The whirling water blade shrieked! Before it even touched him, Kakuzu felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.
This god-speed strike from Ren Uchiha was completely outside Kakuzu's expectations and struck directly at his weakness. While Kakuzu possessed a near-immortal body—as long as his five "extra lives" (hearts) weren't all destroyed—the head was still a specialized area. If his head were severed, his control over the Earth Grudge Fear would plummet, leaving him wide open.
Ren had a narrow window to target the five hearts within the main body. It was a risk Kakuzu could not accept. A crisis of death, something he hadn't felt in decades, bloomed in this moment!
"As if I'd ever let you succeed!!!"
Kakuzu roared, forming the Snake seal. His skin instantly turned pitch-black. This was Earth Style: Earth Spear. Though it sounded offensive, it was a supreme defensive jutsu that hardened his skin to withstand even explosive tags.
However, this jutsu had a flaw: the hardening made his body stiff. In an instant, the taijutsu advantage Kakuzu held over Ren vanished.
Ren's eyes narrowed, and a smirk played on his lips. The whirling water blade aimed at Kakuzu's neck vanished, leaving only a kunai in his hand. He reversed his grip and lunged, stabbing directly into the Wind Style mask perched on Kakuzu's left shoulder!
Psh! The blade shattered the mask's surface!
The Wind Style mask cracked, coming within a hair's breadth of having its heart pulverized.
"What?!" Kakuzu's green pupils shook with disbelief. Ren hadn't even tried to cut through his hardened skin; he had switched targets at the very last microsecond. It was as if... he knew all of Kakuzu's secrets!
In a panic, Kakuzu twisted his body to dodge, manually controlling the Fire Style mask on his right shoulder. He aimed it at the close-range Ren and opened its maw, spitting a blazing ball of fire!
Fire Style: Intense Pain! Upon impact, it would erupt into a literal sea of flames.
Facing this fatal ninjutsu, Ren's Sharingan remained calm, reflecting the fireball inches from his face.
He hooked his index fingers, and black threads suddenly appeared from the ground! Pulling with his palms, Ren was yanked downward by the wires, sliding through Kakuzu's legs. He kicked off the ground, vaulted onto Kakuzu's back, and aimed his kunai at the Water Style mask.
The fireball soared past, slamming into the barrier and exploding like a brilliant firework.
Kakuzu's face darkened, veins bulging on his forehead. "That unreasonable instinct again... his body reacts faster than his conscious thought! Dammit, he's like a flea!"
Growling, Kakuzu clapped his hands together. The four masks on his back writhed and crawled out on thread-like bodies, surrounding Ren and opening their mouths.
Wind Style: Pressure Damage!
Lightning Style: False Darkness!
Fire Style: Intense Pain!
Water Style: Water Curtain!
The masks acted like machine guns, spraying ninjutsu at Ren!
Ren let out a savage grin. He manipulated the wires once more, spinning and leaping like a bolt of lightning, eyes closed as he let his body pulse with his instincts! When he opened them again, he had slipped through the microscopic gaps between the four spells, landing firmly back on Kakuzu's back.
He kicked off, flipping 360 degrees in the air. He clapped his hands over his head and yanked every wire in his grasp!
The threads on the ground snapped taut, slicing through the dirt and wrapping around Kakuzu like whips. His limbs, torso, head, and even the thread-bodies of his masks were lashed, constricted, and bound tight!
Screeeeee-crunch— The sound of grinding tension filled the air.
"What is this?" Kakuzu's pupils shrank. He realized he was being bound by his own Earth Grudge Fear threads. He struggled with all his might, but the more he fought, the tighter the wires bit into him. Only his hardened body could force a break, but he needed several seconds.
And for Ren Uchiha, those few seconds were enough!
Ren took a deep breath, formed the seals, and drew his kunai. Hare - Ram - Snake! The Water Fang Blade shrieked into existence once more.
Ren gritted his teeth, his jaw tight. Hiss... The cold air drawn into his lungs became fuel, igniting sparks between his teeth! Even his crimson eyes seemed to turn into a blazing, incandescent white-fire!
"This is the moment! The moment I've been seeking!"
Ren's eyes were wide with madness as he slammed a hand against his own heart and stepped forward!
Fire Style: Chakra Mode, ON!
Blazing fire-attribute chakra erupted from Ren's body! "Burn the spirit! Surpass the limit!"
The power radiating from his heart flooded every corner of his being. Light flared, illuminating the cliff, the castle, and the refugee camps below. Thousands of refugees looked up, squinting at the barrier on the cliffside. Within that barrier, it looked as if a sun were rising!
"Ren Uchiha, what are you doing?!" Mei and Hidan screamed in alarm.
On the cliffside, Shinno's calm facade finally cracked. He watched with a shocked expression. "That jutsu... that power... he'll die! Even with the Physical Rebirth he stole from me, he'll still die!"
"Is he crazy?! Is he insane?!" Shinno clenched his fists. "For such trivial bonds? For two 'friends' he met less than a day ago?"
Looking at Ren, Shinno felt a wave of jealousy mixed with a twisted longing. If he had had a friend like that on the day the Land of Sky was destroyed... would he have chosen to die with honor, or live the life of a coward in the shadows as he did now?
Inside the barrier— "HRAAAAAAAAH!"
Ren's eyes were bloodshot; he could barely contain the rampaging power and roared to vent the pressure! He gripped his blade with both hands as the erupting fire chakra flooded the Water Fang Blade. The swirling water instantly evaporated.
From the hilt, a flaming blade over six feet long surged forth! Wielding this forced-transformation blade of fire, Ren's eyes were glowing red. He swung the blade, leaving a trail of embers in the air.
He stared at the sweating, bound Kakuzu and roared:
"You had your fun earlier, didn't you?"
"Now..."
"It's MY turn!!"