"You have it on you?"
Kawaki asked casually. Kakuzu didn't dare to answer right away.
If he said it was on him, would he have to hand it over himself?
If he said it wasn't, then why would the other person believe him?
Before Kakuzu could respond, Kawaki spoke again.
"A tempting amount."
Kawaki smirked in satisfaction.
Of course, who in this world doesn't love money?
"So, you're agreeing then?"
Joy flickered across Kakuzu's face as his tense nerves eased.
"Wrong. You misread me."
"My money I'll give, but your life I'm taking too."
Kawaki tilted his head, eyes gleaming with mockery.
Letting Kakuzu walk free? Not only would Tsunade never forgive him—he wouldn't be able to live with himself either.
"You're too greedy."
Kakuzu stepped back cautiously, eyes wary.
The sudden burst of speed Kawaki had shown before chilled him to the bone.
Even now, he couldn't make sense of how Kawaki had appeared behind him.
"If someone else said that, I might agree."
"And you, Kakuzu—what gives you the right to say that?"
Kawaki slowly closed in, exuding overwhelming pressure.
"I..."
Kakuzu thought for a moment and found himself speechless.
Truthfully, he himself was the greedier one.
If not for being blinded by the enormous bounty, he wouldn't have come to Konoha at all.
"Will you surrender quietly or do I have to beat you into submission?"
Kawaki clenched his fist, producing a crisp cracking sound.
Each step seemed to land on Kakuzu's chest, his aura swelling more and more.
To Kakuzu, the lightning crackling around Kawaki seemed even brighter.
"You wish."
With things having come to this, Kakuzu abandoned all hope.
The gaping wound across his chest had already been sewn shut by himself during their conversation.
At least outwardly, it no longer looked serious.
If he could just escape with his life, replacing his heart would be the least of it.
"Haaa!"
With a roar, eight thick black threads burst from Kakuzu's upper body.
His entire figure became monstrous and terrifying.
"Such a bothersome secret technique."
Kawaki showed no trace of panic as the eight black lines wrapped toward him.
He lightly leaped, easily escaping their range.
Peng!!
After a thunderous boom, a deep crater—half a person in height—formed where Kawaki had stood.
[Lightning Release: False Darkness]
Kakuzu hadn't expected to hit Kawaki.
With hands forming Hand Seals, the thunderous mask beast on his shoulder spat out a sharp lightning spear straight ahead.
It struck in an instant!!
"You actually use Lightning Release against me. Is your mind still clear?"
Still in midair, Kawaki smirked.
"Break."
A simple punch, without any flourish—just like when he shattered Kakuzu's Chakra Cannon.
That lightning spear wasn't even worth dodging.
After that single punch, Kawaki disappeared from Kakuzu's view again.
Remembering what happened moments ago, Kakuzu quickly turned around, expecting Kawaki to attack from behind.
"Sorry, you guessed wrong."
"I'll be claiming your second heart now."
Kawaki pulled his arm free and flew away rapidly.
A gaping hole had been ripped open in Kakuzu's chest.
"If you're not going to kill me outright, what's the point of mocking me?"
This time, Kakuzu didn't even bother sealing his wound. His composure was on the verge of breaking.
He'd never encountered an opponent like this before.
Impeccable defense, unpredictable speed.
No strategy came to mind that could break this deadlock.
The vast experience he once prided himself on now felt shallow and meaningless.
"And if I kill you, who'll give me the money?"
"That nine hundred million ryo…"
At this moment, Kawaki's demeanor was pure villainy—the kind of laughter that chills your blood.
Wasting a little more time over nine hundred million ryo was worth it. He was sure Tsunade wouldn't mind.
"You must be fantasizing. Even in death, I'll say nothing."
Kakuzu wasn't some naive rookie. Not a single word from Kawaki entered his ears as truth.
Kawaki could have either the money or his life—but not both.
"Is that so?"
"Then go die!!"
This was the first time Kawaki initiated an attack himself.
Swift as wind, fierce as lightning.
Before Kakuzu could react, Kawaki's massive fist was already in front of his face.
In haste, he manipulated his black threads to intertwine, forming a massive shield around him.
"How unoriginal."
After a few clashes, Kawaki had fully grasped the strength of those black threads.
"Ahh—!"
Kakuzu flew backward from the impact. His Earth Grudge Fear shield was utterly powerless against Kawaki.
[Wood Release: Four-Pillar Prison Technique!]
Before Kakuzu hit the ground, Kawaki clapped his hands together.
A massive wooden cage sprouted from the land, instantly swallowing Kakuzu inside.
"You really think it's that easy to trap me?"
So the rumors were true after all—Hatake Kawaki really did possess Wood Release techniques.
Blood wiped from the corner of his mouth, Kakuzu furiously attacked the wooden prison with his black threads.
Yet how could ordinary wood compare to the strength of the Wood Release?
Hashirama's Wood Release could rival even the Susanoo. While Kawaki may not have reached that level, he was still far beyond what Kakuzu could handle.
Seeing his attacks fail, Kakuzu grew increasingly frantic, rapidly burning through his chakra reserves.
"Let's make this hurt even more."
Kawaki murmured softly. As he poured more chakra into it, changes occurred within the cage.
Spines began sprouting from every wooden beam—slowly at first.
Kakuzu's range of movement shrank as the spikes advanced. Unless something changed, only one fate awaited him—impalement until his body turned into a sieve.
This chapter isn't over yet—more excitement ahead!
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"I wonder how many hearts you'll manage to keep intact now."
Kawaki's voice drifted casually into Kakuzu's ears.
"Don't kid yourself."
[Earth Release: Earth Spear!]
Kakuzu abandoned offense entirely, shifting fully to defense.
After completing the hand seal, his entire skin turned pitch black.
He had used this technique before to survive countless Explosive Tag detonations without a scratch.
As the wooden spines touched Kakuzu, they made zero progress forward.
With continued growth, the spines began cracking apart.
These spines weren't nearly as durable as the original wood composing the prison.
"Hahaha! This move can't kill me!"
Seeing his jutsu succeed, Kakuzu laughed loudly.
"Hmph, interesting."
"How about this technique?"
Kawaki formed a single hand seal, causing the wooden prison to rapidly shrink.
The spines shattered as they struck Kakuzu, and the wooden cage continued shrinking.
In the end, Kakuzu's entire body was squeezed tight inside the wooden prison. The crushing pressure felt like it was tearing apart his insides.
If he was crushed into pulp, even five extra hearts wouldn't save him.
"Please! I don't want to die... not yet!"
Under death's shadow, Kakuzu was far less tough than he imagined himself to be.
His voice was already breaking with desperation.
Unless pushed to this point, he would never stoop to begging a younger man like this.
"Just kidding."
As Kawaki spoke, the pressure vanished abruptly, and the crushing force of the wooden prison ceased.
"I still need to bring you back to face Hokage-sama's judgment."
Kawaki calmly stepped forward and lifted the wooden prison with one hand.
Kakuzu tried to shift his body, but there wasn't even an inch of space to move.
"Stay still. Your life or death isn't up to me anymore."
Kawaki pushed off the ground lightly with the tip of his foot and shot forward.
Kakuzu helplessly let his head droop.
The shoeshiner finally gets tripped up by his own shoelace!!
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