Chapter 600: The Man Who Had Fought the God of Shinobi

"Lord Shuichi, from our investigation these past few days, this planet’s strength seems to be very ordinary. Why are we going through so much trouble to test them? If it’s just that traitor, I could deal with him alone, couldn’t I?"

On a barren area somewhere in the Shinobi World, a tall, muscular man asked the slender, tall man beside him in confusion.

Shuichi glanced indifferently at Zangshi, thinking that after advancing to the elite group, he should have his guardian’s brain modified. Speaking without thinking would only offend people, but acting without thinking could get someone killed.

"You can’t judge everything by appearances. If this planet really were as ordinary as it appears on the surface, then the previous group wouldn’t have failed."

As he spoke, Shuichi slightly raised his hand, and the loose sand and soil on the ground instantly flew before the two of them and floated motionlessly.

"This planet has already been planted with a Divine Tree once, yet it still possesses such vitality. That shows this planet has extraordinary potential."

Shuichi lowered his hand, and the sand and soil, having lost their support, instantly returned to the ground.

"Moreover, since Kaguya dared to betray us, she must have something to rely on." Shuichi gazed into the distance, his eyes deep and cold.

Kaguya had been separated from the Otsutsuki for thousands of years. Her current strength was an unknown.

"If this traitor’s reliance really is the planet’s natives, then this will be fun. No matter how strong a native is, at most they could only have just entered the God level. By then, you won’t even need to act, Lord Shuichi." Zangshi let out a contemptuous laugh.

Zangshi simply felt that Shuichi was overthinking things. Kaguya and the others were merely newcomers undertaking their first mission, while they were about to advance to the Otsutsuki elite.

But Zangshi was already used to it. Shuichi often fought with the air like this and then wasted a great deal of time. Otherwise, with Shuichi’s strength, he would have advanced to the elite group long ago.

They could obviously just act directly and steamroll everything, yet he insisted on finding some people among the natives to transform into subordinates, then going with them to participate in the Shinobi World Martial Arts Tournament to test the strength of the number one person in the Shinobi World.

Wasn’t it just a native from a backward planet? They had never even left the planet, so how strong could they be?

...

Land of Fire, Shinobi World Martial Arts Tournament arena.

At this moment, the huge arena, which was large enough to accommodate tens of thousands of people, was already packed.

Most of them were ninjas who wanted to improve themselves by observing the battles between the strong.

There were also some ordinary people who were very interested in ninja battles and had come to watch in person to experience the atmosphere.

Taking ordinary spectators’ viewing experience into consideration, there were huge screens broadcasting the matches inside the arena, along with dedicated commentators analyzing and explaining the battles.

Those who failed to get tickets could also watch the livestream online and send comments to cheer for their favorite contestants.

"Please have the contestants for the first battle enter the arena."

"Please have contestant Kakuzu enter."

"Please have contestant Ryuichi enter."

Following the broadcast announcement, Kakuzu quickly flashed into the arena, preparing to begin the battle.

What surprised Kakuzu was that his opponent’s speed was about the same as his, also arriving in the arena instantly.

"I’m commentator Kotetsu."

"I’m commentator Izumo."

"I’m commentator Mabui."

The three commentators also briefly introduced themselves.

"Contestant Kakuzu is a veteran of the Shinobi World. He has been active since the early days of the ninja village era, and he is also a familiar face at our Martial Arts Tournament. This is already his third time reaching the finals, and he is a very powerful contestant." Before the match officially began, Izumo started introducing the contestants.

"I heard that contestant Kakuzu once attempted to assassinate the God of Shinobi Hashirama of your village, but ultimately suffered a narrow defeat. The God of Shinobi recognized his strength and therefore didn’t kill him. Is that true?" Mabui asked with a smile, beginning to liven up the atmosphere.

Hearing this, Kotetsu couldn’t help laughing.

No one knew whether this rumor had been something Kakuzu had boasted about himself after drinking too much, or whether some unscrupulous person had spread it. When Kakuzu first participated in the Martial Arts Tournament, it caused all the contestants to become extremely wary.

Even in the current era, no one had ever underestimated the God of Shinobi Hashirama. Someone who had been acknowledged by him and had survived until now naturally could not be underestimated.

It wasn’t until Kakuzu was defeated that everyone discovered that although Kakuzu’s strength wasn’t bad, he was only at the Kage level. If Hashirama fought Kakuzu, Kakuzu would have been almost instantly defeated. How could it possibly have been a narrow defeat?

But due to the development of the internet, Kakuzu’s legend had already spread very widely, so it eventually became a running joke.

The people watching the livestream began flooding the comments.

"’Narrow defeat’—meaning he threw a kunai from eight hundred miles away, tripped over a tree root, and said, ’As expected of the God of Shinobi.’"

"A bloody incident caused by a single kunai."

"Kakuzu: If he has courage, he has courage. If he has strength, he has courage."

Kakuzu’s face immediately darkened when he heard Mabui’s words from the arena. He could already imagine how he was going to be mocked online.

Kakuzu was already cursing Mabui furiously in his heart. Of all things, why did she have to bring this up? Wasn’t she deliberately humiliating this old man?

"Although contestant Ryuichi is participating in the Martial Arts Tournament for the first time, his performance has been outstanding. He is also a very powerful contestant." Kotetsu quickly adjusted his expression and began introducing Kakuzu’s opponent.

However, aside from participating in this Martial Arts Tournament, Ryuichi really had no other achievements, so there wasn’t much they could say about him.

As the commentators finished their introductions, the official match began.

Kakuzu’s eyes flickered. Today, he absolutely had to prove himself!

Because he had offered up the Secret Technique Earth Grudge Fear, Kakuzu had also received an opportunity to undergo further training, helping the Shinobi Alliance in exchange for learning Haki techniques.

And just one year ago, Kakuzu had finally comprehended the Armament Haki that was crucial to him.

With the tentacles of Earth Grudge Fear combined with Armament Haki, Kakuzu was confident that he could contend with the Five Kage.

"Earth Grudge Fear!"

The instant the match began, Kakuzu directly used his prized Secret Technique, Earth Grudge Fear. A large number of black tentacles burst out from his back, while two masks appeared around his shoulders.

Compared to Kakuzu’s grand display, Ryuichi’s side was much simpler. He merely had some additional tattoos on his body, while a Chakra aura erupted around him.

"Yuriha, who do you think will win?" Ino asked Yuriha beside her.

"Ryuichi," Yuriha replied. "That guy is a little strange. His aura is different from that of ordinary ninjas."

Yuriha had inherited the Uzumaki clan’s keen sensory abilities very well, and she faintly sensed something strange about Ryuichi.

Ino looked at Ryuichi’s tattoos and nodded. "This guy really is a little strange."

"Combined Ninjutsu: Fire Wind Chaos Wave!"

One of the masks on Kakuzu’s shoulders spewed out a sea of fire, while the other released a wind sphere. In an extremely short amount of time, they created a world of flames that covered the entire arena, and the fierce flames engulfed Ryuichi.

"A textbook combination Ninjutsu. As expected of a veteran of the Shinobi World. This is going to be difficult for Ryuichi." Izumo praised him.

As if deliberately trying to slap Izumo in the face, a figure covered in a Chakra aura slowly walked out from within the sea of fire.

The flames covering the entire arena seemed to be a false illusion, failing to cause Ryuichi any harm.

Ryuichi’s next move shocked the commentators, the audience, and even Kakuzu, who was fighting him.

Ryuichi suddenly displayed extreme speed, instantly appearing beside Kakuzu and punching through his abdomen, directly shattering one of Kakuzu’s masks.

"What incredible speed." Rasa looked at the somewhat strange Ryuichi with an unpleasant expression, recalling something unpleasant from the past.

"Raikage, do you think you can surpass that speed?" the Fourth Mizukage asked.

"If we’re only considering the speed he has displayed so far, yes." The Raikage didn’t dare speak too confidently. After all, according to Nagasawa’s intelligence, these suddenly appearing "strong individuals" were all far from simple.

"Damn it!" Kakuzu’s eyes widened, feeling somewhat incredulous.

He immediately controlled his tentacles to attack Ryuichi, but the tentacles strengthened by Armament Haki were actually scattered directly by Ryuichi’s fist.

Ryuichi pressed his advantage and threw another plain, unremarkable punch at Kakuzu, taking away one of Kakuzu’s lives.

Kakuzu’s eyelids twitched violently, and he inwardly cried out that this was too cruel.

He could sense that his opponent before him had no techniques whatsoever. He simply erupted with Chakra and swung his fists, yet such plain and unremarkable movements could completely ignore his ingenious combination Ninjutsu.

"I surrender!"

"Ryuichi wins!"

The spectators in the arena were stunned, somewhat dumbfounded. Some spectators hadn’t even opened their snack bags before the battle was already over.

It was an upset. Although Kakuzu couldn’t be considered a top-tier powerhouse, he was still a renowned strong ninja in the Shinobi World. Being nearly instantly defeated and forced to surrender by a ninja who had no reputation whatsoever before participating in the Martial Arts Tournament was truly unexpected.

"As expected of him. When it comes to disappointing people, he never disappoints."

"He lost in the first round. He’s set a new record."

The viewers watching the livestream also began expressing their opinions one after another.