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The tentacle pierced Ugo, yet the flames enveloping his body showed no sign of extinguishing.
Kakuzu was taken aback.
This guy really doesn't care about living anymore!
He quickly used his mask monster to extract Ugo's heart, followed immediately by a violent explosion—flesh and blood splattered everywhere.
Midorima, unable to dodge in time, was sent flying by the shockwave. He hastily wiped the blood from his lips and turned to look at Tsunade.
Her face was deathly pale, her hands clasped together over her chest. She no longer resembled one of the legendary Sannin but instead looked like a helpless little girl, as if her soul had been drained from her body.
Damn it… her hemophobia.
Though the battle had been intense, neither side had shed much blood up until now.
Ugo was an exception—the more he was beaten, the stronger he became. By the time Tsunade considered going all out, it was questionable whether she could even defeat him.
As for Kakuzu, his body was entirely composed of Earth Grudge Fear, containing almost no blood. Thus, Tsunade's hemophobia hadn't been exposed.
But now, Ugo had exploded into a gruesome mess of flesh and blood—impossible to ignore.
The psychological trauma from the Second Great Ninja War had left too deep a scar on Tsunade. Her younger brother and lover had died one after another, and her pride—her medical ninjutsu—had been powerless to save either of them. That overwhelming sense of failure had instilled in her a deep aversion, an instinct to flee.
If she didn't see blood, she wouldn't have to relive those terrible memories.
Midorima understood Tsunade's plight and sympathized with her, but now was not the time to dwell on it.
Even if they somehow survived today, Kakuzu—now aware of Tsunade's hemophobia—would never let her go.
"Tsunade… you're exhausted. Rest for now."
Midorima had been closest to Ugo when he exploded, suffering the worst of the blast. The impact had nearly forced blood from his mouth, and tiny bone fragments had embedded themselves in his flesh. On top of that, two consecutive battles had drained his chakra reserves to near zero.
Simply walking required immense willpower, let alone fighting an opponent like Kakuzu.
But if he didn't stand in front of Tsunade now, Kakuzu would realize her fear of blood and act without restraint.
In other words, if Midorima didn't shield her, they would both die here.
Kakuzu observed Tsunade's state with slight confusion. This is the strength of the Sannin? She's already exhausted after just a few exchanges? Even Orochimaru wasn't this weak.
However, Midorima stepping forward distracted him from his suspicions.
He still wanted Midorima's heart—badly.
"Kid, did killing Ugo give you confidence? I'm nothing like that trash," Kakuzu sneered.
"I know you're strong. And I also know you're despicable—otherwise, you wouldn't have carved out your comrade's heart after killing him." Midorima's scalp prickled as he stared at the heart wrapped in black tendrils.
They had barely managed to destroy the fire-style mask monster, only for Kakuzu to replace it with another—this time, his own ally's.
"He was a proud man. Losing to a small-time ninja like you humiliated him, so he chose to self-destruct. I'm just making use of the scraps. Otherwise, this heart would've turned to mush like the rest of him." Kakuzu spoke as if his actions were perfectly natural.
Midorima scoffed but inwardly recalled another member of the Akatsuki—Deidara, the suicide bomber who had self-destructed in his battle against Sasuke.
This damn organization really has no shortage of freaks.
"Besides, this heart is more than just an ally to me." Kakuzu deliberately left his words hanging.
"What are you trying to say? That these ugly things make you immortal? I wonder what'll happen if I destroy every last one of them."
If Kakuzu wouldn't reveal his secrets, Midorima would force them into the open.
His words were more for Tsunade's benefit—to tell her how to kill this monster.
Sure enough, hearing this, Tsunade slowly regained her focus, though her face remained pale.
"Tsunade, you should still take a moment to recover," Midorima urged.
Because of her hemophobia, Tsunade's combat ability was highly unstable. But with Ugo dead, only Kakuzu remained. Even if they couldn't defeat him outright, they could at least buy time—after that, it would depend on Tsunade's recovery.
Then again, without Tsunade, he would have died long ago.
You can't be too greedy.
"No… If you're fighting this hard, how can I just stand by? And if you're calling me 'big sis,' I can't just abandon you, can I?" Tsunade fixed her gaze on Midorima.
"Tch…" Midorima hadn't expected that response. He sighed deeply. "Then… thank you, big sis."
During this exchange, Kakuzu had finished assimilating Ugo's heart into a new mask monster, restoring his forces to four—Ugo's peak strength.
Midorima, after prolonged combat and the explosion's aftermath, was visibly exhausted. The regenerative effects of his Cell Laboratory were barely keeping him together.
The balance of power had shifted, but Midorima had no choice but to grit his teeth and endure.
Just then, the fire-style and water-style mask monsters merged, their chakras intertwining ominously.
A chill ran down Midorima's spine. "Big sis, get behind me! Hold your breath!"
Fire was weak against wind when the two clashed directly—but when combined, their power multiplied. A fire fanned by wind only grew stronger.
Kakuzu's technique was a fusion of fire and wind—Combination Ninjutsu: Enton Ranpu / Kimen Bakuen—Fire Release: Intelligent Hard Work merging with Wind Release: Pressure Damage, creating a terrifying sea of flames.
Midorima formed hand signs, and water surged from his mouth like a raging tide, instantly forming a massive oval-shaped barrier around him and Tsunade. The water didn't spill outward but instead expanded continuously as he poured more chakra into it.
The inferno collided with the water sphere, steam erupting—only to be instantly swallowed by the surging currents.
[Overload Activated…]
A prompt flashed in Midorima's mind, warning him that his chakra had been overdrawn, forcing him to tap into reserves.
But he had no other choice.
The two mask monsters were relentlessly pouring out chakra. If he let up now, the flames would consume them.