the seemingly empty corner.
"Things have become somewhat troublesome. I didn't expect that old woman to use the most clumsy approach, but it's quite effective..." Uchiha Obito slowly materialized from the corner, his voice somewhat low.
Given the efficiency displayed by these Sunagakure ninja, it probably wouldn't be long before they could roughly narrow down several locations. In other words, the longer this dragged on, the more likely he was to be discovered.
Clearly, the speculation from both Nagato and Kakashi's sides in the conference room was correct. Uchiha Obito and his group did indeed have a mole inside Sunagakure.
"Has the Jinchuriki's location still not been found?"
Uchiha Obito raised his head to look at the middle-aged man, the Sharingan revealed beneath his mask flickering slightly.
Since Sunagakure had obtained the intelligence in advance, the location where the Jinchuriki was hidden was extremely secretive. Relying solely on White Zetsu's intelligence capabilities wasn't enough to find it.
Therefore, before setting out, Uchiha Obito had been forced to seek out Sasori, borrowing the covert contacts Sasori had left within Sunagakure.
Things shouldn't have been this troublesome to begin with. It was only because of Uchiha Sasuke that the situation had become more complicated.
It seemed Uchiha Madara valued Sasuke highly. From this perspective, Uchiha Madara's trust in him had already diminished.
No, to be precise, it wasn't "trust" but "utility."
Uchiha Madara had been using him from the very beginning!
Knowing full well that capturing the One-Tail Jinchuriki was extremely difficult, Uchiha Obito still came to Sunagakure because both strengthening Sasuke's abilities and capturing the Jinchuriki.
Had no conflict with what he needed to accomplish — in fact, they were beneficial.
Sasuke was an exceptionally easy person to control. A dangerous glint flashed deep within Uchiha Obito's eyes.
"Lord Yura has already found the location regarding Gaara."
The middle-aged man spoke with a respectful expression, quickly delivering the news. When he uttered the name "Gaara," a clear note of hatred tinged his tone.
Hearing that a Jinchuriki's location had been found, Uchiha Obito's spirits lifted.
As for the hatred contained in the middle-aged man's tone, Uchiha Obito wasn't the least bit surprised.
This middle-aged man's loved ones had died during one of the One-Tail Shukaku's rampages.
The very existence of a Jinchuriki was something feared, dreaded, and even resented by the world!
"L-Lord, if you go out now, there's a high probability you'll be discovered by the village's ninja."
The middle-aged man swallowed hard, speaking nervously and cautiously.
"Don't worry. You won't be detected."
Uchiha Obito glanced at the middle-aged man, speaking in a flat tone.
As his words fell!
A ninja identical to Uchiha Obito slowly rose from the ground below.
[
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