The Thunder Sword Kiba had already been reserved by Kimimaro, intended as a gift for Pikachu.
However, it wasn't time for him to act yet.
His gaze fell upon Ranmaru.
More precisely, it landed on Ranmaru's crimson eyes.
"Red eyes, capable of seeing through objects, sensing, and creating images with chakra, known as the nemesis of the Byakugan. Their ability to observe chakra surpasses even the Byakugan. Despite such impressive descriptions, they haven't earned a place among the Three Great Dojutsu.
However, judging from the current situation, the red eyes' abilities are indeed remarkable. Ranmaru effortlessly sensed all of Kakuzu's movements, allowing Kurosuki Raiga to evade most of the attacks."
Kimimaro narrowed his eyes, observing the coordination between Kurosuki Raiga and Ranmaru.
Through his recent training, his visual prowess had also improved significantly.
Both his observation and perception skills had been enhanced.
It was still quite easy for him to clearly see a battle of this level.
"But with just this level of ability, they can't survive against Kakuzu."
Just as Kimimaro was observing Kurosuki Raiga and Ranmaru, Ranmaru's heart skipped a beat as he sensed a prying gaze.
Ranmaru looked up, towards the direction where Kimimaro was.
Seeing Kimimaro's attire, he easily made a judgment.
These two were together.
"Lord Raiga, that person has a companion watching from the side."
"What?"
Kurosuki Raiga was startled. The current opponent was already difficult enough to deal with, and now there was another teammate.
"Lord Raiga, the current situation is too unfavorable for us. Let's retreat first."
Ranmaru made the decision.
The feeling of Kimimaro's chakra made him want to retreat.
They were already struggling to cope with Kakuzu; adding another one, they might not survive the day.
Seeing that he had been discovered, Kimimaro tapped his toes and arrived near the trio.
"Senior Kakuzu, haven't you finished yet?"
"This kid is a bit strange. I didn't expect him to have a kid with such powerful sensory abilities with him."
Kakuzu's attacks were repeatedly dodged, and he naturally noticed Ranmaru's presence.
"Need help? I'm quite interested in that Thunder Sword Kiba."
"Hmph, no need. If you like that broken sword, I'll kill this guy and give it to you later."
"Then I'll thank Senior Kakuzu in advance."
Seeing Kimimaro and Kakuzu so blatantly wanting to snatch his Thunder Sword Kiba, Kurosuki Raiga's anger flared up.
"Ranmaru, as long as we two cooperate, we can defeat any enemy. We don't need to retreat. Let's hold the grandest funeral for them! Lightning Release! Lightning Dragon Tornado!"
Kurosuki Raiga roared, and the Thunder Sword Kiba in his hand erupted with powerful lightning energy.
With a spin of his body, a lightning dragon condensed, exuding an imposing aura.
"This kind of attack does have the strength level of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist."
Kimimaro gave his assessment.
The strength of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen varied, with Kisame likely being the strongest among them throughout history.
And Kurosuki Raiga was probably a strong contender for the weakest among the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
"Wind Release! Pressure Damage!"
Wind counters lightning!
When facing Kurosuki Raiga, Kakuzu didn't use his most proficient Earth Release techniques but instead kept using Wind Release.
Because Earth Release was countered by Lightning Release, while Wind Release happened to counter Lightning Release.
This was the advantage of having all five elemental nature transformations; he could flexibly change his attack methods and handle any enemy with ease.
At this moment, he fully unleashed his Wind Release, releasing a high-pressure wind sphere from his mouth, its power far surpassing the Wind Release used earlier to dispel the mist technique.
Boom!
The high-pressure wind sphere slammed into the lightning dragon.
After a brief collision, the balance of victory immediately began to tilt.
The lightning dragon let out a mournful cry, then was directly blown apart by the high-pressure wind sphere!
With a boom, the lightning dragon shattered.
Kurosuki Raiga and Ranmaru were sent flying, their bodies covered in numerous wounds, looking extremely battered.
"As expected of Senior Kakuzu, to possess such powerful Wind Release techniques."
Kimimaro couldn't help but admire.
This level of Wind Release surpassed even Danzo's.
With a single strike, Ranmaru and Kurosuki Raiga were already on the brink of death.
Kakuzu walked forward and grabbed Kurosuki Raiga by the neck.
"This kid has a good heart. It's just the right time to replace the aging lightning-attributed heart in my body."
Kakuzu thought to himself, then black tentacles emerged from his wrist.
These black tentacles directly pierced Kurosuki Raiga's chest.
"Ah!"
The intense pain instantly woke the unconscious Kurosuki Raiga, causing him to scream.
He struggled violently, but under Kakuzu's control, he had no chance of resisting.
Kimimaro watched quietly from the side, even activating his Byakugan to observe this surgery.
"So this is Earth Grudge Fear? Such astonishing vitality. Kakuzu's body can no longer be called human."
Through the Byakugan's perspective, Kimimaro saw five hearts within Kakuzu's body. One was Kakuzu's own earth-attributed heart, while the other four were kept by four masks.
Therefore, his body was also divided into five parts by Earth Grudge Fear.
With such a monstrous body, if it weren't for the powerful abilities of Earth Grudge Fear, Kakuzu would likely be dead.
"Indeed, these guys with immortality abilities are almost all monsters."
Kimimaro sighed.
At this point, Kakuzu had already extracted Kurosuki Raiga's heart, and the chakra within his body was also stripped away along with the heart.
The lightning mask on his back emerged, discarding the original lightning-attributed heart and taking in Kurosuki Raiga's young heart instead.
The surgery was complete!
Kakuzu didn't put down Kurosuki Raiga's corpse but instead carried it on his shoulder.
This was worth 30 million Ryo. Kakuzu probably wouldn't put it down until he exchanged it for money.
Kimimaro stepped forward, picked up the Thunder Sword Kiba, and handed it to Pikachu on his shoulder.
Pikachu excitedly took it, but the Thunder Sword Kiba was still a bit too big for it.
"Little guy, when we have time, I'll help you modify this sword to be smaller."
"Pika!"
Pikachu nodded, excitedly waving the Thunder Sword Kiba in its hands.
"Kid, let's go."
Kakuzu shouldered the Thunder Sword Kiba and prepared to leave.
Kimimaro's gaze fell upon the unconscious Ranmaru, and he grasped his right hand.
"Congratulations, tourist, for successfully taking a photo with the character Ranmaru. You have received the reward: Dojutsu Fragment (5/7)."
Another Dojutsu Fragment?
So far, Kimimaro had obtained five Dojutsu Fragments.
Two from Kakashi and Sasuke, likely representing the Sharingan.
Two from Neji and Hinata, likely representing the Byakugan.
And the current one from Ranmaru, needless to say, should be the red eyes.
He wondered who the remaining two Dojutsu Fragments would be associated with.
(End of Chapter)