Book One: The Rise of the Blue-Haired Devil.

      - Who are you? -I hissed in anger at my interlocutor. The Sage mode was giving me some of the snake behaviour that I could only control when I was emotionally stable. As you can understand, I was not in the most adequate state right now. My friend had just been killed, and the ninja standing in front of me was clearly somehow replaced in this.       - Kakuzu. And you're the Blue-haired Devil? - More affirmed than asked, as he prepares for battle.       - Be careful. His soul is missing from his body. He looks like a walking puppet. We haven't met any demons in this world yet, but his power was clearly not gained by simple training. - Morgana spoke with fear in her voice.       - Why did you kill Izuna? - I asked another question, stalling for time. A seal stretched from my forehead all over my body, giving me a chance to move more or less calmly. The heat spilling over my body began to stimulate my muscles to work. My own supply of chakra was already running low, so I had to draw on reserves. The pain had eased a little, but I knew intuitively that my condition was pretty shitty. I wouldn't last ten minutes at my usual battle rhythm, so I was stalling to maximise the chakra in my limbs. I wanted to end it all with one quick strike of my blade.       - We didn't kill Izuna. That wasn't our plan. But what's the point of making excuses for you? You won't just let me go anyway, but if I kill you, I'll be paid handsomely for your head. - Kakuzu spoke in a calm and monotone voice. I could read arrogance and superiority in his gaze.       - Madara will get a bounty on my head. - I hastened to disappoint my enemy, grinning like a wild beast.       - Ha ha, you think he's the only one who wants you dead? Inuzuka and Sarutobi are giving almost the same reward for you. - said the ninja from Waterfall Village, giving me a scornful look. Sarutobi is understandable for what... after all, I killed their head, who did a lot for the prosperity of his clan, but Inuzuka has nothing to do with it. Did they resent me because of that little skirmish? They were the ones who attacked me, and how could they know about that battle, I didn't tell anyone but Izuna and the girls, but wait... Madara, that son of a bitch, he must have told the dog clan all about me. There's no one else.       - It doesn't matter, you're going to die today! - I shouted, leaping out of my seat at the peak speed possible without using the Sage's absolute mode. My opponent was only able to make one clumsy movement in an attempt to escape the range, but he lacked the speed. I chopped the bastard in half in the chest area, leaving no chance of survival for my opponent. I was about to clean the blood from my blade, but then a realisation came to me... there wasn't even a drop of scarlet liquid on my weapon, representing that it was a living creature. My intuition screamed danger, but I didn't have time to do anything. The blow was too sudden and fast, in my normal state I would have been able to dodge, but now it was simply impossible. All I could do was turn round on the spot, taking the blow to the front of my body instead of my back. The black, pitch-black hand landed on my jaw. The force put into that attack was staggering. My eyes even went black for a few moments during the flight. During the flight, I broke through a dozen or two thick trees. I would have broken even more if I had not come to my senses, grouping myself in flight, thanks to which I stopped my weightless movement. No sooner had I recovered, however, than I felt an unprecedented heat from the jutsu.       - Air Element, Terrifying Pressure. - Kakuzu said the name of the technique with just one seal. One of his monsters released a torrent of wind from itself. However, the shinobi of Waterfall Village didn't stop there.       - Fire Element, Infernal Pain. - After forming three more seals, my opponent said the name of the new technique. The second monster released a fireball from his mask, which began to shrink as he approached me, combining with the wind technique. I was very late to notice the combined jutsu of the two elements, for Kakuzu released both techniques while I was still in flight. I can't cut through a hurricane like that with my blade. What really stressed me out was the fact that the techniques started to shrink. I would have thought that the opponent had made a mistake in the proportions of the combined attack, causing the latter to lose its stability, but I felt that the chakra that had been invested in the ninjutsu was not dissipating, as it usually does when you make the mistake of mixing two techniques at once, but instead was being compressed more and more. My instincts were screaming that I might not be able to survive the power of this jutsu without additional protection. There was no time to run away, and there was no time to create any serious techniques, so I had to settle for a simple jutsu from my arsenal.       - Ice Element, Circular Defence. - I said the name of the jutsu without folding the seals. This technique was one of the few in my arsenal that were purely for defence. It represented the creation of an ice barrier around me. I didn't really like using it, because in almost all of my battles I emphasised speed attacks. I tried to catch my opponent by surprise, because it was the fastest way to win, and who expects a young guy to be as fast as the shinobi Gods? That's right, no one. My speed had become my main weapon in battles with any opponent, but now I was seriously exhausted from the fight with Madara. You might think that I had used the Ice Deity's technique for no more than two minutes, but even such a small amount of time guaranteed that I was depleted of chakra throughout my body. I wasn't used to such a transformation yet. My chakra channels were simply not used to conducting such a volume of miracle energy. That was why my entire body was now whimpering with fatigue and pain, and I myself had already used up a reserve that simply wouldn't let me pass out on the spot. Yes, I applied chakra to my face to soften the blow of the enemy, but again, the enemy was at the level of a kage. That's no joke, so I have to give my best to defeat him.       Heat... fire of simply unimaginable temperature surrounded the entire barrier. For a full minute it raged, and my defences began to melt before my eyes. I had to add chakra with jutsu to keep it from melting. When it was over, I discovered the result of this devastating ninjutsu... it was simply astounding. Within a twenty metre radius of me, there was only smouldering ground. By the way, I was in the forest, which meant that the enemy's technique had simply colossal destruction. The forest around the black-coloured funnel, in the centre of which I was standing, was burning. On one side I heard a discharge of electricity, so I hurriedly turned around in that direction. The trees that were burning there were scattered by the lightning element technique, after which Kakuzu came out into the clearing with only two masked monsters behind him.       - You're still alive? - My opponent said in astonishment. - Although I did not expect anything less from such a famous warrior like you. - He added in a calmer voice. Why is he still alive? I cut him in two. I hit him in the heart. Even Hashirama's no good after that. I don't feel the presence of the third monster. That's strange. My perception is at a high enough level. It's as if the monster has disappeared... died or something? These monsters need masks to form techniques. That's interesting. What happens if I break these masks? Somehow I'm sure they have a strong connection to my opponent. I have to cut down on my opponent's abilities. It's unlikely that he'll be able to use such a devastating combination jutsu without his masks. It didn't take two seconds for me to think about it, but Kakuzu wasn't standing still the whole time either. To be more precise, he was standing, but he wasn't idling at all, preparing a surprise attack. But I was focused, so I was expecting something like that from a kage-level opponent. My instincts screamed crisis again, causing me to move immediately. In the next second, a dozen or two black threads flew out of the ground I was standing on. If I had slowed down a little more, I would hardly be running so fast now. The enemy didn't move, trying to pull his threads out of the ground as quickly as possible, so he aimed his two monsters created from black threads at me. They were vastly inferior to me in speed, but their teamwork kept me busy long enough for Kakuzu to regain his mobility. Under the barrage of attacks from the two creatures, I struggled to choose the right moment to attack. The monsters attacked cohesively, covering each other from my attacks, so when I saw the fact that my opponent was ready to join the fight, I took a desperate step. I wouldn't have survived a fight with three opponents at once in my current state, which is why I took another blow to my stomach from a fist woven from black threads, not on the block, but myself. I consciously allowed the opponent to hurt myself in order to take out one of the enemies in time. With a horizontal sweep of my arm, I struck the mask of one of the creatures. The mask shattered easily, dispelling the monster of threads. The Waterfall Ninja stopped, crouching down on one knee. He was panting heavily, however before he knew it, I struck at the second monster, my hand punching my stomach through and through. Even the Snake Sage's regime of strengthening my skin didn't help me. The creature of threads couldn't pull its limb out of my body because with my free hand I was holding its arm.       Another swing of the blades, representing the embodiment of Morgana in this world, and another mask shattered, turning the last monster into a ball of black threads. Only the puppet master remained, kneeling ten metres away from me. I pulled out a huge clot of black threads from my stomach. The blood rushed in an endless stream, but I hastened to freeze the wound, so that I could at least be able to fight for a while. My body was in unimaginable pain with every movement... even the chakra raging in my body wasn't helping me now. I struggled to my feet, leaning on my trusty blade.       - Bastard, you owe me three hearts. - Kakuzu growled, trying to get to his feet, which he managed. I could tell by the sound of his voice that he felt bad too, though not as bad as I did. He was about to approach me to continue the fight, but his face contorted sharply in distaste. It only happened for a split second, but I was able to notice it. - Michiko Yuki, I'll see you again. - The ninja from Waterfall Village said with disappointment in his voice as he ran off into the forest. Within minutes, Tobirama had already appeared in the clearing, beginning to command.       - Don't let him get away. - He shouted at his subordinates who were following him. He came towards me and started to say something, but I couldn't hear anything... the world first faded in my eyes and then became a black blur... I lost consciousness....