Naruto: The Abstract Strategist of the Akatsuki

Chapter 35 Hell Thrust - Elementary School Penetrating Hand

"Actually, it's just me. This person is here on other business."

After Bai Mo finished speaking, he looked at Kakuzu beside him: "Kakuzu, according to the intelligence, the current village chief of Takigakure is alright. Do you want to go and negotiate with him?"

"Um."

Kakuzu nodded silently, then, as if remembering something, he complained, "I'm so annoyed by that Deidara kid these days, I can't even make money properly."

Deidara went to Iwagakure to obtain the scrolls of his predecessors, hoping to draw inspiration from them to improve his explosive clay.

Optimization should be done step by step.

First, we need to ensure that the explosive clay derived from Earth Release is not countered by Lightning Release.

Then, incidentally, he thought about how to harm the Otsutsuki clan, who could absorb ninjutsu.

The only member of the Akatsuki who knows Lightning Release is Kakuzu, who possesses all five elemental attributes.

So, while managing the economy of Amegakure every day, Kakuzu also had to find time to be Deidara's sparring partner.

And as Deidara's ideas grew, the frequency of these encounters increased.

Kakuzu was so annoyed that he finally gave Deidara a suggestion—to add explosive tags to the explosive clay.

Explosive tags deal fire damage, so if you add explosive tags, then Lightning Release will be unable to counter them.

You can even omit the detonating tags at the beginning, making the opponent think that Lightning Release counters Detonating Clay, and then suddenly add them in to catch them off guard.

Kakuzu originally didn't want to give Deidara this idea, after all, explosive tags are expensive, and Deidara would waste a lot of money every day playing his explosive art.

However, being entangled with Deidara like this, he was unable to properly develop the economy of Amegakure.

Kakuzu then recalled what Bai Mo had told him at the Akatsuki meeting that day: to have a long-term vision and not get caught up in immediate gains.

Let's appease Deidara first, freeing up our hands to make big money. The money from the explosive tags is nothing compared to that.

But the result?

Deidara insisted that low-level ninja tools like explosive tags were not worthy of being included in his art, that this was plagiarism, and that artists could not tolerate it.

Kakuzu completely lost his temper.

Just then, Bai Mo invited him to his hometown, Takigakure, the site of the current battle between Iwagakure and Kumogakure. Kakuzu agreed without hesitation.

—Leave Deidara here by yourself for a while, let him figure it out himself.

Presumably, Deidara will stop bothering him when he gets back.

Deidara can't just sit around doing nothing while he's away these days, can he?

This is not in line with his character.

"Deidara is thinking about improving his strength, what about you, Kakuzu? I heard that there is a Hero's Water in Takigakure that will reduce your lifespan and increase your chakra by a lot if you drink it. Why don't you go and give it a try?"

Since your lifespan depends on your heart, reducing your lifespan shouldn't matter, right?

Bai Mo's words startled Kakuzu.

"Could it be that the ancestors of Takigakure founded the village using both of these things?"

Kakuzu fell into thought.

But he quickly rejected it.

The Earth Grudge Fear and the Hero's Water do work together, but this has nothing to do with the establishment of the Ninja Village.

Those incompetent high-ranking officials who sent him to assassinate the First Hokage were simply not qualified to master these two powers.

"Where did this kid come from? Call out Onoki, the one in charge!"

The Fourth Raikage, A, clad in lightning armor, appeared at the front lines and roared at Kurotsuchi.

"I am the Tsuchikage, and also the leader of the Land of Earth!"

"Raikage, you intruder, just tell me what you want to say! If you don't want to say anything, then let's continue the battle!"

Kurotsuchi did not back down at all in the face of Raikage A's words.

"Kakuzu, watch out for the waterfall."

Bai Mo's voice interrupted Kakuzu's thoughts.

"Fall?"

Kakuzu looked up at the large waterfall at the entrance to Takigakure.

—Takigakure is also located in the middle of a great power, but it has not suffered from the ravages of war because it is located behind a large waterfall.

When great powers clash, they only fight to the death outside the waterfall, just like they are now.

Kakuzu stared at the waterfall and suddenly noticed a subtle movement.

Did someone emerge from the waterfall?

Faced with the battle between the two great ninja villages, shouldn't Takigakure have kept its gates tightly shut and sent people to guard the only entrance?

How dare you come out?

Or……

Kakuzu suddenly made a move, unleashing a Tentacle Fist of Earth Grudges. The ninja who had just emerged from the waterfall was pierced through the body by this punch.

Kakuzu withdrew his fist, bringing the ninja with him.

"Cloud Ninja?"

Kakuzu kicked the already dead ninja, revealing his headband.

They are not from Takigakure, but from Kumogakure, one of the two sides currently at war!

Along with it came a large bag that he was clutching tightly in his hand.

Kakuzu opened the bag, inside which was a girl with blue-green hair whose chakra was sealed by a sealing technique and whose mouth was gagged.

The girl, who had been looking flustered and frightened, suddenly had her eyes light up when she saw Kakuzu, and she made "mmm" sounds even with her mouth gagged.

Kakuzu's series of actions were particularly evident during the temporary ceasefire and the exchange of blows between the two shadows.

When the Raikage saw the Cloud Ninja killed by Kakuzu and the target in the bag, his expression changed drastically.

As the fastest ninja in the world, the Raikage arrived in front of Kakuzu in a flash, intending to snatch the girl away.

Faced with such speed, Kakuzu naturally couldn't react in time.

but……

The Raikage's arm, clad in lightning armor, was firmly gripped by the other, preventing him from advancing an inch.

"you?!"

Raikage looked up at Bai Mo. He hadn't expected that in the ninja world after Minato Namikaze's death, there would still be someone who could keep up with his full speed.

"Raikage, why is your Kumogakure always eyeing other clans' Jinchūriki? Aren't you afraid someone will steal your Jinchūriki too?"

Bai Mo's tone carried a hint of sarcasm.

He was still wondering why Kumogakure and Iwagakure had declared war, and whether there was some deeper meaning behind it.

Unexpectedly, it was such a simple "borrowing a path to destroy Guo".

When he went to Konoha before, he wanted to kidnap the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, but instead it led to the Moonlit Embrace of the Girl. Now he's back to try and kidnap the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki.

When I used to read the novel, I often felt indignant on behalf of Lei Ying.

Raikage is clearly a rough and brute who doesn't get close to women, so why is he stereotyped as the protagonist of doujinshi just because of his dark skin, blond hair, and muscular build?

Looking back now, it's not that the Raikage didn't want to be a minotaur; it's just that what the Raikage wanted to be a minotaur wasn't a woman, but a Jinchuriki, or a bloodline limit from another ninja village.

Fu, the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki, blinked and, using the lightning on the Raikage's arm, clearly saw Bai Mo's appearance and posture, her cheeks flushing red.

"Kid, you look unfamiliar. Aren't you from Iwagakure?"

The Raikage spoke.

"He's a mercenary I hired."

Kurotsuchi answered the Raikage's question from behind.

"Hiring mercenaries? Ha, don't be..."

"You get paid, but you don't live to enjoy it—right? Can't you come up with a different line?"

"..."

"Raikage, do you know your father's Hell Thrust: One-Hit Kill?"

"Hmph, you've heard of my father's reputation?"

"Yes or no?"

"No, but to deal with you, I don't even need one or two 'sweeping hands' techniques..."

"What about those with a college diploma?"

"?"

"What about those with a vocational high school diploma?"

"..."

"Don't they even have a primary school?"

"With such a low level of education, no wonder you only think about stealing Jinchuriki from Takigakure and don't realize that this is a great opportunity for Kumogakure to develop."

Bai Mo loosened his grip on Lei Ying's hand, and Lei Ying took the opportunity to withdraw his arm.

"What do you mean?"

Lei Ying frowned and asked.

"When I first heard the Tsuchikage say that Kumogakure had declared war, I thought the Raikage wanted to deliberately suffer a defeat—to let others know that Iwagakure, which had been decimated and depleted of talent by the Third Raikage, could, in just over a month, inspire all the ninjas, unite the nation, and receive a continuous supply of resources..."

The Hidden Cloud Village was defeated not because of its strength, but because of its logistics, morale, and system.

Then you can take this opportunity to emulate the Tsuchikage's approach and implement a new system.

Even if we don't abolish the daimyo of the Land of Lightning, we should at least establish a "constitutional monarchy," transferring most of the power, especially control over resources, from the daimyo to the ninja villages and Kage.

Bai Mo's words captivated Lei Ying.

This is indeed what the Raikage wanted to achieve. However, he hadn't thought of this before, and now the other party had brought it up!

"Thank you for reminding us, but we still need to bring the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki back!"

Lei Ying regained his senses, thanked Bai Mo, and then attacked again!