Ch-16 Undead Kakuzu

"We were given a mission by our village to steal food from the Country of Rivers and deliver it to Sunagakure."said the leading Jonin.

.....

Upon questioning the two individuals, Karan proceeded with his voyage towards the Hidden Grass Village. He discovered that they had become missing ninjas because their village had assigned them a mission to steal food from the Country of Rivers and deliver it to Sunagakure under the guise of missing ninjas. He comprehended Sunagakure's actions as a result of their lack of resources, with the Fourth Kazekage's Golden Sand blood limit they have access to money. Consequently, the primary challenge was obtaining food rather than funds. Opting to raid a weaker country such as the Country of Rivers was a simpler task than raiding a stronger country like Country of Fire.

After travelling for whole day he rested at night in the wild. The next day after a light breakfast he continued his journey.

As he was on the verge of entering the Country of Rain, Uchiha Karan sensed a disturbance and immediately used an instantaneous technique to leave the area.

"BOOM!"

Karan's expression changed as he recognized the detonation of a talisman. Someone had managed to evade his perception and plant the talisman.

Concentrating his chakra, Karan detected the presence of two powerful individuals. One appeared to be an elite Jonin, while the other possessed Kage-level strength. He gazed ahead and spotted two figures garbed in the Akatsuki's signature black cloak adorned with red clouds.

One of them was the infamous Kakuzu, while the other appeared to be a missing ninja from Iwagakure based on the cut on their forehead protector.

Although encountering the Akatsuki was not uncommon for Karan, he was perplexed as to how they knew about his route and were waiting for him. Suddenly, he remembered something crucial. 'How could I forget?' Karan thought. 'The Akatsuki's hideout was once located in the Country of Rivers during Nagato's early days as leader. It makes sense that Kakuzu would be aware of my movements and be waiting for me.'

"Who are you?" Uchiha Karan asked, blocking his way. "And why are you stopping me?"

"We are here on orders from our leader," the Iwa ninja replied, "to invite you to join our organization, Uchiha brat."

"I'm not interested," Uchiha Karan responded calmly. "Please leave."

"Hmph! How dare you refuse," the Iwa ninja growled. "If you won't join us, then you can die!"

Kakuzu then pulled out a stack of papers and began flipping through them until he found a particular sheet. "Name: Uchiha Karan," he read, verifying the image with the person in front of him. "Reward: 50,000,000 ryo."

Uchiha Karan raised an eyebrow. "What is that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"It means," Kakuzu explained, "that if you don't want to join, then the reward on your head will be mine."

"You think I'm just going to let you take me in?" Uchiha Karan scoffed. "I suggest you try and make me."

The Iwa ninja chuckled. "You're quite confident for someone who's outnumbered," he said.

Uchiha Karan smirked. "I don't need numbers to take you down," he replied, getting into a fighting stance. "Let's see what you've got."

Drawing his sword, Uchiha Karan swiftly entered his Purple Thunder mode, feeling the added strength from the weapon that amplified his power even further. He could sense that his speed had increased by 30%, making him even more formidable than before.

"Earth Release: Tearing Earth Turning Palm" Iwa ninja attacked.

Upon seeing the ninjutsu, Karan quickly evaded the attack and fled the area. However, as he came to a stop, Kakuzu suddenly appeared behind him, striking him with a powerful black fist.

"Earth Style: Iron Skin"

Karan swiftly used his sword to deflect Kakuzu's attack, and as the blade connected with Kakuzu's fist, the impact nearly severed his hand. However, at a crucial moment, Kakuzu retreated to safety. Before Karan could launch a counter-attack, the Iwa ninja used a ninjutsu to hinder his movements.

"Earth Release: Bottomless Swamp"

"Tch," Karan muttered in frustration as he was forced to abandon his attempt to strike Kakuzu.

"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet"

The iwa ninja continued his attack.

"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet"

The purple fire raged forward, completely obliterating the Earth dragon and continuing towards the Iwa ninja. 

"Earth Release: Earth-Style Rampart"

In an attempt to defend himself, the Iwa ninja employed a ninjutsu that elevated him to a sufficient height, allowing him to evade Karan's attack.

Following the intense confrontation, both sides ceased their fighting and simply stared at one another.

Kakuzu repaired his hand, which had almost been severed by Karan's attack. He then removed his Akatsuki robe, realizing that killing Karan would not be an easy task.

"Your reward should be more substantial than this. I propose at least 80 million ryo," stated Kakuzu.

"You both have proven yourselves to be formidable opponents. If I were to engage you both solely with my ninjutsu and Kenjutsu skills, it would be difficult for me to defeat you. However, you lack proper information on me, don't you? Otherwise, your leader would not have sent you here to your demise," Uchiha Karan remarked while activating his Mangekyo Sharingan.

As soon as Kakuzu caught sight of Uchiha Karan's activated Mangekyo Sharingan, he became extremely cautious, having witnessed the destructive potential of those eyes firsthand when they were used by Uchiha Madara.

"I must say, you should both feel honored, as I have never before used these eyes in battle. I have never found a worthy adversary who forced me to resort to such measures," Uchiha Karan stated, referring to his Mangekyo Sharingan.

"First, let me take care of this bug who is interfering in our fight," Uchiha Karan said, pointing at the Iwa ninja.

The Iwa ninja became vigilant, and as he started to prepare his attack, Karan suddenly vanished and reappeared in front of him, swiftly decapitating him.

"First obstacle out of the way," Uchiha Karan said as he turned his attention towards Kakuzu.

"Shall we proceed with our fight?" Uchiha Karan asked Kakuzu.

Kakuzu's expression turned serious as he realized that Karan had used a type of space ninjutsu to move swiftly, rather than an instantaneous technique. He knew that facing someone with this type of ninjutsu would be a great challenge.