In the forest, Kakuzu and Shin'yu stood facing each other. A gentle breeze stirred, creating an illusion of tranquility, but a palpable sense of oppression permeated the air.
"Hmph, it seems some rats have sneaked in," Kakuzu muttered with a sneer, glancing at the nearby woods.
Upon hearing this, the three little ones in the bushes hurriedly covered their mouths, holding their breaths and remaining motionless, with only their six eyes darting around.
Shin'yu stood with his hands behind his back, his black hair dancing in the wind. "You said it yourself, they're just rats, so there's no need to bother with them. Besides, they won't be able to escape the Barrier anyway."
Nian's eyes widened. Even though the man's face was covered with black cloth, he felt a chilling sensation of being watched by some kind of gaze.
Kakuzu raised his hand. "Heh heh, so you're saying you wouldn't care even if these little brats were caught in the crossfire and blown to pieces?"
"They're just Hidden Leaf Village brats, what do I care?" Shin'yu tilted his head. "Besides... I don't think you're capable of doing that."
"What?" Kakuzu's eyes widened, a dangerous glint flowing from his dark green pupils. "What do you mean?"
"What I mean is..." Shin'yu extended a finger, a meticulously carved smile playing on his lips. "You're weak."
Suddenly, the ground behind Shin'yu burst open, and a blurry fist shot towards his back like lightning.
It was a detached iron fist, connected to the wrist by several exceptionally tough black threads, like a rapidly firing iron cannon. The immense force it contained was enough to pierce through a steel plate!
However, a light, seemingly precognitive hand grasped the fist, and all the momentum instantly vanished with a gentle sway.
"Attacking from a blind spot, a very good tactic..." Shin'yu commented, "But you seem to have chosen the wrong target. I'm a sensory Ninja, I told you that when we first met..."
Before he could finish speaking, another fist shot over, only to be caught by Shin'yu's unerring hand.
"Fire Release: Head Engraving Suffering!"
Without hesitation, Kakuzu opened his mouth and spewed out a large amount of flames, like seawater pouring in reverse, turning everything in front of him to ashes. The temperature in the air instantly rose to over a thousand degrees.
"Well, I've been immersed in the way of Ninjutsu for quite some time these past few years, and I've gained some experience with Chakra nature transformation. I'll just use you as a test subject."
A leisurely voice floated from behind him, startling Kakuzu. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, and his entire right arm swung back like a whip, smashing a large tree in half.
A phantom flashed, and Shin'yu leaped into the air without anyone noticing. In the instant he inverted his body, he slowly made a hand-gun gesture.
"So fast!" Kakuzu finally felt the pressure and quickly made hand seals.
But it seemed Shin'yu was even faster.
"Water Release: Water Gun."
Shin'yu's lips curled up, and the air at his fingertips suddenly became moist. A bullet-like water droplet shot out!
Bang!
The sound of heavy objects colliding echoed. The water droplet shattered into glittering water droplets in Kakuzu's palm, and that palm had already turned completely black, pushed back slightly by the powerful force.
Kakuzu's expression turned grim. If he hadn't hardened his palm with the Earth Spear Technique in time, he would have been pierced through!
"Oh, earth counters water? Then how about Lightning Release...?"
The moment Shin'yu landed, he completed the hand seals, raising one hand high. "Lightning Release: False Darkness."
Blinding lightning illuminated the forest, accompanied by a rumbling explosion. Two lightning spears, completely condensed from lightning, shot through the air.
"Lightning Release: False Darkness!" Kakuzu hurriedly supported himself with both hands, arcs of electricity coiling around his palms. An identical spear of lightning appeared before him, colliding with Shin'yu's lightning!
"Boom!"
Electric light exploded, lightning coursed, and the surrounding trees were charred black by the lightning, yet the grass where the three little ones were hiding remained unscathed.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"
Before Kakuzu could catch his breath, a massive meteor-like fireball illuminated the forest, streaking towards him with a long trail of flames!
"What is that? Could this kid also be a ninja who has mastered all five Chakra natures!"
Kakuzu was somewhat flustered, mainly because Shin'yu's Ninjutsu were linked together too quickly, almost dazzlingly so.
The Lightning Release from just now was one thing, but this Fire Release didn't seem to require hand seals!
"Water Release: Water Encampment Wall!" Based on the theory of elemental advantage, he quickly used Water Release, spitting out a powerful jet of water to suppress the attack. The water screen spread out like a waterfall, enveloping the fireball, visibly boiling violently and generating a massive amount of water vapor.
As expected of the man at the top of the bounty list, his Ninjutsu alone are already not inferior to mine...
A drop of cold sweat trickled down Kakuzu's forehead as his mind raced.
He's a sensory ninja; this water vapor will obscure my vision. I must create a combat environment that favors me!
His Ninjutsu skills far surpass mine, so I'll have to rely on Taijutsu!
If that's the case, I can't let him set the pace; I need to suppress the situation as quickly as possible!
He immediately formed hand seals, took a deep breath, and exhaled violently, "Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"
The air let out a mournful wail as a high-pressure wind sphere surged forth, almost instantly clearing the water vapor. The storm twisted into a vortex, and the trees snapped with crisp sounds as swathes of them were uprooted, even the topsoil was torn away!
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Kakuzu infused a Fire Release into the hurricane, the wind fueling the fire, turning everything in front of him crimson red, finally granting him some breathing room.
He immediately removed his mask, tore his shirt, revealing his sturdy upper body covered in dense stitches, then clapped his hands together.
"Secret Technique: Earth Grudge Fear Mode!"
For the children who hadn't even graduated yet, this was an extremely terrifying scene.
Kakuzu opened his mouth, the stitches on both sides gradually splitting open, and at the same time, his chest began to split as well. Countless black threads emerged from the gaps all over his body, gradually forming two bizarre white masks on his shoulders.
"Ci La La—"
The black threads grew longer in the wind, slowly converging into eight tentacle-like giant black threads. In just a moment, he had transformed from a human into a three-headed black thread monster!
In the distant grass, Nen was already terrified, desperately covering his mouth, afraid that if he made even the slightest sound, the monster would notice him! If that happened, he would lose his two best friends.
The flames dissipated, the wind subsided, but Shin'yu still stood there unharmed.
The residual heat in the air had not yet dissipated, and through the distorted air, one could see a layer of smooth, transparent water film covering his body. No matter how fierce the flames were, he remained as clean as new, with even a faint rainbow surrounding him.
Shin'yu stood with his hands behind his back, when suddenly, an afterimage appeared before him, the force of the wind blowing his long hair and the black ribbon fluttering.
Kakuzu threw a punch at Shin'yu, having hardened his entire arm with the Earth Spear Technique to increase its strength!
Unfortunately, his fist didn't meet any resistance. Shin'yu gently tapped the back of his hand, and his entire arm deviated from its course.
Kakuzu's eyes flashed with ferocity, and the black thread tentacles behind him shot out like machine guns!
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