The poison Hiroki Hyuga suffered from wasn't serious.
It was ordinary snake venom used to paralyze and slow prey during capture.
After using Medical Ninjutsu several times to draw the toxins out, his body gradually recovered.
Others were in similar condition.
After two days of rest, they continued their cleanup work on the battlefield.
One could say that the entire border area between the Country of Frost and the Country of Hot Springs had become a battleground for Konoha and Kumogakure ninja.
Besides the large-scale battles at the Frontlines, ambushes continued across other regions.
Although wary of the mercenaries hired by the Kumo ninja, some confrontations were unavoidable.
Danzo Shimura wouldn't move in full force until Kakuzu was defeated.
Otherwise, sending mediocre ninja against clearly superior opponents would only result in heavy losses.
Danzo hoped to leave behind impressive achievements.
Meanwhile, Kakashi had taken several illusion specialists of varying ranks—from Chunin to Jonin—to build team coordination.
Including Kakashi, the team totaled six members.
Needless to say, although Danzo didn't want members of the Uchiha clan gaining too much attention, their family talent simply couldn't be ignored.
In this squad alone, there were three Uchiha, making it three-and-a-half if counting Kakashi as half.
Interestingly, Kakashi's three-tomoe Sharingan turned out to be the most advanced among them.
The others possessed respectively two-tomoe, two-tomoe, and one-tomoe.
That day, Kakashi's Genjutsu unit finally met Kakuzu head-on in battle.
Looking at the few pairs of red eyes before him, Kakuzu's greenish eyes flickered with regret.
"What a shame," he sincerely remarked.
Kakuzu's [Earth Grudge Fear] could steal a ninja's heart and absorb their chakra nature—wind, lightning, water, fire, or earth.
But this power applied only to ordinary ninja with single elemental affinities.
When Kakuzu was younger and had just mastered Earth Grudge Fear, he once dreamed of obtaining all five Kekkei Genkai. Reality, however, proved otherwise—the technique wasn't miraculous enough to grant others' Kekkei Genkai.
"The Uchiha's Sharingan… There are buyers in the black markets of the Underground Bounty Office for those eyes."
"Wonder if anyone still wants them now. Sasori of the Red Sands and Orochimaru might also find these things appealing. Would they pay for them?"
Flashes of such thoughts passed through Kakuzu's mind, and he stared at Kakashi and the others with renewed greed.
Behind Kakuzu, a Kumogakure four-man squad was secretly tailing.
Ever since Dodai ordered ninja to capture Konoha shinobi alive as prisoners, his subordinates had been devising ways.
Though the Supply Route offered several opportunities thanks to Sasori of the Red Sands' ambushes, it remained uncertain whether they could catch ninja from notable clans or those bearing bloodline traits.
Therefore, the Kumo ninja decided to simply pick up any injured Konoha ninja found directly on the battlefield.
Sticking close behind Kakuzu—the undefeated powerhouse—was naturally the best approach.
Kakashi's expression darkened. He lifted his left eye's forehead protector and gave a subtle nod to his teammates—a silent signal to get ready.
Then, he engaged Kakuzu in a duel of ninjutsu.
Although both were proficient in various elemental techniques, Kakuzu's chakra reserves far surpassed Kakashi's.
After several exchanges, Kakashi—who had always calculated carefully—began to feel drained again.
In contrast, Kakuzu showed no signs of fatigue whatsoever.
At that moment, Kakashi signaled to his allies.
Kakuzu suddenly noticed the tomoe in the Uchiha clan members' eyes begin to spin.
Moreover, from the corner of his eye, he saw the three-tomoe Sharingan in Kakashi's left eye rotating rapidly.
Kakuzu hesitated slightly.
He couldn't sense anything unusual, though he could roughly guess they were probably using genjutsu.
What he didn't know was that Kakashi and six other ninjas, working in perfect coordination, were weaving multiple layers of illusionary techniques.
To Kakuzu, Kakashi and the others' actions seemed utterly confusing.
Inside him flowed five different sources of chakra, granting him strong resistance to genjutsu—ordinary illusions had no effect on him at all.
Genjutsu users were relatively rare, and he rarely interacted with them.
Suddenly ambushed by a group like this, he found it somewhat amusing.
However, this brief hesitation misled Kakashi and his team into thinking he had fallen for the genjutsu.
"We got him!"
Even the Kumogakure ninja watching from a distance reached the same conclusion. "Should we go assist?"
[Rat-Rabbit-Monkey].
Zzzzt~
A sound like thousands of birds chirping erupted as lightning sparked from Kakashi's hand.
[Lightning Cutter]!
He dashed straight at Kakuzu, aiming for his heart with the electrified attack.
Kakuzu had heard of the Lightning Cutter before—he didn't dare take it lightly.
While dodging, he formed seals to harden his body.
[Earth Release - Earth Spear].
Kakashi missed, passing right by Kakuzu in shock. "You're fine?"
"What did you expect? Do you think your shallow little illusions can control an old man like me?" Kakuzu replied.
Saying that, he unzipped half of his Akatsuki cloak and stepped onto a nearby rock, exposing his bare upper torso.
His body looked unlike that of a normal person—thick black threads covered each joint, causing Kakashi and the others to stare in shock.
Where others couldn't see, four grotesque masks protruded from his back.
Under Kakuzu's control, two of the masks suddenly retracted into his body. Moments later, his body twisted unnaturally, and in an instant, those two masks emerged—one on each shoulder.
"Heh." Kakuzu chuckled coldly. Both masks on his left and right shoulders opened their mouths simultaneously.
[Wind Release - Pressure Damage].
[Fire Release - Inferno Cannon].
A high-pressure wind sphere and a wave of fire resembling seawater erupted together. As they merged, they crackled loudly, expanded quickly, and surged straight toward Kakashi and his team.
Four Kumo ninja lay on the ground, watching in stunned disbelief at everything unfolding before them. They gulped nervously, one murmuring regretfully, "Those Uchiha clan members probably won't survive this... Wonder if we'll ever get another chance to capture them..."
The sea of flames seemed to consume everything. Observing the spectacular scene before him, Kakuzu gave a contemptuous snort and buckled his coat shut.
"Got a bit carried away. The [Sharingan] should be worth something—at least monetarily speaking. What a shame..." Kakuzu muttered disgruntledly, muttering while counting off his fingers like a disgruntled old woman.
Sighing, he turned around, preparing to leave.
Just then, a sound from behind caught his ears. He froze mid-step and turned sharply.
"Hmph, well look who's still alive."
"Heh, guess that Sharingan really *can* predict the trajectory of ninjutsu?"
"Nyahaha, makes 'em even more valuable now!"
The scorched earth lay barren and blackened beneath the ashes.
Kakashi and three Uchiha clan members were lying on the ground in terrible shape.
Their clothes had been reduced to tattered rags, their exposed skin marred with burns.
As for the two other nameless ninja, they had perished completely, their bodies nowhere to be seen.
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