"There's no other way. We have to use that move!"
Kakuzu's gaze swept over the already shattered Water Release heart, heartache evident on his face.
But it was still too early for that kind of regret. There would be plenty more to regret after using that move.
The surrounding masked monsters rapidly converged on Kakuzu. The black thread-like blood vessels forming their bodies unraveled and connected with the black thread-like blood vessels extending from Kakuzu's own body.
The last one came over with Hidan, whispering a few words into Hidan's ear before merging into Kakuzu's body.
"So that's it. You're really cunning!"
Hidan grinned, pulling the chain on the handle of the blood-red scythe.
The scythe, spun at high speed by centrifugal force, whirled and howled, cutting down a circle of trees around them.
"Earth Grudge Fear Mode!"
Kakuzu formed hand seals, his body radiating a large number of black thread-like blood vessels.
Three white masks appeared on his shoulders and the back of his head respectively, making him look like a black spider.
"Let's go!"
He roared, charging towards Sakura's Behemoth like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.
The two masks on his shoulders spewed flames and gale respectively, combining to form a raging prairie fire that surged towards the giant beast.
"Hahaha, dance to your heart's content!"
Amidst Sakura's laughter, the giant beast raised its claw and smashed it down fiercely towards Kakuzu below.
Boom!
Amidst flashing lightning, the enlarged claw fell with an earth-shattering roar. Cracks bloomed across the earth, airwaves surged, and soil and stones flew.
Several figures frantically fled through the now ravaged forest. The others, having already expended much Chakra earlier, could no longer afford to conserve it, wishing to use up every last bit to reach their maximum speed.
"Wow, Sakura, stop! Please stop!"
Ino ducked her head, barely dodging a piece of shrapnel-like rock that shot past.
But the only response to her was the roar of the beast and the girl's maniacal laughter, shrouded in smoke.
"No good, she can't hear us at all!"
Coughing twice with a hand over his mouth, Shikamaru fanned away the dust in front of his face.
"Then what do we do?"
Choji, sweating profusely and running the fastest, was already panting with his mouth open.
"Good question!" A sudden voice rang in their ears. "If you're lost, why not try believing in Jashin-sama? It's very effective!"
The three running figures froze, turning their heads in unison towards the source of the voice.
The gray-haired man, his upper robe in tatters, had caught up. His blood-red scythe spun as he looked at them with the gaze of someone toying with prey. "Come on, scream! Cry for help from that one!"
Just one moment. All he needed was to create one moment of distraction for Kakuzu, to make that woman lose focus!
"Not a chance!"
Ino stared at him seriously, pulling out a kunai and an explosive tag from her ninja tool pouch. Beside her, Shikamaru and Choji made the same choice.
The three coordinated, forming a battle formation specialized for ninja teamwork, on guard against Hidan who was continuously approaching.
"So unfortunate. I originally wanted to offer complete sacrifices to Jashin-sama~"
Hidan raised his hand, forcefully pulling the chain under his sleeve. The blood-red scythe swung upward with the pull of his arm, its serrated blade slashing straight towards Ino and the others.
"Hmm?"
Sakura, who had been using Observation Haki to sense the entire battlefield, frowned, glancing sideways.
Beneath her feet, the wooden-masked behemoth also experienced a brief pause due to its controller's distraction.
"Finally!!!"
In that instant, Kakuzu seized the opening Hidan had created for him.
He charged desperately towards the giant beast, quickly ascending its arm to get close to Sakura.
On his body, the three white masked monsters, supported by black threads, moved from his back to his arm.
Wind, Fire, and Lightning Chakra Nature Transformations flowed from the living hearts, compressed, collided, making his arm swell like a cannon barrel about to explode.
During Kakuzu's long career as a Missing-Nin, it wasn't that he hadn't tried to fuse these opposing and mutually suppressing Chakra Natures. However, most attempts ended in failure.
Yet he also discovered that if he used a living Ninja's heart as a 'sacrifice', it was possible to fuse Chakra by massively compressing it within a certain part of the body for a short time.
Although doing so had a high chance of failure and could lead to the living heart becoming useless, right now wasn't the time to worry about that. After all, his very life was on the line.
"Hmm? Succeeded? So fate is still on my side after all!"
Within the viscous black threads, the three types of nature-transformed Chakra had already fused, forming a terrifying, powerful cyan thunder-flame that raged and spread wildly, as if intending to dissolve everything in the world!
Earth Grudge Fear - Final Shot!
Brilliant blue light erupted. The ray produced by the chakra cannon seemed to tear from the earth, piercing through heaven and earth.
After undergoing the unification of three chakra nature transformations, the power of this technique far surpassed Kekkei Genkai and combined Ninjutsu. Perhaps a new term should be used to describe it...
"Kekkei Tota?"
The rainbow light in Sakura's eyes faded. Her future-sight Observation Haki saw the outcome of her heart being pierced.
Immediately, before the ray could strike her, she used Kami-e to bend her body into an impossible arc for a normal person, creating a gap for the Chakra ray to pass by her.
But even so, the fine stream of the Chakra Torrent still grazed her waist, causing the clothing and a portion of flesh it contacted to disintegrate at a molecular level.
On the ground, Hidan, who had wounded Shikamaru and Choji, swallowed dryly, his eyes fixed intently on the outcome of the battle above.
Caught off guard, he was stabbed by an explosive-tagged kunai thrown by Ino. Amidst the explosion's roar, a severed arm flew high into the air.
However, at this moment, Hidan didn't care about the pain on his body at all. Reflected in his eyes was that splash of crimson color flying from the giant beast's head.
'She's bleeding!'
'That monster's blood is red too!'
"Hah, hahaha, we broke through her defense! We broke through!"
Hidan's eyes lit up, unable to hold back his laughter any longer. But even he didn't know what he was so happy about. It had been several hours since the battle started, and they had already been reduced to relying on hostages to deal with the enemy. It was a bitter laugh, one that almost brought a few tears of bitterness.
"Not bad at all. Does this Kekkei Tota have a name?"
Unconcerned with her injuries, unconcerned with Kakuzu's feral licking of her blood, the pink-haired girl merely looked at him with delight. Exposed amidst the encircling dark lightning was a fiercely rising will to fight.
"Monster..."
Kakuzu let out a hoarse curse. Even in his over ninety years of life experience, he had never seen someone like this.
And in the next instant, a clanging sword cry resounded through heaven and earth. A terrifying, aura-laden black giant sword was raised high, upon which was gathered the will to establish all phenomena and carve out the future.
Infinite phantom light converged into a single line, crashing down upon Kakuzu before her.
[Hakoku - Roaring Light Sword!]
"Hidan!!!"
Kakuzu roared, throwing the mask stained with Sakura's blood far away, while he himself was engulfed by the overwhelming torrent of lightning.
Three hearts turned to ashes. All the black thread-like blood vessels created by the secret technique shattered and crumbled to dust.
Everything within sight was annihilated under this Conqueror's Haki-imbued strike, vanishing into nothingness.
In the distance, Hidan caught the mask and the blood, unable to conceal his grief. "Your final effort, I've received it, Kakuzu!"
"Idiot! I'm not dead yet! Hurry up and use your ritual!"
The mask in Hidan's hand opened its mouth to curse, extending tiny black thread-like blood vessels to form a fist that knocked on Hidan's head.
"Oh, oh! Right away, right away!"