Deep within a sprawling forest in the central Land of Fire, a lone figure moved swiftly along a narrow path.
This was Tatsuya, making his way back to Konoha after departing the Land of Wind. His three-month leave was rapidly drawing to a close. Since there was currently no way to undo the Dragon Vein's seal, Tatsuya saw no reason to linger outside the village any longer. He had already been gone for quite some time; staying away much longer might test the limits of the village's patience.
Besides, there were people back in the village who needed him.
Before leaving Konoha, Tatsuya had visited Guy in the Ninja Hospital. Thanks to Tatsuya continuously channeling life energy into him for a period, Guy's injuries had shown marked improvement. While still not fit for combat, there was at least hope for a full recovery. Upon his departure, Tatsuya had specifically inscribed a simplified version of the Fujinhoin onto Guy's body, intended to allow Guy to passively absorb life energy from his food while Tatsuya was away. Naturally, this method was far less effective than Tatsuya's direct energy transfer.
Once back in the village, Tatsuya also planned to properly learn medical ninjutsu himself. With the bio-chip at his disposal, it felt like a waste not to acquire more knowledge.
Emerging from the dense forest, Tatsuya headed west. Not far from the forest's edge lay a small town – the only settlement of significant size within a radius of several dozen kilometers. Tatsuya planned to rest there for the night and replenish his supplies.
A few minutes later, Tatsuya arrived in the town. It was called Yamagen Town and boasted a population of three to four thousand people, a typical size for towns in this world. He quickly found a decent-looking inn and checked in. After five days of hurried travel, Tatsuya felt mentally and physically fatigued and looked forward to a proper night's rest.
After eating dinner in his room and taking a hot bath, Tatsuya felt the exhaustion wash away. He left the inn and began to wander through the town streets. Having spent several years in this world, Konoha was still the only place Tatsuya truly knew well. He was curious to learn more about the customs and ways of life in other regions.
It was around 8 PM now. Only a few sparse figures moved along the streets, and most shops lining the roads had already closed for the night. The only establishments still open were primarily inns and taverns.
As he meandered, the only place Tatsuya found with a noticeable crowd was a gambling den. Intrigued, he stepped inside for a look. Most of the gamblers were shinobi or samurai. Tatsuya wasn't particularly surprised by this. In a world plagued by frequent conflict, most ordinary people struggled just to make ends meet; few had the spare time or money for gambling. Only shinobi and samurai, who regularly walked the line between life and death and had relatively decent incomes, tended to frequent such places for relaxation.
After a quick look around the gambling den, Tatsuya, having no interest in gambling himself, prepared to leave. However, as he reached the main entrance, he paused. Glancing down a passageway leading off to the west side of the entrance, he spotted a mission board hanging on the far wall.
So, this place is also an underground black market hub.
Standing before the mission board was a figure that immediately caught Tatsuya's attention. The man was tall, around six feet, with a sturdy build. He wore the signature Akatsuki cloak – black with red clouds – and a Takigakure forehead protector tied around his head, holding back his grey hair.
Tatsuya recognized him instantly: Kakuzu, the missing-nin from Takigakure. This was the infamous character who had supposedly thrown a shuriken at the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, from an incredible distance – a truly ruthless individual.
I didn't expect him to have already joined Akatsuki at this time. The original story never specified exactly when Kakuzu joined the organization. Tatsuya only knew that after joining, Kakuzu became Akatsuki's treasurer, making him a key figure. The vast sums of money Kakuzu earned from completing bounties were a vital source of funding for Akatsuki; he had likely made a significant contribution towards the five hundred million explosive tags Konan later used.
Despite his surprise at seeing Kakuzu in the Akatsuki cloak, Tatsuya kept his expression neutral. After a brief pause, he turned and walked towards the black market mission board as if intending to browse.
Approaching the board, Tatsuya feigned interest, carefully scanning the posted bounties. At the very top, he immediately noticed the listing for the members of ANBU Squad Eleven, their high reward amounts particularly eye-catching.
Standing beside Kakuzu, Tatsuya felt the older ninja's gaze linger on him for several seconds before Kakuzu silently turned and walked away.
Once Kakuzu had left, Tatsuya didn't linger by the bounty board either. Truthfully, even with his various skills and techniques, Tatsuya had no desire to clash with a monster like Kakuzu right now. With his five hearts, Kakuzu could not only wield ninjutsu of five different elemental natures but could also detach his masked entities to act as four independent extensions in a critical moment. Each mask represented another life and a formidable combatant. Unless one could unleash an attack like Naruto's Rasenshuriken, capable of wiping out all the masks at once, killing Kakuzu would be incredibly difficult.
As Tatsuya turned to leave, a slender figure flashed past the corner of his eye, quickly melting into the sparse crowd.
Returning to the inn, Tatsuya enjoyed a peaceful night's sleep. Early the next morning, he resumed his journey.
Traveling along a dirt road several kilometers outside Yamagen Town, Tatsuya, who had been moving at a steady pace, suddenly stopped.
"Come out," he called calmly into the quiet morning air.
"As expected of Akimichi Tatsuya, the Butterfly Mode user from Konoha. Your senses are indeed sharp," a deep voice resonated from behind Tatsuya and to his right. Kakuzu's figure slowly emerged from beside a large tree.
Turning his head, Tatsuya looked at Kakuzu calmly. "You've been following me ever since I left Yamagen Town. May I ask why?" Kakuzu tailing him all this way clearly indicated hostile intent.
As far as I know, I shouldn't have any connection to Akatsuki at this point. So why is this guy following me? Tatsuya felt a surge of annoyance.
Beneath the shadow of the Akatsuki cloak's high collar, Kakuzu's eyes, glowing with a faint green light, fixed on Tatsuya. "Akimichi Tatsuya," he stated in his gruff voice, "Your head is worth thirty million ryo."
Hearing this, Tatsuya was momentarily speechless. This guy really does see everything in terms of money. He even looks at people with price tags in his eyes.
Shrugging slightly, Tatsuya replied softly, "If you want my head, you'll have to prove you have the skill to take it." While he didn't relish fighting a monster like Kakuzu, Tatsuya wasn't afraid of him either. At the very least, he was confident Kakuzu didn't possess the ability to actually kill him.
"Spoken like a shinobi famous throughout the world for his secret technique," Kakuzu retorted. "Let's see if you live up to the reputation."
With a flicker, Kakuzu shot forward from beside the tree, charging straight at Tatsuya.
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