"Cough, cough, cough..."
In a puff of smoke, Kakuzu in the distance coughed up blood, spitting out some fragmented internal organs. In that last blow, Ren had actually shattered another one of his hearts!
Kakuzu's eyes narrowed, brimming with murderous intent. "The same taijutsu as Konoha's Blue Beast, Might Guy?"
"Heh, the information I collected before was only about your ninja equipment. I didn't expect you to possess such formidable strength in taijutsu!"
"Since you are such an extraordinary opponent..."
"It seems necessary for you to witness my true strength!"
Feeling the young man's extraordinary power, the oppressive aura from the ninja tools he controlled, and the powerful physique after he opened the Eight Gates Formation, Kakuzu gritted his teeth. A vast surge of chakra erupted from his body.
"Ah ah ah ah ah!!"
As Kakuzu suddenly bent over, his back bulged violently, as if some terrifying monster was about to burst forth, tearing the clothes on his back. At this moment, those watching the battle from a distance saw that Kakuzu's body was covered in wounds sealed with black threads, making him resemble a crudely sewn puppet, not a normal human being.
"He... he's a monster!" Sunflower in the distance covered her mouth with her hands, unable to stifle her gasp. Witnessing a man whose heart was shattered, yet still able to stand up as if nothing happened—was this something a normal human could do? How could a normal person have two hearts in their body?
In the blink of an eye, three masked monsters suddenly sprang from Kakuzu's back. A blue face, a green face, and a red face. The three mask monsters were distinct, but all were composed of countless dark, twisting blood vessel tentacles emerging from behind Kakuzu.
Sunflower was right; at this moment, Kakuzu's grotesque body had completely detached from any human form. He could no longer be regarded as a pure human. The joints of his limbs were all connected by black blood vessel tentacles, and his wide mouth constantly spat out a bundle of endlessly twisting black tendrils. Just looking at it was enough to make anyone shudder.
"Three masks, implying three different elemental chakra natures..."
"You're not hesitating to expose all three of your hearts at once. Is this a decision to fight me to the death?"
Seeing Kakuzu unleash the strongest force of his Earth Grudge Fear, Ren narrowed his eyes. In addition to the two hearts he had already shattered, Kakuzu was now simultaneously activating his remaining three hearts, releasing his full power. Ren's heart also became cautious.
"Wind Style: Pressure Damage!"
At this time, a deep voice resonated from Kakuzu's mouth. The monster with the blue mask on his back instantly condensed a powerful wind-attribute chakra in its mouth. In the blink of an eye, a massive, rapidly expanding storm ball blasted towards Ren, threatening to engulf him.
This super B-rank Wind Style ninjutsu, after the change in the nature of Kakuzu's wind-attribute chakra, had reached ultimate lethality. Displayed by the mask monster, the wind in the air was compressed to an incredibly high density, forming a super-heavy storm bomb like a dragon whirlwind! Once it hit the target, it would explode instantly, sweeping away all objects with extreme, ultra-high wind pressure. The resulting storm vortex would launch indiscriminate attacks over a wide range, causing immense damage to the target and its surroundings.
"I won't kill you so easily, hm, cunning brat."
"If that were the case, it would be boring."
Countless pitch-black linear tentacles continued to spread from Kakuzu's entire body. Looking at Ren, who was apparently swallowed by the powerful Wind Style released by the Wind Style mask, Kakuzu's tone held a hint of playful malice.
"Kill me? How is that possible? With this kind of garbage ninjutsu?"
However, no sooner had Kakuzu's voice faded than Ren burst out from the ruined ground. A huge crater had formed where he'd been, and he emerged, holding the Sun Blade.
"This level of fighting... it's just a warm-up for me! It can't even break my barrier; this level of ninjutsu has no lethal power against me."
Barrier!
The flying dust slowly dissipated. In Kakuzu's slightly shrunken pupils, he saw the young man before him holding a white crystal, standing calmly with his hands behind his back. In front of him, a huge, arc-shaped transparent barrier was propped up.
'For so long, the Barrier Stone I only used to shield others from seeing and hearing actually had such good defensive power,' Ren mused. Its defense was enough to block all damage from B-rank Ninjutsu and below.
The entire ground behind where Ren stood had been completely destroyed by the powerful Wind Style ninjutsu just released by the wind-attribute monster. But only the ground beneath Ren's feet remained as intact as he was. The mask on his face didn't even have a single scratch.
"Che, nasty brat! What a pain!"
Seeing Ren completely unharmed even after the Wind Style ninjutsu released by his wind-attribute mask monster, and realizing Ren possessed a ninja tool capable of generating a barrier strong enough to defend against B-rank ninjutsu, Kakuzu gritted his teeth, almost biting off the tentacles emerging from his mouth. For a moment, he felt a headache blooming in his chest.
'This kid... how many strange ninja tools does he have?!' Throughout the battle, Ren had consistently pulled out all sorts of bizarre ninja tools. It simply made Kakuzu's scalp crawl!
"I must dig out your heart, and then take your body and the ninja tools in your hand to sell for money!"
In Kakuzu's eyes, there was an unstoppable madness. His emerald green pupils were completely bloodshot. He was utterly enraged by this young boy before him and desperately wanted to kill him immediately to vent his fury!
"Wind Style: Pressure Damage!"
In the mouth of Kakuzu's wind-attribute mask monster, wind-attribute chakra condensed, forming a huge wind-style chakra ball. But Kakuzu's actions didn't end there.
"Lightning Style: False Darkness!"
A low voice sounded. The monster with the lightning-attribute mask on Kakuzu's back immediately released a powerful Lightning Style ninjutsu. A splendid beam of lightning burst forth from its left, frantically targeting Ren. The entire ground beneath his feet was sliced open by this immense power.
"Fire Style: Searing Migraine!"
Not only that, but a series of low voices sounded. Simultaneously with the Lightning Style ninjutsu, another fiery mask monster on Kakuzu's back spat out a huge, scorching fireball. The terrifying high temperature seemed capable of reducing everything in front of it to ashes. With the blessing of the Wind Style ninjutsu, the Fire Style ninjutsu's attack range instantly increased several times over. In the blink of an eye, the entire battlefield transformed into a sea of red flames that could devour everything, covering the entire road leading to Konoha.
The immense momentum created by these three ninjutsu caused even Hidan and Tsunade, who had already exchanged thousands of blows and couldn't determine a winner, to glance at the situation with the corner of their eyes.
"Hahaha, that garbage Kakuzu! Two hearts have been kicked to pieces! I didn't expect him to have such a day, to be forced into such a desperate situation. It really makes me laugh to death!"
Seeing his comrade losing in battle, Hidan not only showed no worry in his eyes but laughed out loud, as if he had discovered something truly amusing.
"Hmph, don't laugh at others, you'll be the next one to end up like that!" Tsunade's apricot eyes were wide, a hint of arrogance in her gaze. She raised the Tracking Bow in her hand, and another green chakra arrow flew in Hidan's direction.
"What a tough woman!" Hidan hastily raised his scythe to block the incoming arrow. When he had fought against Tsunade before, he was constantly attacked from a distance like this, using the chakra arrows she shot as cover. The constant harassment made him suffer in battle. If he couldn't get her blood, he couldn't start his Jashin ritual. He was growing increasingly annoyed, his face twisting in a scowl as he yelled, "If it weren't for this nasty broken bow, I'd have already sacrificed you, you stinky woman, to Lord Jashin!"
Tsunade didn't waste any more words on him. She manipulated the huge slug beneath her feet and charged towards Hidan again. The figures of the two clashed once more, and it was clear that determining a winner would not be easy.