Splat! Black tentacles pierced through a ninja's body and pulled out a steaming heart.
Under the terrified gazes of the surrounding ninja, the tentacles slowly wriggled and placed the heart into Kakuzu's body.
"Phew~"
Kakuzu let out a long breath. His dark green eyes swept over the ninja before finally landing on the corpse.
Secret Technique: Earth Grudge Fear could seize still-beating hearts, store them within the body to extend one's lifespan, and use the meridians attached to other ninja's hearts to gain new Chakra natures.
And this battlefield was littered with severely wounded ninja on the verge of death, or ninja who had died mere seconds ago.
Kakuzu had never fought such a rich war, one with hearts everywhere. Even during the first three Ninja World Wars, there had been wounded ninja. Just now, he had started picking through them from the eastern side of the battlefield and worked his way all the way west. Whenever he saw a heart he liked, he wanted to take it and attach it to himself, but upon seeing the corpses carpeting the ground, he gave up on the idea.
"The next heart will be better!!"
And so, Kakuzu darted all over the battlefield, endlessly picking and choosing without clashing with the ninja around him, like a complete outsider.
After all, fighting was somewhat of a waste of time.
What if, during the time he spent fighting, an incredibly important heart happened to appear? What if fighting damaged that heart somehow?
"Get lost!"
While collecting hearts, Kakuzu noticed a ninja actually daring to approach him. He immediately shot the man a vicious glare and said coldly, "This Old One has no interest whatsoever in trash like you!"
A flush quickly rose to the ninja's cheeks. He angrily drew a kunai, instantly leaped above