'Water Style?'
'I don't know Water Style either...'
Lexon thought silently upon hearing Kakuzu's words.
He currently only grasped four chakra natures: wind, fire, earth, and thunder. He just so happened to be missing the water nature.
So Kakuzu's idea was doomed to fail.
'Speaking of which, I haven't used today's check-in chance yet.'
Lexon suddenly remembered.
'Use it on Kakuzu?'
'The only useful things on him are the water nature chakra and Earth Grudge Fear.'
'But I just destroyed the water-nature one.'
'All that's left is Earth Grudge Fear.'
'But I don't really want Earth Grudge Fear...'
Lexon really had no interest in a secret technique that turned him into a half-man, half-monster.
Lexon wouldn't mind switching between human and demon, but a technique like Earth Grudge Fear meant being a half-man, half-monster permanently...
'Besides, isn't it disgusting to put someone else's heart in your own body...'
'But I'll check in anyway... It doesn't matter if I just store it. I just won't use it. Treat it as a collectible.'
'Besides, it's not even guaranteed I'll get it...'
As Lexon stood there, spacing out, before the overwhelming flames could engulf him, the other two Earth Grudge monsters suddenly formed a triangle with the fire-style monster, their masks' mouths gaping open.
"Wind Style: Pressure Damage!"
"Lightning Style: False Darkness!"
Two ninjutsu of different natures spewed forth. A violent wind raged, and thunder echoed, complementing the tsunami of flames.
"Earth Style: Boulder Drop!"
Even Kakuzu himself lifted a massive boulder and smashed it down fiercely toward Lexon from above.
In an instant, all directions were enveloped by attacks, leaving no gap to escape.
"BOOM!!!"
A violent, deafening explosion rang out. Black smoke billowed, and the shockwave from the impact spread violently outward.
"How is he? Severely injured or dead?" Kakuzu stared intently in Lexon's direction.
When the black smoke dissipated, the scene within left him somewhat stunned.
A massive, dark-green skeleton made of materialized chakra enveloped the Root ninja. And the Root ninja beneath that cover seemed completely unharmed.
'This is...'
Kakuzu looked at the giant skeleton, feeling a sense of familiarity.
Suddenly, a memory surfaced in his mind.
It was a memory buried deep within his consciousness.
'It was also materialized chakra... also this giant form...'
'But the one in my memory was blue, taller, more defined, and looked like a samurai...'
'Uchiha Madara!'
Kakuzu remembered. 'That's Uchiha Madara's ocular jutsu!'
As someone who had lived since the First Shinobi World War, he had naturally seen a Susanoo before, and it was Uchiha Madara's.
'Is this a little Uchiha brat...'
Kakuzu stared directly at Lexon. His gaze passed through the giant, dark-green skeleton, pierced the Root mask, and clearly saw the blood-red Sharingan spinning with its strange pattern...
'Mangekyo Sharingan...'
As Kakuzu, the man who had traded blows with the God of Shinobi, Senju Hashirama, and survived, he had naturally paid attention to Uchiha Madara, the man who was his equal but had lost to Senju Hashirama. He had also witnessed what he looked like in battle.
Therefore, he knew very well how terrifying the Mangekyo Sharingan was.
'A young voice... Who are the strong, young Uchiha clansmen in this era?'
Kakuzu pondered.
'Could it be Uchiha Shisui or Uchiha Itachi...'
He thought of the two mainstays of the current Uchiha clan's younger generation.
'Who is the person under that mask...'
"A descendant of Uchiha Madara..." Kakuzu murmured, his face grim.
"What's wrong?" Lexon smiled warmly. He was, for now, reluctantly playing the role of an Uchiha clansman.
"The man who lost to the God of Shinobi, Senju Hashirama... Heh... I, too, once crossed hands with the God of Shinobi, Senju Hashirama..."
"Crossed hands? You mean throwing a kunai from 800 li away and then bailing?" Lexon cut him off directly.
"..."
Kakuzu fell silent.
The next moment, the three Earth Grudge monsters surrounding Lexon quickly returned to Kakuzu's side.
He then raised his right hand, and the three monsters leaped into his arm. His arm swelled instantly, and the three masks appeared on its surface.
"Earth Grudge Fear: Final Shot!"
Wind, fire, and thunder—the three chakra natures gathered and condensed, emitting an astonishing and terrifying aura.
"Die!"
Kakuzu roared.
Instantly, a dazzling laser cannon formed from the three combined chakra natures shot out, like a desperate beam of death, destroying everything in its path as it blasted toward Lexon.
"He's angry," the corners of the mouth under Lexon's mask curled up slightly. The giant, dark-green skeleton enveloping him crossed its arms, blocking the laser's path.
"BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!!!"
A continuous series of explosions resounded, deafening, as if heaven and earth were about to collapse.
The sound of the laser's explosion lasted for more than a minute before gradually dissipating.
Kakuzu was exhausted, his body nearly depleted of chakra. Only after the blinding laser faded did he look in Lexon's direction, wanting to see the result.
When his gaze fell on the giant, dark-green skeleton—which was still standing strong, seemingly unchanged—Kakuzu couldn't hold it together. His face was filled with disbelief and utter shock.
'My most powerful attack had no effect at all? It didn't even break his defense?'
In truth, Kakuzu had broken the defense of Lexon's Susanoo. He had even shattered both of the Susanoo's arms. It was just that the instant they were shattered, Lexon had replenished them with a massive amount of chakra.
That was why Kakuzu's minute-long chakra laser looked like it had no effect.
After all, Lexon's chakra reserves were already comparable to a Tailed Beast's. Kakuzu's chakra was only at an ordinary Kage level. How could he win a battle of attrition against Lexon?
'I have to retreat for now...'
Looking at the dark-green Susanoo, Kakuzu made his decision.
In reality, Kakuzu still had one more Earth Grudge Fear mode, where the masks attached to his body's surface and the black threads spread completely, making him stronger than his normal state just now.
But... 'What's the point of fighting when my strongest move can't even break his defense? Besides, I don't have the chakra left to support a fight...'
On Lexon's side, he had discovered something new about Susanoo.
'The Susanoo seems to consume much less ocular power than Tsukuyomi...'
Lexon thought.
'Instead, maintaining the Susanoo consumes more chakra...'
'But didn't the original story mention that using Susanoo consumes life force?'
'I wonder if demonization can solve that.'
'But it's better to be safe. I'll wait until I have the Eternal Mangekyo before playing around with ocular jutsu... I'll just summon the Gundam a few times for fun.'
His thoughts concluded, Lexon looked at Kakuzu, only to find he had already vanished.
"He bailed again?"
'Huh? Why did I say "again"?'
'But... trying to run from me...'
A smile appeared on Lexon's lips.
His extremely sensitive sense of smell suddenly activated. Kakuzu's scent and his escape route were crystal clear.
Lexon's figure vanished instantly, following the trail.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]