Battle Against Kakuzu

"Qingyun! Yoshihime! Why have you two come here? Those markers I left were meant for the Anbu and Jonin; you are no match for him!" The moment Minato Namikaze saw Qingyun and Yoshihime, he panicked and shouted a warning.

"Shut up." Kakuzu didn't say much more, merely casting a cold glare at Minato.

"So, you were intentionally waiting for Konoha's reinforcements? You lured us into this trap—what exactly is your goal?" Yoshihime naturally understood that Kakuzu was baiting reinforcements.

"Me? I enjoy killing famous ninjas and trading their heads for money. To me, only money is truly real," Kakuzu said. "The bounty I accepted this time was for this red-haired girl, but it seems this yellow-haired brat is also on the list."

"I only found out later that he's a genius from Konoha. Since that's the case, I intentionally ignored his markers, planning to lure a large number of Konoha ninjas here to slaughter them all."

"Killing them one by one is too much of a hassle. This time, I plan to finish them all at once. As for those with bounties, I'll just bring them along; there will naturally be people to handle the exchange for me," Kakuzu said quite bluntly.

"In other words, whoever shows up, I kill!"

"Run! You are no match for him! A squad of Chunin has already died at his hands!" Minato was anxious. Trapped and unable to move, he could only urge Qingyun and the others to flee.

Qingyun shook his head and said, "Minato, don't forget, we defeated a Chunin together right after we graduated from the Ninja Academy."

"I won't run. Rescuing you and Kushina is my and Yoshihime's mission."

"Yoshihime, I'll take responsibility for pinning down the man called Kakuzu. You handle the rescue of Minato and Kushina." Qingyun had already briefed Yoshihime on the tactics.

Seeing this, Kakuzu clapped his hands: "Not bad, not bad! Truly, the younger generation is formidable. Since you have the courage to stand against me, I shall show mercy and grant you a quick release!"

"Lightning Style: False Darkness!"

"Wind Style: Pressure Damage!"

Kakuzu was a calm and seasoned veteran; he could tell that Qingyun was different.

This Konoha brat knows my reputation, yet he remains unfazed in the face of danger. It seems I must eliminate him quickly!

Pressure Damage was a massive gale, while False Darkness was lightning coursing through the ground. With this, Qingyun had absolutely no room to dodge.

"Earth Style: Earth Wall!" Qingyun performed hand seals rapidly, instantly erecting an Earth Wall that barely blocked Kakuzu's ninjutsu.

"Earth Style: Earth Spear!" Kakuzu smashed through the Earth Wall with a single punch, then charged toward Qingyun at blinding speed.

"Fire Style: Great Flame Technique!" A Great Flame Technique of the Sarutobi clan surged toward Kakuzu.

In an instant, Kakuzu was consumed by the fire.

"Did we win?" Yoshihime asked.

"Is this... is this Qingyun? His ninjutsu transitions are so fluid? How does he not run out of chakra?" Minato wondered.

Qingyun remained highly vigilant, scanning his surroundings. He knew he had only destroyed a clone; a ninja as powerful as Kakuzu would never be killed instantly by his fire technique.

Sure enough, Kakuzu's voice rang out once more.

"Haha! Not bad! For a brat of your level, you've performed quite well!"

"However, you must still die!"

The ninjutsu Kakuzu had just released were all from his main body. Having unleashed three techniques in succession without managing to take down Qingyun, Kakuzu knew full well that Qingyun's strength was not on the level of an ordinary genius.

"A genius like you... it's better if you just die." Without a shred of pity, Kakuzu unleashed his secret technique.

"Secret Technique: Earth Grudge Fear!"

The stitches all over Kakuzu's body tore open, and black threads rapidly sprouted from within, looking utterly grotesque.

"Kid, you should feel lucky. To die by this move at such a young age, your time in this ninja world hasn't been in vain." Kakuzu then reached out toward Qingyun; the black threads extended his reach, snapping toward Qingyun's neck at high speed.

Qingyun's Sharingan was already active, his sensory perception fully engaged. He had seen the trajectory of Kakuzu's attack long ago.

"Chakra Enhanced Strength: Armament Haki Hardening!" Qingyun utilized Armament Haki Hardening combined with the Chakra Enhanced Strength of Tsunade. Not only did he avoid being grabbed by the neck, but he also caught Kakuzu's arm.

"What!? How is this possible?! He actually kept up with my attack!?" Even Kakuzu found it hard to believe.

"Down you go!" Qingyun swung Kakuzu's arm, and Kakuzu's entire body slammed into the ground with a thunderous crash.

"What terrifying strength! To possess such horrifying power in such a small body, and his chakra control is this refined! Damn it!" Kakuzu hadn't sustained any serious injuries and quickly stood back up.

"Kid, is your teacher one of the Sannin, Tsunade? Only she in the entire ninja world possesses such terrifying strength!" Kakuzu remarked.

"And that pitch-black substance... what exactly is it? It seems even harder than iron." Kakuzu was naturally baffled by Qingyun's Armament Haki.

"You don't need to know, because you kidnapped my brother, and I'm going to take you down." Qingyun walked toward Kakuzu with a calm expression.

Yoshihime seized the opportunity to immediately rescue Minato and Kushina.

"Don't think it'll be that easy. Do you think this is the extent of my power? Brat! Don't get too arrogant! I will tear you to shreds!" Kakuzu launched another attack at Qingyun, but Qingyun deflected it with ease.

"Ha! Brat! You're careless!" Kakuzu chuckled. Qingyun felt something was off; it turned out he had only deflected a detached hand—Kakuzu had separated his wrist and arm.

"The real target is your heart!" Kakuzu lunged toward Qingyun using the black threads, and Qingyun was visibly shocked.

Kakuzu felt that although it had been a slight hassle, he had finished off his opponent. Just as he was about to relax, he noticed Qingyun's expression shift from shock to a smirk.

"Sorry, Senior Kakuzu, I was lying to you." Ignoring the black threads entirely, Qingyun simply said: "Discharge!"

In an instant, high-voltage electricity erupted from Qingyun's entire body. Before the black threads could even touch him, they were paralyzed by the power of the lightning.

Kakuzu's body was momentarily frozen, unable to move.

"No hand seals. He actually manifested lightning around his own body? What kind of ninjutsu is this!? A Konoha ninja mastering Lightning Release to this degree... who exactly are you? You look like a brat no matter how I see it."

"Could you be the Raikage using a Transformation Jutsu?" Kakuzu couldn't wrap his head around it; after all, this was his first time encountering such a situation.

"No. If you must understand it, then this is my Kekkei Genkai—the power of lightning." Qingyun knew Kakuzu was simply struggling to accept his power, and he knew that defeating Kakuzu would be far from simple.