Compared to the divine-level duel between Habara and Orochimaru, with its visually stunning or bizarrely exaggerated exchanges, the battle between Kakashi and Kakuzu was far more conventional. Having already fought for some time previously, Kakashi's chakra was mostly depleted, running on fumes. By the same token, however, Kakuzu wasn't in peak condition either. Falling loosely into the category of 'old, weak, sick, or disabled,' the two could be considered evenly matched opponents at this point.
Kakuzu knew he had to achieve something. If the mission assigned to him by the organization couldn't be completed, then he had to at least eliminate the enemy who had obstructed it. While this wouldn't change the outcome of failure, it would at least provide some form of accountability to the organization.
Based on Kakashi's recent performance and Orochimaru's assessment, Kakuzu understood Kakashi's identity. Descriptive titles like "Copy Ninja" or "Kakashi of the Sharingan" weren't the crucial part; what mattered was that Kakashi was the disciple of that Fourth Hokage.
This implied Kakashi might have learned the ninjutsu that allowed the Fourth Hokage to dominate the ninja world, explaining how he'd managed to escape right under Kakuzu's nose earlier. Under these circumstances, Kakuzu naturally became exceedingly cautious in his renewed engagement with Kakashi. The Yellow Flash's ability to instantly kill opponents was infamous. If Kakashi had mastered even forty or fifty percent of his teacher's skill, extreme vigilance was mandatory when facing him.
Alright, perhaps Kakuzu was overthinking things slightly. Kakashi's version of the Flying Thunder God Technique lacked practical combat application, at least for now.
If one were facing the actual Yellow Flash, wide-area-of-effect ninjutsu would be useless. Against such elusive enemies, close-quarters combat was often the most effective counter. Thus, based on their different considerations—Kakashi due to his lack of chakra, and Kakuzu guarding against a non-existent threat—both simultaneously chose to engage in taijutsu. Kakuzu, one might say, was valiantly battling the air.
The two sprinted towards each other. Just as they were about to cross paths, Kakuzu flicked his thumb, instantly reversing the kunai held in his palm. The cold glint reflected off its sharp edge traced a semi-circle before he gripped it firmly again.
Kakuzu thrust his arm forward, the sharp kunai aimed straight for Kakashi's heart.
At this moment, Kakashi not only didn't dodge but actually twisted his body, seemingly making it easier for the enemy to assassinate him, completely exposing his chest.
Clang!
The kunai struck Kakashi's chest with brutal force. However, Kakuzu felt no sensation of tearing skin or piercing muscle; instead, it was like stabbing a solid wall. With a harsh metallic screech, the kunai snapped in two.
It's worth remembering that Kakashi was also an armored unit. While not as exaggerated as Habara's, the protective gear Habara crafted boasted considerable defense. More importantly, not everyone wielded a weapon like the Kusanagi Sword. Kakashi's defenses might be breached by Orochimaru, but that didn't mean Kakuzu could easily penetrate them.
Taking advantage of the moment his opponent's weapon broke, Kakashi slashed out with his own blade. A brilliant azure chakra coated the tanto in his hand, radiating palpable danger.
Kakuzu twisted sideways to evade. A shallow scratch appeared on his face, and a few drops of blood oozed out.
After exchanging blows, neither had gained a significant advantage. They moved past each other, stopped, turned, and charged again.
Kakuzu was a tall, imposing figure. Kakashi, still in his developmental years, appeared quite slender by comparison. Their taijutsu battle thus resembled an eighty-year-old man whaling on a teenager. However, thanks to Kakashi's equipment advantage, the fight was a lively back-and-forth affair.
In ninja battles, victory is sometimes decided by a single, decisive ninjutsu, and sometimes earned through painstaking fist-and-foot exchanges like this. Neither method is inherently superior... well, that's how it should be, theoretically.
But just as Kakashi and Kakuzu had been trading blows for five minutes without any clear result, the sky suddenly darkened.
Kakashi forced Kakuzu back with a swing of his chakra-infused tanto, then quickly glanced upwards. He saw a vast cloud of Iron Sand obscuring half the sky, converging towards a specific point.
More importantly, Kakashi sensed the immense chakra coalescing within it. He looked from the Iron Sand cloud in the sky down to the short sword in his hand, and suddenly felt a profound sense of inadequacy, a spiritual blow that made him want to just toss his weapon aside. Damn it, he thought, is there any point to me fighting so hard down here?
"A Jinchuriki? Is that a Tailed Beast?"
Kakuzu also sensed the colossal chakra. Given its Bijuu-like scale, his first thought naturally went to the Tailed Beasts. However, the specific abilities being displayed didn't align with any Tailed Beast Kakuzu knew.
Fighting a Tailed Beast was pointless; Kakuzu realized this instantly. He glanced at Kakashi, who was still looking up at the Iron Sand cloud, seemingly defenseless. He decided to finish off this young ninja quickly and then immediately withdraw.
He surged towards his target, this time aiming his kunai straight for Kakashi's neck.
Let's see you put armor on your neck! Kakuzu thought smugly. Ninja can't do that; heck, even turtles can't.
Got him!
But just as this illusion of success formed in Kakuzu's mind, an intense sense of crisis abruptly overwhelmed him. His kunai was barely a hand's breadth from Kakashi's neck, yet the entire world seemed to freeze solid.
In this environment where time felt suspended, Kakuzu desperately tried to gather information about his surroundings. He knew this sensation of stillness was an illusion caused by his mind magnifying everything in a moment of extreme danger. He could perceive things in this state, but changing them was incredibly difficult.
Finally, Kakuzu heard a piercing shriek tearing through the air. A spear, thick as an infant's arm, four or five meters long, black as night and crackling with blue lightning, abruptly entered his field of vision.
VWOOM!
The lightning spear shot through Kakuzu's sightline at unimaginable speed and nailed him!
In an instant, Kakuzu felt as if he'd been hit by a speeding train. His impaled torso dragged his limbs backward through the air. He flew an immense distance, soaring out of the ruined town area until he finally slammed into a large, solitary tree growing in the desolate landscape, bringing his flight to an abrupt halt.
CRASH!
The massive tree shook violently. Kakuzu was left dangling high up on the trunk, utterly dazed and disoriented.
Only a few seconds had passed, but it felt like hours to Kakuzu. When he finally caught his breath, he discovered the iron spear—or perhaps just 'iron rod,' as the presence or absence of a point hardly mattered given the velocity—lodged deep in his abdomen.
Kakuzu pressed his hands against the tree trunk behind him and struggled for a few moments, but found himself unable to dislodge his body easily. He had to resort to a different method.
His pierced abdomen began to writhe rapidly, resembling an earthworm farm. Countless black threads emerged from the wound. As they squirmed and pulsed, Kakuzu's body slowly inched forward along the iron rod. Finally, after pushing the rod completely out of his body, he tumbled from the air and fell to the ground.
Fortunately, he possessed the secret technique Earth Grudge Fear. Otherwise, that single blow would have surely pulped his internal organs, ending his long, old life then and there.
He forced himself to stand, looking back towards the distant city ruins. A gigantic humanoid monster now loomed there, radiating an aura that screamed 'difficult opponent.'
While the impaling attack hadn't killed Kakuzu, it had clearly inflicted severe damage. Returning to the fight in this condition was pointless. Kakuzu thought for a moment, then made a very important decision...
Run for it!
As for Orochimaru? He could fend for himself. The camaraderie between them wasn't just weaker than plastic; it was flimsier than a wafer cookie.
Orochimaru couldn't simply fend for himself. Although he had anticipated Habara's defensive strength to some extent, the reality ultimately surpassed his expectations.
On that day, Orochimaru finally remembered the terror of being dominated by giants... well, perhaps it wasn't quite that dramatic.
This "giant," standing dozens of meters tall, resembled an enlarged version of Habara's Eightfold Aegis. Orochimaru was confident his new jutsu could penetrate the standard Eightfold Aegis defense, but he was undoubtedly helpless against Habara's new defensive form. This was a case of quantitative change leading to a qualitative one.
It just went to show: fake copy ninjas could only mimic conventional ninjutsu, while true copy ninjas could apparently even steal Susanoo.
Habara seems to be progressing a bit too quickly. This technique... it feels like something that cannot be challenged head-on... How on earth did he achieve this? Orochimaru wondered.
For the first time, he found Habara utterly excessive.
Given Habara's sudden power-up—his entry into 'overdrive'—Orochimaru knew that winning the current battle was highly unlikely, nor could he achieve his own objective. However, he didn't intend to retreat immediately. Before leaving, he decided to probe Habara's current state.
The head of a giant snake emerged beneath Orochimaru's feet. As the snake raised its body higher, Orochimaru ascended with it, seemingly preparing to observe Habara's giant form at "eye level."
However, before he could gain much altitude, a massive iron palm slammed down violently. Under the immense force, the giant snake's flesh-and-blood body simply exploded on impact. Chunks of meat mixed with a rain of blood scattered everywhere, spine and ribs shattering alongside them.
Orochimaru himself was smashed directly into the ground. Then, Habara controlled the colossal metallic body to bring its foot down in a devastating stomp!
With a deep, muffled roar, the entire ground shuddered. The surrounding sand dunes rippled outwards from the point of impact like concentric waves.
In the aftermath of the strike, a deep depression marked where Habara's "foot" had landed, surrounded by a low ring of displaced sand, resembling a small crater or "annular mountain."
Although not as obliterated as his summoned pet, Orochimaru was still hammered hard enough to bleed profusely from multiple places. His Soft Physique Modification couldn't withstand such an attack. This was partly due to the overwhelming physical power of Habara's construct, and partly because, accompanying the physical impact, some form of savage, violent chakra had invaded his body.
Since his battle with Jiraiya, this was the first time Orochimaru had suffered truly severe injuries.