Although he didn't understand what exactly that skeletal chakra structure was, his years of being a ninja told him one thing: get out of the way—and fast.
Kakuzu retreated backward, putting some distance between them while commanding his four grotesque beasts to encircle Uchiha Madara, each taking a position in the cardinal directions—east, west, south, and north—ready to fulfill their roles.
Although he felt a bit regretful, he knew clearly that the heart of the man before him, who claimed to be Uchiha Madara, was not something he could covet.
The Earth Grudge Fear technique had a strict condition for stealing hearts—the target had to be alive at the time of extraction.
Kakuzu swiftly formed hand seals:
Fire Style: Head Carving Pain.Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet.Lightning Style: False Darkness.Wind Style: Pressure Damage.
Four different elemental jutsu spewed from the mouths of the four monstrous creatures, swearing to blast the enemy to ashes.
With a thunderous boom, an overwhelming storm of dust and debris erupted. The nearby treetops were instantly obliterated, and where Uchiha Madara had stood, a thick smog billowed—making it impossible to see what had happened.
What's the situation…?
Kakuzu squinted his inhuman eyes. A typical ninja would have been blown to pieces by that combo attack, but after just a brief clash with Uchiha Madara, he no longer dared to harbor such optimistic thoughts.
He had hoped at least some damage might have been dealt—but even that meager hope was crushed.
The dense smoke slowly began to thin, fade, and finally dissipate, and the battlefield once again came into view.
But—
That was just the beginning of despair.
Standing before him was a gigantic, towering shadow, like a colossus, its gaze sharp and intense.
When confronted by such a massive figure, humans instinctively awaken a deep-rooted fear etched into their very genes—just like the primal terror humans feel toward hairy, eight-legged spiders.
It wasn't just that spiders are ugly—it's a fear imprinted from ancient times, when such creatures posed a real threat. This fear became genetic memory, a warning passed down through generations: Keep away, or get hurt.
As the smoke cleared, the giant shadow was revealed. Its head rose to a sharp peak, blue face with fierce fangs, chin protruding and split. Its body was a translucent blue—the color of the ocean.
Standing before it, one couldn't help but feel the same bottomless dread as gazing into the vast sea.
Looking closely, you could even see skeletal structures inside the blue giant. It seemed that was what had blocked the earlier Earth-Style spear attack.
"What the hell… is that thing?"
Kakuzu stared at Uchiha Madara, who stood within the blue giant, and asked aloud.
"Susanoo…"Madara said calmly.
"W-what…?"
At that moment, Kakuzu noticed that the hole in Madara's mask now revealed a bright red eye, patterned with complex designs. His face twisted in shock.
Very few people had ever seen Susanoo—and those who did were mostly dead. Kakuzu, hailing from a small village, had only heard of it in stories—never seen it.
A dōjutsu?
A red eye… Could it be the Sharingan?
No, he immediately denied the thought. The Sharingan had three tomoe; everyone knew that. This eye had an entirely different pattern.
Then a sudden realization struck him—and he blurted out in shock:"Mangekyō Sharingan…!"
Madara's tone held a hint of praise:"Well, you are from my era. I suppose it's not surprising you recognize these eyes."
Kakuzu bowed his head slightly and fell silent.
Back in his day, the two strongest ninjas were undoubtedly Hashirama Senju and Uchiha Madara.
Hashirama was known for his Wood Style, while Madara was feared for his Mangekyō Sharingan.
Now, seeing this giant, Kakuzu finally understood why those two could end an entire war together.
"To be honest, I'm getting kind of bored…"Madara said nonchalantly.
That arrogant tone—like he was swatting at ants—infuriated Kakuzu. His face turned grim, eyes cold:"Are you saying you can kill me any time you like?"
Madara crossed his arms and replied casually:"I'm just speaking my mind… But if you don't show me something real soon, I might have to consider killing you."
"Bastard."
Kakuzu slammed his palms together with a deep thud, fingers forming the Serpent Seal as he activated his chakra. The four grotesque creatures nearby responded in unison, their bodies twisting and deforming into thick black columns that slithered back into his body.
"Aaaahhh~~"
With a low growl, Kakuzu's eyes turned bloodshot, his pupils swollen and veiny. Ominous black threads began pouring out from his mouth, eyes, ears, and nose—what people call the "seven orifices." The threads surged and converged, fusing together.
Secret Technique: Earth Grudge Fear – Nyarlathotep's Art.
Kakuzu was already inhuman enough, but after unleashing this technique, he looked utterly monstrous.
Now fully enveloped by Earth Grudge Fear, his form bore almost no human resemblance apart from the limbs. His face had been replaced by a swollen, grotesque tentacle, and his body radiated a sinister aura.
This technique could only be used when all five hearts were intact—missing even one meant it couldn't be activated.
"Truly hideous…"Madara narrowed his eyes and remarked."But I'll admit… your power is not insignificant."
In this form, Kakuzu's speed and strength were significantly enhanced.
Enshrouded in Earth Grudge Fear, Kakuzu formed a seal, then slammed his hand on the ground. The rumbling earth erupted into the shape of a giant stone spider.
"Earth Style: Earth Spider Technique."
Kakuzu's body dove into the Earth Spider, and as if activating some mechanism, a vicious red light glowed from the spider's eyes.
Through the Mangekyō Sharingan, Uchiha Madara could see that the spider's insides were filled with the black threads of Earth Grudge Fear.
It's coming…
Sensing the chakra flowing within the spider, Madara instantly understood what was about to happen.
The spider raised its head, opened its jaws, and spewed out a dense rain of black threads, which shot out and formed a vast web descending from above.
These threads were not spider silk, but entirely composed of Earth Grudge Fear—and these were far tougher and stickier than normal ones.
Madara tried to pull them apart using Susanoo but found that even at this stage, Susanoo couldn't easily tear through them.
The web was effective. The Earth Spider pressed on, madly spewing thread in an attempt to wrap the blue giant like a dumpling.
Madara had no intention of just sitting there. Being bound entirely by these threads would be boring.
To break out of them, he might have to use a higher stage of Susanoo. If that happened, the fight would become too one-sided.
"Not bad at all..."
Like a teacher commenting on a student's work, Madara spoke calmly, leisurely:"But it's still not enough."
Susanoo crossed its arms, and blue flames surged from its wrists, condensing into two twisted snake-blade swords to slash through the web.
The Earth Spider quickly shot threads to bind Susanoo's arms, trying to stop its movements.
Madara folded his arms again and glanced upward with a cold snort, as if this was beneath his notice, then lowered his head.
Susanoo had four arms. Two were bound, but the two on its back still had freedom to move. Blue flames surged, forming two serpent swords which it gripped in its hands. The arms crossed, slashing out two waves of sword energy like shark fins slicing through the sea, heading straight for the target.
The blue sword energy came vertically and fast. The spider's massive size now became a hindrance—making it hard to dodge. It spewed a mass of earth from its mouth, forming a thick stone wall upon landing.
The sword energy tore through the wall, creating a large gash, but only that—it quickly dissipated and did no real harm.
Looks like it held up.
Kakuzu had just breathed a sigh of relief when he suddenly saw—through that opening—the blue giant pulling out a chain of glowing blue magatama.
Yasaka Magatama!One of the signature attacks paired with Susanoo.
The blue giant raised its arm and flung them hard—the spinning magatama flew like wheels through the air.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The spider couldn't dodge in time and was riddled with holes. Black threads were exposed, a testament to their powerful piercing force.
So this is the legendary Susanoo?Not only was its defense incredible—its power was terrifying!
Kakuzu controlled the spider to widen the distance between them, calmly analyzing the blue giant: powerful in both offense and defense. Trying to break through Susanoo's defenses by normal means was clearly unrealistic.
No matter how powerful a jutsu is, it must have a weakness.
If the outside couldn't be broken, then naturally, it led to the idea of attacking from within.
With this in mind, two options appeared before him:
First, he could enter Susanoo's interior and fight the man directly.
Second, also entering the inside—but this time attempting to drag him out from within.
But to attempt either, he first needed to confirm a hypothesis—that the inside of Susanoo was hollow and that one could act from the inside out without obstruction.
As he pondered how to verify this, Madara made a move—he rapidly formed hand signs and spewed a massive fireball.
Kakuzu quickly countered, making the spider unleash a powerful Water Style jutsu to meet it.
Water and fire clashed, producing a huge amount of steam.
But Madara's action had provided just the chance Kakuzu needed to confirm it.
So that's how it works. Looks like Susanoo's structure really is as I suspected.
With this understanding, Kakuzu's rich combat experience allowed him to quickly simulate a battle plan.
He would only get one shot—it had to count.
The spider gathered chakra in its mouth and unleashed it in one go, creating a layered tsunami-like attack.
Water Style: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!
Faced with the surging flood, Madara remained unmoved—he didn't even bother to use a jutsu, letting Susanoo be washed over by the water. He was confident that such an attack couldn't damage Susanoo.
And indeed, the rushing water had no real effect on Susanoo.
At that moment, the Earth Spider lunged directly at him. Susanoo responded with a strike from its twisted snake-blade. The spider barely blocked the first attack—but before it could recover, another slash came. This time, the spider couldn't stop it—it was cleaved in two, revealing the black Earth Grudge Fear threads inside.
The black threads twisted wildly like living things, wrapping around Susanoo's entire body.
"Muda muda—your pathetic tricks can't break through Susanoo's defense..."
Just as Madara finished speaking, a hand suddenly appeared under his feet and yanked him out with force.
On the other side, Kakuzu had been waiting for this exact moment. He launched his Body Flicker Technique and, with the hardened tentacle on his head, pierced Madara's chest—entering from the front and exiting from the back.
I got him…
Kakuzu raised his head, filled with joy, eager to hear this man's final words.
"Not bad at all… to think you could defeat my fire clone."
W-what clone?The man's "last words" were nothing like what Kakuzu had anticipated.
Hearing that, Kakuzu couldn't help but recall his battle against Hashirama Senju.
It was as if the same scene was repeating itself—once again, the opponent he had desperately fought and seemingly defeated turned out to be just a shadow clone.
(End of Chapter)
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