Chapter 46: Water Release: Water Fang Blade! Believe in Miracles!
Kakuzu didn't let his guard down even slightly after speaking.
He watched three shuriken hurtling toward his vital points, uncertain of what was happening, but simply assumed Tsukasa had gotten lucky with his aim.
A cold glint flashed in his eyes as he stomped his foot against the cliff face, sending rocks flying. He launched a high whip kick.
The rocks tore through the night air, deflecting two shuriken with a metallic clang. Kakuzu sidestepped the third.
Meanwhile, Tsukasa had already closed the distance.
Twisting his stance, his kunai spun into an elegant pattern before he thrust it straight toward Kakuzu's chest—aiming directly for his heart.
Kakuzu immediately adjusted his position, pivoted sideways, and followed up with a vicious elbow strike aimed at Tsukasa's face.
The movement was so fast that Tsukasa's eyes couldn't track it clearly. He felt the hairs on his neck stand on end, danger signals blazing.
[Talent: Combat Intuition (Beginner, S-Rank) activated.]
He instinctively ducked, narrowly avoiding the incoming elbow strike.
This momentarily surprised Kakuzu.
While he wasn't a taijutsu specialist, his seventy years of combat experience and the enhanced physical capabilities from Earth Grudge Fear meant his movements were far beyond what a single-tomoe Sharingan should be able to track.
Tsukasa seized Kakuzu's brief opening and immediately slashed his kunai toward Kakuzu's left ankle.
Simultaneously, he executed a side kick from his basic taijutsu repertoire, targeting Kakuzu's supporting leg with a coordinated two-pronged assault.
Kakuzu's gaze sharpened as the stitches on his left foot detached, releasing seven or eight Earth Grudge Fear threads that ensnared Tsukasa's kunai. Then, with a scorpion-tail maneuver, he swung his right leg upward and launched a devastating kick toward Tsukasa's face.
Tsukasa's instincts screamed again as he crossed his arms to block.
He gripped his kunai tightly, attempting to sever the fine Earth Grudge Fear threads wrapped around it.
He was then sent flying through the air.
SNAP!
The threads severed simultaneously.
"It's over!"
Kakuzu declared coldly. With one violent motion, he grabbed Tsukasa's face with his palm and slammed him against the cliff wall.
WHAM!
The impact was so powerful that rocks shattered and blood sprayed.
Tsukasa's vision spun, his face distorted by the crushing force. With his last fragment of consciousness, he managed to stuff something from his kunai into his ninja tool pouch.
Kakuzu lifted the dazed Tsukasa from the cliff face once more, his eyes cold as he sneered:
"It seems you're nothing special after all."
"Who gave you the courage to challenge me alone?"
With that, Kakuzu's gaze turned icy as he delivered a devastating straight punch to Tsukasa's stomach!
Then came a headbutt followed by a knee to the face, an aerial spinning kick to the shoulder, a scorpion-tail kick to the chest, a spinning elbow to the jaw, a sweep to the legs, a kick to the back of the head, and finally another kick to the face.
Each strike was merciless, unleashing his full power on Tsukasa!
The final kick launched Tsukasa like a projectile, slamming him into the barrier's edge. His head was covered in blood, his face barely recognizable as human.
"Hmph!" Kakuzu released a breath.
Even a boulder would have been shattered by that assault, let alone a human body.
However, Kakuzu glanced toward the corner, frowning slightly at the motionless Tsukasa lying there.
"The barrier hasn't opened yet, so he's still alive?"
Beyond the barrier, separated by the translucent wall, Mei Terumi and Hidan could only watch as Tsukasa charged forward with reckless determination.
And then, swiftly—in less than a minute—Kakuzu had sent him flying back with a merciless combination of strikes.
It was brutal.
He no longer looked like the confident young man from a minute ago. Now he resembled nothing more than pulverized meat.
Mei Terumi: "..."
Hidan: "..."
They both fell silent.
So, big brother, you talked such a big game, but you couldn't even land a proper hit before getting demolished.
What exactly were you trying to accomplish?
However, at this moment, Tsukasa—who had been beaten into a bloody mess—suddenly moved his fingers, slowly grasped the barrier and cliff face, and began climbing up.
The swelling and horrific wounds covering his head rapidly subsided and healed.
Soon, there wasn't even a trace of injury remaining.
This miraculous recovery was caused by Tsukasa activating the technique he'd recently acquired from Shinnō—
Forbidden Technique: Physical Regeneration.
It could rapidly heal injuries by consuming life force and stamina.
In the future, Orochimaru would even develop this as the foundation for advanced regeneration techniques.
Tsukasa regained his full strength and stood upright.
Though covered in blood and looking fierce and intimidating, his spirit remained completely undiminished.
Far from feeling any shame at his defeat, he actually laughed heartily while panting.
"Hahahahaha!"
"I knew it!"
Tsukasa pulled a kunai from his ninja tool pouch, untied the Earth Grudge Fear thread wrapped around it, and wound it around his finger, testing its tension.
"It's about as tough as ninja wire, and without Kakuzu's chakra controlling it, he can't manipulate it remotely."
"It can be used as a ninja tool!"
Mei Terumi and Hidan, watching from outside, were stunned. Seeing Tsukasa's delighted expression, they felt their throats tighten.
Is he insane? He rushed in and got beaten senseless just to figure out this random detail?
Mei Terumi glared at Tsukasa, who stood just a step away yet completely separated.
She pounded on the barrier and shouted angrily:
"Hurry up and open this barrier and let me in!"
"You'll die if you keep going like this!"
"Huh?" Tsukasa heard the voice and turned around. Seeing Mei Terumi and Hidan still there, he was speechless.
"Why haven't you left yet?"
"Didn't I tell you to run?"
Hearing this, not only Mei Terumi but even Hidan's face showed anger.
"Stop playing the self-righteous hero!"
"If we're leaving, we're leaving together!"
"..." Tsukasa fell silent for a moment, genuinely unsure how to respond.
Finally, he pretended not to hear and changed the subject, addressing them seriously:
"This isn't some random detail. This information is crucial to my strategy!"
Then Tsukasa looked at Mei Terumi and asked earnestly:
"It's fortunate you're still here."
"Could you tell me the hand seals for the Water Fang Blade technique?"
Mei Terumi frowned slightly.
The Water Fang Blade was considered a secret technique of the Terumi Clan. The future Sixth Mizukage, Chōjūrō, would use it against Ōtsutsuki Urashiki.
Capable of withstanding the Six Paths Ninja Tools used by Ōtsutsuki Urashiki, combined with its shape-changing properties and low chakra consumption, it was highly valuable ninjutsu.
Hesitation crossed her face, but after a moment's consideration, she spoke:
What are you planning to do?"
Tsukasa nodded. While the single-tomoe Sharingan could perceive the flow of chakra in a person's body, it was only a rough approximation—far from sufficient to copy a technique completely.
However, once he knew the hand seals combined with the recorded chakra flow pattern, he would have a high probability of replicating the ninjutsu.
Tsukasa had already tested his natural chakra affinities and found them to be Water and Fire—perfectly meeting the requirements for this technique.
"Well, you'll see in a moment."
Without further explanation, Tsukasa turned and formed hand seals around his kunai.
With just two attempts, he successfully condensed a spiraling water blade approximately two and a half feet long from the kunai.
Earlier, Tsukasa had keenly observed that this technique, when used by Mei Terumi, had severed Kakuzu's Earth Grudge Fear threads.
And the brief, intense exchange had proven that in pure taijutsu—even with his Sharingan activated and his innate combat intuition—Tsukasa was no match for Kakuzu's seventy-plus years of combat experience.
If he simply relied on basic attacks, he would inevitably lose!
However, in the world of shinobi, ninjutsu was the very thing that created miracles!
Tsukasa, possessing vast knowledge of forbidden techniques and masterful shuriken manipulation skills, believed that a miracle would eventually unfold through his hands!
So—the first step was to borrow some ninja tools from Kakuzu!
End of Chapter 46
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