The Land of Rain borders the Land of Fire. In order to avoid any unnecessary complications, Hiruko intentionally came to the border between the two countries, hiding it from Zetsu, to meet with Kakashi.
"As long as I complete the final fusion and achieve great immortality, Zetsu will lose his role as my partner."
That's right.
Just like how Zetsu used Hiruko as a tool, wanting him to bring forth the Edo Tensei of Uchiha Madara.
Hiruko was also just using Zetsu.
He needed Zetsu's intelligence network and also required him to help buy some research materials.
Of course, thanks to Zetsu's presence, he didn't have any capable subordinates like in the movie.
To this day, he was still alone.
"Heh, here they come."
The moon tonight was round and bright.
Under the moonlight, Hiruko saw a figure slowly stepping out from the shadows ahead.
It didn't take long before he recognized who it was.
It was none other than his long-awaited Kakashi.
"Hmm? Is there a tail?"
Konoha would send ninjas to follow Kakashi, which was expected.
After all, as a Jonin of Konoha, if he suddenly left the village, it would definitely attract the attention of the guards.
Without understanding the situation, Konoha would definitely send people to follow.
From his knowledge of Konoha's system, they would likely send out two squads led by a jonin.
And with his current strength, two or three squads of Konoha ninjas weren't something he would worry about.
But he didn't expect Konoha to go as far as sending out four big shots.
The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.
Two of the Legendary Sannin, Orochimaru and Tsunade.
Konoha's White Fang, Sakumo Hatake.
If any one of these four appeared, he would take it very seriously. Let alone facing all four at once.
What does this mean?
It means they already knew about Kakashi's situation.
They knew he was behind the scenes, which is why they sent such a luxurious team.
In a way, Konoha was taking him seriously enough.
"Hiruko"
At the border, Konoha's team met Hiruko. Orochimaru immediately stepped forward and said to this old friend, "You should commit suicide."
"Are you crazy? Who tells someone to commit suicide right off the bat?"
Hiruko reacted emotionally.
As long as he fused with Kakashi's Sharingan, he would become invincible.
His plan was nearly complete, so why did Konoha have to interfere now?
"Bastards, all of you can die!"
Knowing that things wouldn't end peacefully, Hiruko took the initiative to strike.
"Summoning Technique."
He slammed his hands on the ground, and a huge monster with wings appeared in front of everyone.
"Tsunade, this summoning beast is up to you."
"No problem, watch me punch it to pieces."
Easily breaking the puppet curse on Kakashi, Tsunade didn't say much more and ran toward the monster of the same age.
"Tch~ You only drew Tsunade away?"
Hiruko clearly understood the strength of the people in front of him. He had initially hoped that the summoning beast would at least tie up two people, which would reduce his pressure significantly.
Maybe, he could even use the chaos to take Kakashi away.
But this tactic didn't work, and it only drew away Tsunade, the one with the weakest combat ability.
"Damn it, even if you see through my strategy, don't get too smug, I still have my trump card."
Konoha people: ???
"Wait, what did we even see through? Sending Tsunade to deal with a summoning beast that clearly has high defense, isn't that just a normal plan?"
"Shut up, you can't fool me. I am the one and only genius of this world!"
"..."
Watching Hiruko's increasingly crazy expression, Orochimaru couldn't help but recall what Obito had said during their last report.
Obito: When I first met Hiruko, I could still tell he was a normal person, but recently, as he's fused with more and more Kekkei Genkai, his mind's been getting crazier. Sometimes, he does things that are completely incomprehensible.
Orochimaru: Like what?
Obito: Like he always carries a rubber band and says with a twisted face that he's going to shoot the glass at your Sannin's house.
Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Tsunade:
"Lightning Release: Laser Thunder"
Hiruko spread his hands, and several bolts of lightning shot from his palms, attacking Minato, Sakumo, Orochimaru, and Kakashi.
Faced with the sudden lightning attack, it was Orochimaru who stepped forward.
"Summoning Technique: Triple Rashōmon"
With a clap of his hands, three massive stone gates, each adorned with images of evil spirits, appeared before everyone.
This was Orochimaru's strongest defensive ninjutsu.
It was more than enough to block the Wind Release attack from Hiruko.
"Whoosh~"
After blocking the attack, Hatake Sakumo suddenly appeared behind Hiruko and drew his sword, slashing.
"That's fast."
Hiruko was startled, quickly using his steel shield to defend.
"Clang~"
"Ah~"
The defense of the Steel Release was good, but it couldn't block Sakumo's slash.
With just one strike, Hiruko's arm was severed.
"Despicable, an ambush!"
"???"
Sakumo, who was a man of few words, ignored Hiruko's comment and began unleashing a flurry of attacks.
Realizing the steel defense couldn't block Sakumo's strikes, Hiruko gave up on using it and switched to Swift Release, beginning to dodge and counter Sakumo.
Hiruko, now using Swift Release, was quite fast.
Although Sakumo's speed wasn't as fast as Hiruko's, his rich experience allowed him to suppress Hiruko.
It seemed like Hiruko's defeat was just a matter of time.
Speaking of speed, Konoha just happened to have a certain Hokage who was a master of speed—Minato.
"Rasengan."
Minato's figure flashed, and he didn't use the Flying Thunder God technique.
He simply used Body Flicker Jutsu and appeared beside Hiruko in the blink of an eye.
At the same time, seeing Minato make a move, Shimo simply put away his knife and stood aside to watch.
"Dark Release: Absorption Hole."
Hiruko raised his right hand and blocked Minato's Rasengan.
The Rasengan was quickly dissipating at an alarming speed.
"Hahaha, didn't expect this, huh? I can absorb ninjutsu chakra."
"But now you only have one hand, so what will you do about the second Rasengan?"
"What? A second one?"
"Whoosh~"
Hearing the sound, Hiruko quickly turned around and saw the second Minato holding another Rasengan, coming toward him.
"Sorry, I'm just a Shadow Clone."
With that, the first Minato turned into a puff of smoke and disappeared.
At this point, Hiruko had no time to use his right hand to absorb Minato's Rasengan.
"Ah~ You guys are so despicable."
With a direct hit, Hiruko was struck by the Rasengan and was sent flying toward Tsunade, blood spraying from the corner of his mouth.
*********
Support me on my ko-fi account and read upto 30 early chapters,
https://ko-fi.com/aayume