Playing It Safe

Did Kakuzu escape?

Sakura Haruno was momentarily stunned, her eyes widening as she looked over, carefully observing the clues he had left behind.

Soon, they could faintly sense the Chakra source moving underground— Kakuzu had not left the battlefield!

"Using the cover of the attack just now, are you going to escape underground and use Earth Release Ninjutsu to move around underground?"

She frowned slightly, realizing what Kakuzu was doing.

Is it "Earth Release: Underground Submarine Voyage Technique" or "Earth Release: Hiding Like a Mole Technique"?

Ninjutsu that uses Earth Release to move freely through the earth.

At such close range, if Sakura were to unleash Water Release: Wind Blade Torrent, even if Kakuzu anticipated her Ninjutsu, he would be scrambling to dodge.

So he simply hid underground.

Sakura is starting to have a headache... Is this some kind of sneaky, defensive playstyle?

If it keeps hiding in the ground, how do I hit it?

However, Kakuzu is also facing the same headache.

Normally, when moving underground like this, the next move would be Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique. However, Kakuzu's tentacles had already tried to attack from underground, but the effect was not ideal.

Sakura's crystalline ice armor still emanated a chilling aura. The tentacles that had been severed at the ends by the ice had now retracted back into her body. The ice shards on the broken surfaces reminded Kakuzu not to engage her in close combat. Even a sneak attack would not yield any advantage.

However, he cannot hide underground indefinitely.

Although Sakura Haruno had already exaggerated Kakuzu's immortality to an extreme degree and was extremely wary of him, Kakuzu knew that he was not truly immortal. He only had more lives and was harder to kill than others because he had the Earth Grudge Fear and several hearts.

The Water Release: Wind Blade Torrent and the Nintaijutsu: Sword Drawing Slash had already depleted his two hearts and a large amount of Earth Grudge Fear. Therefore, while the girl was wary of him, Kakuzu was also troubled about how to deal with Sakura Haruno.

What should we do?

Kakuzu didn't have much time to think. Having a heart meant needing to breathe, and walking underground meant not getting fresh air; he had to come up with a solution quickly...

What are the opponent's weaknesses? Their Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, reaction speed, and movement speed are all flawless.

Is her Chakra level and stamina low? That's right. Judging from her age, physique, and Chakra perception, the cat-faced girl doesn't seem to have a lot of Chakra. Kakuzu does remember that after using that sword -Sword Drawing Slash, Sakura Haruno was already slightly out of breath.

She is Tsunade's disciple and possesses the Yin Seal, which can store Chakra, so it's difficult to estimate exactly how much Chakra she has left. However, judging from these few exchanges, she should not have much left...

However, there's a problem with continuing this stalemate: Konoha's ninjas will probably arrive here soon, and we don't know how many of them they have left. If the fight continues, it might become quite troublesome!

Boom--!

While Kakuzu in thought, Sakura gradually sensed his location.

"Nintaijutsu: Star Cannon Fist!"

The girl's fist slammed into the ground, and the immense force of her Nintaijutsu shattered the entire earth. Large chunks of soil were instantly overturned, flying and scattering like cherry blossoms in bloom!

If it were Sakura Haruno, this move should be called "Cherry Blossom Impact".

Kakuzu knew that the Nintaijutsu she used was the Monstrous Strength passed down by Tsunade. A single punch would have the force of ten thousand jun, overwhelming and unstoppable. Even hiding underground would be dangerous. Without thinking, he darted forward and dodged the attack, which was only roughly aimed at him.

Boom!

Chasing after the black tentacle's tail, Sakura delivered two more heavy punches, creating two large craters in the ground, but Kakuzu's skillful Earth Release allowed him to dodge them repeatedly.

"My remote sensing ability isn't precise enough..." the girl thought to herself, biting her lower lip. Although her senses were sensitive, their range was limited, and they became inaccurate at slightly greater distances because she couldn't pinpoint the slippery, eel-like Kakuzu at Kakuzu.

Her breathing gradually quickened, her temples were damp with sweat and clung to her cheeks. Her nostrils flared slightly, and her chest heaved dramatically.

He stopped this meaningless whack-a-mole game, rested for a while, and calmed his rapid breathing.

Just as Kakuzu had predicted, her Chakra was already quite depleted. Continuing to fight like this would only be a waste of energy.

However, most of the time that Kakuzu been holding his breath in the soil had already passed.

Black tentacles suddenly emerged from the ground. A lightning-fast reaction flashed through Sakura's mind; the thought had barely formed before her hands moved—

Ice Release: Swallow Snow Storm!

Two icy darts, radiating a chilling aura, appeared out of thin air as the Ninjutsu was completed. The girl waved her slender hand repeatedly, and the darts shot out rapidly, transforming into two cold stars like Hayate storm, hurtling towards Kakuzu's tentacles.

Pfft!

In the blink of an eye, the ice dart pierced straight into the clump of tentacles, slicing the tangled black tentacles into countless broken threads.

They actually succeeded...!

The successful execution of the Ninjutsu startled Sakura, who instantly realized that the tentacles were merely a feint by Kakuzu!

However, Kakuzu's true form took advantage of this opportunity to appear behind Sakura.

Fire Style: Flame Bullet!

--Instantly unleashed the fastest Ninjutsu!

Sakura Haruno didn't even turn around. After Cherry Blossom Blizzard missed, she had already keenly sensed the abnormal movement of Chakra behind her. The speed at which the Flame Bullet was unleashed was astonishing. She didn't have a chance to turn around at all. If it weren't for the Frost Battle Armor she was wearing, the intense heat of the Flame Bullet would probably have already burned her back!

Smelling the stench of a strand of flying hair scorched by Fire Style, Sakura had already completed the Hand Seals.

Ice Release: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals!

Using the ice dart that had just been launched as a reference point, the girl's figure flashed back and forth, disappearing from the spot.

Kakuzu's long-planned Fire Style failed to achieve its goal, only hitting an afterimage. However, Kakuzu was not disappointed. In fact, Sakura's reactions so far were exactly what he expected!

"So it really was that Ice Body Flicker Technique?" Kakuzu revealed a knowing smile, and the masked tentacle monster on his shoulder completed its Ninjutsu in that instant!

As the girl appeared on the ice dart, the masked monster's Earth Release Ninjutsu, used in quick succession, suddenly surged up from the ground where the dart had been thrust.

"Earth Release: Earth Spear!"

Boom!

With a deep, earth-shattering sound, two rapidly rising, solid rock pillars violently smashed through the two ice darts on the ground and plunged straight into Sakura Haruno's feet.

The hard rock pillar's top was topped with sharp, pointed rock blades; the ice darts that pierced through Sakura Haruno's shoes the instant they struck.

Faced with a relentless barrage of attacks, the girl remained calm. Activating her Cherry Blossom Impact state, her reactions were faster than Kakuzu imagined. Even though her opponent's Ninjutsu came one after another, leaving almost no opening, the rising Earth Spear and the destruction of the throwing stars ultimately consumed time.

That's enough.

The expression beneath the cat-faced girl's mask was calm and composed; her serene eyes showed only a slight ripple before instantly returning to stillness.

She made no further movements, simply maintaining the hand Hand Seals, her Chakra instantly flowing and surging to the skin of her feet, enveloping her slender feet, removing the pierced sandals, and transforming them into new, crystalline ice skates resembling Frost Battle Armor.

Clang!

When the Ice Release's Nature Transformation are pushed to their limit, the temperature approaches that of ice at minus 100 to 200 degrees Celsius, and the Mohs hardness reaches 8. With the further enhancement of Ice Release Chakra, it can even break through the Mohs hardness of 9, reaching a level similar to that of diamonds!

The hard granite pillar collided with the even harder transparent sandal, producing a sharp clanging sound. The sandal remained completely unharmed, without even a scratch.

Sakura Haruno pushed off with her feet and took the opportunity to stand on top of the rock pillar.

Looking up, what greeted them was Kakuzu's third Wind Release Ninjutsu, following Kakuzu.

(This third chapter is an extra chapter for yk0600! Please subscribe and recommend!!)

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