Surrounded by countless puppets, Sakumo Hatake showed no fear. Weaving through the ranks of the puppet masters, he moved like a whirlwind, every strike swift and deadly. His blade sliced through the air with the speed of lightning, cutting down three more puppet masters in mere moments. His unparalleled swordsmanship, paired with the sheer destructive force of his Lightning Release techniques, made him a force to be reckoned with.
The future Sannin? What could they possibly use to contend with him?
Tsunade? She could be ruled out entirely.
Orochimaru? While his immortality gave him an edge, he would still need to think twice. If Sakumo managed to land a sealing jutsu, even Orochimaru would meet his end.
Jiraiya? Perhaps with Sage Mode, he could put up a fight.
What an unexpected individual, Kakuzu mused, giving a rare moment of praise. He couldn't help but wonder—if the late Sakumo Hatake, once the Head of Konoha's Anbu, had survived, wouldn't the village's dominance have remained unshaken?
Sakumo Hatake was undeniably a genius and a formidable warrior. Though only twenty-four or twenty-five, his talent was already shining brightly. Yet, Sakumo himself likely hadn't anticipated his abilities being exposed so soon. With no other option, he attempted a direct assault on the leader of the unit.
Unfortunately, his efforts fell short. Not only did he fail to take down the commander, Kazuo, but he also found himself surrounded by countless puppet masters.
In a one-on-one fight, Sakumo would crush any of them. But with hundreds of puppets attacking from every possible angle, even he felt the pressure. No matter how fast his swordsmanship was, cutting down dozens of puppets in one strike was impossible.
A surge of Lightning Release erupted from him, creating a massive explosion and temporarily scattering the puppets. Taking advantage of the brief reprieve, Sakumo quickly formed a hand seal. With a Body Flicker Technique, he vanished from the battlefield.
Seven or eight seconds later, Kakuzu remained seated atop a rock, motionless like a mountain, though his coat flapped slightly in the wind.
Sakumo reappeared beside him, breathing heavily. Taking a moment to assess the situation ahead, he cast a quick glance at Kakuzu but didn't speak first.
"You're good at running, kid," Kakuzu remarked, glancing at Sakumo with a sidelong look.
The situation below had already turned into Sakumo's personal battlefield against Sunagakure. But now, it seemed, Sakumo had grown tired and decided to shift the problem back to Kakuzu. His calculations weren't half bad.
Taking a deep breath, Sakumo offered a sheepish smile.
"It's been years, but I recognized you at first glance, Kakuzu-sama."
"Kakuzu-sama has always been an ally of Konoha. Naturally, I'd choose to stand by your side," Sakumo added, his words smooth and flattering. If only his son had inherited even half of his social skills, maybe he wouldn't have stayed single his whole life.
"Ally, you say?" Kakuzu's tone turned cold. "And yet, your Konoha initiated a war in White Tree Town. My lab, my subordinates, and even my kin were all lost there. Care to explain that?"
"Ah... this, uh..." Sakumo froze, clearly caught off guard. His expression betrayed both confusion and disbelief. It was evident he hadn't received this piece of intelligence during his mission.
Seeing Sakumo's bewildered look, Kakuzu let the matter drop. There was no point in pressing him further. As for why Sakumo had appeared here, the reason wasn't hard to guess.
At this point in time, Konoha's situation was far from ideal. With Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others in power, the village faced numerous challenges. While they inherited parts of Tobirama Senju's will, even if you combined their strategic minds, they couldn't measure up to a fraction of their predecessor's brilliance.
Additionally, the Land of Fire held the most fertile lands in the ninja world, making it a prime target. These factors, both subjective and objective, had left Konoha in a precarious position.
To the west, they faced Sunagakure and Iwagakure. To the east, Kumogakure. In the middle, Hanzo of the Salamander from the Land of Rain was waging war against them.
Konoha was essentially fighting a four-front war. The situation was dire.
This precarious position prompted the Second Kazekage, Shamon, to attempt a surprise attack on Konoha. With dozens of puppet masters controlling hundreds of puppets, it wasn't hard to imagine them capturing several key outposts of the Land of Fire's border.
However, Shamon underestimated Konoha's intelligence network. News of his plan to dispatch a squad for a sneak attack eventually reached Konoha.
Even so, Konoha was in a tight spot. Most of its capable ninja were already deployed elsewhere, and the village was struggling to find strong fighters. Hiruzen Sarutobi nearly took his staff and went to the frontlines himself.
Thankfully, Sakumo Hatake had just returned from a mission. Entrusted with a critical task, he was sent to face Sunagakure's forces.
Hiruzen's orders weren't for Sakumo to defeat the puppet unit's leader outright. Instead, he was instructed to stall their advance, buying Konoha enough time to reorganize its forces at the border.
After killing one of the puppet masters, Sakumo used the Transformation Jutsu to infiltrate their ranks. When the opportunity arose, he planned to assassinate Kazuo.
Unfortunately, his attempt failed.
"Sakumo Hatake," Kakuzu said, his tone firm.
"Here," Sakumo responded promptly.
Sakumo held great respect for Kakuzu.
Kakuzu pointed to the puppet forces below, who were regrouping for another attack.
"Go down there and cut through them—seven in, seven out. After that, I'll teach you a far more brutal jutsu."
This statement caught Sakumo Hatake's attention. Kakuzu, after all, was a man from the same era as the First Hokage. A "brutal jutsu" from someone like him was bound to be extraordinary.
However, Sakumo hesitated, swallowing hard before responding with a slightly embarrassed tone.
"Kakuzu-sama, please don't joke. Slashing through hundreds of puppets would take a lot of effort. If I were to fight them head-on, I'd probably run out of energy after cutting down just a hundred or so."
He glanced at Kakuzu and suggested earnestly, "How about this? We work together. I'll handle the puppeteer on the left, and you take care of the one on the right."
Sakumo, still quite young, had immense potential. The fact that he could even think about cutting down hundreds of puppets at his age was already a remarkable feat. In fact, he had confidence in his ability to accomplish such a task. But what he didn't expect was Kakuzu's cold response to his suggestion.
"Pathetic."
"What?" Sakumo's brow twitched involuntarily.
From a young age, Sakumo had earned respect in Konoha. People would often praise him as a genius. Even the Hokage's three disciples weren't a match for him in one-on-one combat. Though he constantly reminded himself to remain humble, his confidence in his strength was unshakable. Yet, here was Kakuzu, dismissing him outright as a waste of space.
Sakumo took a deep breath, calming himself as he directed his gaze toward the sea of puppets ahead.
"Kakuzu-sama, then how do you suggest we handle this?"
"You're still asking me how to fight? Just charge in and smash through them."
"You've got to be kidding," Sakumo muttered, stunned by the sheer absurdity of Kakuzu's answer.
Kakuzu didn't bother with further explanation. With an air of impatience, he stood up and said,
"Watch closely. I'm only going to show you this once."
With a casual leap, Kakuzu landed on the sandy ground below, a solid seven or eight meters down. His legs bent slightly upon impact, his hands resting on his knees as if he hadn't a care in the world.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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