Chapter 391: Double Blow!

Back on the battlefield, Mangetsu stood along with 17 Hunter ninjas. They were treating the wounded and sealing the dead. One ninja approached Mangetsu and hatefully said, "Kisame managed to escape. We need to organize more hunting parties to trap and kill him!"

However, Mangetsu shook his head and said, "No."

His words surprised his subordinates who were around him. Mangetsu explained, "It's pointless. Kisame was already in a battle before we found him. And despite outnumbering him so much, we weren't able to kill him.

So any hunting squads we send will be killed by him. Even if they manage to inform us, what's the use if we can't kill him? Only Mizukage-sama can kill him, but he can't move around so lightly."

The hunter ninjas sighed on hearing the explanations. None of them argued against him. They had just fought Kisame. And his strength was far beyond their expectations!

Suddenly, a hunter ninja approached Mangetsu with excitement and said, "Captain, look what I found!"

Mangetsu immediately looked at the ninja. His eyes widened as he saw what the Hunter ninja was holding. He immediately grabbed it and observed it properly. After a couple of minutes, he nodded and said, "There is no mistake. This is the hilt of Kubikiribocho! But..."

His voice became a bit unsteady as he asked, "Who damaged it to this extent? There is almost nothing left of the sword. Also, where is Juzo?"L1tLagoon witnessed the first publication of this chapter on Ñøv€l--B1n.



No one answered him. Mangetsu instructed, "Search this battlefield. See if you can find any pieces of the blade. Also, see if you can find any dead bodies."

The hunter ninjas nodded. The ones who weren't gravely injured immediately got to work.

Due to the high intensity of the battle, neither Fujin nor Kisame had any time to pay attention to and pick up Juzo's sword. In addition, the entire battlefield was flooded by Kisame. So, the sword was a few meters under the water. Even if they had time, neither Fujin nor Kisame were very interested in that sword.

Only Zetsu could collect the sword, but it didn't see any point in doing that as Juzo was dead. As the ones who managed to hold on to the battlefield until the end, the sword landed in the hands of the Kiri ninjas.

They quickly found some of the shattered pieces of Kubikiribocho. Mangetsu observed them and concluded, 'It looks like they were cut by wind. The masked ninja that Kisame was fighting was using Wind jutsus. Did he defeat Juzo before fighting Kisame?'

While Mangetsu was storing the pieces of Kubikiribocho, a ninja appeared holding the damaged head of Juzo. The head was very damaged. Kisame's attack had poked a hole through Juzo's head and destroyed his brain. A large part of his face was unrecognizable. So the Hunter nins weren't able to identify him.



In a cave, the illusionary bodies of the Akatsuki members appeared. As soon as they did, Orochimaru joked, "We seem to be missing some members."

No one joined in his joke. Pain informed the group, "Biwa Juzo is dead. In the last 3 days, we have lost 2 members."

Everyone's attention was immediately drawn to Kakuzu, whose partner was missing as well. Sasori asked, "How did they die?"

Zetsu answered, "Juzo was killed by Konoha's Spectral Swordsman during a mission. The other one died in friendly fire."

Once again, everyone stared at Kakuzu who replied unapologetically, "He was too slow."

Orochimaru asked, "You attacked him, didn't you?"

Kakuzu didn't bother replying. Orochimaru turned his attention to Itachi and asked, "Juzo was your partner, wasn't he? I wonder who you would team up with next?"

Itachi didn't respond. Pain offered Kakuzu and Itachi to team up, however, both refused. So, Pain announced that they would begin looking for new members.

Kakuzu looked at Zetsu and asked, "Spectral Swordsman is on my hit list for his bounty. How strong is he and what are his abilities?"

Quite a few Akatsuki members were interested in the answer. Though Fujin had gained a lot of fame recently, none of them expected him to kill an Akatsuki member.

White Zetsu answered, "He is very strong and dangerous. His Vacuum jutsus are far more lethal than what the Bingo book mentions. His sensor skills are top-notch as well. He nearly killed us a couple of times."

Black Zetsu added, "He is a Fuinjutsu Grandmaster and can apply explosive and paralysis seals stealthily. Juzo died because he wasn't aware of those seals being applied on his body. In addition, his chakra reserves and speed can be categorized as rank S. More importantly, he is very cunning and schemes continuously. Even Kisame fell into a tough spot due to him. Don't underestimate him or you might lose a few hearts."

Zetsu's words weren't too much of a surprise for the Akatsuki members. After all, Fujin wouldn't have been able to kill Juzo had he been weak. Still, no one was too alarmed as Juzo was one of the weakest members of Akatsuki.

Since no one had anything else to add, Pain said, "We will be taking the first step towards our goal soon. Our target is Han, the Jinchuriki of Five Tails."