Chapter 43: Black King X Lucky King in Progress
While Sasuke was struggling in battle, Su Xiao was waiting for news inside the forest.
Su Xiao leaned against a tree trunk, holding a flat-screen computer in his hand, playing a puzzle game to pass the time. Beside him, Bubu Wang and Amu had started staring each other down again, their gazes crackling with 'lightning and thunder.' He had no idea what they were betting on eating this time—if it was a tree, Bubu Wang would be in for a rough time.
Karin, who had recovered somewhat, looked nervous. The intensity of the stare-down between Bubu Wang and Amu was too overwhelming; she even wondered if the dog and the bull had turned against each other.
Su Xiao wasn't unwilling to head to the battlefield—he was injured. As for biting Karin to heal his wounds, that wasn't an option for now. Karin was already half-exhausted, and if he bit her at this point, she would most likely die.
Boom!
A loud explosion echoed from the distance. Su Xiao turned toward the source, seeing a surge of blood-red chakra shooting into the sky.
"Roar!!"
The roar reached his ears. Su Xiao leaped several times to the top of a tall tree canopy.
Looking into the distance, he could see large chunks of gravel and water splashing near the stone bridge. A red and a purple energy collided, sending waves of shock spreading outward.
"Looks like there's no chance."
Even from far away, Su Xiao could sense how violent the Nine-Tails' chakra was. From the intensity of that chakra, Naruto had probably already erupted to six tails or more.
The massive figure of Gamabunta was clearly visible even from a distance. Under these circumstances, the Toad Sage Fukasaku and Shima were definitely present, along with the contractors beside Naruto. For Su Xiao to recklessly join this battle would be a very unwise decision.
The best outcome would be successfully capturing Naruto, but unfortunately, at critical moments, the Nine-Tails inside Naruto would fully erupt. The Nine-Tails was the strongest tailed beast, on an entirely different level from the other eight.
Realizing there was no opportunity, Su Xiao didn't hesitate. He gathered Bubu Wang, Amu, and Karin, preparing to return to the base camp within the Land of Fire.
As for whether Sasuke lived or died, that had nothing to do with Su Xiao. The one who wanted to use Sasuke was Obito, not Su Xiao.
What Su Xiao needed to do now was wait—wait for the Great Ninja War to break out. He had done almost everything he could; now he only needed to handle some trivial matters, namely putting pressure on the Five Great Ninja Villages to make them unite and declare war on Obito as soon as possible.
Su Xiao had already assassinated two Kage, which put immense pressure on the Five Great Ninja Villages. Kumogakure and Kirigakure would elect new Kage within a short time, and they would quickly ally with the other villages.
Su Xiao's choice to kill the Raikage and Mizukage wasn't random. Of course, there was a personal grudge involved with the Mizukage.
Among the Five Great Ninja Villages, the two most opposed to unification were Kumogakure and Kirigakure. Kumogakure was a group of combat-oriented fighters; without extreme pressure, they wouldn't choose to ally. As for Kirigakure, their geographical location was too good; if the pressure wasn't great enough, they would hole up on their island.
Now, with the Kage of both villages dead, their high-end combat power was depleted. Allying with other villages was the best choice to avoid being attacked by them during this vulnerable period.
Su Xiao had done almost everything he could. He couldn't fully control the Five Great Ninja Villages, but fortunately, the Great Ninja War was basically a sure thing.
What worried Su Xiao most wasn't the main mission, but the hunt mission.
Walking through the forest, Su Xiao had a headache. He had killed many violators before, but this was the first time he learned of the existence of outsiders.
As a hunter, Su Xiao received certain privileges, but he also had to deal with all sorts of strange things—violators, outsiders, and the like.
Mission Briefing: Use any means to eliminate the TQ-9670 outsider.
...
A key term in the briefing sparked Su Xiao's speculation: 'TQ.' Seeing this abbreviation, he immediately thought of his old rival, Apocalypse Paradise.
Su Xiao's impression of Apocalypse Paradise was a bunch of cowardly contractors with mild punishment methods, resulting in a bunch of greenhouse flowers that couldn't withstand storms.
However, not all contractors in Apocalypse Paradise were cowards. For example, the deceased Xi—that woman had extremely high intelligence and had even withstood the Sun God Apollo.
Of course, the information represented by 'TQ' was all speculation. What Su Xiao was more curious about now was: where had this outsider run off to?
The outsider wasn't present at the Five Kage Summit, and now, during Naruto's battle with Sasuke, that guy still wasn't showing up. If that guy never appeared, Su Xiao really had no way to deal with him.
"Could it be hiding in some ninja village?"
With no leads at all, this was the most headache-inducing part of every hunt mission Su Xiao received. Fortunately, he wasn't without advantages. White Zetsu's perception range was enormous, and Su Xiao might be able to glean some information from White Zetsu through indirect questioning.
White Zetsu was Obito's man. Although they were all members of the Akatsuki now, to get any information from White Zetsu, Su Xiao would first need to trade with Obito. White Zetsu only obeyed Obito and Madara's commands.
The good news was that it might not be long before Obito came to ask Su Xiao for a favor. That would be the opportunity.
Su Xiao moved quickly through the forest. Karin, being injured, had the special privilege of being carried by Amu.
About two hours later, Su Xiao returned to the Akatsuki base, an underground hideout.
The base was deathly silent. Su Xiao checked the barrier formation at the entrance—no signs of intrusion. He looked at Bubu Wang, who shook his head knowingly, indicating that no one was inside.
"Kisame went to capture the Eight-Tails, so it's normal for him not to return for a while. Where did Deidara go?"
Su Xiao felt something was wrong. Earlier, Deidara's mission was to lure away the Tsuchikage, after which he could retreat. Based on the progress, Deidara should have been the first to return to the base.
Su Xiao couldn't help but wonder: had Deidara been killed by the Tsuchikage? That possibility couldn't be ruled out.
Deidara might have gone out to fool around, meaning to study his art, or he might have been killed by the Tsuchikage.
As for Deidara being captured, Su Xiao never considered that possibility. That guy's greatest dream was to find a strong enemy to prove his art and sacrifice himself for it—commonly known as self-destruction.
That guy being captured? Don't joke. Anyway, Su Xiao didn't believe it. Unfortunately, Deidara had indeed been captured because the Tsuchikage knew Deidara's abilities too well.
As for Deidara's situation, it would become clear once Obito and White Zetsu returned. Su Xiao temporarily put this matter aside.
After going deeper into the base, he found a small room. It was about a dozen square meters in size. Locking the door tightly, Su Xiao sat cross-legged on a simple wooden bed in the room.
From his storage space, Su Xiao took out several treasure chests, four in total:
[Treasure Chest (Dark Purple)] Dropped by Mizukage Terumi Mei.
[Treasure Chest (Light Gold)] Dropped by Raikage Guard Darui.
[Treasure Chest (Gold)] Dropped by Mizukage Guard Gōtō Zangetsu.
[Treasure Chest (Legendary)] Dropped by Raikage A.
...
Four treasure chests. The chest dropped by Terumi Mei puzzled Su Xiao. Even if White Zetsu had interfered in the battle, reducing the reward by 40%, it should at least be Light Gold quality, not Dark Purple.
Guessing randomly was pointless. Opening this chest might reveal what was going on. However, Su Xiao was more looking forward to the Legendary chest dropped by the Raikage. This was the first time he had obtained a chest of this grade.
Full of anticipation, Su Xiao picked up the Dark Purple chest dropped by Terumi Mei. Out of habit, he pulled out a cigarette, lit it with Destiny Redemption, and exhaled a puff of light gold smoke. The Lucky King status was now active.