"Who's there?"
Kakuzu frowned, his expression slightly unnatural.
Just a little more, and he would have immobilized that annoying Jinchuriki—but someone actually dared to interrupt him!
Though earlier, the target had already seemed incapable of resistance without needing his direct intervention.
But having his attack forcibly interrupted like this infuriated him greatly.
After his fist shattered some rocks, it instantly returned to his arm through the black threads of Earth Grudge Fear, restoring the limb to its normal state.
He narrowed his eyes toward the front, spotting a hulking figure with both hands slammed onto the ground, staring straight at him.
The newcomer wore clearly Iwagakure-styled ninja armor and bore Iwagakure's forehead protector proudly on his forehead—clearly part of the rescue team.
Kitsuchi, the son of the Tsuchikage and possessing near-Kage-level strength!
As soon as Kakuzu saw Kitsuchi, all the intel on him instantly came flooding back—along with that eye-popping figure.
Fifty million ryo bounty underground!!!
This was an infamous name on the underground bounty list—not just because of his status, but also because of his tremendous power.
"Good thing I made it in time!"
Kitsuchi squinted his eyes, his rugged face showing relief, although there was something moist along his forehead wound.
He had sensed the tremors of battle from nearly one kilometer away.
So, to arrive in time, he'd chosen to speed ahead alone, separating himself from his unit.
And when he arrived, he saw Han already on his knees, unresponsive to enemy attacks—clearly out of the fight.
Surprised, he immediately used a jutsu to help Han dodge that attack.
"So you're the ones from Akatsuki?"
Kitsuchi stood up firmly, stepping heavily toward them.
As he walked, he observed the two members of the Akatsuki organization.
They weren't familiar, but clearly no pushovers—they'd pushed Han to the edge.
His gaze naturally flickered toward Deidara above; though puzzled, he chose not to voice his thoughts yet and refrained from confronting Deidara on why he hadn't returned to report earlier.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Deidara glanced at Kitsuchi, eyes flickering, and quickly guided his Giant Bird lower, flying closer.
"Captain Kitsuchi."
He intended to inform Kitsuchi about all the intelligence he currently possessed; otherwise, going into battle uninformed would surely put Kitsuchi at a disadvantage.
"Hmph, appreciate the effort."
Kitsuchi kept his eyes locked on Kakuzu while glancing at Han, who lay motionless within the crevice he had created, frowning deeply.
Han was in critical condition—gravely wounded with shallow breath, completely helpless. He could die at any moment.
"This is the current enemy situation..."
With the fight still ongoing, Deidara kept it brief, quickly summarizing the key points and latest conclusions.
That Kakuzu didn't know much. Previously, he had been thought to be merely a taijutsu ninja, but when he neutralized the clay bomb just now, the strange mask emerging from his body made him abandon his earlier narrow-minded view.
As for Hidan, however, he was almost entirely figured out.
"Got it! Immortality, huh?"
Kitsuchi nodded slightly, shifting his gaze toward the distant Hidan and noticing that the injuries on his body indeed seemed unbearable for an ordinary person.
The intel from Deidara helped him understand Hidan better. After all, such an ability might be unique across the entire shinobi world.
"Han's condition is extremely poor. We need to end this quickly and take him back for emergency treatment."
Kitsuchi stepped forward, a determined look on his face.
Even after hearing how powerful their enemies truly were from Deidara, he still had no choice but to firmly advance and join the battle.
"Another opponent showing up! We really should've finished things earlier; then we wouldn't have so many problems now."
Kakuzu looked at Kitsuchi and pondered countermeasures.
Although another Iwagakure ninja had appeared, he felt absolutely no fear.
"Hey, Kakuzu, are we continuing the fight?"
Hidan walked over, his chest wound terrifying yet having no effect on the arrogance in his voice.
"Of course we're continuing. Don't forget our mission."
Kakuzu shifted his eyes downward, spotting Han deep within the fissure beneath his feet, a cruel smile curling his lips.
Right now, there was only one thing he truly feared—if the enemy had even more reinforcements. In that case, no matter how confident he was in his own strength, he would have to prepare to retreat.
"I wonder where Zetsu went off to?"
Kakuzu was somewhat troubled. If Zetsu were here, with his wide field of vision, they could control the situation far better.
"I'll deal with that blond kid, and you can handle the other one!" Seeing that Han had already fallen into unconsciousness—truly unable to fight anymore—Hidan said to Kakuzu.
"No problem!"
On Kakuzu's arms, some black threads began rhythmically emerging from his body, gradually becoming more animated.
[Begin the battle!]
Kakuzu's voice was low and heavy. As soon as he spoke, he dashed straight at Kitsuchi at incredible speed.
Meanwhile, Hidan grinned widely and made a slashing motion toward Deidara atop the giant bird, tightening his grip on the Blood Scythe before following closely behind Kakuzu.
Ever since Deidara showed up riding that bird, Hidan found this yellow-haired brat annoying.
That brat looked younger than Hidan too, yet acted so calm about everything—like watching his Jashin ritual didn't move him at all!
Therefore, Hidan decided to offer this boy's blood and life as sacrifice to Jashin, to vent his fury!
"Here they come, Deidara!"
Kitsuchi took another step forward. Instantly, a thin layer of pale yellow chakra wrapped around his entire body, spreading a thick and solid aura across his whole being.
He stepped back with his right foot, pressing down heavily on the ground. At the moment he exerted force, his right foot crushed the rocky surface beneath into fragments, forming a crater centered around his footprint.
A deep, circular crater marked the spot where Kitsuchi's power had been fully demonstrated.
Kitsuchi himself became a projectile in that instant, launching toward Kakuzu like a cannonball, roaring through the air.
Hmph!
Deidara paid no attention to Hidan, who stared at him intensely—his heart was light, even amused.
He had already figured out Hidan's ninjutsu and fighting style. Someone who relied on just a handful of techniques was no longer any real threat.
So, he immediately steered his Giant Bird upward, pulling away from Hidan and giving him no chance to close the gap.
Thud!
After a short sprint, Kitsuchi and Kakuzu crashed into each other.
Both were powerful ninja with impressive strength and speed, making their battle extremely dramatic.
At the moment of impact, the ground trembled for several meters around them.
Then, the snow blanketing the ground was swept away by the shockwave from their collision.
Just one blow was enough to clear the battlefield.
Kakuzu narrowed his eyes at Kitsuchi. No wonder there was such a huge bounty on his head—he definitely had the skill. Just from that single exchange, Kakuzu knew they were evenly matched.
Thud! Thud!
Their figures blurred as they clashed again and again. The thunderous sounds of impact echoed rapidly, one after another. An ordinary ninja wouldn't be able to follow their movements—only catch fleeting glimpses of their afterimages intertwining.
After the initial clash, both fighters proceeded cautiously, testing each other without resorting to excessive jutsu, relying purely on taijutsu and combat techniques.
To be precise, Kakuzu was undeniably more powerful than Kitsuchi. Thanks to his Earth Natured Heart, he could fight Kitsuchi head-to-head.
But if those Mask Beasts joined the battle, unleashing bombardments like living artillery, then ultimately, Kitsuchi would still be outmatched.
But Kakuzu was cautious by nature. Rather than unleashing everything right away, he adopted a very conservative approach, gradually revealing his full strength step by step.
Facing Kakuzu, Kitsuchi indeed had a very deep understanding of his opponent's power.
He came from Iwagakure Village and specialized in Earth Release—that much was expected.
But from the forehead protector symbol, the enemy seemed to be a rogue ninja from Takigakure.
However, his control over Earth Release, especially how the Earth Spear Jutsu enhanced his taijutsu, was absolutely top-tier in that field.
Even across all of Iwagakure, it would be difficult to find anyone comparable!
Nevertheless, Kitsuchi wouldn't back down because of that. He didn't think he'd lose in terms of Earth Release, despite facing a formidable opponent.
[Explosive Clay - Detonation Bombs!]
Deidara launched an attack from above, riding on his Giant Bird against Hidan below.
Standing atop the giant bird, he casually hurled his Explosive Clay bombs down at Hidan, utterly unconcerned.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
A row of [Detonation Bombs] flew from Deidara's hands, cutting through the void as they hurtled toward Hidan.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A series of explosions chased Hidan as he dodged frantically, as if under aerial bombardment, leaving him somewhat chaotic and struggling to keep up.
At this moment, Hidan finally understood why that yellow-haired brat had looked at him with a trace of mockery earlier, as if scorning his decision to seek him out voluntarily.
He indeed had no way to deal with Deidara, who was far away in the sky. Without long-range offensive techniques or the ability to fly, he could only endure the bombardment passively.
His facial expression constantly shifting, Hidan kept dodging while glaring fiercely at Deidara above, grinding his teeth in hatred yet feeling utterly helpless.
"Damn it! You bastard only know how to throw bombs from the sky? Don't you dare come down and fight me head-on?"
Finally, with no other choice, Hidan activated his taunting skill. The Three-sided Sickle in his hand spun wildly, producing a sharp whistling sound.
With no way to fight back, Hidan could only try trash-talking to provoke Deidara into a real face-to-face fight.
Unfortunately for him, this hope quickly faded.
Although Deidara wasn't much older, there was no way he would fall for such an obvious taunt and abandon his advantageous position.
So Deidara completely ignored Hidan's mockery. As he kept throwing bombs, he watched the battle between Kakuzu and Kitsuchi out of the corner of his eye.
Deidara knew Kakuzu wasn't as simple as he seemed — take that strange masked ninjutsu or those lifelike black threads for example.
Right, those black threads!
Deidara was certain he hadn't imagined it — Kakuzu's body contained numerous black threads, through which the mask capable of using ninjutsu remained connected to his body.
The scene had been eerie; Deidara struggled to find words to describe it properly.
Just now, he'd already informed Kitsuchi about everything, warning him to be cautious of Kakuzu's mask and black threads.
Boom!!
Just then, out of the corner of his eye, Deidara saw Kitsuchi struck in the chest by Kakuzu's fist and sent crashing backward.
By now, Kakuzu had finished testing his opponent and was beginning real combat. Both his strength and speed had reached their peak.
Kitsuchi quickly stabilized his body. As a ninja of Iwagakure Village, naturally he specialized in Earth Release techniques.
The spot where Kakuzu had punched him revealed a layer of pale yellow rock flaking off.
Clearly, before Kakuzu's attack landed, he had already used Earth Release to form a defensive rocky armor around his body.
[Earth Release - Rock Fist!]
Kitsuchi coldly shouted, raising his fists as a surge of chakra emerged, enveloping them.
Very soon, his fists underwent a complete transformation — becoming significantly larger and strangely shaped, wrapped in rugged layers of rock.
The rocks were dark-colored and covered in countless intricate patterns, clearly indicating their extraordinary nature.
Boom!
He swung his fist toward Kakuzu with such force that it seemed to tear through the air.
[Earth Release - Earth Spear!]
Kakuzu's eyes narrowed. Closing in rapidly, he slightly shifted his body sideways to evade Kitsuchi's rock fist attack, allowing the punch to barely graze past his left side.
Meanwhile, his right hand's skin gradually darkened. Seizing the opportunity, he slashed his palm forcefully toward Kitsuchi's arm located at his flank.
He aimed to shatter Kitsuchi's arm with a single palm strike and finish the fight in an instant.
Whoosh!
Though Kakuzu was a seasoned fighter, Kitsuchi was far from helpless.
The moment Kakuzu shifted stance, Kitsuchi anticipated his next move. Instantly, he turned his punch into a sweeping elbow strike aimed at Kakuzu.
At the same time, the rock on his fist flowed like liquid to his elbow, hardening into a spiked armor.
"Hehe!"
Kakuzu hadn't expected Kitsuchi to be this adaptable. Smirking slightly, he remained calm and countered with an elbow strike of his own, meeting Kitsuchi's attack head-on.
Both fighters' eyes burned with killing intent, their expressions extremely serious.
For masters like them, life and death are separated by the thinnest of margins. At this moment, Kakuzu and Kitsuchi vividly demonstrated this truth through their battle.
In just a few seconds of back-and-forth combat, layers of strategy and counterplay had already unfolded.
Move and countermove—one after another, each carrying endless possibilities beneath their surface simplicity.
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