571. Chapter 554: Escape
"Not good!"
The moment the Golden-haired Monkey looked over, Kakuzu's heart trembled. Realizing the danger, he stomped his foot, intending to use Earth Escape Technique to leave this place.
Five Elements Escape Technique Manual—Minor Completion allows one to escape using the power of the Five Elements (Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth). Great Completion allows one to merge with the Five Elements and transform into the Four Great Elements (Earth, Fire, Wind, Water)! Requires 5000 Contribution Points, D-Rank Authority.
Ninjas excel at stealth, assassination, and intelligence gathering. For an Akatsuki member from the Naruto world, this Five Elements Escape Technique, which can be cast without Hand Seals, is undoubtedly the most suitable Cultivation Method!
Due to his limited funds, Kakuzu had only exchanged for the Earth Escape Technique and Water Style among the Five Elements Escape Technique. Relying on these two techniques, combined with various Ninjutsu, Kakuzu had been doing quite well in the Samsara Palace.
When Kakuzu's shoe soles touched the bluestone Ground, an earth-yellow light enveloped his entire body. His figure transformed into a streak of yellow light. At that moment, the Land beneath his feet seemed to turn into flowing water, and he rapidly stepped into it, disappearing without a trace in an instant.
Just as Kakuzu was escaping using the Earth Escape Technique, a cold laugh suddenly echoed in his ears: "All who come are guests. Why are you in such a hurry to leave? Are you perhaps dissatisfied with our hospitality?"
The Golden-haired Monkey watched Kakuzu escape Underground. He stretched out his long arm, extending a golden arm hundreds of feet long, and grabbed towards the Ground.
Crack, crack! Under the Golden-haired Monkey's palm, the Ground, as hard as iron and stone, directly cracked into several fissures that spread outwards. The Palace shook violently, and the entire structure collapsed with a crash.
However, the Great Hall within an area of several miles, along with the Ground's rock layer, shot straight up into the sky.
Hundreds of demon monsters who were feasting inside the Palace also soared into the Sky with strange laughter, scattering into The Void. Huge Boulders continuously flew up into the Sky, and were shattered one by one by the demonic winds they summoned and flames they spat out.
The Spider Demoness waved her colorful sleeves. Behind her, her demonic soul condensed into a Dharma Image of a poisonous spider, a hundred feet tall, which hissed through its enormous mouthparts.
Countless strands of webbing, condensed from demonic qi, formed a great net. When the Boulders fell onto the spiderweb, they were instantly cut into pebble-sized stones by this demonic qi.
There was a Rhino Monster with a tuft of hair on its head and a sharp horn on its nose, which spat out a mouthful of cold air. Countless Boulders were instantly frozen and exploded under the column of white gas.
As expected of the Rhino Demon Monster, true to its name as a ward against heat, the temperature plummeted under the white freezing gas it spat out. In just the blink of an eye, all the demon monsters in the Monster City began to tremble.
General Yin swung his arms, which were as thick as a normal person's thighs. With each punch, the Boulders, several people high, were easily smashed into dust.
Just as General Yin punched and shattered a Boulder that was hurtling towards him, a distorted yellow figure suddenly appeared from within the Boulder. A katana, flashing with cold light, slashed directly at General Yin's face.
"Roar!"
Facing the figure that suddenly appeared before him, General Yin's tiger fur bristled. Behind him, a phantom of a white-browed fierce tiger suddenly condensed into form and let out a tiger roar at the suddenly appearing figure.
Boom~~~ In front of that tiger roar, the figure flashing with yellow light was directly shaken and shattered.
"Hmm? Wood!"
General Yin looked at the sky full of sawdust shattered by his tiger roar, a hint of doubt in his tiger eyes.
At the same time, over a dozen streaks of light broke out in all directions. An Elephant Spirit wrapped its long nose around a house-sized Boulder and hurled it towards the figures rushing towards it. The Boulder, under its immense strength, caused the air to explode with a shockwave, directly smashing the figures into pieces. However, the shattered figures turned into a cloud of white mist and dissipated.
There were also figures rushing towards the Spider Demoness. Before they could even reach her, they were directly cut into scattered pieces by the barely visible webbing. Bang, bang, bang—these severed limbs also turned into white mist and dissipated.
Kakuzu held his breath, hiding within a falling Boulder, watching his released Multi-Shadow Clones and puppets being shattered one by one.
He observed the strength of these demon monsters while waiting for the moment the Boulder landed. These Multi-Shadow Clones and puppets were merely a diversion he released to attract the attention of these demon monsters. As soon as the Boulder hit the Ground, he could use Earth Escape Technique to escape Underground.
After conjuring over a dozen Multi-Shadow Clones, interspersed with puppet dummies, it was just as Kakuzu expected. These demon monsters were distracted by the dummies and simultaneously slowed down the frequency of their attack on the Boulders.
Just as Kakuzu thought his plan had succeeded, a mocking fierce gaze flashed in the eyes of the Golden-haired Monkey standing high above.
He opened his mouth and spat out a golden light that directly pierced through the Boulder where Kakuzu was hiding. "Bang!" Kakuzu, along with the Boulder, was blasted into a cloud of dust. In the floating dust, Kakuzu's figure reformed.
Touching his empty chest, Kakuzu, who had lost a heart, formed an Invisibility Spell and quietly merged into The Void—
However, Kakuzu had underestimated the strength of those demon monsters. After the Invisibility Talisman on his body was blasted apart, trying to hide from these powerful demon monsters with an Invisibility Spell driven by chakra was still a bit lacking.
Soon, several demon monsters with sensitive sense of smell sniffed out the taste of blood food. The Dog Demon, with its sensitive nose, kept approaching Kakuzu.
"My dear brothers, don't fight over it. Can this blood food belong to your younger sister?" The Spider Demoness said with a coquettish laugh, while spitting out white webbing as thick as a little finger from her navel. Several spiderwebs instantly sealed off Kakuzu's front, back, left, right, up, and down. Seeing his retreat sealed off, Kakuzu's face turned ruthless. He fiercely tapped the video camera hanging on his chest several times, transmitting all the recorded data and simultaneously sending out coordinate information.
Having done all this, Kakuzu suddenly revealed his figure in mid-air. Facing the Dog Demon, which was close at hand and sniffing incessantly, he raised his hands, and two high-force laser handguns appeared in them.
Swish swish swish swish swish swish swish swish—
Kakuzu tightly squeezed the trigger, emptying the energy magazines of both handguns in one go. Nearly a hundred laser beams struck the Dog Demon head-on, instantly turning it into a sieve.
This Dog Demon had no notable origin. It was just a wild dog from over a hundred years ago. During a chaotic era, the Dog Demon devoured a large number of corpses in a mass grave, fusing with the resentment of those who died violent deaths, thus transforming into a demon monster.
It had litter after litter of Dog Demons with a pack of female dogs, occupying several villages and towns in the southwestern borderlands, raising humans as blood food.
Two years ago, Exorcists from the Demon Subduing Division, together with Reincarnators, destroyed its Lair and slaughtered its pack of dogs. However, this Dog Demon escaped a kalpa by hiding in a Temple.
As for why the monks in that Temple helped it, it was quite laughable. The Old Monk in that Temple felt that this Dog Demon had Buddhist nature, believing that 'Lay down the butcher knife and become a Buddha on the spot'. He wanted to take this Dog Demon as a protector for the Buddhist Sect.
However, this Dog Demon was accustomed to eating people and could not endure the austere life of the Temple. After confirming that the Demon Subduing Division people had left, it killed several monks in the Temple, made them into dried food, hid its tracks, escaped the Great Tang Dynasty, and sought refuge in Flower and Fruit Mountain.
It prided itself on its sensitive nose and wanted to get to the blood food before other demon monsters. It never expected to be greeted by two high-force laser guns capable of penetrating the armor of US Military main battle tanks. The Dog Demon let out a tragic whimper before falling from high above.
"Bang bang bang—"
After succeeding in one strike and eliminating the Dog Demon with the sensitive sense of smell, Kakuzu flicked his hands, and several concussion grenades and flashbangs flew out. The exploding white light and low-pitched infrasound instantly caused a small riot among the demon monsters.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Kakuzu quickly formed hand seals with his hands. His entire body split into dozens of Multi-Shadow Clones in a cloud of white mist. These Multi-Shadow Clones formed hand seals again, and in an instant, the sky was filled with Kakuzu's figures.
These "Kakuzus" held high-explosive grenades in their hands and wore triggered bomb vests on their bodies, and began to break out in all directions.
When encountering the obstructing spiderwebs, the "Kakuzus" fearlessly charged forward, throwing out stacks of explosive tags and pulling the pins on the hand grenades in their hands!
"Boom boom boom boom boom—"
"Boom boom boom boom—"
For a time, the sky was filled with firelight. Shrapnel from the exploding high-explosive grenades and bomb vests shot out in all directions. As everyone knows, Kakuzu has an indescribable obsession with money. After joining the Samsara Palace, this idea of his changed slightly.
It wasn't that he was no longer obsessed with money, but rather that the definition of money in his concept had changed somewhat.
Compared to Contribution Points, what were the banknotes, silver, and gold issued by the Daimyo worth?
After developing the habit of not considering gold as money, the Akatsuki members bought various firearms and bombs in large quantities. After all, in some Cycle Worlds, these weapons were not valuable. Under the research of Deidara, Sasori, Konan, Orochimaru, and others, they developed a set of tactics based on the Multi-Shadow Clone technique.
"Explosion is Art!"
They utilized the Ninjutsu of Multi-Shadow Clone in conjunction with firearms, explosives, and guns, forming a unique 'Explosive Troop Stream' tactic.
Each Multi-Shadow Clone carried explosives equivalent to hundreds of kilograms of TNT. Hundreds or even thousands of Multi-Shadow Clones were enough to make any enemy feel terror.
Perhaps the only restraint on the effectiveness of this tactic was the capacity of their Spatial Equipment to carry explosives.
Facing the human bombs rushing down one by one, as the saying goes, the fierce fear the reckless, and the reckless fear those who don't value their life. When those demon monsters witnessed the terror of these madmen, they quietly moved back a position one by one.
Kakuzu, mixed among the clones, keenly noticed an opening. Bang bang bang bang—
After a burst of white smoke, the number of Kakuzu clones in mid-air doubled again. Mixed among dozens of clones, Kakuzu rushed towards the direction of the Elephant Spirit.
The Elephant Spirit watched the "Kakuzus" rushing towards it from afar, its heart slightly trembling. It had personally seen the force of these terrifying things after they exploded. Although it had thick skin and flesh and wasn't afraid of these explosions, it hurt when these things exploded on its body. The Elephant Spirit subconsciously retreated a few steps—
"Boom boom boom boom boom—"
Over a dozen clones triggered the bomb vests on their bodies. The soaring firelight instantly enveloped the sky. Taking this opportunity, Kakuzu rushed towards the outside of the Monster City.
Kakuzu's speed was very fast, especially when his life was at stake. Under the cover of the clones self-destructing one by one behind him, he rushed out dozens of miles in one breath. He could already see the Monster Kingdom city wall not far away.
Suddenly, his footsteps stopped. In the air not far in front of him, stood a Golden-haired Monkey, whose height was a full fifteen or sixteen feet.
The Golden-haired Monkey's eyes glowed with golden light, filled with curiosity: "Although those guys are all cannon fodder in the eyes of us Thirteen Protectors of Flower-Fruit Mountain, when these cannon fodder gather together, they are somewhat useful. You were actually able to escape to here. What are those things that explode? Gunpowder? I've seen your human gunpowder, but it doesn't have such great force!"
Kakuzu looked at the Golden-haired Monkey, his heart slightly shaken. This Monkey, simply by standing there, gave him a sense of having no escape route.
Seeing the Golden-haired Monkey blocking his way, Kakuzu quickly formed hand seals with his hands, planning to repeat his old trick. Bang bang, in the white mist, dozens of clones appeared. When the Golden-haired Monkey saw the clones Kakuzu had split out, it revealed its sharp fangs, let out a roar towards the sky, its golden fur bristled, and a layer of golden light rippled outwards. With a roar, the golden light rippled like a water ripple. Kakuzu's Multi-Shadow Clones, conjured with chakra, could not withstand the force of the golden light one by one and exploded back into white mist.
"Those little exploding toys of yours are somewhat interesting. As for clone technique, you're still far from great completion!"
Saying this, the Golden-haired Monkey plucked a few monkey hairs from its body, chewed them into dust in its mouth, and then spat them out in one breath.
Countless pieces of shredded hair floated in the air for a moment, turning into thousands of Golden-haired Monkeys, surrounding Kakuzu.
Seeing this scene, Kakuzu's heart instantly turned cold. He didn't know that this technique of splitting into thousands was a specialty of the Flower-Fruit Mountain lineage.
During cultivation, they would cultivate their monkey hair day and night as if it were a Second Primordial Spirit or Outer Body Incarnation, tempering it with magic power. When facing an enemy, they could spray it out.
Each transformed self possessed half of their main body's strength. Although these monkey hair clones were not long-lasting, it was still an extremely formidable technique.
Realizing the danger, Kakuzu didn't have time to think further. He mobilized the chakra within his body, and his figure rapidly rushed towards the Golden-haired Monkey's main body.
The Golden-haired Monkey didn't dodge, merely watching him with a cold laugh. The moment Kakuzu approached the Golden-haired Monkey, his figure instantly split into over a dozen figures, darting out from beside the Golden-haired Monkey and flying towards the direction of the city gate.
The Golden-haired Monkey curled its long tail, and a golden rainbow wrapped around one of the Kakuzus.
Kakuzu let out a muffled grunt, bound tightly by a golden rope, his entire body crisscrossed with ropes, tied up like a zongzi.
The Golden-haired Monkey curled up its tail, lifted Kakuzu in front of it, and reached out to stroke Kakuzu's chest, seemingly noticing the human's abnormal condition.
Suddenly, the Golden-haired Monkey raised its head and looked into the distance.
Fighter jets roared from high above in the distance, filling every corner of the sky. They roared and spat out countless tongues of fire, and a dense torrent of bullets, like a rainstorm, rolled towards the Golden-haired Monkey.
Swish swish swish swish swish—
Beneath the fighter jets, dense Hellfire missiles also locked onto the Golden-haired Monkey and the demon monsters in the Monster Kingdom below at the same time. "Boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom—"
(end of chapter)