I Just Wanted to Slack Off, But I Was Forced to Become Hokage

Chapter 41: One Mission, Three Rewards, a Win-Win-Win!

'Killed the mission target once, but the mission isn't complete?' Nara Keisuke, still maintaining his transparent state with [Camouflage Concealment], looked at the message that popped up on his panel with some confusion.

'But the main point is... it still gave me an A-rank [Shinobi Secret Scroll] for that?!'

The battle situation was changing in an instant. Nara Keisuke had no time to ponder the panel's contents; he just kept his eyes on Kakuzu.

His chest had been pierced by the [Spiraling Shadow Piercing Bullet], revealing a large gaping hole where his heart should be. Keisuke could even see the scenery on the other side through the wound on Kakuzu's body. Kakuzu's figure swayed slightly, then he fell forward like a stone, going completely silent.

Watching old man Kakuzu's sincere and dedicated performance of playing dead, Nara Keisuke felt he could give him a 9 out of 10. I only destroyed one of your hearts; you still have four left. You should be able to jump around lively right now, not pretend to be dead. Stop faking it, old man.

Nara Keisuke's fingers twitched slightly. He considered playing along with the performance and firing a few more [Spiraling Shadow Piercing Bullets] at the "corpse."

'No.' Keisuke told himself, very rationally stopping the action. 'I still can't be sure which elemental heart I just destroyed. If Kakuzu's earth-element heart still exists, based on his performance of withstanding Akimichi Chōza's Spiked Human Bullet Tank, my [Spiraling Shadow Piercing Bullet] won't be able to break through his body's defense. Once Kakuzu is on guard, the difficulty of destroying his other hearts will definitely skyrocket!'

For Nara Keisuke, the most suitable combat strategy at present was to coordinate with the main attacking Ino-Shika-Chō team and launch sneak attacks from the shadows.

Nara Keisuke didn't move. Kakuzu didn't move.

The sea of fire created by the Fire Release: Searing Migraine dissipated into the air. The Ino-Shika-Chō team opposite them finally noticed something was amiss.

"What's going on with that guy?" Akimichi Chōza retracted his hands. After the direct collision with the sea of fire, his palms were now scorched black, the skin dry and cracked, with faint dark red lines of blood, looking incredibly gruesome. Clearly, his hands were not lightly injured. "Could it be that my Super Open Palm Slam's shockwave slapped him to death?"

The Super Open Palm Slam was an advanced secret taijutsu of the Akimichi clan that could greatly enhance the power of physical attacks.

"Chōza, your thinking is a bit too naive." Nara Shikano's eyes were filled with suspicion as he stared at Kakuzu, who lay motionless not far away, and replied casually, "If it were any other time, I might have laughed at that cold joke. But in front of an enemy of this level, I can't laugh. Inoichi, sense the situation!"

"Yes, Uncle Shikano." Yamanaka Inoichi shook off his relief at having survived and quickly used his clan's sensory secret technique to probe Kakuzu's condition. "Something's wrong, he's only faking his death! There's no sign of his chakra dissipating at all!"

As soon as his voice fell, Inoichi's senses detected the presence of another target. He was about to shout out but caught himself in time, instead using the Yamanaka clan's advanced secret technique, "Sensing Transmission."

'There's another ninja on the field; he can't be seen with the naked eye!' The situation was urgent, and Inoichi didn't have time for a deep probe, so he could only report the key points. 'Kakuzu's feigned death might be related to that ninja!'

'Under these circumstances, for a ninja to appear here and seemingly attack Kakuzu... could it be his enemy?' Nara Shikano couldn't reach any effective conclusion for a moment.

But after Inoichi's words, Kakuzu, who had been playing dead on the ground for a long time, could only stand up awkwardly and pretend to be fine as he took off his outer coat.

"I really didn't expect you guys to have such a trick..." Kakuzu threw off the large, dust-covered coat, revealing his true form. His body, pale as a corpse, was covered in dense black thread stitches. There was a huge hole in his chest, where worm-like black threads were constantly writhing and converging at the wound.

Kakuzu had been playing dead only to launch a surprise attack when the enemy let down their guard and approached to check the body. But he had never expected... that neither side would move. This group of Konoha ninja was far too cautious! What was supposed to be a prudent tactic of faking death for a sneak attack had turned into a complete clown show under the circumstances. Even with Old Man Kakuzu's thick skin, he couldn't help but feel a trace of embarrassment. Especially since he had just spouted harsh words about his "invincible defense"...

'Kakuzu seems to have mistaken that hidden attacker for one of us.' Nara Shikano was communicating rapidly in his mind. 'And he didn't even die after his heart was pierced... this guy is truly a monster!'

'With the strength of the three of us, we can't face Kakuzu head-on for too long... We need to create an opportunity for that hidden attacker, just like before!'

Yamanaka Inoichi and Akimichi Chōza, having received the order, immediately acknowledged it. But just then, a sudden change occurred.

"Haaa..." A strange groan, like that of a dying person, came from Kakuzu's throat. A huge mass of shadows burst from his back. The entire mass was composed of dense black threads, and in the upper-middle part of the threads was a white mask with significant damage.

'Wait! Don't act rashly! Let's observe the situation first!' Seeing this, Nara Shikano subconsciously halted their actions.

"Hrooooaaar—" The black-threaded monster also let out a strange sound. It fell to the ground, crawled a short distance towards the Ino-Shika-Chō trio, and a special black, oil-like substance continuously flowed out of its body. Then... it went completely still.

"..."

So it just died like that! It felt as if tens of thousands of alpacas were stampeding through the hearts of the off-generation Ino-Shika-Chō trio.

But in the brief moment that the black-threaded monster drew their attention, Kakuzu had already molded a sufficient amount of Wind Release chakra and seized the opportunity to unleash his ninjutsu. "Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"

The Wind Release chakra, having undergone nature transformation, turned into an intense, high-pressure storm, once again erupting from in front of Kakuzu. But this time, the target of the "Pressure Damage" was not the Ino-Shika-Chō team, but the area surrounding Kakuzu himself.

For Kakuzu, after the previous exchange, the Ino-Shika-Chō team no longer posed much of a threat. The attacker hiding in the shadows was the real major concern. And his hatred for them was even higher!

Wind Release: Pressure Damage turned into a powerful hurricane, sweeping across the entire field. The Ino-Shika-Chō trio used the same old trick, retreating backward repeatedly to avoid the initial frontal impact. And Nara Keisuke, who was still on the field, merely had a thought when faced with this level of Wind Release. 'Shadow form!'

The [Shadow Doppelganger] instantly transformed into an insubstantial shadow. The storm swept past the shadow as if it were just passing through empty air, causing no damage at all.

Kakuzu, completely unaware of this, was not satisfied with the power of his Wind Release. He raised his hands and once again unleashed—"Fire Release: Searing Migraine!"

The wind fed the fire, and the fire borrowed the wind's power. The Overlay use of two B-rank ninjutsu created a massive sea of fire. Faced with this situation, the Ino-Shika-Chō team could only retreat again and again; they had no way to withstand a fire jutsu of this level. But for Nara Keisuke, who possessed the "shadow form" ability, he could still completely ignore this kind of flame.

The raging sea of fire burned everything, completely blocking their line of sight.

'What's the situation over there, Inoichi?' Nara Shikano asked in his mind.

'The wind and fire are mixed together, the chakra is too chaotic. I can't get an accurate sense for the time being.'

'In that case, let's use this opportunity to pull away.' Nara Shikano made his decision.

'Alright—wait, someone is rushing over from that direction!' Yamanaka Inoichi's timely warning made Shikano and Chōza subconsciously tense up.

"Shadow Grasping Technique!" Nara Shikano formed hand signs, and a thick shadow transformed into a tough steel cable, connecting to Akimichi Chōza beside him. At the same time, Chōza also mentally prepared himself to use the Expansion Jutsu.

'It's Kakuzu!' Inoichi's voice sounded in their minds, simultaneously transmitting a sensory image.

Nara Shikano, Akimichi Chōza, and Yamanaka Inoichi coordinated with each other, instantly using the strongest combination secret technique of the three Ino-Shika-Chō clans.

Human Bullet Yo-Yo!

Shikano's shadow steel cable, connected to Chōza's Human Bullet Tank form, was swung out like a yo-yo, smashing towards the oncoming Kakuzu with the force of an avalanche.

Faced with an attack of this magnitude, Kakuzu's pupils contracted slightly, and he released the ninjutsu he had been storing for a long time. "Lightning Release: False Darkness!"

The lightning spear and the Human Bullet Yo-Yo collided, instantly erupting in a heaven-shaking roar. And at the moment both sides were locked in a stalemate, another [Spiraling Shadow Piercing Bullet], appearing as if from nowhere, shot towards the mask on Kakuzu's back at a speed exceeding that of sound.

Thwip!

The [Spiraling Shadow Piercing Bullet] effortlessly pierced Kakuzu's mask, taking another one of his lives.

[You have obtained one A-rank [Shinobi Secret Scroll]!]

At the same time, the lightning spear that had been clashing with the Human Bullet Yo-Yo suddenly disintegrated into the air.

"Nani..."

Caught off guard, Kakuzu was slammed into the ground by the Human Bullet Yo-Yo. When Akimichi Chōza was pulled back to Shikano's side, only a giant crater remained on the ground. The bounty hunter Kakuzu was nowhere to be seen.

[Target has disengaged from battle. [A-rank Mission: Rogue Ninja Kakuzu] has been lo—]

'Speed-run!'

[You have speed-run [A-rank Mission: Rogue Ninja Kakuzu]!]

[You have obtained one B-rank [Shinobi Secret Scroll]!]

(Author's Note:)

About the "Human Bullet Yo-Yo"... don't make fun of the name. [Collected Volume 66, Chapter 633]. Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino, and Akimichi Chōji used a combination of [Shadow Grasping Technique], [Expansion Jutsu], and [Sensing Transmission] to use a combination technique called [Human Bullet Yo-Yo], which wiped out 25 Ten-Tails clones in one hit... This is really from the manga. Of course, regarding the power-scaling runaway issue during the Fourth Great War... I can't explain that.

(End of Chapter)

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