This Tree Was Planted by Me (Second Update)

His proudest accomplishment in life had somehow turned into a joke in someone else’s mouth.

Although Kakuzu knew that his fight with the First Hokage had involved a great deal of exaggeration, and that the First had spared him entirely because of his softhearted nature, it definitely had not been as the other person described, with him merely throwing a few shuriken!

This sudden burst of anger was enough that even Kakuzu, who had lived for so many years, could no longer suppress his emotions.

He had thought that apart from money, nothing else could make him pursue it or stir his heart.

But now he knew that killing the bastard in front of him was absolutely what he wanted to do most right now!

"Brat, perhaps you don’t know that there is a kind of pain called being unable to live or die. Very soon, you’ll get to experience it."

Though rage burned in Kakuzu’s heart, his outward tone remained as cold and calm as ever.

But Xu Yue, who was smiling at him, did not pay him any attention. Instead, he spoke to the three Uchiha Clan Chunin beside him.

"In that case, you three go first. I’ll play with him for a while."

"Young Master Yue, you…"

"Do you want to hold me back?"

At Xu Yue’s dismissive wave, the three Chunin said no more. They turned and ran directly toward the path not blocked by rocks.

Young Master Uchiha Yue was known as the Black Little Flash. Perhaps it really would be easier for him to escape alone. The strength he had displayed at the start was indeed far too powerful; the three of them would not be able to help at all!

Sure enough, Young Master Uchiha Yue was just as the rumors said—a man worthy of trusting with one’s back. There were truly not many people with such a character left in the shinobi world.

For a moment, all three of their eyes grew moist.

Kakuzu, however, had been firmly locked onto Xu Yue by his overwhelming taunting ability and did not bother with those three minor characters. The three of them together would only fetch the price of their forehead protectors.

"Well, the nuisances are gone. Let me ask you something: in all these years, besides money, have you found any other power that can make your heart race with pleasure?"

The Chunin naturally fled quickly. Xu Yue’s smiling eyes finally opened, revealing Three Tomoe Sharingan that had been half-lidded until now.

That ominous crimson color even caught Kakuzu by surprise.

"Three Tomoe… you really are quite the extraordinary genius. Perhaps these eyes have given you the illusion that you can contend with this old man…"

Kakuzu spoke slowly. He did not answer Xu Yue, seemingly still lost in his own reminiscence.

"I’m asking you a question…"

Xu Yue’s eyes opened fully. Scales began to appear along both sides of his cheeks, while strange markings emerged at the corners of his eyes. His entire presence became cold, sinister, and demonic.

"Didn’t you hear me?"

A terrifying aura mixed with the might of nature erupted along with those words. Kakuzu, who had been utterly composed, had his straw hat blown straight off, and his tattered trench coat rustled violently.

He instinctively raised an arm to shield his eyes. Through the gaps between his fingers, he stared at Xu Yue, whose clothes fluttered without wind, his eyes filled with shock.

"Since you won’t answer…"

His voice sounded again, now directly beside Kakuzu’s ear. Kakuzu could even feel the heat of his breath.

"Then there’s no need to answer!"

Sage Art: Rasengan

The Rasengan formed from sage Chakra greedily absorbed the surrounding natural energy the instant it appeared, swelling against the wind. Upon striking Kakuzu, it directly blasted his entire body into three pieces!

"Huh? I only blew up two. It’s about as strong as the Rasenshuriken, then."

Watching the three slime-like masses bounce apart, Xu Yue could not help but curl his lip as he compared their power.

He had finally found a living target to verify the exact strength of Sage Mode. How could he not make full use of it?

Even his earlier approach had not relied on the Flying Thunder God, but had been purely high-speed taijutsu!

In Sage Mode, advanced Body Mastery combined with a Sage Body was explosive in every aspect.

Lightning Style: False Darkness

Fire Style: Headhunter

Wind Style: Vicious Wind Shredding

From three different directions, ninjutsu of three different attributes combined with one another, completely swallowing the spot where Xu Yue had initially stood.

The explosive force of the combined ninjutsu plowed deep trenches across the ground.

Yet Xu Yue had returned to where he had originally been standing, as though he had never moved from the beginning.

Meanwhile, Kakuzu’s heart was filled with shock.

In a single exchange, the other side had instantly destroyed two of his hearts!

Yet his counterattack of combined ninjutsu had not even touched a hair on the other man’s head. Just what kind of terrifying speed was that?!

Was that where his title of Black Little Flash came from?

No. His initial approach should have been high-speed taijutsu, while his later departure should have been some kind of space-time ninjutsu Body Flicker Technique.

As an old monster who had lived since the era of the First Hokage, Kakuzu’s experience had reached an extraordinary level. He quickly analyzed Xu Yue’s two methods of combat.

The three separated masked monsters merged together once more, looking as though nothing had happened, save for two broken masks on his back.

When Xu Yue threw Kunai at him afterward, Kakuzu dodged every one of them with utmost caution.

Faced with Xu Yue’s sudden appearances and high-speed taijutsu attacks, he gradually adapted. His formidable experience and Kage-level combat power were fully displayed.

He effortlessly coordinated three types of ninjutsu, always using the most suitable and precise methods to neutralize Xu Yue’s attacks, even laying traps for him!

Even with only three hearts remaining, he had not fallen into a disadvantage. He was rapidly adapting to Xu Yue’s methods of attack.

Xu Yue threw another set of Kunai, using tricky throwing techniques, but after they still achieved nothing, he could not help curling his lip.

This old monster was even more troublesome than expected. He had seen his attack only once and immediately seen through it. Now he was fighting so cautiously.

In terms of strength, if they were judged solely by absolute destructive power, Xu Yue felt that Kakuzu was slightly inferior even to the Fourth Kazekage. Kakuzu’s greatest strengths were his seasoned experience, his multiple lives that made him unafraid of death, and his combinations of ninjutsu!

Such traits allowed him to adapt to Xu Yue’s abilities at the fastest possible speed.

Though his absolute strength was slightly inferior to the Fourth Kazekage’s, he was far more troublesome to deal with.

But never mind. He had already tested his taijutsu strength and the enhanced power of ordinary ninjutsu like the Rasengan. There was not much time left, so he could not drag this out any longer. He would try that one, which he had never tested in Sage Mode before…

Watching Kakuzu easily evade his thrown Kunai while remaining sufficiently guarded against those from every direction, and even casually countering with a three-attribute combined ninjutsu, Xu Yue leaped away and landed in an open area.

He looked at Kakuzu from afar. On his demonic, handsome face adorned with scales appeared a smile that inexplicably gave Kakuzu an immense sense of danger.

Seeing Xu Yue’s familiar hand-seal sequence, a sense of fear buried deep within Kakuzu’s memories suddenly rose in his heart.

He wanted to…

Sage Art: Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!

As Xu Yue pressed a hand to the ground, the abundant Chakra compressed into a single minute in Sage Mode, mixed with a vast amount of natural energy, poured out like a burst dam.

Far faster than when Xu Yue had first used it, there was not even a budding stage. Thick branches erupted directly from the earth!

The terrifying effects of Wood Style enhanced by sage arts were fully displayed. Aside from growing by continuously drawing upon Xu Yue’s sage Chakra, the trunks that had already emerged were also madly absorbing the natural energy in the air.

Before they had even caught a single person to absorb, they were already expanding rapidly at a scale and speed far beyond Xu Yue’s first use…

Second update~ One final update coming up shortly.