Naruto: The Samurai Menace

To say Touki was just angry after the fight is an understatement; he was truly disappointed in himself for having missed such an opportunity. Suki, Izumi, and Tomomi fought like true professionals, providing an example of coordination and putting an S-class ninja on the ropes, only able to defend himself and barely managing to escape.

The man has thought back many times and believes that a good surprise oversized bomb might have been all it took to get rid of the troublesome Kakuzu, a tactic that was too dangerous, yes, but sadly, that's all in the past. The ninja, probably just at the moment of landing that stamp on the ground with his foot, managed to escape underground, simply leaving a clone on the surface, something that Touki must have considered could happen, but in his defense, he didn't remember that the chakra nature of Kakuzu's original body was earth, but rather he thought it corresponded to one of the stolen hearts. It's been decades since he saw the series on television and he can't remember such specific details.

The implementation of the latest wireless communication systems in the helmets of everyone involved in the fight was crucial to their excellent performance, giving Touki hope that a truly elite combat team could be formed. The only detail that was noticeable was that only Izumi was able to use her full potential, as both Tomomi and Suki are accustomed to fighting better alone, especially the latter, who is capable of blinding her opponents with her mist.

The man is certain that Kakuzu is still alive, and it's only a matter of time before information about his group, including his abilities, reaches Nagato and Obito. Fortunately, Suki fulfilled her mission and was able to detect the White Zetsu clone within her spreading mist, which was unable to anticipate the woman's surprise attack and was decapitated and destroyed before it could even react. This at least meant that it was possible for Suki to detect the presence of Akatsuki's elusive spies, at least as long as part of their bodies were exposed to the mist.

Bitter and disappointed, Touki ordered the Order to be much more careful after the encounter with Kakuzu and focused his time again on exploring worlds, ignoring the 007 world for now and trying to find another world with the presence of life. Unfortunately, fate brought only disappointments for the man, resulting in only unimportant discoveries:

008: Dead World.

009: Dead World.

010: White World.

011: 120°C World.

012: White World.

013: Dead World.

014: White World.

015: Dead World.

A little tired of the failure, the man began to plan different approaches to how to deal with the Dragon in the 007 world. Logic would say that he should abandon the idea of ​​​​fighting such a beast and continue exploring the world in search of intelligent life, but Touki doesn't work that way, because he believes that somehow the Dragon possesses something that he needs. Perhaps it is instinct, but from the first moment he laid eyes on the blue reptile, a part of him screams for its death.

All he can do is wait for one of his twisted ideas to come to him at some point, so he can fight the beast and take advantage of the excellent team of fighters he and his companions have formed.

…

Inside a dark cavern, in an unknown location, two spectral figures meet for a conversation. The one who appears to be the leader maintains a dominant posture and possesses strange purple eyes with spiral patterns covering their entire surface.

"Kakuzu, what's going on?" asks the purple-eyed individual.

"Pain, I was ambushed in the land of rivers by four individuals, three women and one man. I barely escaped with my life," Kakuzu replies, his voice filled with exhaustion and hatred.

"Where is your companion? Did he die in the ambush? Who were those individuals?" the so-called Pain asks again.

"I had a serious disagreement with my partner and ended up killing him," Kakuzu says without hesitation. "The individuals were very strange; they didn't say a single word and immediately went to kill me. A woman with Sharingan, possibly Mangekyo, another woman specialized in electricity, and the man is capable of using a technique very similar to Minato's Hiraishin. Regarding the last woman, I couldn't fully grasp her abilities."

"Mangekyo sharingan, you say?" Pain's eyes sharpen. "What kind of power do they have, and why do you think it was an ambush?"

"They appeared out of nowhere, but it seemed like they knew about me, including my powers," the man with green pupils replies, bitterness in his voice, "They managed to destroy my four special hearts and were on the verge of killing me. None of them showed surprise at my abilities, and the Sharingan eye power was terrifying; it froze my mind and made me see everything around me at an accelerated pace, and it could also trap things in a strange black ice. They all wore masks and wore armor very similar to samurai armor, repelling my attacks with what looked like energy shields. We're talking about a powerful organization."

"It sounds problematic and very suspicious. We'll have to thoroughly investigate the possibility of spies in our organization," Pain says seriously. "How is your situation? Can you continue with your mission?"

"Right now, I'm far from available for anything. I need to replenish my hearts and repair a lot of internal damage."

"Take your time to get back to optimal condition, and for the next one, don't eliminate your partner so quickly. Perhaps everything would have been different with someone else's help."

Kakuzu's spectral form simply growls and then disappears. Pain, on the other hand, remains in place, as if waiting for something else. A few seconds later, two new spectral individuals appear: a man with a spiral-shaped mask and a single eye, as well as a strange individual with his head sandwiched between what appear to be the two halves of some kind of carnivorous plant.

"We're in trouble," Pain tells those who have just arrived, before recounting what happened to Kakuzu.

"I've lost contact with the clone who was in charge of monitoring Kakuzu," says the individual inside the carnivorous plant.

"This is truly troubling. But it reminds me of an incident I had a couple of years ago in Konoha," the one-eyed man comments, his voice very serious and deep. "The man you describe is very similar to the one who confronted me during the Uchiha massacre. The fact that he is with a survivor increases my suspicions even more… But the underlying problem is that we have a spy among us, as Kakuzu's abilities are unknown to almost everyone outside of Akatsuki. You will really have to investigate the organization thoroughly, my dear Pain; the spy must be closer than we think."

"The only one I can suspect is Itachi, but he hasn't partnered with Kakuzu," Pain says.

"We can't rule it out, since we know of his past as an Anbu of Konoha, and his loyalty will always be debatable. By the way, rumors of a new power behind the war in the land of noodles are growing stronger. Perhaps these four aforementioned individuals have something to do with that organization," suggests the man with the spiral mask.

"Our resources are limited for now, so we couldn't deploy agents in that war. However, I'm aware of the current arms race. Things are going to get very unpredictable with these new weapons and the new innovations that will follow," Pain's voice grows more serious.

"Perhaps all this is an opportunity," the masked man's single eye sharpens. "In a world of conflict, it's much easier to remain unnoticed and fearlessly capture all the Bijus..."

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