Agonizing pain spread through his body. The hardened skin, reinforced by Earth Release ninjutsu, cracked and shattered like fractured porcelain. His entire body was sent hurtling through the air before crashing into a rocky cliff in the distance.
A massive cloud of dust and debris billowed across the battlefield.
"Yes! That guy was killed by Captain Mink!"
From a distance, Sunflower, watching the scene unfold, leaped in excitement. Pure joy was written all over her face.
However, a calm female voice beside her quickly tempered her celebration.
"Don't be so quick to celebrate. There's something off about that man. Even though Mink just crushed his heart, he's not dead."
The speaker was Shizune, an expert in medical ninjutsu. She had carefully observed the situation and immediately reached a grim conclusion.
"H-how is that possible?!"
Sunflower's eyes widened in disbelief.
"How can someone whose heart was destroyed still be alive?!"
What Shizune had just said completely defied her understanding.
"Cough… cough…"
"You actually managed to injure me? Looks like I underestimated you, Konoha brat…"
On the distant battlefield, an even more shocking sight played out before Sunflower's eyes.
Kakuzu, despite having his heart shattered by Kazuki's devastating kick, had been thrown back but was still moving.
After coughing up dust and blood, he slowly and unsteadily stood up once more.
His cloak, now torn and tattered, shed pieces of debris, revealing his true nature. Beneath his half-mask, his face carried a flicker of surprise that he couldn't fully conceal.
Kakuzu was a relic of the past—a shinobi who had been active since the early days of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. He was even older than the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, one of the most senior figures in the ninja world.
Through all the years of his long life, Kakuzu had never suffered such humiliation at the hands of someone so young. Yet now, not only had he been overwhelmed in battle, but one of his precious hearts had been destroyed.
His hand instinctively moved to the indentation in his chest.
His dark green eyes, smoldering like ghostly flames, were filled with rage.
"Damn brat!"
"I'll rip out your heart and make it mine!" Kakuzu roared furiously.
"Ah? You want my heart? You?"
Kazuki chuckled mockingly, his tone carrying a tinge of disdain. Hovering midair, his Nichirin Blade gleamed in the sunlight as he stared down at Kakuzu.
"You don't actually think you've survived this long because of your own strength, do you?"
His smirk deepened.
"If you were so strong, why didn't you dare to face Hashirama Senju in direct combat back then? Why did you run?"
"You should have just continued hiding instead of provoking me… because I'm not someone you can afford to mess with."
For a brief moment, Kakuzu froze.
His fury darkened, but hidden deep within his pupils, there was something even more telling—fear.
"You… what do you know?!"
His voice quivered slightly, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
Kazuki's words had struck a nerve—one that Kakuzu had buried deep for decades.
A past long forgotten. A shame he had never spoken of.
Yes, he had once been proud of his attempt to assassinate the First Hokage.
And yes—he was the only survivor of that mission.
But not because he was the strongest.
No—he had survived because, when the battle began, he was the furthest from the battlefield.
He had hurled a kunai at Hashirama from a safe distance, only to watch in horror as his comrades were systematically annihilated.
He had been terrified.
Overwhelmed with fear.
And so, he turned his back on the mission and fled.
He had abandoned his duty.
Betrayed his fellow shinobi.
All because he feared death.
If word of this spread…
It would be a disgrace to his very existence.
The murderous aura around Kakuzu suddenly intensified several times over. A fierce glint flashed in his eyes as he glared at Kazuki.
Kazuki approached Kakuzu at a leisurely pace, as if strolling through a garden. He looked at the battle-worn Akatsuki member with a calm, almost indifferent expression. His tone was flat, as though he were merely stating a fact.
At this moment, he was simply standing there—yet his presence was imposing.
"Heh… Are you trying to lecture me?"
Having been forced into such an embarrassing state in a direct confrontation, and now having his deepest thoughts so easily exposed, Kakuzu's expression darkened. His face turned ashen with fury as he bellowed:
"Listen, brat! When I was making a name for myself in this ninja world, you hadn't even been born yet!"
The next instant, his chakra surged violently as he roared:
"Earth Grudge Fear—Tentacle Strike!"
Although Kazuki's earlier kick had destroyed one of Kakuzu's hearts, it barely affected his combat ability. Thanks to the nature of Earth Grudge Fear, losing a heart was little more than an inconvenience.
Now, determined to teach this arrogant youth a lesson, Kakuzu fully unleashed the power of his forbidden jutsu!
As soon as his voice fell, he launched his attack—his fist shooting toward Kazuki like a cannonball.
A sharp, black blur slashed through the air.
With a sickening tear, Kakuzu's wrist split open at the seam.
From the gaping wound, a mass of thick, writhing black tendrils emerged. The tentacles extended rapidly, forming a powerful, grotesque fist that shot forward with devastating force!
It was a strike with enough power to shatter stone walls with ease—comparable to the monstrous strength of Tsunade herself.
"So this is the legendary forbidden jutsu of Takigakure—Earth Grudge Fear."
As he watched the nightmarish attack surge toward him, Kazuki remained unfazed. His dark eyes were calm, as tranquil as a mountain lake in autumn.
"How revolting. You've turned yourself into something neither human nor beast…"
If not for the system assigning him a task related to this, he would never have bothered with such a disgusting ability. While Earth Grudge Fear undeniably granted immense strength—allowing its user to manipulate black tendrils made of hardened blood vessels, steal hearts, and utilize multiple chakra natures—it came at too great a cost.
A user of this technique essentially discarded their humanity, becoming a near-immortal abomination that relied on stolen hearts to survive.
Even worse, the technique was highly unpredictable and incredibly difficult to counter. The detached tendrils could move independently, shifting in both length and shape to attack from any angle.
Now, in his full battle form, Kakuzu had deployed his remaining four hearts—each hidden deep within his body, making them difficult to target.
In this state, he had almost no vulnerabilities.
But Kazuki merely smirked.
"This level of power isn't enough to threaten me."
A confident grin played at the corners of his lips as he whispered:
"Eight Gates Release—First Gate: Gate of Opening… Open!"
"Second Gate: Gate of Healing… Open!"
"Third Gate: Gate of Life… Open!"
"Fourth Gate: Gate of Pain… Open!"
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