Chapter 327

327. Chapter 322: The Guy Who Can Turn Things into Cards Has Appeared

Kakuzu's gaze wandered between the golden, glittering high wall and Zhenzi, who was exuding a man-eating aura from head to toe. In the end, he made a decision that followed his heart.

He slowly raised his hand, and as a stream of golden particles condensed, the short blade that Kakuzu had just thrown as a hidden weapon appeared in his hand once again.

"Kakuzu, what are you trying to do?"

Chomei was jumping up and down in a panic within Kakuzu's sea of consciousness; its seven wings were flapping so fast they were almost smoking.

"My apologies, Lord Tailed Beast, but I have my own code of conduct."

Shaking his head at Chomei in his heart, Kakuzu took a step forward. Under the surprised gazes of the three little ones, he drew a golden card from the transformation device at his waist.

"As expected, humans are all idiots."

Sensing Kakuzu's incredibly firm conviction, the Seven-Tails curled its lip and shared its chakra.

"Kid, I am very satisfied with the price you've offered."

Looking at the card with its flickering golden light in his hand, Kakuzu slowly inserted it into the card slot on the hilt of the short blade he held.

"AbsorbQueen! FusionJack!"

Accompanied by a mechanical electronic sound, Kakuzu's silver body suddenly erupted with golden light, so bright that everyone present couldn't keep their eyes open.

"Ah!"

After being illuminated by this golden light, the black mist dissipating from Zhenzi's body actually showed signs of being suppressed, becoming listless.

"Wow~"

When the golden light faded, the three little ones saw Kakuzu, now inlaid with gold and flapping wings on his back, and their jaws dropped in shock.

"Round two."

Wielding the weapon that had transformed into a long blade, a sharp glint flashed in the red compound eyes of Kakuzu's faceplate. Immediately, he spread the wings on his back, and his entire person turned into a streak of golden lightning, charging toward Zhenzi.

"Eat."

Satori, possessing Zhenzi's body, sensed the threat from Kakuzu and increased the output of malice, transforming the young girl into a form more suited for battle.

"Eat!!!"

Before their eyes, bright red keratin instantly crawled all over the girl's fair skin. In no time, it covered her entire body. Her hands transformed into dark red sharp claws, and fin-like spikes grew out from her forearms and calves.

"What the hell?"

Kakuzu, in mid-air, came to a sudden halt and flapped his wings to land, watching the surging aura of Zhenzi vigilantly, fearing the opponent might be setting a trap.

"Zhenzi! What has happened to you?"

Once the bright red keratin crawled up the girl's neck, Seeing Shenhuo, who had been stunned by the scene, finally reacted. He used a Body Flicker to arrive at the girl's side, looking at the ferocious-looking Zhenzi in a panic.

"Eat God... Lord..."

However, as the girl had already become a vessel for Satori, how could she answer his question? Zhenzi's remaining consciousness flashed by, but it only struggled in her eyes for a moment before being swallowed by the monstrous malice.

"Roar!!!"

Finally, the bright red keratin covered the girl's face, turning her delicate little face into a ferocious beast's head. Huge green compound eyes occupied most of the space on her face, and the arched protrusion on her head reminded everyone of a piranha from the sea.

"Eat."

"Zhenzi!"

Seeing his beloved wife turn into an inhuman monster, Seeing Shenhuo immediately reached out his hand, wanting to check on her condition.

"Thump!"

As a result, the transformed Zhenzi had completely lost her reason and slapped Seeing Shenhuo flying several meters away.

Although she had man-eating habits before, Zhenzi would never have harmed Seeing Shenhuo under any circumstances. Now, it seemed she had completely lost her sense of self.

Zhenzi, now incarnated as a red piranha monster, crouched on the ground, her green eyes staring fixedly at Kakuzu—it was the gaze of a hunter.

"Ah! Why did she transform too?"

The three little ones were intimidated by the aura of Zhenzi after her transformation and huddled tightly together. A chill from the depths of their souls made them tremble uncontrollably.

"Her eyes... they look like they want to eat people!"

Little Danzo tugged tremblingly at the corner of Sarutobi Hiruzen's clothes nearby.

"Idiot, she already eats people!"

"What a dark chakra..."

Uchiha Kagami, stimulated by the aura radiating from Zhenzi, subconsciously activated his Sharingan. As the tomoe in his eyes slowly rotated, he vaguely saw wisps of extremely dark chakra on the opponent's body.

It was a power even darker than the Yin Release chakra of their Uchiha clan, as if it were condensed from pure malice.

"Kakuzu, run now while you still can."

Chomei's tone was uncharacteristically solemn; the monster before them was about to break out of its shell.

"Take people's money, eliminate disasters for them."

Kakuzu had his own code of conduct; as long as the money was there, he would absolutely give it his all.

If he truly sacrificed his life, then it would just mean his skills were inferior to others.

"Yee!"

No longer the simple babbling from before, the red monster that Zhenzi had become let out a piercing shriek. Then, using all four limbs, she turned into a streak of scarlet.

"Clang!"

Kakuzu, transformed into the guard form, did not lower his guard. The moment the girl attacked, he braced his long blade. As a metallic ringing sound echoed, the scarlet sharp claws had already reached his chest. Fortunately, his defense was timely, which stopped the sharp fingertips just a few centimeters from his heart.

So fast! So much strength!

This was the first time Kakuzu had felt pressure. Even when he fought the Two-Tails Knight transformed from Ginkaku, he had been at ease, feeling only that it was troublesome, not threatening. But this time was different; the red monster before him really had the potential to severely injure or even kill him.

"Yee! ~"

Seeing her attack blocked, the red monster did not continue to tangle. She jumped back a few steps to create distance, eyeing the weak points on Kakuzu's body intentionally or unintentionally.

She has consciousness?

This action of Zhenzi's made Kakuzu secretly shocked. Before, the girl's behavior was like a beast following instinct, without any wisdom to speak of. But now, she had actually started to think, which forced him to take this seriously.

"Whoosh~"

Zhenzi did not leave Kakuzu any room to think. After locking onto the weak points at his joints, the fins on her forearms suddenly stood up, carrying a chilling gleam. Then, she bent her waist and turned into a scarlet lightning bolt once again.

Seeing this, Kakuzu hurriedly flapped his wings and rose into the sky to avoid the attack, taking the aerial advantage in the process. However, the red monster did not give up easily; she crouched to store power and then jumped, actually chasing him into the sky.

"Rip!"

Passing by the red monster in the air, Kakuzu, caught off guard, suddenly felt a pain in his waist. Looking down, he discovered that the area not covered by his armor had been torn, leaving a wound deep enough to see bone.

"Plop~"

The red monster, having successfully hit her target, landed on the ground, mockingly dripping the blood from her elbow into her mouth, then revealing a satisfied expression.

"Yee!"

"Ugh..."

Kakuzu, who had also landed, pressed his hand against the bleeding wound, looking at the bloodthirsty red monster with a solemn gaze.

This was the first time Kakuzu had been injured and bled since his transformation. Moreover, the black mist entwined in the wound prevented Chomei from using Tailed Beast power to heal him, causing the dark red blood to flow uncontrollably; he couldn't even stop it by pressing on it.

"Go! Hunter Knight Sword!"

Seeing Kakuzu at a disadvantage in the exchange, the three little ones immediately waved their small fists, cheering him on.

"Huff~ huff~"

The black mist carried by the red monster seemed to have some kind of toxicity. The black mist entered Kakuzu's body along with the wound, disrupting the flow of his chakra while also affecting his sanity.

"Don't lose! Mr. Knight!"

Kakuzu, panting heavily, felt as if he were about to be engulfed by the monstrous darkness. But at this moment, the childish calls pulled him forcibly out of the tide of darkness.

"Huff~ That was close!"

"Idiot, this malice is like a plague; it's impossible to eliminate. But fortunately, I'm here, otherwise you would have already fallen into a man-eating monster."

Kakuzu, relieved that he had regained his sanity, heard Chomei's exasperated voice in his ear. It turned out that the Seven-Tails had been desperately suppressing the malice that had slipped into the wound, which gave him a chance to breathe.

"Sorry, I was careless."

Because of his own actions, he had almost implicated Lord Tailed Beast. This made Kakuzu feel very ashamed, and he immediately stood at attention to apologize.

"Alright, alright, this isn't the time for that. The guy in front of you simply cannot be destroyed by conventional means. The old man had no choice back then but to seal it in the Box of Ultimate Bliss."

Chomei swallowed the malice in Kakuzu's body into its own belly. As a product of the Divine Tree, it could barely digest this kind of malice; otherwise, if it remained in this human's body, it would only cause endless trouble.

"Can it only be sealed?"

After hearing Chomei's words, Kakuzu was at a loss. He didn't know any sealing jutsu, let alone have any sealing tools. If he continued to wear this monster down, the one who would die would be him.

"That's why I said, run away quickly!"

Chomei had eaten a lump of dirty stuff, and its belly was suddenly in extreme pain, but it still endured the pain and suggested to Kakuzu.

"No!"

The commission wasn't finished; how could he leave? Besides, that gold wasn't hot to the touch~

"Is money more important, or is your life?"

"Money!"

"You idiot!"

Chomei was so angry it jumped up and down in Kakuzu's sea of consciousness, wishing it could take over his body right now and run away. But because it had just swallowed a lump of malice, its body was unwell, and it couldn't take over to fight, so it could only bark impotently inside.

"Huff~ Life is also important. Don't worry, Lord Tailed Beast, I will balance both."

The wound at Kakuzu's waist had already begun to heal slowly. He glanced at Sarutobi Sasuke, who had fallen to the ground not far away; that was his mission target. In fact, he didn't need to fight this red monster to the death at all; he only needed to save the monkey-faced man to collect his reward.

"Hey! Kid, if I grab your dad later, do you have the confidence to run away?"

After Kakuzu calculated everything, he asked Sarutobi Hiruzen behind him.

"Huh?"

"I will help you stall for a while. Can you do it?"

Glancing at the three thin children, Kakuzu, who provided excellent service, added.

"Yes! We can!"

The three little ones looked at each other and received an affirmative answer from their two partners. Sarutobi Hiruzen raised his head and promised with a firm voice.

"Good!"

Kakuzu nodded, raised the long blade in his hand again, pulled out the card at his waist, and stuffed it into the card slot on the hilt. Following an electronic sound, everyone present felt an inexplicable gust of wind.

"TentacleImpact!"

"His wings are moving!"

The three little ones behind Kakuzu followed the source of the wind and discovered that the wind force in the arena was coming from the wings flapping behind the knight.

The phantom of the Seven-Tails condensed behind Kakuzu, and the thin blade in his hand also became heavy. With his eyes locked on the red monster, Kakuzu's entire person instantly turned into a huge tentacle, charging toward the target.

"Boom~"

The extremely fast speed combined with the huge impact force plowed a deep gully into the hard ground. Facing Kakuzu's finishing move, the red monster roared, but instead of choosing to dodge, she jumped high and slashed down at Kakuzu with her single hand carrying the sharp dorsal fin.

Great Severing!

"Boom!!!"

As the finishing moves of both sides collided, a huge shockwave was instantly stirred up. The three little ones were blown about, while Seeing Shenhuo, with scratches on his face, looked at the arena with worry. His heart was very complicated at this moment.

This Zhenzi was clearly no longer his Zhenzi; she had completely turned into a man-eating monster.

"Kids! Now's your chance!"

Suddenly, Kakuzu's sharp voice came from the smoke and dust that had not yet dissipated. The three little ones jumped, immediately moved their little legs, and ran toward the unconscious Sarutobi Sasuke.

"..."

When passing by Seeing Shenhuo, the three were all vigilant, worried that this man on the monster's side would intervene. But Seeing Shenhuo only glanced at them lightly and then stepped aside, his unfocused eyes filled with complexity.

"You guys run quickly."

Seeing Shenhuo looked at the three little ones carrying Sarutobi Sasuke and said softly.

"Uncle, aren't you running?"

Although Seeing Shenhuo was in the same group as that man-eating woman, his attitude before was good, and he had even promised to let the three of them go.

"I promised that I would not let go again."

Even though the scratches on his face were still oozing blood, Seeing Shenhuo still shook his head firmly.

"Alright, Uncle, take care of yourself~"

Good words are hard to use to persuade a ghost seeking death. The three little ones were not saints either, so they carried the unconscious Sarutobi Sasuke and ran toward another direction of the town, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

"Huff~ My mission is considered complete."

At this time, the smoke and dust filling the sky finally dissipated. The two in the arena were currently locked in a struggle. Kakuzu, holding the blade with both hands, firmly resisted the sharp claws that were about to reach his face. Glancing at the position where the gold bricks were, now empty, his heart suddenly relaxed.

"Bang!"

So he deliberately relaxed his resistance, took a step back, and using the momentum of unloading the force, did a few backflips to land next to the gold bricks. He quickly took out a storage scroll and, with speed invisible to the naked eye, collected the gold bricks on the ground into his pocket.

"I'm rich~ I'm rich!"

This windfall was enough to keep Kakuzu happy for a long time.

"Zhenzi! Wake up quickly!"

Just as Kakuzu finished packing the gold bricks and was preparing to run away, Seeing Shenhuo's voice in the arena caught his attention. Looking at the man trying to wake up the red monster, he hesitated and stopped his steps.

35 million, that doesn't seem like a small amount either~

"Zhenzi, it's me, Seeing Shenhuo!"

Walking to the side of the silent red monster, Seeing Shenhuo spoke tentatively. After discovering that the opponent didn't have any stress reaction, he gathered his courage and reached out to touch the opponent's head.

"Zhenzi, turn back after you're full~"

Gently stroking the red monster's ferocious head, Seeing Shenhuo was as natural as if he were stroking Zhenzi's long hair as usual.

"Huff~ huff~"

A low moan came from under the keratin. The familiar rhythm made Seeing Shenhuo's heart happy, so he continued to stroke the cold keratin shell and called out softly.

"Zhenzi, let's go home~"

"Zhenzi, I bought you new shoes."

"Zhenzi, I..."

A series of gentle whispers made the red monster's originally tense hands slowly drop. The green compound eyes flickered with abnormal light, as if two consciousnesses were fighting for control of the body.

"Zhenzi..."

"Eat..."

The familiar babbling came from the red monster's mouth once again. The light of hope was rekindled in Seeing Shenhuo's eyes. His efforts just now had not been in vain; Zhenzi's consciousness had once again gained the upper hand.

However, at this critical moment, a large silver hand pressed onto Seeing Shenhuo's shoulder.

"Missing-nin Seeing Shenhuo, please come with me~"

"Eat... yee!"

Zhenzi, whom Seeing Shenhuo had finally managed to call back, was disrupted by this interference. Satori's malice attacked again. Hearing her shriek, she suddenly raised her hand and knocked Seeing Shenhuo and Kakuzu away together.

"Plop!"

The two who were sent flying by the huge force landed together. Among them, Seeing Shenhuo, because of his mortal body, spat out a stream of blood after landing. Although Kakuzu had the protection of his armor, he was also shaken by this strange force, causing his internal organs to shift.

"What's going on? Her strength has increased again?"

Kakuzu stood up shakily, his tone very surprised. Clearly, her casual attacks before didn't have this much power!

"You idiot who ruined everything!"

Seeing Shenhuo, covered in blood, lay on the ground and cursed angrily. He was clearly about to wake Zhenzi up, but this silver monster actually interrupted him, causing the awakening to fail.

"Eat... yee!"

At this time, the strange sound rang out again. The two turned their heads together and discovered that the red monster's green eyes were one bright and one dark, and the movements of her left and right hands were also very uncoordinated, as if two artifact spirits were fighting for control.

"Yee!"

But soon, Zhenzi's consciousness was suppressed by Satori, and she turned back into the monster with combat consciousness from before.

"Not good!"

When the opponent's green compound eyes locked onto their side, Kakuzu's combat radar was instantly activated, and he subconsciously took out his short blade to block.

"Bang!"

But this attack was far more powerful than before. Kakuzu, along with his weapon, was scooped up by the red monster and smashed heavily onto the stone pier on the street. The hard stone pier was smashed to pieces on the spot.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Under the faceplate, Kakuzu coughed up blood fiercely, and the horror in his eyes could not be dissipated no matter what.

"Did she take drugs? Why is her strength so great?"

That's right, what surprised Kakuzu was the red monster's strength. During the first round of fighting before, although the opponent's attacks were sharp, they weren't this heavy.

Could it be that the opponent has a built-in growth panel, getting stronger the more she fights?

"Zhenzi's strength has always been great."

Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, Seeing Shenhuo stood up tremblingly and explained to Kakuzu on the side.

The young man who grew up with Zhenzi naturally knew the girl's little secret. As a thin girl, after she refined chakra, her physical strength suddenly became terrifying. If he wasn't careful, he would be hit by Zhenzi until he vomited blood.

In order not to attract attention, Seeing Shenhuo had always instructed the girl to hide this talent, because there were many insane ninjas in the Land of Grass. If Zhenzi's talent were discovered, capturing her for research would be a small matter, but if she were taken to be used as a seedbed for breeding, wouldn't he become a cuckold?

"Physical talent, huh..."

Kakuzu had walked the Ninja World for many years and naturally knew some special talents. It seemed that this girl who transformed into a red monster had some kind of special bloodline.

At this moment, Kakuzu also regretted it a little. He could have clearly run away with the gold bricks just now, but he was blinded by the 35 million.

"Yee!"

The red monster didn't care whether you regretted it or not. Satori, who had further taken control of Zhenzi's body, brought the girl's inherent giant strength talent into full play. Her two sharp claws danced with great momentum, grabbing toward Kakuzu's face.

"Clang~"

Kakuzu, who was targeted, had no choice but to give up his short blade and use his hand armor to defend. But the red monster's force was too fierce; he only persisted for three seconds before being beaten to the ground.

"Puff!"

Under the faceplate, blood seeped from Kakuzu's mouth and nose. Chomei in his sea of consciousness had a look of "hating iron for not becoming steel." This time, it chose to stand by and watch.

On the premise of not endangering Kakuzu's life, it wanted to let this human who didn't know the severity of things taste the price of acting rashly.

"Blast Palm!"

Just as the red monster's sharp claws were about to fall again, a palm carrying a sharp wind force slapped onto its back.

"Yee?"

After being hit, the red monster's body only trembled a few times. It stopped the movements in its hands, turned its head, and looked at Seeing Shenhuo, who had attacked it, with slight doubt.

At this time, the red monster, after further eroding Zhenzi's soul, had already begun to have human consciousness.

"You..."

Kakuzu, who had escaped a disaster, also looked at Seeing Shenhuo, who had saved him, with great surprise. He had clearly wanted to capture him for money before, so why would he still take action to save him?

"Don't overthink it, I need you to help me subdue Zhenzi."

Seeing Shenhuo knew very well that if Kakuzu were killed, there would be no one here who could stop the red monster, and Zhenzi would never be able to recover. After weighing the pros and cons, Seeing Shenhuo decided to form a temporary alliance.

"I am very expensive..."

Hearing that it was a commission, Kakuzu subconsciously asked for a price.

"Is 35 million enough?"

Seeing Shenhuo hit the stunned red monster with another Blast Palm, knocking it back a few meters, then flashed to Kakuzu's side and pointed at himself, saying.

"You..."

Kakuzu, who understood Seeing Shenhuo's meaning, was instantly stunned. Looking at the decadent-looking man in front of him, he saw a trace of deep-seated death in those unfocused eyes.

"Agreement reached, act quickly."

Ignoring the speechless Kakuzu, Seeing Shenhuo assumed an attack stance.

"Yee!"

The red monster was full of man-eating killing intent. After moving for so long, its belly was hungry again.

"Blast Palm!"

Seeing Shenhuo took the initiative, his palms dancing out several afterimages, slapping toward the red monster at a very strange angle.

"Sigh~"

I really am just doing this for the 35 million!

Kakuzu, with a complicated expression, gripped his short blade tightly, gritted his teeth, and chose to leap up to join the battle.

The flames of war were on the verge of breaking out.

"This guy... is interesting!"

In the shadows above the battlefield, Uchiha Gin, transformed into the Kaguya Wangliang Knight, carefully examined the red monster that was beating Kakuzu up, stroking his chin with great interest.

"I didn't expect that besides Tailed Beasts, there are guys who can be made into transformation props~" (End of chapter)