Joining the Deluxe Lunch

Wind Style: Vacuum Wave!

Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique!

In an instant, tree trunks formed around him, surging madly toward him. The moment he stepped on them, he could vaguely feel them drawing Chakra from his body.

It completely stirred up Kakuzu’s memories of fear—memories of being dominated.

Why?!

Why was there someone else who could use this technique?!

The terror he had felt back then had kept him hidden until he heard news of the First Hokage’s death, only then daring to emerge again. Yet he had actually run into this thing once more?!

He frantically unleashed ninjutsu in rapid succession, attacking the incoming tree trunks as he desperately struggled to survive.

He used all kinds of combination ninjutsu with execution even more perfect than a textbook.

Their power, timing, and casting speed had all reached the limits of an ordinary person.

Every kind of ninjutsu came effortlessly to hand.

But Kakuzu discovered that quite a few of his attacks were directly absorbed when they landed on those tree trunks!

That was right—his techniques’ Chakra had been absorbed by the tree trunks!

Though not all of it, it had unquestionably caused the techniques’ power to plummet.

He simply could not keep up with the speed of the oncoming trunks.

Swoosh~

A vine shot up from beneath Kakuzu’s feet while he was struggling to cope, hooking around and winding itself tightly around his calf.

Kakuzu’s heart lurched. Then countless black, blood-vessel-like threads burst from his body and forcibly snapped that vine apart!

Earth Grudge Fear!

But just after snapping one vine, Kakuzu despairingly discovered that the endless branches around him had produced even more vines than his Earth Grudge Fear. They wrapped around him in an instant…

Xu Yue released Sage Mode ten or so seconds early, ensuring that he still had enough Chakra left for emergencies. The wildly growing forest before him finally came to a halt as well.

"It didn’t wither just because I stopped supplying it with Chakra like it did the first time. It can actually absorb natural energy for a short time to sustain itself. Senjutsu probably provides a greater boost to Wood Style than to other elemental styles."

Looking at the magnificent scene he had created, Xu Yue saw that while it still could not form something permanent like the First Hokage’s Wood Style, its duration had increased dramatically.

Following his connection to the Wood Realm, Xu Yue leaped from treetop to treetop and quickly arrived at the far edge of the Wood Realm.

He looked at Kakuzu, who had been only a few steps away from escaping the Wood Realm’s range before ultimately being entangled by countless vines, wrapped up like a dumpling, and drained dry of Chakra.

Xu Yue was quite satisfied with the results of this battle.

Perhaps Kakuzu was not among the stronger Kage-level fighters, but there was no doubt that he was still Kage-level—and one of the most experienced among them!

Back when he had used the ordinary version of Wood Realm, he had still needed Kamui’s assistance to deal with that elite jōnin-level Reincarnator.

This time, however, he had captured a Kage-level powerhouse alive with nothing but the senjutsu-enhanced version!

"You really were the right choice. If it had been the Fourth Kazekage instead, he probably could have escaped the area."

Under normal combat conditions, Xu Yue felt that Kakuzu’s experience made him more troublesome than the Kazekage. But within the Wood Realm, Kakuzu’s shortcomings were fully exposed: he lacked any signature secret technique with overwhelming power!

Earth Grudge Fear was more of a support ability.

The Fourth Kazekage had his Gold Dust-based ninjutsu. He would have had a strong chance of protecting himself and breaking out of the area in a short time. By comparison, aside from having a few extra lives, Kakuzu’s unique secret technique was completely countered by Xu Yue.

This test left Xu Yue extremely satisfied.

"Senior Kakuzu, do you miss this feeling?"

Xu Yue smiled as he looked at Kakuzu, bound up and drained of Chakra.

Kakuzu’s eyes were filled with complicated emotions.

To think he had lost to a brat barely in his teens. This time, he really had…

Just as he was exhausted in body and mind, that thought distracting him for a moment, Xu Yue finished forming his hand seals.

Illusion Technique: Nirvana Hall Technique!

His Chakra had been drained, he was physically and mentally exhausted, and memories of that towering figure from the past had been dredged up. This was Kakuzu’s weakest moment.

With the illusion-enhancing power of the Mangekyō Sharingan, the hypnosis was completed in an instant.

Taking advantage of his vulnerability, Xu Yue made Kakuzu lower his head.

Even a Kage-level powerhouse could not withstand an Illusion Technique enhanced by the Mangekyō under so many negative conditions.

After succeeding, Xu Yue let out a breath of relief and prepared to ask a few questions.

Ding~, would you like to claim this mission's reward in advance?

Before he could speak, Xu Yue received a prompt from that stingy Mission Space. It was enough to make him curse—wait, though. Did this count as an achievement mission? Then it was not a loss.

After swiftly weighing things in his mind, Xu Yue, knowing that the Mission Space was absolutely fair, still made a bold decision…

"What did you do to this old man?"

After waking up, Kakuzu felt that something was wrong with his body.

Xu Yue, crouching atop a tree stump nearby, glanced at the newly awakened Kakuzu and kept his gentle smile.

"Nothing. Just a few simple Sealing Jutsu."

"You want to control this old man?!"

Feeling the changes in his hearts, Kakuzu was both shocked and furious.

How could this be?! The other party’s sealing formula had landed precisely on the core of Earth Grudge Fear.

That meant that even if he replaced his current three hearts, he still would not be able to escape the other party’s Sealing Jutsu. Only replacing the two hearts that had already been destroyed might work.

But if he completely abandoned those three hearts rather than replacing them, more than half of his strength would effectively be crippled.

Damn it!

Looking at Kakuzu before him, a pleased smile appeared at the corner of Xu Yue’s lips.

The Mission Space’s rewards were not rigid and unchanging. He had known that ever since he received the Sharingan and Sage Body upon first entering.

This time, Xu Yue had taken advantage of the opportunity presented by Kakuzu falling under the Illusion Technique to ask about Earth Grudge Fear’s cultivation methods and key points. Based on that information, he had then placed a modified version of Root’s control Sealing Jutsu on Kakuzu.

Xu Yue’s current mastery of Sealing Jutsu was not enough to restrain a Kage-level powerhouse, even if that person had lost the ability to resist. But after learning Earth Grudge Fear’s traits, he could still attempt to seal just three of the other party’s nodes.

"How can you call it control? That sounds so unpleasant. I merely want to cooperate with you."

Xu Yue said with a radiant smile.

"As long as Senior Kakuzu is unwilling, can’t you break free from my Sealing Jutsu whenever you want…"

Xu Yue had maintained the respectful demeanor of a junior honoring his senior. Only after saying that did he open his eyes.

"Besides, isn’t it good to be alive?"

The faintly indifferent tone in those final words extinguished more than half of Kakuzu’s anger.

He inexplicably felt a chill run through him.

After giving the stingy old man a warning, Xu Yue did not press him too hard.

"But don’t worry. I know powerhouses at your level dislike being restrained, so you only need to promise that whenever you see me, you’ll help me do one thing."

Kakuzu had first been jolted by Xu Yue’s indifferent words, then suddenly heard this lenient condition. He froze for a moment before feeling a sense of relief.

If that was truly the case, then the outcome was not so bad.

At worst, he could simply avoid this guy in the future. And even if the other party truly went too far and pushed him into a corner, his life would not be in danger. He would just be missing three hearts forever, which was enough to make him ache.

Thinking of it that way, it did not seem entirely unacceptable.

"Then this time, help me with a small favor first. Consider it a show of your sincerity."

After alternating between threats and concessions until Kakuzu recognized the situation, Xu Yue began making arrangements.

Originally, he had been planning to use another, more roundabout method, one that would have required time and effort. He had truly been worried that he would not make it in time.

But now that a laborer had practically delivered himself to his doorstep, he naturally had to make full use of him…

Third update! This was the last update for today.

Let me explain first: Kakuzu was not weak. He was absolutely a Kage-level powerhouse. But it was perfectly normal for a Kage-level powerhouse to be countered and defeated after their information was known, just like Shikamaru and the others in the original story.

When people are killed, they die. High attack and low durability were fairly obvious in Naruto. Kakuzu was actually one of the tougher ones.