The Hand of God Creates the Strongest Hidden Mist Village

Chapter 168 The Truth About the Bitterness Eight Hundred Miles Away

"One hundred and fifty million taels?"

Gouju Cheng looked at the man in front of him who exuded a dangerous aura, raised his eyebrows slightly, and sized him up.

"Tsk, the person who placed this order is really willing to spend money. I remember last time, my bounty was only thirty million taels. This increase is even faster than Wang Lufei's."

After Gouju Cheng blew up the supply station, the underground gold exchange offered him a bounty of thirty million taels, mainly because he possessed […].

The Grell Stone is an extremely lethal object and poses a very high threat.

Furthermore, Konoha considered it a thorn in their side, hence the price tag of 30 million ryo.

But now, that price has increased fivefold!

"However, knowing that my bounty is comparable to that of the Five Great Village Kage, they still dared to attack me—"

"It seems you want to take on the assassination mission against the [Shadow] again, Kakuzu."

The cloaked figure stiffened slightly, a hint of surprise flashing in his eerie green eyes.

"—Do you know me?"

"The number one money-grubber in the ninja world, a legendary figure who once assassinated the First Hokage, the rogue ninja of Takigakure, Kakuzu," Makoto Karatachi casually remarked. "A regular at underground money exchange shops, he'd do anything for money. Your name isn't much less famous than mine in the black market."

Kakuzu was silent for a moment, then let out a low laugh.

"Interesting. Since you know my name, you still dare to be so calm. It seems that 150 million taels is indeed not easy to get."

,

He slowly lifted the hood of his cloak, revealing a face covered by a mask. His skin had many strange, stitch-like openings, and he wore a headband from the Takigakure village, with a deep, unseen mark on it.

His gaze lingered on Makoto Karatachi, then he glanced at Mangetsu Hozuki, who looked cautious to the side, and his eyes revealed greed.

"The genius of the Hozuki clan, Hozuki Mangetsu, one of the newest ninja swords of Kirigakure, your head is worth ten million ryo!"

Full Moon's expression changed, and she wanted to say something, but was stopped by Gouju Cheng raising his hand.

"Full moon, step back a bit."

Makoto Karuta said in a relaxed tone, "This Mr. Kakuzu is here for me, so don't get involved. Just watch from the sidelines."

"Brother Cheng————"

"obedient."

Full Moon gritted her teeth and finally obeyed, retreating to a more distant place, but her hand remained on the hilt of the knife, ready to strike at any moment.

Kakuzu's gaze returned to Makoto Karatachi, the eerie green light in his eyes intensifying.

"Kid, you're arrogant."

"So-so, third in the ninja world." Makoto shrugged. "But Mr. Kakuzu, there's something I'm curious about."

"explain."

"You must have been recruited by the daimyo to be his bodyguard, right? Knowing that I just reached an agreement with the daimyo, why did you still attack me?"

Kakuzu was silent for a moment, then let out a low laugh.

"Kid, you're too young. You can never have too much money."

"The daimyo's employees are there to protect him; whether or not he hunts you is none of his business. Besides, you're worth 150 million taels of silver—that's a sum I simply can't resist!"

"Am I really that much like an ATM?"

After hearing this, Gouju Cheng couldn't help but laugh.

"Honestly, you know I have a bounty of 150 million taels of silver on my head, so have you ever wondered why I have such a high bounty?"

"If a snake tries to swallow an elephant, it will die, Kakuzu."

"A snake trying to swallow an elephant?"

Kakuzu's eyes turned cold, and his aura suddenly became dangerous.

"I am the man who once assassinated the First Hokage—"

"Stop, stop." Makoto Goji waved his hand, looking helpless. "You have the nerve to bring up throwing a shuriken from 800 miles away? If I were you, I'd find a crack in the ground to crawl into and never mention it again."

Kakuzu's face immediately turned ashen.

"You're asking for it!"

"Fire Release: Head Carving!"

Scorching flames erupted from his mouth like a volcanic eruption, turning into a sea of ​​fire that swept over Gouju Cheng.

Gouju Cheng remained expressionless and didn't even move.

Just as the flames were about to engulf him, Kamui!

Makoto Kuraki's body instantly became ethereal, transforming into a distorted phantom. The scorching flames passed right through him without causing any harm.

Kakuzu's pupils suddenly contracted.

"Space-time ninjutsu?!"

"You got it right, but there's no reward."

As Makoto Karatachi's voice rang out, the distorted space suddenly fell upon Kakuzu.

Kakuzu was greatly shocked. In the instant his body twisted, it suddenly tore apart. The terrifying crushing force was enough to tear any flesh and blood body to pieces.

However, at this critical moment...

puff!puff!

Almost simultaneously, a dull bang rang out.

Kakuzu's body exploded from within like a bursting fruit. Four bizarre monsters, formed from countless twisted and intertwined black tentacles, gushing out of his body with viscous fluids and a nauseating stench!

"What, what is this?!"

Hozuki Mangetsu stared wide-eyed, his face filled with shock.

Is this guy even human?

"This is the Earthly Grudge Demon."

Gouju Cheng raised an eyebrow slightly.

There are many forbidden and secret techniques in the ninja world that can greatly modify and evolve the human body. For example, the Konoha Aburame clan uses their own bodies and chakra to raise insect swarms.

For example, a guy named Hiruko is constantly researching something called "Oni-ger" in the hopes of using it to become the ultimate ninja.

The Earthly Grudges are a particularly unique type of being among them.

It is a forbidden technique of Takigakure, which allows one to gain near-immortality by modifying their body and to prolong their life and acquire chakra attributes by consuming the hearts of others.

As long as his heart is still alive, Kakuzu will not die!

The four tentacle monsters are all different in shape, and each one wears a mask at the top, with words engraved on it: Wind Release Mask, Fire Release Mask, Lightning Release Mask, and Water Release Mask.

Like severed snakes, they writhed wildly, detached from Kakuzu's original body, and scattered in all directions.

Kamui's attack only destroyed Kakuzu's original body, but failed to truly kill him!

"Bastard, bastard!"

Kakuzu's four masks simultaneously emitted angry roars, their voices overlapping like demonic sounds from hell.

The tentacles writhed rapidly on the ground, reformed and merged, and soon reformed into a complete body.

However, this body was no longer in human form, but a monster made of countless black tentacles. Four tentacles extended from the shoulder blades and back, with four hideous masks at the top.

"You actually—destroyed my heart!"

Kakuzu's voice was filled with anger and murderous intent, his eerie green eyes fixed on Makoto Karatachi, as if he wanted to devour him alive.

"That body contains my most important organ! Do you know how many years I lived to find such a suitable heart?!"

"interesting."

Makoto looked with great interest at the monster in front of him, which consisted of tentacles and a mask.

It has four hearts, four chakra natures, and can also separate into independent combat units, working together seamlessly to form a unified offense and defense.

This forbidden technique is of considerable research value for White Zetsu research, which is currently in the cell fusion stage!

"You brat!"

Kakuzu's four tentacles lashed out simultaneously, and the four masks opened their mouths at the same time, letting out angry roars.

"I'll rip your heart out! I'll let you taste what it's like to be devoured by the Earth Grudge!"

"Fire Release: Head Carving!"

The blazing flames erupted again, this time more fiercely and over a wider area, almost covering the entire street.

But Gouju Cheng remained undeterred.

Kamui becomes ethereal!

Flames passed right through him, instantly setting the houses on both sides of the street ablaze, the raging fire turning half the sky red.

"it's useless."

Makoto Karuta's voice came from within the flames, tinged with mockery: "What good is your escape technique if you can't touch me?"

"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"

His response was a blinding flash of lightning.

however.

Kamui's intangibility still worked perfectly.

The lightning pierced through Makoto's body, disappeared into the ground behind him, and blasted open a huge crater.

"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"

"Water Release: Water Curtain!"

Kakuzu's main body has an earth attribute heart, while the remaining four hearts have lightning, wind, water, and fire attributes respectively.

Four hearts, four escape techniques, bombarding in turn, relentlessly.

The entire street was completely destroyed in just a dozen seconds, with flames, lightning, gales, floods, and rocks intertwining to create a devastating inferno.

However, Makoto Kujira remained standing in place, arms crossed, a smile on his face, as if watching a grand fireworks display.

All the attacks passed right through him just before they were about to hit him.

"Mr. Kakuzu, aren't you tired?"

Gouju Cheng yawned: "Want to take a break before continuing?"

Kakuzu finally stopped attacking, staring intently at Makoto Karatachi, his eyes filled with fear and shock.

What kind of space-time ability is this?!

He had lived for so many years, seen countless powerful figures, and experienced countless battles, but he had never seen such bizarre methods.

He was standing right there, making no defensive moves, yet all attacks were ineffective against him!

It was as if he didn't exist in this space at all, but was just a phantom that could be seen but not touched.

This is just too much!

Kakuzu's countless black tentacles danced wildly in the air, like an angry swarm of snakes.

But he did not launch another attack rashly.

Having lived for over ninety years and experienced countless life-and-death battles, Kakuzu understands one principle better than anyone else.

When faced with unknown capabilities, recklessness will only hasten death.

He originally thought that Makoto Karatachi was only able to get such a high bounty by taking advantage of the momentum of the war between Kirigakure and Konoha, as well as the nepotism that Yagura had built after he successfully took over.

What? You're saying that the legendary Makoto Karatachi defeated Konoha single-handedly?

What a joke! How could such a thing be true? Do you think he's Madara Uchiha or Hashirama Senju?

But at this moment it seems—

"Looks like he's calmed down."

Makoto Koji smiled slightly, then his eyes turned cold: "However, as a bounty hunter ninja, you should understand one thing, right?"

"What?!"

"When you begin to hunt as a hunter, you yourself have already become prey."

Before he could finish speaking, a distorted space suddenly appeared around Kakuzu, and a terrifying strangulation force instantly tore half of his body apart.

puff!

Black flesh and blood flew everywhere, and the body was torn apart like paper in the distorted space.

Two hearts.

In a single exchange, Kamui destroyed Kakuzu's two hearts once again.

Kakuzu was terrified and lost all will to fight. His mangled body shot into the sky like a cannonball and flew away into the distance.

But why would Gouju Cheng give him a chance?

"Amatilas!"

Ink-black flames suddenly ignited from Kakuzu's remaining body!

The flames had no temperature, no light, yet they spread and devoured like maggots clinging to bones in a strange and resolute manner.

"ah!!!"

Kakuzu let out a heart-wrenching scream.

His prized Earthly Grudge Technique and his immortal body, which had sustained him for over ninety years, were now utterly useless before the Amaterasu Black Flame.

The jet-black tentacles twisted, charred, and turned to ash in the flames. The two remaining hearts didn't even have time to separate before they were completely consumed by the black flames.

"No—impossible—"

Kakuzu's voice grew weaker and weaker, his eerie green eyes fixed on the figure standing below with his hands behind his back, filled with resentment and despair.

He lived for over ninety years, assassinated the First Hokage, and experienced countless life-and-death situations, but he never imagined he would die like this.

"See? You dare to challenge me without understanding the difference in strength? You don't even have a one in ten thousand chance of winning," Makoto Kuraki said calmly. "Go in peace. I will study your Earth Grudge Fear carefully."

As soon as he finished speaking, Amaterasu's black flames completely engulfed Kakuzu's last remaining body.

The once-renowned Takigakure rogue ninja, the bounty hunter who struck fear into the hearts of countless people, was reduced to ashes in the pitch-black flames.

Only a few charred, barely recognizable fragments remained, scattered on the ground, emitting a nauseating, burnt smell.

Gouju Cheng raised his hand and used the sealing scroll to collect the remaining fragments that might still retain the activity of the Earthly Grudge.

This stuff might be very useful for his ongoing white blood cell fusion experiment.

After doing all this, he turned around and looked at Hozuki Mangetsu, who was completely stunned not far away.

"What are you standing there for? Let's go."

"Huh? Oh, oh!"

As if waking from a dream, the full moon quickly followed.

"Brother Cheng, I feel like you're getting more and more amazing!"

"What, wasn't I good before?"

"No, no, it's different."

Hozuki Mangetsu kept shaking his head.

Makoto Karatachi was indeed very powerful in the past, but the feeling he got back then was that of "limited power"—the kind of power that was indeed very strong, but there were active restrictions on how he used it, so he couldn't unleash his full strength and dared not act recklessly.

But at this moment, Makoto Kujira gave him the feeling that—

It's that feeling of completely letting go!

"You're making a fuss over nothing." Gouju Cheng patted him on the shoulder. "Once you've been hanging out with me for a while, your brother Cheng will be even more awesome than he is now."

Full Moon nodded emphatically, his eyes filled with adoration.

The two walked along the completely destroyed streets toward the outskirts of the city of Daming.

Behind him, the remains of Kakuzu gradually cooled in the wind, the black scorch marks seeming to tell the story of the end of an era.

In the distance, on a high-rise building somewhere in the Daming Palace.

The daimyo of the Land of Fire stood with his hands behind his back, taking in the entire battle through a specially made telescope.

Behind him, the housekeeper who had introduced him to Makoto Kujira stood bowing, barely daring to breathe.

-

After a long while, the lord put down the binoculars and let out a long breath.

"Kakuzu... he's really dead?"

"Yes, Your Highness," the steward replied in a low voice, "Karagi Makoto—he was killed in just a few breaths."

Daming remained silent for a moment, a complex light flashing in his eyes.

Kakuzu was one of the bodyguards he hired at great expense; he was the one who had once tried to assassinate the First Hokage!

Although they failed, how many people in the entire ninja world could survive and escape from the First Hokage?

Yet, this very person was as fragile as paper in front of Makoto Kariju, and was easily crushed.

"Your Highness, what exactly is this guy—"

"Ah, I see the shadows of those two in him."

Daimyo glanced at him, his tone enigmatic: "What an extraordinary fellow."

"Isn't this guy too dangerous? Should we notify Konoha?

"It is precisely because of the danger that we should befriend them. It is precisely because of their strength that we should cooperate with them."

Daimyo gave a light snort and said calmly, "Kouju Makoto is a man of limitless potential. With him in the Mist Village, its future is destined to be prosperous. Befriending him is the way for our Fire Country to survive in the coming decades."

"Pass down the order," the daimyo said in a deep voice. "I will cover all of Gouju Makoto's expenses in the daimyo prefecture. Also, prepare a generous gift and personally deliver it to him when he returns from his business."

"yes!"

The official bowed and accepted the order, but his heart was in turmoil.

His Highness's regard for Makoto Kuraki has reached such an extent, even comparing him to those two—this is truly astounding!

The daimyo ignored the official's surprise and simply gazed quietly into the distance.

The image of Makoto Kojiro, who effortlessly and effortlessly crushed Kakuzu, left a deep imprint on his heart.

Two hundred million taels?

value!

Too much value!

Having left Daimyo Prefecture, Makoto Karatachi was naturally unaware of what was happening behind him.

He carried the full moon eastward, heading towards the Land of Grass.

-

"Brother Cheng, are we just leaving like this? Aren't we going to tell those nobles?" Manyue asked.

"Shut up." Gouju Cheng rolled his eyes. "I've already taken the money and the job, what's there to say? We'll talk about it when I get back."

"oh."

Full Moon nodded, then suddenly remembered something.

"By the way, Makoto, when you were fighting Kakuzu earlier, how long did that black flame called Amaterasu last?"

"It keeps burning," Makoto Koji said casually, "until the target is completely burned out. That's why it's called the Flame That Never Dies."

""

"It keeps burning?!" Manyue gasped. "What if it spreads to our own people?"

"That's why it's called a pupil technique; only the user can control it."

"What if the caster dies?"

"Then keep burning it until the target disappears." Makoto Koji glanced at him. "What, you want to try?"

"No, no, no!" Man Yue waved her hands repeatedly, shaking her head like a rattle drum.

The two chatted and laughed as they hurried along, soon disappearing into the vast forest.