Hokage: Immortal, I Open Unlimited Eight Gates

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. As expected of someone who once 'fought' the First Hokage. You figured it out so quickly?" Chiba sneered as he watched Kakuzu discard his severed arm.

"Hmph." Kakuzu remained silent. Moments ago, he had been brimming with confidence, but now, his own words had come back to slap him in the face.

"I don't know exactly what kind of Ninjutsu you're using, but based on my experience, it must be a space-time technique, right?" Kakuzu pondered aloud before continuing, "However, your space-time Ninjutsu has its limits. You need a mark to activate it, don't you?"

Chiba smirked. "You're absolutely right. So, do you still want to fight?"

Hearing this, Kakuzu didn't bother with more words. Despite losing an arm, it wasn't a major concern for someone like him—he could still perform jutsu with a single hand.

"Water Style: Waterfall Technique!"

Taking advantage of the beachside terrain, Kakuzu's Water Style surged with even greater power than usual. Towering waves loomed over Chiba, threatening to engulf him.

But instead of being fazed, Chiba merely scoffed in disdain.

With a swift movement, he propelled himself off the ground, soaring high above the waves. Looking down at Kakuzu, he smirked confidently.

Kakuzu was visibly shaken.

He had good reason to be. After all, the ability to fly was exceedingly rare in the ninja world. Before today, the only person he knew who could fly was the Tsuchikage, Ohnoki of Iwagakure.

Realizing his chances of capturing Chiba had plummeted, Kakuzu withdrew his five masked creatures back into his body. He understood now—this mission was a complete failure.

It wasn't even a matter of whether or not he could defeat Chiba. Even if he was stronger, as long as Chiba had a functioning brain, he could simply fly away, making capture impossible.

"Weren't you planning on capturing me?" Chiba taunted, eyes filled with amusement.

"Hmph." Kakuzu merely snorted, his gaze locked warily on Chiba floating above him. Meanwhile, he formulated a plan.

Throughout his long life, Kakuzu had developed a reliable strategy: when faced with an overwhelmingly strong opponent, he would sacrifice one of his hearts, feign death, and wait for his enemy to drop their guard. Then, he would strike with a lethal sneak attack.

This time would be no different.

He reached into his pouch, pulled out several shuriken, and hurled them toward Chiba before forming a one-handed seal.

"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"

Chiba sighed. "Seriously? Fire Style again? You need a new strategy."

Effortlessly dodging the incoming flames, he executed a rapid maneuver, closing the distance between them in an instant. With a powerful punch, he drove his fist straight into Kakuzu's chest.

Kakuzu felt a surge of excitement. This was it—his chance!

But he maintained his act, weakly raising his remaining arm in a feeble attempt to block.

Boom!

The impact sent Kakuzu hurtling through the air. Upon landing, one of the masks on his back shattered.

Chiba smirked. "So, you've lost a heart already, huh?"

However, something seemed off. Kakuzu lay motionless on the ground.

"Really? You're going to play dead?" Chiba mused, amusement flickering in his eyes.

Most shinobi, upon defeating an enemy, would cautiously approach to confirm the kill. But Chiba knew better.

Instead of moving in, he simply sat down ten meters away.

"Let's see how long you can keep this up."

Time passed.

An hour later, Chiba remained seated, showing no intention of leaving.

Meanwhile, Kakuzu was seething internally. What is wrong with this brat?! He's just sitting there with a 'corpse' for an hour!

Neither of them budged.

The sun began its descent, painting the sky in hues of orange and crimson. Eventually, Chiba stood up, dusted himself off, and walked toward Kakuzu's unmoving body.

Kakuzu tensed. Finally, he took the bait.

He prepared to draw a kunai and drive it straight into Chiba's heart.

But before he could make a move, Chiba smirked.

"Alright, that's enough. Get up and stop pretending."

Kakuzu flinched.

"I know all about the Earth Grudge Fear technique," Chiba continued nonchalantly.

Realizing he had been completely exposed, Kakuzu let out a frustrated sigh and pushed himself up. "You brat... you've been toying with me this whole time."

Chiba shrugged. "Not my fault. You're the one who tried to trick me first."

"Hmph." Though Chiba spoke the truth, Kakuzu was still annoyed. However, he knew better than to make any rash moves.

"Alright," Chiba said, his expression turning serious. "Tell me why you're here. If I like your answer, I might let you live."

Kakuzu fell silent, weighing his options. His trump card had been exposed, and his chances of escaping alive were slim. If he didn't talk, he would die. If he did... well, there was still a chance Chiba would let him go.

After a long pause, he decided to gamble.

"I was hired by Kumogakure to sabotage Konoha's medicinal trade."

"Kumogakure?" Chiba raised an eyebrow.

"Yes."

"Tell me everything."

Kakuzu hesitated but eventually relented. "My mission was to intercept Konoha's supply caravans and eliminate any shinobi sent to investigate. However, Kumogakure didn't want to be directly implicated, so they paid a high price to hire me."

Chiba chuckled. "Tsk, tsk. I never expected those brutes from Kumogakure to have such a refined strategy—outsourcing their dirty work to a rogue ninja."

Kakuzu quickly interjected. "Actually, my client wasn't Raikage himself. It was a ninja clan from Kumogakure that also deals in medicinal trade."

"Oh? A clan? The Yeyue Clan?"

"No, the Fenglan Clan."

Chiba frowned. "Fenglan? Never heard of them."

"They exist," Kakuzu confirmed. "They have dark skin, much like the Yeyue Clan, and they possess the Storm Release kekkei genkai."

At that moment, a name popped into Chiba's mind—Darui, the future Fifth Raikage and bodyguard of the Fourth.

This just got interesting.