[Chapter Size: 1400 Words.]
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Kakuzu left the Money Station in the Land of Fire, feeling invigorated.
Hidan, who seemed completely indifferent to money, lazily followed behind him.
"Whoosh!"
In a distant valley, a black vortex swirled as Obito slowly descended, and Zetsu emerged from the nearby ground.
"Are you really not going to inform Kakuzu and Hidan that Orochimaru found them?"
Obito adjusted his cloak, sat down, and remained silent.
Zetsu shrugged helplessly. "Well, they might not come anyway. My clones didn't see them approaching!"
"Rustle!"
Not long after, unusual movements came from the forest below. Orochimaru and his four companions appeared.
White Zetsu murmured, "They actually came. Strange, the clone I left behind didn't detect them. It's as if they appeared out of nowhere!"
Under his mask, Obito's eyes darkened as he gazed at Kabuto's right eye from afar, wondering what was on his mind.
Noticing something strange, Karin's expression turned serious.
"Two powerful chakras are approaching. There are also two more people in the mountain valley at nine o'clock. I recognize one of them, he's the masked man who was with Deidara, the 'Obito' you mentioned!"
Pushing up his glasses, Kabuto said, "He's here in person. Lord Orochimaru, look…"
Orochimaru pondered for a moment before replying, "As long as they don't make a move, we should pretend we didn't see anything. What do you think, Sasuke-kun?"
Sasuke responded, "I never intended to hide from his eyes. The immense ocular power within them is an indispensable force for the future. When the time is right, I will fight for it. But for now, I don't want him to be a distraction."
Orochimaru smirked. "If Obito acts, I will too. Go, Sasuke-kun!"
"Whoosh!"
Without hesitation, Sasuke dashed toward the forest's exit.
"Hm?"
Outside the forest, Kakuzu stopped, his dark green pupils narrowing as he turned toward the forest's exit.
There, a young man in a white kimono walked calmly forward. Spotting two Akatsuki members he had never seen before in his past life, he asked, "Are they Akatsuki members, Hidan and Kakuzu?"
Kakuzu picked up his strongbox and eyed the newcomer warily. "Who are you?"
Sasuke met his gaze. "Uchiha Sasuke."
Kakuzu remained calm. "Oh? What does the infamous Uchiha brat, who's been causing so much trouble lately, want from me?"
"Clang!"
Sasuke unsheathed his Kusanagi blade and said flatly, "I just want to test my abilities against the two of you."
"Oh, really?"
Kakuzu frowned slightly at Sasuke's direct challenge.
Gently placing the money box on the ground, he turned to his partner. "Hidan, watch over this for me. If anything inside gets damaged, I'll put three thousand holes in your body."
Hidan groaned. "Ugh, not this crap again! Can't we just seal it in a scroll?"
"Shut up! If you put it in a scroll, you might accidentally lose it when using it!"
Kakuzu stepped forward, a storm of questions in his mind.
"Why is Sasuke here? How did he find us? And how can he be so confident that he can take on two Akatsuki members alone?"
But he voiced none of these concerns. After all, there was one thing he knew for certain, Sasuke must be aiming to profit from this encounter.
As he moved forward, his voice deepened. "A ninja must be responsible for his words, every word is worth its weight in gold. Uchiha Sasuke, how much is your head worth?"
Sasuke smirked. "I'd like to know that too."
Kakuzu mused, "You don't have a bounty on the black market, but your eyes would fetch a high price. And that young heart of yours might make a fine spare for me."
Sasuke replied coolly, "Is that so? As long as you want it, you can try."
Kakuzu chuckled. "Besides, you killed Sasori and injured Deidara. That means you're worthy of my full strength, right?"
"Clang!"
The Jiongu wielder loosened his cloak.
"Snap!"
Black threads shot from Kakuzu's back, surging toward Sasuke!
His killing intent flared. "I never turn down a head that delivers itself to my doorstep!"
Sasuke's eyes narrowed slightly. "That technique, I've never encountered it before in my past life!"
Unfamiliar with his enemy's abilities, Sasuke dared not be careless. With swift precision, he swung his Kusanagi, slicing through the approaching black tendrils.
"How intricate…"
"Snap!"
Another black thread silently shot from Kakuzu's back, piercing the ground. As Sasuke dealt with the frontal assault, the thread emerged from beneath his feet and coiled around his ankles.
Sasuke: "..."
Earth Grudge Fear: Tentacle Coiling!
"Snap!"
The moment Sasuke was bound, Kakuzu separated his wrists and arms, launching them forward, guided by dense black tendrils that pierced straight into Sasuke's chest!
Kakuzu sighed in disappointment. "That's it? How boring..."
Earth Grudge Fear: Usurpation of the Heart!
The black threads burrowed deep into Sasuke's flesh and blood, tearing out his heart and chakra pathways!
Sasuke remained eerily calm. "I see. Using these black threads as a medium for attack, ripping out the opponent's chakra and heart simultaneously. So that's his ability..."
"Crackle!"
Suddenly, Sasuke's body exploded in a flash of blue lightning!
Kakuzu's dark green pupils shrank sharply. "A Lightning Shadow Clone!?"
"Crackle!!!"
Electricity surged from the clone and traveled along Kakuzu's black threads!
"Aaargh!" Kakuzu's body convulsed as the shock paralyzed him on the spot.
Only now did he realize the severity of the situation.
"A Lightning Release Shadow Clone. A high-tier variant, second only to the Wood Release Shadow Clone. And this brat used it just as a feint!?"
"Snap!"
The ground split open as Sasuke's real body lunged forward!
Rasengan!
"Boom!"
The Rasengan slammed into Kakuzu's chest!
Kakuzu scoffed. "You're not even using your Sharingan. You're really underestimating me..."
"Snap!"
As the Rasengan detonated, Kakuzu's body crumbled into mud.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "You activated this Earth Substitution the moment you realized it was a Lightning Clone? Without the Sharingan, detecting it is truly difficult..."
"Boom!!!"
Kakuzu's true form emerged, attacking from behind with his tentacle fists!
Hearing the movement, Sasuke instinctively determined the attack's position and dodged without relying on the Sharingan. At the same time, he grabbed the "tentacle" behind the punch with his right hand and swung forward!
"Boom!!!"
Kakuzu was hurled through the air and crashed heavily to the ground!
A wooden spike sprouted from Sasuke's left hand, and he flung it forward with force!
In the mountain valley, White Zetsu gasped. "Hey, That move is!!!"
Obito's eyes narrowed beneath his mask. "I see..."
"Thud!"
The moment the wooden stake impaled Kakuzu's chest, his pupils shrank. "This is...!"
With a cold expression, Sasuke formed a hand seal.
Wood Release: Grafting Technique!
"Thud! Thud!"
Razor-sharp wooden spikes burst from the ground, piercing Kakuzu's chest and back, tearing him apart!
"Thump!"
Kakuzu collapsed to his knees before falling face-first to the ground, motionless.
Sasuke frowned slightly. No matter how strong his opponent was, he shouldn't have gone down so easily in a second exchange, right?
Hidan shouted, "Oi, Kakuzu! What the hell are you doing? Get up!"
And then, the "dead" Kakuzu actually rose to his feet. His dark green pupils were now bloodshot.
"You… you transplanted the First Hokage's cells, you little brat!!!"
Obito's eyes gleamed with understanding. "No, those aren't transplanted First Hokage cells. It's the faint white texture in his body, the Curse Mark from Orochimaru. He's actually merging it with Hashirama's power..."
Kakuzu stood up, yanking the wooden spikes out of his body one by one.
"Whoosh!"
A black beast with a shattered mask emerged from his wound.
Sasuke was momentarily stunned, then smirked slightly. "Immortality? So that's what it takes..."
"Snap! Snap! Snap! Snap!"
Kakuzu ripped off his Akatsuki cloak. Threads emerged from his mouth, shoulders, and back, transforming into four masked monsters that surrounded him!
Earth Grudge Fear Technique!
Now unleashing his full power, Kakuzu took on a monstrous form!
His voice was chilling. "Uchiha Sasuke, your Wood Release is nothing compared to the First Hokage..."
Sasuke remained unfazed. "Of course I know that. But how can you be so sure?"
Kakuzu's expression hardened. "Because I once fought the First Hokage!"
That shocking revelation made Sasuke's pupils contract.
"So, I won't tolerate you flaunting that man's Wood Release in front of me!!!"
"Snap!"
The masked monster anchored to Kakuzu's right shoulder pulled off its red mask!
Fire Release: Searing Migraine!
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