Chapter 188: Konoha Ninja vs. Bounty Hunters

Chapter 188: Chapter 188: Konoha Ninja vs. Bounty Hunters

Through his Byakugan, Hyuga Kagami discovered that a large group of Uchiha clansmen had somehow joined the Third Hokage—and even the Uchiha Clan Head, Uchiha Fugaku, was among them.

"Tch..."

Clicking his tongue, Kagami set the large case of money down on the ground right in front of Sasori and Kakuzu, then pulled a storage scroll from the ninja pouch at his waist.

Kakuzu’s gaze immediately fell on the case. Judging from its size, he mentally estimated how much money it contained before saying, "Looks like you just finished a pretty lucrative job."

Unlike Kakuzu, whose eyes had instantly locked onto the money, Sasori’s attention was entirely focused on Kagami’s right arm.

"Huh? What’s going on? I clearly destroyed his right arm. Did he replace it with a puppet arm?"

During their previous battle, Sasori had used his Ice Release human puppet’s "Ice-Binding Coffin" to completely tear off the right arm of Kagami’s A-Type clone. So seeing Kagami standing there now with his right arm perfectly intact left Sasori both surprised and suspicious.

Kagami unfurled the scroll, placed the case of money on top of it, and smiled.

"Gentlemen, it looks like I’ll have to trouble you this time."

Sasori frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Before Sasori could even finish speaking, figure after figure shot out from the nearby forest.

Leading the group was none other than the Third Hokage of Konoha, wielding the Adamantine Staff. Close behind him was Uchiha Clan Head Uchiha Fugaku, followed by a large contingent of Konoha ANBU and members of the Military Police Force.

Sasori and Kakuzu were both startled and immediately assumed defensive stances.

The Third Hokage was the man who had led Konoha through three Great Ninja Wars. His reputation surpassed even that of the Kage of the other major shinobi villages, making him arguably the most prominent figure in the shinobi world today.

Thus, even lawless rogue ninja like Sasori and Kakuzu couldn’t help but look as though they were facing a formidable enemy upon seeing the Third Hokage in person.

"Seal!"

Poof!

Amid a burst of white smoke, the case of money was sealed inside the scroll.

After putting the scroll away, Kagami smiled lightly at the Third Hokage.

"Lord Hokage, there are four of us here, and every one of us is among the very best in the bounty-hunter world. I’d advise you to think this through carefully before doing anything reckless."

The Third Hokage glanced at Kakuzu, who was carrying a corpse on his back, then shifted his gaze toward Sasori beside him.

Information on the two immediately flashed through his mind.

"Kakuzu, rogue ninja of Takigakure... Sasori of the Red Sand, rogue ninja of Sunagakure..."

Kakuzu had been active in the black market for years, so gathering information on him was hardly difficult for a major shinobi village like Konoha. Sasori, meanwhile, was already a renowned shinobi of Sunagakure.

Thus, it didn’t take the Third Hokage long to recognize the two of them.

Uchiha Fugaku, meanwhile, had his gaze fixed firmly on Shisui, who was wearing the flame-patterned mask.

With his clan head staring at him like that, Shisui grew increasingly guilty. His heart was practically in his throat. He hadn’t expected that not only would the Third Hokage pursue them all the way here, but even the Uchiha Military Police Force would follow.

Sasori and Kakuzu weren’t fools. After thinking it over for a moment, they more or less figured out what had happened.

While secretly marveling at Kamigami’s ability to stir up trouble, the two of them also began quietly planning their escape routes.

At that moment, Kagami continued, "This might scare you, but the guy beside me carrying that corpse is one of the strongest members of the Akatsuki. Back in the day, he even tried to assassinate Konoha’s First Hokage. And that red-haired guy next to him is Sunagakure’s strongest shinobi. According to certain rumors, he’s the one who killed the Third Kazekage."

"What!?"

Upon hearing Kagami’s words, the Konoha ANBU and members of the Uchiha Military Police Force cried out in shock.

As elite shinobi of Konoha, they had naturally heard of Kakuzu and Sasori to some extent. But this was the first time they had ever heard such explosive revelations—that Kakuzu had once attempted to assassinate the First Hokage, and that Sasori had killed the Third Kazekage.

Even the Third Hokage himself was secretly startled by Kagami’s words, let alone the ordinary ANBU and Military Police.

The mysterious disappearance of the Third Kazekage had always been one of the great unsolved mysteries of the shinobi world. The incident had ultimately triggered a series of chain reactions and could even be considered one of the sparks that ignited the Third Great Ninja War.

Fugaku also shifted his gaze toward Sasori and Kakuzu, finally beginning to take the two rogue ninja in red-cloud cloaks seriously.

At that moment, Kagami lightly slapped his forehead, putting on an annoyed expression.

"Ah, sorry about that. I forgot Konoha and Sunagakure are allies now. Guess I let that one slip!"

Because of the pressure from Kumogakure, Konoha had already formally entered into an alliance with Sunagakure.

Therefore, now that the Third Hokage had encountered the culprit responsible for killing the Third Kazekage, if he failed to seek justice for Konoha’s ally, dealing with Sunagakure in the future would become rather awkward.

With every sentence Kagami spoke, Sasori and Kakuzu’s expressions grew darker.

When Kagami mentioned that Kakuzu had once attempted to assassinate the First Hokage and that Sasori had killed the Third Kazekage, the two were both shocked and suspicious.

Naturally, they understood that Kagami was deliberately screwing them over.

What they couldn’t figure out, no matter how hard they thought about it, was how Kagami knew secrets like these in the first place.

The Third Hokage’s gaze sharpened as he made up his mind.

One was a rogue ninja who had once attempted to assassinate the First Hokage.

The other was a rogue ninja who had murdered the Third Kazekage of Konoha’s allied village.

Now that he had encountered them, there was naturally no way the Third Hokage could simply turn a blind eye.

"Don’t let a single one of them escape!"

At the Third Hokage’s command, the battle erupted in an instant.

Seeing that his objective had been achieved, Kagami flickered to Shisui’s side and whispered,

"Go!"

In the next instant, Kagami and Shisui broke through the encirclement in one direction.

Fugaku’s attention had been fixed on Shisui the entire time. He still believed that the person beneath the flame-patterned mask was Uchiha Shinichi, so the moment Kagami and Shisui made their breakout, Fugaku immediately led the Uchiha Military Police Force after them without hesitation.

Seeing that Fugaku had set his sights on Kagami and Shisui, the Third Hokage pondered briefly before leading the ANBU straight toward Sasori and Kakuzu.

Sasori and Kakuzu didn’t even need to think.

They turned and fled.

Kakuzu even tossed aside the corpse he had been carrying on his back.

As they were breaking through the encirclement, Shisui glanced back at Fugaku, who was relentlessly pursuing them, and inwardly groaned.

"Senpai, what do we do now?"

Kagami noticed that the Third Hokage had been drawn away by Sasori and Kakuzu, and his heart immediately brightened.

"Don’t worry. This is the perfect opportunity for us to use Kamigami’s name and see what your Uchiha Military Police Force is made of!"

Although Shisui had already resolved himself to fight against his fellow clansmen, he had never imagined that moment would come so soon.

Before long, the battlefield had split into two separate fronts, gradually pulling farther and farther apart.

Kagami’s group had already plunged deep into a dense forest, while Sasori and Kakuzu fled downstream along the river.

Seeing that they had put enough distance between themselves and the Third Hokage, Kagami immediately called out to Shisui,

"Do it!"

With that, Kagami abruptly spun around and rapidly formed hand seals.

"Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique!"

A massive torrent of water surged forth.

Shisui’s figure flickered.

Stepping atop the raging waves of the Great Waterfall, he charged straight toward the Uchiha Clan Head—

Uchiha Fugaku...