Kakuzu's gaze locked tightly on Ryo, who had stepped through the broken doorway.
On his left, Tsunade dropped from a rooftop. The force of her landing alone made Kakuzu's ribs ache. On his right, Orochimaru's cold presence sealed off the retreat completely.
A trap.
A perfect, merciless trap that used his greatest weakness, money, as bait. These Konoha people had no honor. Completely shameless.
Two of the Legendary Sannin, plus the freakish boy who had destroyed three of his hearts before. Decades of accumulated wealth might not save him today.
"Kamiyama Ryo!" Kakuzu's voice was dry and sharp, twisted by panic and fury. "You...!"
"Kakuzu. It has been more than a year. You are not escaping today." Ryo's voice was steady and low.
He didn't move. His right thumb nudged the hilt of his blade.
A metallic hum rang.
The Kusanagi sword slid out just an inch. Its dark red blade swallowed the surrounding light, and a sharp, formless pressure spread out. The entire town seemed to freeze.
Tsunade's golden eyes locked onto every possible escape route. Kakuzu was Nawaki's only hope. He could not be allowed to run.
Orochimaru's slit-pupiled gaze narrowed. His interest sharpened as he felt the strange aura surging from Ryo. It was not chakra. Even after seeing it many times, Ryo's presence still carried a dangerous quality that fascinated him.
"Damn you!" Kakuzu growled like a cornered beast. His fear was swallowed by survival instinct. Black threads surged wildly beneath his sleeves.
Ryo moved.
His body became a streak of dark red that tore through sight itself. Pure physical power propelled him past the limits of vision. Only a suffocating pressure spread through the air.
Danger.
Kakuzu's instincts detonated. Black threads exploded outward and intertwined into a large shield coated with hardened Earth Release.
Too slow.
In Ryo's ice-silver eyes, it was a flimsy joke.
The Kusanagi blade had not even fully left its sheath. With only the momentum of his rush, Ryo flicked his wrist casually.
A soft slicing sound followed, like a hot knife sliding through butter.
The shield of hardened earth and black tendrils, along with Kakuzu's right arm wrapped in hardened skin, split cleanly apart. The severed limb fell to the ground.
Before the pain reached his brain, Ryo's figure appeared in the opening created by the cut.
Still only partially unsheathed, the Kusanagi's hilt spun in Ryo's hand, turning into a heavy blunt weapon.
It crashed into Kakuzu's left chest, striking the heart's location with mountain-crushing force.
A deafening thud.
Kakuzu's body shot backward like a launched cannonball, plowing a deep trench through the dirt road.
He slammed into a half-collapsed wall, green fluid spraying from his mouth.
The black threads in his left chest squirmed desperately, trying to repair the damage.
Another heart lost.
The Wind mask-beast burst from his shoulder, shrieking as it pushed free.
"Damn you!" Kakuzu's eyes glinted with murderous madness. He plunged what remained of his black tendrils into the Wind mask-beast.
A piercing scream erupted. The creature swelled, wind chakra compressing inside it to a lethal density.
Its core glowed blue.
"Wind Release Pressure Disaster!"
Not a wind drill. A full storm of destruction.
Countless chaotic, razor-sharp blades of compressed wind exploded in every direction, shredding everything indiscriminately. The attack would engulf Ryo, Kakuzu, the houses, everything.
It was a suicidal blast.
Raging wind screamed. Death swallowed the space around Ryo.
Ryo's ice-silver eyes reflected the approaching storm.
He did not even draw his blade fully.
"Armament."
With those two words, a liquid-black sheen coated his arm and the Kusanagi sword.
Facing the storm head-on, Ryo stepped forward and thrust the armament-covered blade straight into the center of the attack.
A sharp ripping sound drowned out the wind's roar.
The monstrous storm collided with the black blade's tip. The seemingly unstoppable force collapsed at the point of impact, dissolving like ice dropped into molten rock.
The Kusanagi pierced through the core without resistance, its tip landing precisely on the mask-beast's forehead.
Everything froze.
The shriek cut off.
A small crack spread across the mask.
Crackling sounds followed.
The creature and the storm imploded silently, crumbling into scattered dust and wind that brushed Ryo's hair. He pulled the blade free as the black sheen faded.
"The second one." Ryo spoke calmly.
He stepped over the trenches carved by wind blades and approached Kakuzu, who writhed in the ruins.
"Ugh... ahhh!" Kakuzu howled, black threads writhing wildly around his missing arm and shattered chest.
Ryo's sword and fist had destroyed two hearts and severely wounded a third. He needed to escape or he would die.
"Earth Release Earth Spear!" His remaining arm struck the ground. His skin hardened into rock. The Lightning mask-beast roared from his shoulder, firing countless lightning spears.
Not to kill. Only to buy time.
Ryo didn't bother to look.
He tilted his head slightly. Observation Haki caught every lightning spear's path and the chakra flow beneath Kakuzu's feet.
Earth Release. Heart decapitation. He was trying to escape underground.
"Too slow."
Ryo stepped down. The earth buckled under him.
Power erupted. His body twisted through the gaps between the lightning spears. They seemed to bend away from him.
Kakuzu had already sunk halfway underground, only the top of his head visible. A hint of relief flashed in his deep green eyes.
A black-armored foot slammed down on his skull.
A thunderous crack shook the ground.
Shattered fissures spread across the earth in a spiderweb pattern. The force blasted through the soil and crushed Kakuzu's buried body.
His descent stopped abruptly. His hardened skin split with cracks and his organs shook violently.
The Earth mask-beast inside him screamed in pain. Yellow chakra flickered erratically.
Before Kakuzu could think, a shadow loomed over him.
Ryo didn't lift the first foot. His other foot rose like a battle axe, Armament shimmering.
Target. Kakuzu's cracked stone skull.
"Roar!" The Earth mask-beast shrieked, spewing muddy chakra upward, forming a thick barrier.
The Water mask-beast lunged forward, spraying viscous water to wrap around Ryo's descending leg.
"Pointless."
Ryo's cold voice fell.
His leg dropped faster. The black glow intensified.
A sharp crack sounded.
The earth barrier shattered instantly.
The water curtain burst into mist.
Ryo's foot smashed into Kakuzu's skull.
Sickening crunches followed. Cracks spidered across Kakuzu's hardened head. Green blood and tissue burst from the fissures.
Kakuzu's body spasmed violently in the crater. The Earth mask-beast shrieked once before dimming and collapsing.
"Third one." Ryo said quietly.
Only the Water mask-beast remained. Its swirling pattern distorted as chakra boiled wildly.
"Water Release Water Encampment Wall!"
A massive wave burst outward and expanded into a sticky, tarp-like dome, lunging at Ryo.
Being wrapped inside would immobilize him like sinking into tar.
At the same time, Kakuzu stabbed his hand into his left chest.
The black threads erupted violently. With a wet tear, he ripped out the damaged heart tied to the Water mask-beast.
"Forbidden Art Grudge Burial!"
He screamed hoarsely.
The severed heart lit up with blinding blue light. Black threads gushed from it and wrapped around the watery mass above, merging into a huge unstable sphere.
Blue and black chakra surged inside, ready to explode and annihilate the entire area.
"Not good!" Tsunade gasped. Orochimaru crouched slightly, eyes narrowing.
The blast radius would be large.
Ryo finally showed a flicker of emotion. A cold, bored one. As if watching a clown show.
At the instant the sphere expanded to critical mass, Ryo moved.
His right hand gripped the Kusanagi firmly for the first time.
A sharp sword cry rang through the entire town.
The blade fully left its sheath.
Armament wrapped the entire blade. A pure, absolute killing intent surged skyward.
No flashy technique. No shockwave. Just a line of dark red light slicing across the world.
Armament Draw-Cut.
The red line flashed and vanished.
Everything held still.
The unstable sphere froze mid-expansion.
Then a single clean cut line appeared.
No explosion.
No roar.
The two halves separated and dissolved silently. Water and black threads fell harmlessly to the ground.
The heart core split in two and dropped at Kakuzu's feet.
The Water mask-beast let out one weak cry and dissolved into mist.
Kakuzu slumped to his knees, a hollow chest cavity dripping green fluid.
His remaining eye was filled with death and despair.
"Fourth one." Ryo sheathed the blade, the click cutting through the silence.
He stepped toward Kakuzu, his boots sinking slightly into the muddy ground.
Kakuzu's right arm trembled violently. His remaining eye focused on Ryo with fear beyond reason.
His chest gaped open. Liquid seeped out.
His will collapsed.
Ryo stood over him, expression indifferent.
"One left."
Cold dread crawled down Kakuzu's spine.
The Fire heart beat wildly.
He slammed his hand into the ground again, black threads clawing desperately at the soil to dig down.
Ryo didn't watch.
His foot rose and stomped.
A loud crack.
Kakuzu's arm shattered, threads severed cleanly.
"Ahhh!" Kakuzu screamed, body convulsing.
He looked up, bloodshot eyes filled with terror. "Don't... don't kill me. Money... treasure... all yours... I will... pay..."
Ryo's gaze didn't waver.
He raised his right hand. Armament flowed over his fist like liquid night.
The punch fell like a meteor.
A deep crack thundered through the air.
Kakuzu's head jerked violently. His green eyes lost focus. His expression froze in despair.
His massive body toppled lifelessly into the mud and blood.
He was not dead. But his last heart, the Fire heart, had been nearly destroyed. He slipped into deep unconsciousness.
The Fire mask-beast whimpered faintly and disappeared.
Wind blew across the dead, ruined street. It lifted Ryo's crimson hair.
He lowered his fist. The black sheen faded.
Without looking at the unconscious Kakuzu, he said calmly, "Seal his chakra. Earth Grudge Fear requires him alive."
Tsunade finally relaxed, her chest loosening as she stared at Kakuzu's collapsed form.
She hurried forward. Green medical chakra formed precise seal patterns, locking into Kakuzu's chakra pathways.
These seals targeted not his body, but his chakra source and the core of Earth Grudge Fear, preventing him from using the technique to repair or escape.
Orochimaru watched Ryo with hungry fascination. His tongue brushed across his lips. "Such delightful strength and precision, Ryo-kun."
He stepped closer, eyes gleaming as he looked at Kakuzu. "A living Earth Grudge Fear user... far more valuable indeed."
(To be continued.)