Now, Kakuzu's face turned grim.
What he hated most was when people brought up the First Hokage in front of him.
Some even whispered that the First Hokage's death had something to do with Kakuzu's failed assassination attempt.
Those people had way too much time on their hands.
"Oh? Getting flustered now? Embarrassed? So that means the rumors I heard are true? That's pretty pathetic," Yoruha said with a shrug, smirking as he mocked Kakuzu.
He was starting to understand why so many ninja loved trash talk before a fight—mockery made enemies reckless, and reckless enemies made easy targets. No wonder trash talk was practically tradition in the ninja world.
At that moment, Kakuzu's eyes filled with murderous intent.
A terrifying surge of chakra burst from his body.
Four monsters wearing grotesque masks emerged from him—his Earth Grudge Fear hearts.
"You want to die?" Kakuzu growled coldly.
Without hesitation, he opened with his ultimate attack.
"Fire Release: Searing Migraine!"
"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"
"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"
"Water Release: Water Tentacle!"
"Earth Release: Twin Dragon Bullets!"
In a matter of seconds, Kakuzu and his four masked beasts unleashed an awe-inspiring display of the Five Elemental Natures. Five distinct chakra natures clashed and swirled in the air like a chaotic storm, roaring toward Yoruha.
Even Asuma and the rest were stunned.
Sure, there were a few ninja in history who could use all five elemental natures…
But using them simultaneously?
That was insane.
Yoruha, however, merely smirked.
With a snap of his fingers, five shadow clones materialized beside him.
Each of them immediately began weaving different hand signs.
"Water Release: Giant Waterfall!"
"Fire Release: Majestic Destroyer Flame!"
"Wind Release: Vacuum Severing Blade!"
"Earth Release: Rotating Pillars!"
"Lightning Release: Thunder Spear!"
Yoruha's counterattack burst forth through his clones—five jutsu, each carefully chosen to counter Kakuzu's attacks in the most efficient way possible.
Unlike the sages of the three great lands who liked brute force duels, Yoruha fought with precision.
Boom!
The battlefield exploded with elemental fury.
Asuma had never seen anything like it.
"Ino… isn't your brother supposed to be a sword-style ninja? What the hell is this?" he asked, stunned.
Ino gulped. "Uh… my brother said elemental ninjutsu was too basic, so he usually just uses a sword instead. Normally, we don't even see him use these jutsu."
She'd known her brother had mastered all seven chakra natures…
But to see him use all five at once like this?
It was insane.
"Man… good thing Yoruha's here. Otherwise, this fight would've gone sideways fast. Right, Shikamaru?" Choji said as he calmly pulled out a fresh bag of chips.
Guess he wouldn't have to do much after all.
Good thing he packed snacks.
"Yeah... having Yoruha here really makes things easy," Shikamaru muttered with a sigh.
Though Kakuzu's jutsu was impressive, Yoruha's chakra was unnaturally pure—almost like a Tailed Beast's.
But unlike the chakra of Tailed Beasts, Yoruha's was refined through his own training and cultivation. That made his elemental attacks devastating.
In just one clash, all four of Kakuzu's additional hearts—his masked beasts—were obliterated.
Kakuzu's body was mangled. His strength was gone.
Yoruha walked up to the defeated man, looked down at him, and shook his head.
"Earth Grudge Fear isn't bad... but without the Hero Water from Takigakure to amplify it, it'll never reach its true potential."
The Hero Water and Earth Grudge Fear were the two forbidden treasures of Takigakure.
Earth Grudge Fear let Kakuzu collect others' hearts and extend his life—up to five hearts at once.
Hero Water was said to multiply chakra output by tenfold. Used together, it would've been terrifying.
With four hearts and four bottles of Hero Water?
That'd be a 40x chakra boost—enough to possibly match a Tailed Beast.
Too bad Kakuzu hadn't brought any.
"Yoruha… no wonder you were able to beat Sasori and Deidara. Your power is way beyond what the Akatsuki predicted," Kakuzu muttered, coughing blood.
"But it's all meaningless…"
"In the eyes of our leader, your fate is already sealed."
"You want to know the truth behind those eyes of his?"
He was clearly trying to rattle Yoruha, plant seeds of doubt before dying.
Yoruha just shrugged. "Oh, you mean the Rinnegan? Yeah, there's no mystery there. I already know everything I need to."
Then Yoruha knelt beside Kakuzu, grinning. "Since you're in a sharing mood… let me share something too."
"Do you know where all the money you earned for the Akatsuki went?"
Kakuzu's eyes twitched.
He had made a fortune over the years—bounty hunting, assassinations, all for the organization.
But the Akatsuki's funds never seemed to go toward anything meaningful. He had always wondered...
Maybe the leader was saving up to bribe an entire ninja nation.
Maybe it was for raising an army.
That would've made sense, considering Pain's grand dreams.
But then Yoruha continued.
"All that money you earned… Konan used it to buy explosive tags."
"Six hundred billion of them."
"Actually, my family even helped sell a few batches."
Yoruha sighed, as if truly lamenting something.
"But this is just how women are when they shop, right?"
"And she's literally a paper jutsu user."
Kakuzu's face turned completely pale.
Six hundred billion?
Explosive tags?
That was where his hard-earned money went?
He'd risked his life, fought against entire ninja clans, just so Konan could bulk-buy paper bombs?
He was furious.
The veins in his forehead bulged.
His pupils turned bloodshot from rage.
And just like that…
Kakuzu's body gave out from sheer anger.
Dead.
Yoruha stood up, shook his head, and whispered, "Rest in peace, man…"
"I just didn't want you to die with unanswered questions."
"Helping others—"
He cracked a sly smile.
"—is one of my better traits, after all."
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