Konoha: Start with the card-drawing mobile game.

Chapter 73 The dead root ninja and the bounty hunter
In a forest far away from Konoha, a man wearing Uchiha clothing opened his three magatama sharingan eyes and followed closely behind Maruboshi Kosuke.

"Can you still keep up?"

Carrying a scapegoat that almost became his trademark, the kind-faced genin said to the rear and immediately opened the mission scroll in his hand.

"We're almost there, let's take a rest at the front!"

After connecting with the location on the mission scroll, Maruboshi Kosuke looked up at the sun that was about to set.

"If you leave the village for the first time to perform a mission, it's better to adjust your condition."

Choosing a riverbank with water flowing through it as a settlement site, Kosuke Maruboshi picked up a few irregularly shaped stones from the riverside, inserted them into the ground to stabilize their shape, and then placed the iron pot behind him on the stones.

"If you don't mind it, try my old man's craftsmanship!"

"If you were on the battlefield, you wouldn't be able to see something like this."

Putting the ingredients collected on the road in front of him, Kosuke Maruboshi skillfully fetched water from the river, lit a fire and boiled the water in one go.

Taking advantage of the cooking time, Maruhoshi Kosuke, who often crossed levels to take on high-level tasks, imparted his experience to Uchiha Toru in front of him in a casual chat.

"For this kind of special mission, the information provided by the mission gathering place is very limited. The specific information needs to be explored by the ninjas themselves on the way."

"Combat information is very important in the mission. Relying on my status as a genin, I have defeated many arrogant enemies."

Suddenly, a loud bang came from above the river, which also alerted Maruboshi Ancient Street.

"You stay here and watch the pot for me, and I'll go see what's going on."

"okay."

The hungry Uchiha Toru took the spoon from Maruboshi Kogai and slowly turned over the ingredients in the pot.

"Ok?"

After rushing to the upper reaches of the river, something unexpected slowly appeared in his eyes.

Maruhoshi Kosuke's eyes widened and he stared at the body stuck in the crevices of the river rocks in front of him.

The animal mask whose roots were used to cover the face fell to the shore due to the collision between the corpse and the stone.

"The body of Konoha Anbu?" Kosuke Maruhoshi pulled out his ninja sword from behind, looked around and stepped forward to check cautiously.

After confirming that there were no detonating symbols, poison gas or other means on the corpse, Kosuke Maruhoshi opened the corpse's mouth with the handle of his knife.

Seeing the curse mark on his tongue, Maruhoshi Kosuke immediately made a judgment.

"No, it's the roots!"

The dead root ninja's eyes widened, as if he was looking at something indescribable.

Judging from the large bloody hole in his chest, this ninja must have died because someone penetrated his chest directly from the front.

Not even the characteristic black cape at the base is damaged.

The people at the root are all elite ninjas who have been screened at all levels, and they can basically be considered to have special Jōnin-level strength.

Intercepting and killing the root of the ninja has completely exceeded Maruhoshi Kosuke's expectations for the 'beast'.

Realizing the danger, Kosuke Maruhoshi was about to ask Uchiha Toru to leave together when an unexpected sound came from the ancestral hall above the river bank.

"Now that you're here, let's stay here."

The mysterious man wearing a black mask slowly jumped from the upper reaches of the river. The overlapping stitching marks on his body revealed his identity.

"Wandering ninja?"

Without any sign of contempt, Kosuke Maruhoshi quickly scanned the information about the mysterious person in his mind.

"I'd rather you call me a bounty hunter than this."

Kakuzu, whose face was half covered by a mask, slowly approached Maruboshi Kosuke and replied like a chatter.

Examining the ordinary-dressed old man with green eyes, Kakuzu immediately made a judgment.

'Tch, there is no reward for the old man. '

After discovering that Kosuke Maruboshi had no bounty, Kakuzu's desire to fight also weakened. This period of recuperation has seriously delayed his efficiency in making money.

Ji Yu's suturing function allows him to easily recover from fatal injuries, but out of insurance, Kakuzu still waits for the arrival of the last heart.

'The old man's heart is barely enough. I'll replace it later when I have a chance! '

Taking advantage of the opportunity to talk, cracks quickly appeared in the stitching marks on Kakuzu's back, and a monster made of black lines quickly appeared behind him.

Keeping the 'Yin' seal in his hand, Kakuzu quickly released the ninjutsu with the help of the Fire Release Heart.

"Fire Escape - hard work!"

More than a dozen tiny fireballs were spit out from Ji Yu Yu's mouth under Kakuzu's control.

After the fire escape fell to the ground, the burning range quickly expanded in the direction of Maruboshi Kosuke, swallowing up everything in its path.

The land burned into a sea of ​​fire in the blink of an eye. Unsatisfied with the scene in front of him, a brand new mask of Yu Yu appeared behind Kakuzu.

The two masks amplified Kakuzu's body to the point of distortion, achieving a balance in a strange form.

The fire escape mask and the wind escape mask appeared on Kakuzu's shoulders after being stitched together by Earth Resentment Yu.
"Earthly Resentment Mode!"

In order to increase the power of fire escape, Kakuzu used the escape technique of two masks at once.

"Wind Escape - Pressure"

Several high-pressure wind balls immediately appeared in the mouth of the Wind Release Mask Monster, and were released in the direction of the spread of Fire Release ahead.

Spread by the wind, the endless high-temperature fireballs exploded on the way forward, with an even larger scale.
'It's too late to form the seal! '

While Kakuzu was thinking secretly, he saw Kosuke Maruboshi just looking at the river beside him and silently putting his hands in front of him.

"Water Escape—Water Formation Wall!"

Thanks to Senju Tobirama's personal teaching, Maruhoshi Kosuke only made two seals during this release of ninjutsu.

In an instant, a huge water curtain emerged from the river, and immediately collided with Kakuzu's combined wind and fire ninjutsu.

The sudden burst of powerful chakra fluctuations made Kakuzu feel happy.

'This level of water escape, powerful chakra fluctuations, is the highest quality water escape heart! '

Seeing the huge and powerful water escape in front of him, even the experienced shadow-level old monster couldn't help but feel excited.

'Weaken the strength of the ninjutsu, don't destroy this precious heart. '

Just as he was about to weaken the release of the combined ninjutsu, Kosuke Maruhoshi's highly distinctive chakra fluctuations burst out instantly.

"Water escape - water rushes into waves!"

Strong water vapor was generated immediately, and Maruboshi Kosuke used the cover of the water vapor to immediately form seals and release the ninjutsu.

Standing in the river, Kosuke Maruhoshi straightened his stooped body, although he often called himself an 'old guy'.

But normally he is still in his prime at his current age.

A huge wave of water escape appeared in front of Kakuzu, and the water escape surrounding Maruboshi Kosuke's body was aimed at his direction.

"Water Escape - Wave Riding"

With the help of the river beside him, the terrifying water escape from the second generation Hokage was used by Maruhoshi Kosuke one after another.

On the other side, Uchiha Toru, who was enjoying the food with a wooden bowl in his arms, noticed the movement in front of him.

"It is indeed Kakuzu."

Seeing the heartless corpse washed up next to him by the water escape, Uchiha Toru reached out and touched Wuzhu's mask.

[Unlock the outfit—'Root']

When touching the coat and mask of the root ninja, notifications from the Naruto mobile game popped up one after another.

(Root dressing)
(End of this chapter)