Whoosh.
A thin line of blood flashed across the air, slicing through one black tendril after another—and the mask attached to them.
Kakuzu glanced at the mask shattered across the ground, his expression grave.
He had already lost two masks during the fierce battle with Asuma's sniping squad, badly weakening him.
He had thought he could kill Ryūsetsuna and Chiyo, then replenish himself with two fresh hearts.
He hadn't expected these two kids dressed as Kusagakure shinobi to be so absurdly strong.
One could fight back and forth with a monster like "Satori"—and had even knocked it to the ground several times. The other had outright disabled Hidan, whose head was still on the ground, shouting away.
What surprised Kakuzu even more was that Chiyo had claimed to be "K" of the Akatsuki Organization!
"Is this kid really one of A's people?"
"Weren't there only A, B, C, D, E, F, and G?"
"Is A trying to use the Ninja Village Allied Forces to deal with us?"
One question after another flooded Kakuzu's mind.
But in the next instant, he shoved them all aside. The situation before him left no room for distraction.
As Chiyo closed in on Kakuzu again, she counted on her fingers. "Let me see. The mask that just shattered had a Fire affinity, right? You also used Wind Release and Water Release techniques, so the ones that broke earlier had Earth and Lightning affinities?"
Kakuzu's face darkened.
Chiyo smiled. "I only have to smash two more of your hearts, right?"
"Damn brat!" Kakuzu roared.
Whoosh.
The moment she finished speaking, Chiyo launched a surprise attack on Kakuzu. With "Twelve Palaces" running at full power, she moved even faster than an ordinary Body Flicker Technique.
Having learned his lesson, Kakuzu hurriedly raised a kunai to block.
But