Naruto's Uchiha girlfriend is too Tsundere Chapter 69 - 69

The next morning, a subtle atmosphere perated the ninja academy classroom.

Iruka-sensei stood at the podium with obviously reddened, swollen eyes and a much gentler voice than usual. When Choji secretly stuffed potato chips into his mouth, to everyone's surprise, Iruka only sighed softly. "Just this once—I'll give them back to you after class." This abnormal behavior left the entire class stunned.

"Why is sensei being so easygoing today?"

"Could he be sick?"

Students whispered among themselves, while only Naruto, Satsuki, and the few others who'd attended last night's birthday party exchanged knowing looks.

In class, Iruka began explaining the basic "Three Academy Techniques" for ninja—transformation jutsu, substitution jutsu, and clone jutsu. For ordinary students, these were required courses that needed serious study.

"Boring..." Satsuki rested her chin on one hand, listening with complete disinterest. These basic ninjutsu were already mastered by Uchiha children before entering school.

Naruto seed to listen attentively, nodding cooperatively from ti to ti. But no one knew that at this very mont outside Konoha village, one of his shadow clones had already begun taking action.

Though his real body sat obediently in the classroom, Naruto's thoughts had long since flown to the distant clouds.

---

The humid air of Yu no Kuni hit his face as Naruto stood in the familiar room he hadn't visited in a while, feeling the hot spring atmosphere so different from Konoha. Over a year had passed since his last visit, but Hiraishin no Jutsu allowed him to cross this distance with just a thought.

The [Inu no Yu] inn's sign remained prominent, though the place had undergone earth-shaking changes. What had initially been a randomly chosen hideout was now completely bought out by Hiashi—no, more precisely, the entire street had secretly beco property of the [Ember] organization.

"To earn operating funds for the organization, Hiashi has completely entered rchant mode..."

Naruto gazed at the neat shops outside his window, each storefront displaying uniform [Inu no Yu] branch store signs. As the organization's leader, he felt sowhat ashad—aside from bringing back the Uzumaki mother and daughter, he'd basically been a hands-off boss. Instead, Hiashi had been working tirelessly to make money for the organization.

After obtaining the Nine-Faced Beasts' power, Naruto decided to formally begin assembling [Ember] organization mbers. He activated the jutsu mark left on Hiashi's body. Soon, Hiashi appeared before him after dispelling his transformation jutsu to restore his original appearance.

"Masked Man-sama." After respectfully bowing, Hiashi began reporting recent developnts to Naruto, who had transford into the masked man.

First was construction of the organization's base. Built according to Naruto's requirents at a total cost of several hundred million ryo (excluding land prices), the easily defensible stronghold was now complete. The Uzumaki mother and daughter were currently settled there, with Hiashi personally teaching Karin basic chakra manipulation thods over this past year.

Next ca tracking reports on key observation targets.

Iwagakure's Deidara had not yet officially defected, but villager dissatisfaction with the Tsuchikage's disciple's explosive art was intensifying.

Sunagakure's missing puppet genius, Akasuna no Sasori, remained whereabouts unknown.

Kirigakure's bloody mist policies continued. Recently, Kirigakure jonin Momochi Zabuza had defected after failing to assassinate the Mizukage.

"As for the final target, the bounty hunter nad Kakuzu's whereabouts..."

Hiashi retrieved a scroll from his chest, densely recording Kakuzu's recent black market transaction records and activity patterns.

---

BOOM—!

A deafening explosion echoed through a forest sowhere in Hi no Kuni. After the smoke cleared, bandit corpses lay scattered everywhere. Amidst this carnage, a strangely-built middle-aged man dragged a body wearing leader's clothing.

This man's upper body was bare, revealing gray-green skin covered in bizarre stitches. He wore a black mask covering half his face, his exposed eyes showing terrifying black sclera and green-glowing pupils. Those stitches writhed like living things when he moved, sending chills down one's spine.

"Hmph, only this level?" He kicked a corpse at his feet. "No wonder they couldn't fetch a decent price on the black market... though they were just small fry I dealt with in passing anyway."

This statent, combined with those distinctive physical features, made the person's identity obvious.

Kakuzu—a living fossil of the ninja world.

This legendary missing-nin from Takigakure had once been sent by his village's leadership on a near-suicidal mission: assassinate the God of Shinobi, Senju Hashirama.

Various accounts existed of that battle's truth. So said he'd indeed engaged Hashirama in an earth-shaking duel, ultimately defeated by Wood Release secret techniques.

Others claid he'd rely thrown a shuriken from eight hundred miles away, then been chased by Hashirama's wood clone for three days and nights...

But with Senju Hashirama's passing, the true process of that battle beca an eternal mystery.

However, when Kakuzu survived that encounter with the God of Shinobi and returned to Takigakure dragging his battered body, what awaited him was the cri of "defeat and desertion" along with a cold prison cell.

At that mont, boiling rage consud the last loyalty in Kakuzu's heart. He'd willingly challenged a god for his village, only to be rewarded with betrayal and infamy.

Hatred spread through his chest, ultimately manifesting as decisive action—he broke free from his cage, stole the village's forbidden technique, and cruelly harvested all the leadership's hearts.

[Jiongu]—this blood-soaked forbidden technique beca Kakuzu's eternity. By stealing others' hearts and chakra natures, he not only simultaneously mastered five basic nature transformations but gained near-immortal abilities.

Having lived from the ninja village founding era to the present, Kakuzu gradually understood eternity's cruelty through the long years. Finally, on this endless path of immortality, he found his only companion that would never betray him.

Money.

Currency wouldn't age, wouldn't die, and wouldn't fade in ti's river. Its eternal value perfectly matched Kakuzu's immortal life. From then on, he beca the black market's most feared bounty hunter—asking no questions about targets' morality, as long as paynt was sufficient, anyone could beco his prey.

"Recent quality prey has been decreasing... looks like I'll need to temporarily leave this country."

Kakuzu dragged his spoils along a forest path, heading for a nearby bounty station while ntally planning his next itinerary.

"ROAR—!"

A deafening beast's roar suddenly ca from ahead, shaking leaves from trees. Kakuzu jerked his head up to see a massive white tiger pounce from the undergrowth, huge sharp claws swiping toward him.

"What the hell?!"

Combat instincts instantly awakened. Kakuzu unhesitatingly dropped the corpse in his hands, crossing both arms before his chest. Doton: Domu's hardening technique imdiately covered his entire body, skin instantly becoming rock-hard.

BANG!

The white tiger's sharp claws struck Kakuzu's arms heavily, producing a sound like clashing tal. The massive impact sent him sliding back several ters, feet carving deep furrows in the ground.

"This is... a summoned beast?"

Kakuzu squinted those green-glowing eyes, warily sizing up the strange creature before him. Before he could counterattack, the ground beneath his feet suddenly glowed with eerie purple light as complex sealing formulas spread across the earth like living things.

Sealing techniques?!

Rich combat experience let Kakuzu make an instant judgnt. He forcefully leaped backward with all his strength. Just as his toes left the ground, the purple sealing array fully ford.

"SCREECH—!"

However, a clear cry pierced the sky as a crimson Vermillion Bird dove down, wings trailing flas through the air. Before Kakuzu could adjust his position, this blazing impact slamd him back to the ground.

BOOM!

Dust flew as Kakuzu's body embedded deeply in the earth. Feeling intense pain throughout his body, he struggled to prop up his upper half while quickly analyzing the situation.

These monsters' strength far exceeded ordinary summoned beasts. He might have a chance against one or two alone, but facing more simultaneously... His gaze swept the surroundings.

As dust gradually cleared, Kakuzu's expression turned completely grim. His worst fears were confird.

Not far away, a man in long robes wearing a fox mask stood quietly. Flanked by nine differently-shaped giant beasts arranged in a line: the white tiger and Vermillion Bird that had attacked, plus a coiled Azure Dragon, heavy Black Tortoise, serpentine Golden Snake, and several sage-like humanoid beings. Each radiated suffocating pressure.

"Damn..." Kakuzu's voice squeezed through gritted teeth. "A big shot like you actually making a move on ? This doesn't fit your organization's principles, does it, [Ember]."

The calm voice ca from behind the mask: "Immortal ninja Kakuzu, I've co to welco you as a mber of [Ember]."

Kakuzu's pupils contracted sharply. He slowly straightened his body as burned black stitches twisted across his skin's surface, emitting faint "creaking" sounds.

"Heh..." Kakuzu suddenly let out a cold laugh. "Seems my price tag is much higher than I imagined. But unfortunately, I'm not interested in your ideals. The only thing that can attract now is money."