In a remote area of the Land of Lightning.
Stepping out of the foul-smelling underground bounty office, Kakuzu arrived at the designated meeting spot to wait for his contact.
This meticulous man, known for being greedy and calculating every minute of his life, surprisingly displayed patience.
Of course, this patience only applied to his major clients.
About ten minutes later, a figure emerged from the dense forest. Yeyue Ibuki appeared before Kakuzu, carrying a black case.
Kakuzu let out a raspy, gurgling chuckle, like the grinding of old gears. "Mr. Yeyue, it's been so long without any operation updates. Since you've come in person, could it be you want to cancel the commission? If that's truly the case, I must regretfully inform you—cancellations don't qualify for refunds."
"How could that possibly be?" Yeyue Ibuki lifted the black case slightly in his hand. "I value wealth just as much as you do, Mr. Kakuzu."
"Then what brings you here this time?" Kakuzu stared intently at the case, as if trying to confirm whether it contained money.
"Mr. Kakuzu, how would you describe your strength within the Akatsuki organization? And who exactly is the person capable of commanding someone like you?"
"If Mr. Yeyue is willing to offer five hundred thousand ryō, I'd be happy to share some publicly available information," Kakuzu replied with deliberate seriousness.
Yeyue Ibuki stopped pressing further and said, "I'm actually here on behalf of Kumogakure to issue a request to the Akatsuki organization."
"Kumogakure?"
"That's right. Kumogakure has come into conflict with Konoha. We hope the Akatsuki can provide someone of your caliber to help Kumogakure defeat Konoha."
Kakuzu narrowed his eyes, pausing for a long moment before speaking. "This seems contradictory with your previous task—defeating the Fifth Raikage."
"How could there be contradiction?" Ibuki stared directly into his eyes. "One is a personal mission for the Yeyue clan, while the other is an official one for Kumogakure. They're unrelated."
"You want us to kill or defeat Yugito, the Fifth Raikage?"
"If you truly possess such power, injuring Yugito severely will suffice..."
Yugito — the Jinchuriki of the Two-Tails and the Fifth Raikage — was far too strong. Within Kumogakure, no one could control her. The Yeyue clan would lose all influence.
He merely hoped for Yugito to suffer serious injuries, allowing redistribution of the two Tailed Beasts and selection of new Jinchuriki for resealing.
As for directly arranging someone to kill Yugito—he had never even considered doing that himself.
After all, should a Jinchuriki die, their Tailed Beast would disappear for quite some time.
Moreover, the Yeyue clan didn't even believe the story about the Eight-Tails going berserk.
"I understand now," Kakuzu suddenly smiled faintly. "So first we handle Konoha, then proceed with our own plan."
How interesting—an entire village creating linked missions.
"What about the advance payment this time?"
Ibuki handed over the black case he carried.
Excitement gleamed in Kakuzu's greenish eyes.
Opening the case, he picked up one bundle and calculated the total amount in ryō based on denomination and quantity.
"Only six hundred thousand ryō?" He asked discontentedly. "With just this much money, it'll be difficult for us to do Kumogakure any favors."
"That's because we haven't yet seen your sincerity," Ibuki answered calmly.
Kakuzu let out a cold snort and fell silent.
Back at the Akatsuki base, he reported the matter to Pain's Deva Path.
Several days later, Konan, the blue-haired angel of Akatsuki, entered Kumogakure to negotiate with Yugito.
Elsewhere...
At the location of Hiroki Hyūga's squad.
"Fire Release..."
Hidekazu Ueno unleashed a fire technique toward the lifeless village.
The flames kept spreading, gradually consuming all buildings and corpses lying on the ground.
After a while, Hana Inuzuka appeared pale and drained before Hidekazu Ueno and Itachi Uchiha.
Hiroki Hyūga had yet to arrive.
"Go check up on him," Hidekazu ordered.
Itachi stood rooted, unmoving.
Earlier during their travel, he had sensed a faint hostility from Hiroki toward him.
It might have stemmed from the rivalry between Uchiha and Hyūga, or perhaps issues specific to Hiroki himself.
Regardless of the reason, he had no interest in finding out.
To him, this was merely a temporary team. No need to get entangled beyond that.
In the direction where smoke drifted, Hiroki crouched on the ground, eyes tightly shut, wincing in pain.
"My eyes hurt so much."
The chakra Kaguya gave him hadn't been fully released. The remaining strands seemed purposeful and conscious, forcefully trying to penetrate his eyes uncontrollably.
His eyes felt as if they were being roasted, impossible to open, filled with sharp pain like needles piercing them.
"Hiroki, are you alright?" Hana showed up behind him, asking with concern.
"I'm fine. Got some blood in my eyes—it's a bit painful. I can't open them right now. Wait for me," Hiroki replied with his back to her.
"That's good then."
Footsteps grew distant—Hana left.
"Kaguya, what's happening to my eyes?"
Kaguya withdrew her chakra.
Instantly, the painful sensation vanished.
Hiroki opened his eyes—vision crystal clear.
[Byakugan].
Veins bulged on his face; the entire scene in every direction flowed into his sight.
His Byakugan's visible range had at least doubled.
As though his eyes had further developed.
This realization astonished him—"If this happens again, could my eyes actually evolve?"
"You're too naive," Kaguya replied coolly. "Chakra alone cannot raise your potential limit or improve your bloodline purity."
What Hiroki meant was whether his eyes could evolve into Tenseigan. Kaguya misunderstood, thinking he referred to Rinnegan, or even higher-level eyes.
But in the end, the result was the same: despite its purity, Kaguya's chakra couldn't instantly allow someone to break past their limits or achieve ultimate power overnight.
The reaction occurred inside him only because he carried her blood.
Hiroki pondered the conditions for Tenseigan evolution.
He recalled combining Otsutsuki Clan chakra with the Hyūga's Byakugan to awaken the Tenseigan.
But then, was that Otsutsuki chakra the essence of someone like Kaguya, or was it mixed chakra from a union between an Otsutsuki and an Earthling?
He couldn't make heads or tails of it, so he figured he'd let it go for now.
"So, am I actually unlocking some of my hidden power?"
"Yep."
"What about Yugito, Yugao Uzuki, and Hinata? Did they go through something like this too? You've fought using their bodies before…"
Kaguya: "Yugito and Yugao Uzuki might be descendants of the earliest disciples of ninja arts, but their potential is limited. As for Hinata, no need to rush things—rushing her growth will only backfire. Besides, do you really think I'd lose control over my own chakra?"
"So, what just happened was on purpose?"
"Didn't you reach for my chakra just now?" Kaguya teased with a smirk.
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