Boom!
In an instant, their elbows met with a loud crash. A dull thud rang out from the impact.
Kitsuchi's elbow strike was horizontal, aimed directly at Kakuzu's side chest; Kakuzu's elbow strike, however, came down from above, turning an offensive move into a defensive counterattack.
The clash between the earthen spear and stone-covered fist was evenly matched—neither side gained the upper hand. Both men grunted silently, retreating one step backward.
Tap!
Kakuzu stepped back but immediately steadied himself.
Frowning, he extended black thread-like tendrils from his arms, which erupted outward, propelling him forward.
Seizing the momentum, he launched a punch forward—more powerful than before.
Across from him, Kitsuchi mirrored Kakuzu's movements precisely, launching another attack just as quickly after stepping back.
The layer of rock on his fists had shattered during their previous clash, but now it reformed once more.
Kitsuchi hadn't expected it—the Akatsuki ninja had actually withstood his Earth Release: Rock Hardening Fist Jutsu, even gaining slight upper ground.
Smack!
They passed each other by, hands striking rapidly in close quarters—each blow aimed directly at vital spots like the heart, head, or groin.
Neither managed to gain any real advantage in this exchange. Kakuzu landed a punch across Kitsuchi's face, but Kitsuchi countered with a solid hit straight into Kakuzu's chest.
Protected by Earth Release techniques, neither suffered serious damage—only brief surges of internal pressure and chest tightness.
[Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet Jutsu!]
Gritting his teeth, Kitsuchi spun mid-step, seizing the opening to unleash his technique.
For a ninja of his caliber, such preparation time for jutsu was practically non-existent.
Hands clapping together at his chest, Kitsuchi locked eyes on Kakuzu, tracking his exact movements.
Roar!
With a dragon's cry, a massive earthen dragon surged from the ground behind Kitsuchi.
Its head looked fierce and rough, roaring furiously as it twisted through the air toward Kakuzu.
Raising his eyebrows slightly, Kakuzu felt surprised at Kitsuchi's speed with hand seals—but only momentarily.
After all, this man was one of Iwagakure's top ninjas, standing near the peak of the village's power, possibly even being groomed as the next Tsuchikage. It made sense that he would be strong.
Otherwise, his bounty wouldn't be that high—at least ten million ryō more than the Hokage's son.
His jade-green eyes glinting dangerously, Kakuzu pushed off the ground with both feet and shot backward swiftly.
Leaning his upper body backward while skimming low over the surface with his lower half,
The earth dragon roared behind him, chasing relentlessly with snapping jaws full of earthen teeth.
[Earth Release: Earth Wall Formation!]
Quickly narrowing his eyes, Kakuzu firmly planted himself on the ground, having already completed the required hand seals mid-air during his retreat.
Crack!
His hands slammed onto the ground as he slightly lifted his head, watching the approaching Earth Dragon nearly upon him. A faint cold smirk curled at the corner of his lips.
Rumble!
A dull-colored earthen wall instantly rose from the ground—solid and sturdy, yet decorated with purple patterns that gave it an eerie appearance.
Boom!
The next instant, the Earth Dragon crashed straight into the wall, producing a deafening sound.
Crack!
The wall's surface fractured, gradually shattering under the impact, while the Earth Dragon itself crumbled into scattered rocks and dust.
But their battle wasn't over yet. That earlier technique had only been an initial strike. Kitsuchi knew better than to believe a single Earth Dragon Technique could defeat Kakuzu.
Thus, in perfect synchronization, they both charged forward once again the moment their techniques collided, entangling themselves in another fierce clash.
Fists and kicks flew fast and furious, devastating the battlefield as neither gave the other an inch.
The ground around them continued to collapse as the fight raged on.
One punch from Kakuzu left a deep crater in the earth; one kick from Kitsuchi carved a massive hole into the ground.
Both were like living tyrannosaurs—relying solely on taijutsu and basic Earth Release hardening techniques, yet still creating terrifying effects.
"Keh!"
After trading yet another powerful punch, Kitsuchi tasted blood in his throat. Fresh red liquid dripped from the corner of his mouth. He spat hard onto the ground, sending a mix of blood and saliva splattering across it.
On the other side, Kakuzu's body trembled violently, staggering backward several steps. With each step, he left behind a large crater etched into the earth.
Yet unlike Kitsuchi, he didn't spit out any blood—merely paling for a brief second before returning to normal.
"It seems your head, worth several million ryō, is about to become my trophy!" Kakuzu stared coldly at Kitsuchi, his emerald eyes flashing a chilling light.
He'd more or less figured out Kitsuchi's strength—it surpassed that of an average Jonin but fell short of Kage-level power due to the lack of a kekkei genkai (bloodline limit) or unique ninjutsu.
If Kitsuchi truly had no further tricks up his sleeve, then victory was practically his.
In his long life, Kakuzu had certainly encountered ninja like this before—even taking hearts from enemies of similar strength.
"Don't underestimate Iwagakure's Ninja, bastard!" Kitsuchi raised his arm, wiping away the blood trickling from his lips, his gaze growing darker by the second.
Although their taijutsu and Earth Release skills were roughly equal, something strange remained—he somehow effortlessly neutralized the force behind Kitsuchi's Stone-Covered Fist attacks, avoiding serious internal damage.
That's why Kitsuchi started spitting blood—every head-on hit sent shockwaves through his body, just like they would through anyone else.
He endured these shocks using his own sheer physical resilience, but his opponent—who knows how?—seemed almost completely unaffected by recoil.
[Earth Release – Hill Burial Jutsu!!]
Kitsuchi glared at Kakuzu and suddenly unleashed a ninjutsu technique, catching Kakuzu off guard—he hadn't even seen Kitsuchi form any hand seals.
Crack!
A loud snapping sound rang out.
Suddenly, the ground on both sides of Kakuzu erupted. Two massive hemispherical rocks, manipulated by Kitsuchi's chakra, began squeezing toward him with crushing force.
The attack came fast and furious—Kakuzu couldn't dodge in time. The hemispheres covered far too wide an area. Even if he tried to escape, he probably wouldn't make it out before they completely shut.
Boom!!
The two halves slammed together with a thunderous crash.
"?"
Kitsuchi frowned as he stared at the spherical rock formation before him.
His attack had been sudden, yet the enemy had offered no resistance whatsoever before being crushed.
This was nothing like the scenario he'd imagined—where after a hard-fought battle, he finally crushed his foe to death!
His eyes flickered with caution as he slowly approached, each step deliberate and measured. He was watching everything around him.
There was no way his enemy could be defeated so easily!
Meanwhile, deep within the wide fissure that Kitsuchi had created while trying to rescue Han, the Five-Tails Jinchuriki lay motionless—lifeless as a corpse.
When Kakuzu had stood beside him, ready to throw that deadly punch, Han had already been barely conscious. But with an enemy nearby, he fought off the darkness using sheer willpower.
Then, just a moment after Kitsuchi's voice rang out, Han lost all strength and sank into total darkness—falling into a semi-unconscious state.
"Hehe! So this is the Five-Tails Jinchuriki? Pathetic!"
The crack was deep and wide enough to fully contain Han's body.
Suddenly, an eerie white figure appeared on the wall of the fissure, gazing mockingly at the half-dead Han.
At the sound of that voice, Han—who had been half-unconscious—twitched his ears slightly. It was a sign that he might soon awaken.
His consciousness, long buried in darkness, was stirring again. He seemed close to regaining awareness.
But in the next instant, Han felt something cold and strange wrap completely around his body.
The strength he had finally regained vanished in an instant—as though it were being absorbed—leaving behind only emptiness and weakness.
Once again, he sank back into the void, his awakening abruptly cut short.
The one who had appeared here was none other than White Zetsu's split body.
White Zetsu moved closer to Han, placing one hand on his body. A White Slime oozed from his arm onto Han's body, gradually enveloping him entirely.
This special secretion possessed abilities similar—though weaker—to Wood Release absorption of chakra.
And for Han in his current state, it was perfect!
Shhhshh...
As Han became fully enclosed, he slowly transformed into a White Cocoon, leaving only his tightly closed face exposed.
White Zetsu had been lurking nearby all along. Seizing the moment when Kitsuchi and Deidara were distracted, he emerged from the ground and approached Han, who'd already lost the ability to fight back.
This was the prime chance to snatch back the Tailed Beast.
Soon, he sensed that Han's consciousness had fallen into a deep sleep, nearly all his chakra drained away.
Though the Tailed Beast's chakra still raged inside his body, it was now completely useless — or rather, utterly ineffective.
Han's body had suffered critical injuries. Right now, the only job the Tailed Beast had was keeping Han barely alive — if the Jinchuriki died, so would it.
But if the Tailed Beast tried to break free now, it wouldn't even get to fight before its wild chakra made Han's wounds explode again — killing them both.
Knowing this, the Tailed Beast had no choice but to keep the Jinchuriki alive with slow, painstaking healing, waiting for a future chance to strike back.
Yet by choosing this path, Han had essentially accepted a slow death — Akatsuki wouldn't give him a second shot.
Once captured, how could there possibly be another opening for counterattack?
White Zetsu split his lips into a wide grin, his sharp teeth glinting in the air.
"It's over! Now we'll see how Kakuzu and the others manage to get away."
White Zetsu merged his body with Han's, then slowly sank into the ground, activating [Floating Technique] and vanishing from the scene as if he'd never been there.
Of course, he also split off another body to stay behind and let Kakuzu and the rest know he was the one who grabbed their target.
Whoosh!
Hidan hurled his weapon forward. The long handle of the Three-sided Sickle instantly split into several sections and extended outward.
In an instant, Hidan's attack range increased more than tenfold, reaching a distance sufficient to harm Deidara hovering in midair.
Certainly, this design also aimed to make the weapon easier to pierce enemies and draw blood, activating [Curse Jutsu].
Hidan's sudden attack did have some effect, though minimal. The scythe lost its momentum once it reached a certain height and slowed significantly.
Deidara, caught off guard while floating midair, was startled but quickly maneuvered the Giant Bird out of the way and ascended higher.
"That damn brat!"
Hidan was furious that even his last hidden trick failed to curse the bastard.
Right now, he had no means left to threaten Deidara, who remained airborne.
With a quick jerk of his wrist, the scythe snapped back into his grip like a boomerang.
Since he couldn't reach Deidara, maybe it was time to switch targets?
His eyes shifted, landing on Kitsuchi's back.
Earlier, due to Deidara's aerial bombardment, he had kept dodging nonstop until now, having moved far away from where he started. Unknowingly, he had arrived right behind Kitsuchi.
This seemed like an opportunity?
Since he couldn't strike the airborne Deidara, this opponent who had fought Kakuzu to a standstill became his new target.
Swish!
Deidara noticed Hidan's gaze, and in an instant, the Giant Bird positioned itself between Hidan and Kitsuchi.
This guy can't even save himself, and yet he still dares to scheme against others?
With his hands in his pockets, Deidara locked eyes with Hidan.
He'd grown tired of this endless back-and-forth battle, so he decided to go all out with one powerful move—eliminating Hidan first, then teaming up with Kitsuchi to take down the other enemy.
After that, everyone could just go home, and he could return to his artistic research.
Although he'd never been popular in Iwagakure, since he had chosen to join this mission, he couldn't let Gramps down.
Whoosh!
He pulled both hands out and raised them level to his chest.
Slowly opening his palms, each revealed three round, plump white clay pellets—though they looked slightly different from the usual Detonation Bombs.
[Explosive Clay - Bat Bombs!]
A flicker of satisfaction flashed through his eyes as he seemed completely confident in what he held.
The next second, those originally spherical pellets suddenly sprouted wings and developed somewhat cute little heads.
Then, those clay creatures sprang from his palms, flapping their wings as they flew forward.
Shwip! Shwip! Shwip!
These Bat Bombs moved extremely fast, turning into white streaks through the air as they directly targeted Hidan below.
"What the hell is this?!"
Frowning, Hidan lifted his weapon to dodge, immediately abandoning any thoughts of attacking Kitsuchi sneakily.
He knew anything coming from Deidara would explode—and probably pack a punch far greater than an Explosive Tag!
Though he possessed the Immortal Body, getting blasted like that was definitely going to be troublesome.
Dodgedodgedodge!
Once again, he began his erratic snake-like movements. This time, however, the explosives didn't detonate immediately—they chased after Hidan persistently, attempting to stick onto his body.
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