"Kakuzu!"
"It's Lord Kakuzu!"
"The money-grubbing maniac, the immortal monster!"
Compared to Zabuza, these rogue ninjas were more familiar with the black market expert, Kakuzu.
There was no helping it; the guy was obsessed with wealth.
As long as a mission had a high bounty, he was almost always involved, and he almost always succeeded.
Most importantly, the guy was a workaholic. At his busiest, he could complete over ten missions a day.
According to some informed individuals, the wealth he had accumulated was probably enough to buy a small country.
Possessing such riches, he still hadn't forgotten his original aspirations, remaining active in the black market every day, taking missions everywhere, and earning bounties.
Of course, there was no shortage of people who set their sights on him, but for decades he had survived. The name "Immortal Monster" slowly began to spread throughout the ninja world.
"Seems like we've got a real tough one here.
"Akamaru, are you scared?"
"Woof!!!"
"Good boy! You're not afraid at all! Alright then, let's take this guy down!
"Fang over fang!" Kiba roared, pulling up two fierce tornadoes with Akamaru. They swept across the terrain.
"Kiba, don't be impulsive! Come back!" Kurenai, being a Jonin, knew some intel on Kakuzu.
This was simply not an opponent a Konoha Genin could handle.
"Hehe, too late."
"Wind Style: Pressure Damage!"
The wide robe behind Kakuzu suddenly bulged, faintly revealing some wriggling black threads hidden within.
The next moment, two high-pressure wind spheres whistled out. The fierce wind pressure swept all the fallen leaves in the surrounding area into the air.
Kiba and Akamaru, bearing the brunt of the attack, understood the severity of the situation. They quickly slammed towards the ground, trying to use the opportunity to retreat.
"Damn it, it's too late!" Kurenai's eyes widened, her body flashing as she rapidly ran forward.
Just as the high-pressure wind spheres attacked from the air, Kiba and Akamaru, unable to dodge in time, suddenly floated into the air and swiftly drifted backward.
Tenseigan: Universal Pull!
Rumble!!!
The violent wind pressure caused a large area of the surrounding ground to collapse. Tearing wind blades gradually enlarged toward Kiba's rapidly retreating form, then vanished into nothingness.
"Holy crap, I almost died!
"Woof woof!"
Having narrowly escaped death, Kiba's eyes widened.
He patted his chest, still in shock, then picked up the equally trembling Akamaru.
"Kiba, you idiot! Don't act so recklessly! Don't you even see who your opponent is?" Natsuki's lazy voice came from behind.
It was he who had used his Tenseigan's ability to pull them back.
"Tha… Thank you, Natsuki." Knowing that it was Natsuki's strange abilities that saved him once again, Kiba quickly thanked him loudly.
"That guy is tough. Everyone be careful. I'll hold him off. You guys take Tazuna and go." Kurenai said with a solemn expression.
"Thank you, but they're after me. You should leave quickly; I have a way to stall him." At this moment, Haku walked over apologetically.
His pink kimono swayed in the wind, and several scars were clearly visible on his fair calves.
Coupled with his current breathless appearance, he was even more charming than a delicate young lady.
"Do you really think you're his only target? Didn't you hear what he said when he showed up? We're all his targets." Seeing Haku like this, Kiba felt a pang of sympathy.
But he also knew he was no match for that monster, so he could only look at Natsuki.
In his opinion, Natsuki was not only powerful, but also a teammate who could create miracles.
"Kiba's right. We can't run far; we'd still be on this island.
"I'll deal with him. You guys just cover me." Natsuki took a step forward, his entire body slowly levitating in front of everyone.
He stood half a foot off the ground, facing the wind, with quite the air of a powerful expert.
"What kind of jutsu is this? Those Konoha guys seem pretty powerful."
"Aren't those just a few Konoha Genin? Since when did Genin's became this strong?"
"Maybe it's just a bluff."
"No, he just helped his teammate dodge Lord Kakuzu's attack from a distance."
The rogue ninjas discussed amongst themselves.
In the ninja world, flight was still a difficult feat. More often than not, it required the aid of summoning animals or tools to achieve short-distance flight.
Natsuki casually hovering in the air like this was truly frightening.
"Interesting. Let me see how many tricks you have up your sleeve." Kakuzu's voice was deep as he stared intently at Natsuki.
Having roamed the ninja world for decades and even escaped from the First Hokage, he was adept at thinking and remaining calm.
He had survived countless life-or-death situations, escaping danger not by relying on his bizarre abilities, but on his sharp mind.
Earlier, when he saw Kiba being pulled away out of thin air, he had become wary, secretly taking note of this exceptionally handsome boy.
Now, seeing him levitate, he was even more astonished. He had only seen this kind of technique used by one other person: his current leader, Pain of the Akatsuki!
Could this kid have some connection to Leader? This thought flashed through his mind, making Kakuzu even more hesitant to act rashly.
"Agumon!" At this moment, Natsuki waved behind him.
A peculiar-looking monster with a large head and a small body trotted over, panting. Then, under everyone's bewildered gazes, Natsuki placed his right hand on Agumon's head.
"Agumon, evolve!"
Agumon tilted its head, blinked its eyes, and stared at its owner in confusion. Silence fell over the scene; everyone looked at each other.
They thought this boy with the strange abilities was about to unleash some powerful technique, but it turned out to be a dud.
"Ahahaha, the pose was a bit wrong! Let's try again!" Natsuki quickly laughed, placing his palm on Agumon's head once more.
"Evolve, Agumon!"
After a brief silence, the rogue ninjas finally erupted in an uproar.
"He thinks a beast can evolve just by patting it?"
"I think this kid is messing with us."
"He's definitely stalling for time, waiting for Konoha reinforcements."
"Let's just go ahead and kill him!"
Immediately, some rogue ninjas charged forward from the side furthest from Kakuzu.
However, before they could reach Natsuki, circles of ice mirrors rose from the ground. The several charging ninjas were instantly knocked to the ground.
"Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals!" It was Haku, with his unique Kekkei Genkai, who had made the move.
"Could I be wrong? Does he have no connection to Leader? Are these just some unknown parlor tricks?" Kakuzu, who had been keeping his eyes on Natsuki, noticed that the boy, despite possessing an ability similar to Leader's, showed no other unusual signs.
He wasn't even wearing a ring symbolizing Akatsuki membership. He even needed others to protect him when facing danger.
"It seems I was overthinking it. In that case, there's no need for you to exist."
"Fire Style: Searing Migraine!"
A vast sea of surging flames erupted, with Haku's Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals bearing the brunt of the attack.
Layers of erected ice mirrors and walls were instantly melted away in large swathes.
"Natsuki, is this, is this the trigger for evolution?" Kiba's eyes gleamed.
"Uh, yeah?" Natsuki glanced at Agumon, whose head was dizzy from being patted, and nodded with slight embarrassment.
Compared to the others' disbelief, thinking Natsuki was playing them, Kiba, as a teammate who had already witnessed Natsuki successfully evolve a lizard into Agumon, firmly believed him.
He finally understood why he had been trying to make Akamaru evolve but had always failed. It was the wrong timing.
Then, here goes nothing! Kiba also called Akamaru over and slammed his right hand onto its head:
"Akamaru, evolve!"
After a while, besides the crackling of the approaching flames burning the fallen leaves, there was no other unusual activity.
"Hahahahaha."
"As expected, they're just here for comic relief."
"These are Konoha ninjas?"
"There's nothing to be afraid of. Once that little girl's ice shield jutsu is broken by Lord Kakuzu, it'll be their death."
The dense crowd of rogue ninjas in the distance burst into laughter.
They had initially thought some unexpected turn of events might occur, but now it seemed there were no surprises to be had.
Later, they would just charge behind Lord Kakuzu, safely earning their mission rewards.
"Natsuki, Kiba, run! I...I can't hold on much longer." Haku, who was shielding Natsuki and the others, turned his head and urged them with difficulty.
Fine beads of sweat rapidly slid down his delicate face.
Ice mirrors continuously rose, melted, and were devoured by the sea of fire ten meters ahead.
"No, it'll work, it definitely will!" Seeing Haku's situation, Kiba became even more anxious. He pressed his right hand hard onto Akamaru's head again.
"Please, I believe you can do it.
"Akamaru, evolve!!!"
A dazzling pillar of light shot up from the ground…
join my patreon for 70+ advanced chapters: patreon.com/HyppoTL