Die! Secret Technique: Heart Grabbing!
If that fist pierced through his chest, Kakuzu would rip out Aoyama's heart, turning it into a replacement core for his forbidden jutsu.
Covered in black threads, Kakuzu looked like a servant offering up sacrifices to the Shinigami. All it would take was for his fist to push through his enemy's chest, and life would vanish in an instant.
But Aoyama didn't panic. He didn't even flinch. Because before Kakuzu's fist could land, another figure—faster than him—appeared behind Kakuzu and slashed down with razor claws.
Little Godzilla's claws could tear steel apart. Even Kakuzu, who had survived since the Warring States era, didn't have time to react.
Slash!
"My… heart…"
Kakuzu's fist froze just one centimeter before Aoyama's chest. The strike that was supposed to pierce straight through him never landed.
Little Godzilla's claw was already buried deep inside Kakuzu's body, mercilessly tearing through his organs.
The pain wasn't what stopped Kakuzu's attack. What forced him to halt was the way Little Godzilla's claw hooked into him, dragging his entire body backward with overwhelming strength.
That single centimeter became an impassable chasm. No matter how much force Kakuzu used, his body couldn't move forward—he was being dragged back instead.
Aoyama sneered. "Did you think I wouldn't be prepared? Pathetic. On the battlefield, I've always relied on summoning jutsu and taijutsu."
"When did you… Use a summoning jutsu? Impossible! I didn't sense a thing… No wonder the leader values you so highly. But you'll have to survive this fight if you want the right to join Akatsuki!"
"Hah! Then you're doomed. Tell your little organization to invite me again… in the Pure Land!"
Furious, Kakuzu shifted his attention toward Little Godzilla—not with his actual body, but with the two strange masks on his shoulders.
The beast's gemstone-like eyes locked onto the masks. Realizing the threat, Little Godzilla let out a roar and swung his claws at them.
Taking advantage of the opening, Aoyama broke free from Kakuzu's threads. His body seemed to swell slightly, becoming more imposing. Planting his feet, he drew in a deep breath and roared:
"Eight Gates Released Formation! First Gate… Open! Second Gate… Open!"
Two gates burst open in quick succession. His aura erupted like a storm, raw chakra surging around him and slamming into Kakuzu's face. The older shinobi's expression darkened.
But Kakuzu couldn't focus entirely on Aoyama—he also had to control the two masks.
One spewed flames, scorching everything before it.
The other crackled with lightning, discharging explosive bolts of energy.
Two masks, two elements.
Aoyama wasn't worried about Little Godzilla. As a titan among monsters, even in his youth, the beast had high resistance to chakra-based techniques.
Now with the Gates open, Aoyama launched a full-on assault. His fists roared like wind-style techniques, each strike aimed straight at Kakuzu's heart, every blow carrying the intent to shatter it.
Little Godzilla howled, enduring the fire and lightning head-on. Instead of being torn apart, he absorbed a huge amount of chakra from the attacks. The dorsal fins on his back began glowing with a mesmerizing blue light, pulsing brighter and brighter.
The masks seemed to tremble in disbelief. They had never encountered a creature capable of absorbing ninjutsu energy.
And since Kakuzu shared a vision with his masks, he saw it all. His expression grew darker.
Even Uchiha Obito could never have imagined that Kakuzu—the man who had fought the First Hokage himself—would be pushed back by Aoyama. Even if he was still standing, anyone with real battle experience could see it: Kakuzu's defeat was only a matter of time.
Luckily, Akatsuki never sent its members on missions alone. Though the group wasn't fully formed yet, and many of its infamous figures hadn't joined, Kakuzu had still been paired with a partner.
That partner had grown restless. Waiting this long with no word was irritating—especially for someone who loathed wasting time.
That partner was none other than Sasori of the Red Sand, the second recruit to Akatsuki.
Arriving at the village, Sasori's eyes immediately fell on the scene of battle. He had no interest in Kakuzu, who was being pummeled by Aoyama. His gaze instead fixed on Little Godzilla, watching the creature's glowing dorsal fins.
Little Godzilla was born to be a king. Among countless titans in the monster universe, only Godzilla was eternal. Not just because he was the first, but because of how he was designed.
When his energy gauge reached full, he could unleash a devastating ability.
And now, Little Godzilla let out a warning roar to Aoyama.
"ROAR!"
"That's not his usual cry… It's a warning. Time to pull back!"
Aoyama understood immediately. He leapt away, putting distance between himself and Kakuzu, and shot him a look filled with cold contempt. Kakuzu seethed, but the intensity in that gaze made him instinctively brace himself, expecting some terrifying secret technique.
He never considered that the real threat was from Little Godzilla.
"ROOOAR!"
The beast's dorsal fins pulsed faster, the glow intensifying. The aura of destruction spread across the battlefield. For the first time, Kakuzu felt true danger.
But not from the front—from behind.
Sasori muttered to himself, "A summoning beast I've never seen before. That ability… absorbing chakra from ninjutsu and converting it into energy for attack?"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The world lit up with a chain of massive explosions.
Every glowing dorsal plate unleashed a beam. Dozens of searing energy rays tore through the village. Every strike was like a detonation of explosive tags, vaporizing everything in their path.
The barrage lasted only a few seconds, but in that instant, the village was reduced to rubble.
Kakuzu, caught in the storm of energy beams, wasn't killed outright. Not even the First Hokage could have destroyed all of his hearts in one blow. As long as even one remained, Kakuzu would claw his way back.
From beneath the earth, his battered form emerged, covered in dust and rage. Smoke and ash filled the air, making it impossible to see.
Aoyama, warned, had pulled away. He knew Little Godzilla would force Kakuzu to burn through at least one heart—maybe two, maybe three. But as long as even one was left, Kakuzu would survive.
Sasori unrolled a scroll, summoning a puppet with a burst of chakra. The threads connected, and with a clattering of joints, the puppet unleashed a storm of senbon, raining them down toward Little Godzilla's glowing fins.
Kakuzu, Sasori said coldly, You're truly useless. Almost got yourself killed and wasted my time. You might as well die here.