Kazuki hurled the Kusanagi no Tsurugi forward with great force.
"Change!"
As the sword soared through the air, it began to transform.
One blade became two, two became four, four became eight…
In an instant, thousands of gleaming swords filled the sky, reflecting the cold light as they rained down like a steel tempest, engulfing the battlefield.
"Cut!"
With a low yet commanding voice, Kazuki swung his hand downward. It was as if the very fabric of space would be torn apart by the descending blades.
BOOM!
Countless shards of earth, stone, and wood were obliterated as the storm of swords crashed down, reducing everything in its path to dust. The deafening roar of destruction echoed through the battlefield.
Amid the gleaming flurry of slashes, Kakuzu's countless black tendrils writhed in resistance—but to no avail. Every last one was severed, scattering to the wind. Even the thickest tentacle, fortified by the Earth Grudge Fear technique, failed to withstand the relentless assault.
At the very core of it all, the heart—Kakuzu's last hope for survival—was skewered by a blade.
Kakuzu, defeated.
[Ding! Earth Grudge Fear detected. Do you wish to absorb it?]
A mechanical voice echoed in Kazuki's mind. He nodded slightly and uttered a single word:
"Absorb."
Immediately, an invisible force surged from his body, locking onto a small, black sphere that had fallen from Kakuzu's form. The core, Kakuzu's last remaining heart, trembled violently, attempting to flee.
Screech!
A sharp, eerie cry rang out before the black mass suddenly vanished—absorbed completely.
[Ding! Congratulations, host, on completing the task: Absorb the Earth Grudge Fear!
System reward: Puppet Forging Blueprint!]
The notification rang in his mind, but Kazuki had no time to check the details. The battle wasn't over yet.
His gaze shifted sharply to another battlefield in the distance.
Tsunade.
She was still locked in combat with Hidan, and neither had gained the upper hand. Despite her superior combat ability, Tsunade's hemophobia made close-quarters combat difficult. To avoid seeing blood, she had even blindfolded herself, relying solely on her perception. But with her best skills restricted, she was forced into a stalemate with Hidan.
"The rest… I'll take care of it."
Kazuki leaped onto Katsuyu's head and arrived beside Tsunade.
His sudden appearance momentarily startled both fighters.
"The battle's over already?" Tsunade asked in surprise. "You defeated Kakuzu?"
Hidan's eyes widened in disbelief. As Kakuzu's partner, he knew just how formidable the man was.
Kazuki remained silent. His presence alone was answer enough.
Tsunade sighed and shook her head. "Let me handle this. You just finished fighting, and your chakra must be running low." She glanced at Hidan. "This guy's a tough one."
Kazuki smirked.
"Chakra? That's one thing I never run out of."
With a flick of his wrist, a dark blue mineral crystal appeared in his hand. He tossed it into his mouth and crushed it between his teeth.
A surge of blue energy burst into the air.
Tsunade, Hidan, and even the sensory-type shinobi in the distance watched in shock as Kazuki's depleted chakra reserves instantly surged back to full—like a tidal wave crashing into the shore.
An hour later,
The blade of the sun in Kazuki's hand gleamed as he swung it, severing Hidan's head cleanly from his body.
Kazuki had already learned about Hidan's immortality and his ritualistic sacrifices to Jashin. As long as he prevented Hidan from obtaining his blood, the so-called Jashinist ritual posed no real threat. Compared to Kakuzu, who had to be killed five times due to his multiple hearts, dealing with Hidan was much simpler.
"Damn it! Damn it! You little bastard!"
Despite being beheaded, Hidan's head remained conscious, cursing incessantly like an enraged madman.
"This guy… What the hell is going on?"
Sunflower and the others arrived at the scene, their expressions filled with shock.
They were already astonished by Kakuzu, who had to be struck down multiple times before he truly died. But Hidan was even stranger—his head had been severed, yet he was still talking!
"It's a type of forbidden Jashinist technique that grants immortality," Kazuki explained.
"That's… unbelievably creepy."
Curious, Sunflower cautiously approached Hidan's head, scrutinizing it from different angles.
"Wait—be careful!"
At that moment, a massive pitcher plant burst from the ground beside Hidan's head.
A figure with a black-and-white split appearance emerged from within—the infamous Zetsu.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Several kunai shot out in different directions.
Tsunade and the others instinctively leaped aside to evade the surprise attack. However, Sunflower, being the closest to Hidan, had no time to dodge.
In a flash, Kazuki reacted with lightning speed, instantly moving beside Sunflower.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
With precise strikes, he deflected all the incoming kunai.
But in the brief distraction, Zetsu seized the moment.
Black Zetsu swiftly grabbed Hidan's severed head and dashed toward his body at high speed.
"You're not getting away!"
Kazuki's sword swung in an arc, cutting off Zetsu's path.
Slash!
Zetsu was forced to halt and shift positions, but Kazuki's blade still managed to sever a large portion of the pitcher plant structure—along with a significant part of White Zetsu's body.
Kazuki prepared to finish them off, intending to capture both White Zetsu and Black Zetsu as prisoners.
But seeing their ambush had failed, Zetsu made a split-second decision.
Rather than continuing to fight for Hidan's body, they abandoned the plan entirely.
Before Kazuki could strike again, they sank into the ground and vanished.
As Hidan's remains disappeared underground, some of Kazuki's squad prepared to give chase.
"Stop chasing!" Kazuki commanded firmly.
"Captain, but—"
"There's an old saying: 'Don't pursue a desperate enemy.' That's the situation we're in now."
Kazuki's voice was calm but decisive.
If there had been a real chance to eliminate the enemy, he wouldn't have hesitated.
But this was the Akatsuki.
And more importantly—this was Zetsu.
Kazuki knew that Black Zetsu's abilities were unpredictable. Pursuing them recklessly could lead to further complications, or worse, lure more Akatsuki members into the battle.
With chakra crystals at his disposal, Kazuki did not lack chakra.
But against Pain, the wielder of the Rinnegan, he knew the risk was too great.
"Clean up the battlefield. Secure the enemy's bodies. We're returning to Konoha!"
Kazuki's command carried undeniable authority.
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