Kakuzu's arms lunged in. On one arm sat a mask; the moment it sensed his invisible foe, it fired Raiton: Gian (Lightning Release: False Darkness) straight at him.
All of Mizushima trembled under the violent lightning. Houses nearby were leveled. If the ten shinobi hadn't realized things were going south and fled to cower in a corner, they would have been blown to pieces by False Darkness.
That lightning, like Ranton (Storm Release), carved through everything its chakra touched—trees, rock gardens, earth, houses.
And all of it was hunting Shigeo, hidden in the air.
Because the wind technique was still raging, Kakuzu could track him by reading the drag and resistance within the Fūton (Wind Release).
"Ranton: Kōga (Storm Release: Light Fang)!" Suddenly, Shigeo—still disguised as Shibuki—appeared and chopped his palm down on the mask mounted on that outstretched arm.
Kakuzu was startled. What? Judging by the wind-field changes, his False Darkness should have killed the target already!
The gale still roared, sand and grit scouring the courtyard. But the mask on that arm shattered, the lightning winked out—and Kakuzu realized the resistance he'd read in the wind was fake.
Shigeo had also used a single-nature Fūton, inserting a segment of counterflow to "block" one lane of wind within Kakuzu's own squall. Cloaked by Mujin Meisai (Dustless Bewildering Cover), he hadn't needed to show any hand seals. Kakuzu never saw the setup, and in Fūton-versus-Fūton he misread the field.
There is always a higher sky. There is always someone stronger.
He prided himself on unmatched combat experience. Even if an enemy turned invisible, he could pinpoint them quickly. He hadn't expected the man to be this crafty—turning Kakuzu's method back on him, then striking out of nowhere to destroy the heart housed in that arm's mask.
This one knows my weakness, Kakuzu thought.
He stared at "Shibuki," puzzled. Since when was the chief of Takigakure this strong? This was not the effect of Hero Water.
"Can you handle this or not?" Hidan, off to the side, felt they'd wasted enough time. In the past he never needed this long to finish someone.
"Save the chatter. Help, or shut your mouth," Kakuzu snapped. He was over ninety. He wasn't some hotheaded kid who could be baited into stupidity.
An extra pair of hands might speed things up.
Hidan's lips curled. He laughed. "Been waiting for you to say that."
He flicked his fingers and swung his triple scythe, joining the fray.
Shigeo stood in the courtyard. The halls and walls were already smashed to rubble.
The city lord, Baibei, had bolted. He needed to report all this to Shibuki at once, to tell him what was happening here.
At that very moment, Shibuki was ten kilometers away, waiting for his ten Takigakure shinobi to return in triumph and report their victory.
But the ANBU scouts at the front had already sent three messages, each worse than the last: all ten shinobi defeated and taken hostage; two strange men suddenly joining the battle; the fight stalemated while the lord's manor was reduced to ruins…
Shibuki had always been timid, and as a child he didn't even know ninjutsu. But after years of effort, he had changed a lot. Even so, he had no idea what this fake Takigakure chief wanted.
Why impersonate him? Why set up a counterfeit Takigakure?
While he hesitated over whether to check Mizushima himself, the city lord Baibei found him. Fifty-something Baibei was a mess of snot and tears. "If you don't act, Mizushima is finished! You don't know how terrifying those two are. One gust and my whole compound was destroyed. One lightning technique and the maple I've raised for over thirty years was cut clean through. They're about to wreck the whole city. As shinobi of the Land of Waterfalls, you'll just stand by? If I hadn't followed your advice, how would I have lured him to my manor? You must take responsibility!"
With crying, railing, and theatrics, Baibei wore him down. Shibuki was indecisive, but he couldn't resist such pleading.
He led thirty shinobi toward Mizushima.
Back at the manor, chaos reigned.
Kakuzu used Jiongu (Earth Grudge Fear) for ranged attacks, while Hidan danced in close with his bloodstained triple scythe.
Shigeo slipped through their pincer, then twisted and vanished. Kakuzu switched to Suiton (Water Release). If one used invisibility within Suiton, one had to keep the body chakra-dry. That micro-adjustment gave him and Hidan the tell.
Hidan barked a laugh and snapped his wrist. The triple scythe flew like a cleaver straight at Shigeo.
In the distance, the ten bound shinobi felt their hearts jump to their throats. Gods clashing. Terrifying.
Just as the scythe was about to pin him, Shigeo vanished.
It wasn't Mujin Meisai (Dustless Bewildering Cover) this time. The scythe's sweep covered a wide area, and there was standing water on the ground. If he'd used invisibility, the puddles would ripple; a swing that broad wouldn't come up empty.
The field went quiet.
While everyone wondered where he'd gone—
A mask behind Kakuzu shattered under a kunai strike.
The heart that used Suiton winked out. Kakuzu spun in fury and blasted Katon (Fire Release)—only to have Shigeo seize the writhing black threads of Jiongu. Kakuzu brightened. The black tendrils snapped for Shigeo's arm, coiling, then spiked, stabbing into his body.
The scene was grotesque—like countless worms boring into flesh.
Across the way, one of the ten captives gagged and vomited. "That guy isn't human!"
At this moment Kakuzu looked every bit the monster—black vascular cables bulking him up into a swollen aberration. Black tendrils speared into Shigeo's body, and blood welled at the entry points.
Kakuzu pressed the attack. With a grunt, he drove his other hand forward. Black tendrils surged between palm and forearm, obscene to behold.
His hand was fast. In an instant it plunged into the man's chest. He reached for the heart—
But… there was no heart inside.
With a boom, "Shigeo" burst into a chewed-up length of wood, pocked with holes—Jiongu's handiwork.
"How—? I clearly saw blood!" In a flash Kakuzu understood. That wasn't the blood of a wooden clone. It was his own, from Jiongu's black vessels. But why hadn't he felt it?
(End of Chapter)
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