The full moon gradually sank, and a faint glow appeared on the horizon.
The gentle early spring breeze should have been soft, but now it surged in violent gusts.
As the Earth Grudge Tentacles lashed down,
The sounds of "bang," "bang" nearly blended into one continuous roar.
Yet not a single strike hit its target. Every time it seemed about to cleave into him, Uchiha Ci would suddenly duck, roll aside, or flip through the air as though inspiration had struck him.
Despite having no vision at all, he could still evade the attacks.
"Tch, that unreasonable instinct."
Kakuzu could not help frowning as he watched Uchiha Ci sprint, dodge, and weave nonstop while fiddling with something in his hands.
He felt that this could not continue.
So he directly controlled the tentacles to smash deep craters into the cliff face, pulling massive rocks from them one after another.
Then he hurled them straight at Uchiha Ci!
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The boulders twisted the wind and tore through the air as they came crashing down!
Even Mei Terumi outside the barrier could not help but be startled by the sight.
This move was practically equivalent to more than a dozen people consecutively using Earth Style: Iron Cannon, sealing off every possible route of escape and forcing the opponent to take the attack head-on.
Yet this was only the beginning.
While Kakuzu controlled the tentacles to throw boulders, he formed the Snake Seal with both hands.
The next moment,
The two masks behind him suddenly dragged their pitch-black bodies out from Kakuzu's back. Their dark forms, composed of vast amounts of Earth Grudge Fear Silk Threads, crouched upon Kakuzu's shoulders.
They were Kakuzu's Fire Release and Wind Style Masks—
Working together,
What was about to come was—
Composite Ninjutsu: Flame Wind Wild Wave, Mysterious Faceless Exploding Flame!
This technique combined the Earth Grudge Fear Fire Release Mask Monster and the Earth Grudge Fear Wind Release Mask Monster. Using Fire Release: Searing Migraine and Wind Release: Pressure Damage simultaneously, they could create an enormous sea of flames.
Furthermore, Kakuzu had already used Giant Rock Block Road.
Within this cramped space, Uchiha Ci would have nowhere to run!
Kakuzu's face remained impassive as he coldly pronounced,
"Poor little brat, the game is over!"
As the words fell, his cold palms half-clenched—
Boom!
A sea of fire erupted, and a hurricane raged!
Every inch of space was covered by Kakuzu's attack.
At that moment,
All that could be seen was sand and dust, giant boulders, scythe-like wind blades, long tongues of fire crawling across the ground, and sparks and shattered stone swirling chaotically through the air.
In one second, it would all spread over him!
Yet,
Within this hellish scene, beneath this despair that shattered all sight,
Something was strange.
Uchiha Ci felt no fear at all!
His eyes were wide open, as though he wanted to record every inch of this apocalyptic painting.
He only felt electricity coursing through his entire body, from head to toe, from his fingertips to his heart. Then, that current drilled fiercely from the outside inward, deep into his cells, as though trying to activate some hidden switch within the human body.
Dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins flooded his brain, pushing Uchiha Ci almost to the peak of euphoria.
[Talent: Combat Intuition (S) Development Level increased. You can now use your body more skillfully.]
The next instant,
Uchiha Ci lowered his head slightly and glanced at the Earth Grudge Fear Silk Threads wrapped around his fingers. He could not help curling his lips into a grin.
After raising his head for one final look in Kakuzu's direction,
His ten fingers bent slightly, the pads arched.
The tomoe in his Sharingan spun wildly, nearly merging into a single black line.
His gaze was filled with the madness of someone wagering everything!
"Come on!"
"Come on!"
"Come on!"
"Fight! If I do not fight, I will lose, and at the end of every battle lies only a dead end!"
"I, who wager everything in pursuit of that moment of death!"
"Will have my wish granted here!"
With that, Uchiha Ci closed his eyes.
At a time like this, those Single Tomoe Sharingan could no longer keep up with the speed of his battle.
So he chose to close his eyes and trust his senses.
He trusted the battle plan already formed in his mind.
Then, the first step—
Uchiha Ci pulled out the remaining four shuriken from his ninja tool pouch, each already wrapped in silk threads.
He hurled them fiercely toward the sea of flames, giant rocks, and wind blades!
Screech! Screech! Screech! Screech!
The shuriken tore through the air, dragging four black silk threads behind them as they embedded themselves into a distant incoming boulder.
Then Uchiha Ci pulled lightly with both hands.
The silk threads he had laid down while dodging earlier suddenly tightened and emerged from the ground one after another. Their point of convergence lay directly beneath Uchiha Ci's feet.
Like an arrow drawn back beneath a full moon, ready to be loosed,
Bang!
The Giant Bow made of silk threads became his initial propulsion, launching Uchiha Ci forward with explosive force!
Like a sharp arrow, he plunged headfirst into the sea of flames, tugging the ninja silk attached to the four thrown shuriken and changing direction in midair.
His body spun.
He stepped upon the incoming boulders for leverage, accelerating without pause!
He slipped through the narrow gap before two massive rocks collided and crushed together.
When savage wind blades shot toward him head-on, he pulled upward and flipped through the air.
Before the crossed tongues of scorching flame could burn his body, he formed hand seals—
Rabbit—Goat—Snake!
Water Release: Water Fang Blade!
Uchiha Ci gripped a Water Blade in his right hand and pulled the silk threads with his left to control his trajectory, causing his entire body to spin rapidly through the air as he rotated the Water Blade.
Then he abruptly opened his eyes!
"Is he dead?" Kakuzu narrowed his eyes slightly. Everything before him was covered by raging winds and a sea of flames.
Combined with the giant boulders he had thrown out earlier to block the path, the opponent should have had nowhere left to escape.
Unless he used a technique more powerful than Kakuzu's,
Kakuzu could not think of any way the other party could survive this assault.
The ninjutsu he used came from the hearts of the strongest people he had continuously hunted down over the past several decades.
Earth Style: Earth Spear, Wind Release: Pressure Damage, Lightning Style: False Darkness, Fire Release: Searing Migraine, Water Style: Water Curtain.
Five hearts!
The five techniques they could unleash had each nearly reached the pinnacle of their respective elemental fields!
Kakuzu did not believe a brat of that age possessed such ability.
Therefore,
He should be dead.
Even if he was not dead, he was not far from it.
Kakuzu turned his head slightly, his icy gaze sweeping toward the three people outside the barrier.
He passed over this mission's target, Hidan, and Mei Terumi beside him, then looked in another direction.
At Shennong, dressed in yellow robes with a calm expression.
Kakuzu could not help narrowing his eyes as he considered what purpose this fellow had in standing here.
Would he interfere with Kakuzu taking Hidan away?
After all, even when his disciple died before his eyes, he had shown no reaction.
He must be a cold and heartless man.
Standing opposite Kakuzu, Mei Terumi and Hidan could not help swallowing hard when they saw that terrifying Composite Ninjutsu. Their eyes were filled with shock.
"That attack is even more terrifying than that Wind Release from before."
"Uchiha Ci, he..."
Mei Terumi bit her lip slightly, her gaze anxiously searching through the barrier.
But no matter how she looked,
Within the barrier surrounding the cliff face, apart from where Kakuzu stood,
All she could see anywhere else,
Was a blazing sea of fire.
Hidan sank miserably to his knees atop the tree trunk, staring at the despairing scene.
As far as his eyes could see,
There was only—
Fire, fire, fire, Kakuzu, fire, fire, fire.
That man with the Black Mask, who toyed with tentacles and ninjutsu, was practically the embodiment of Khorne!
And all he could hear,
Was the roar of the surging wind, the crackle of blazing flames,
And from beneath the cliff,
The Refugees of the Land of Hot Water, who had suffered heavy casualties from Kakuzu's ninjutsu,
Their Heaven-Piercing Earth-Shattering wails.
Hidan could not help clenching his fists tightly and gritting his teeth as he looked at everything before him with trembling eyes.
His eye sockets unconsciously grew wet.
He squeezed his eyes shut, gripping the tree trunk with both hands as tears burst forth!
Then, with the greatest strength he had ever summoned in his life, he howled mournfully into the barrier,
"Uchiha Ci!"
"If you're still fucking alive, then you'd better—"
"Get your ass out here already!"
As the howl faded,
For a moment, all was silent.
The silent flames made even breathing feel difficult.
Yet,
The next moment,
The burning sea of fire suddenly trembled!
As though a Mud Truck were rampaging wildly inside it!
Broken rocks, clumps of earth, weeds, sparks!
After a rapidly spinning mass of blue, dancing blade light swept through them, they flew and tumbled in every direction!
In an instant,
The wind surged wildly!
A massive hole was carved into the towering wall of flames by a spinning slash.
Uchiha Ci shot through the air like an arrow, spinning as he flew above Kakuzu's head.
He drew in a deep breath and gripped the blade with both hands.
Then he swung the Water Blade, which had been accelerated to its limit and had begun to shriek, with all his strength at Kakuzu's neck!
The blade glowed like fire, reflecting a pair of cold, merciless crimson eyes.
Kakuzu's eyes suddenly widened!
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