Shikamaru and Neji stared in shock at the four black, masked monsters surrounding Kakuzu. Even though they had long known that Akatsuki members were all exceptionally powerful individuals with bizarre abilities, the scene before them still made them suck in a breath of cold air.
What were those things? Could monsters like that be sealed and stored inside a human body? Or was that guy across from them no longer human? In truth, the latter was more likely correct. Just like Sasori of the Red Sands back then, in pursuit of a certain kind of immortality, he had abandoned his human body and turned himself into a puppet, leaving behind only part of his core.
The Kakuzu before them was the same. As someone from the same era as the First, he should have become incomparably old with the passage of time, nearing the end of his life.
Yet Kakuzu bore no trace of age at all, appearing to be in the prime of a ninja's life.
That was precisely because of his body. He had completely discarded his human flesh and survived in the form of some unknown creature—or rather, a monster.
"Lightning Release—False Darkness!" "Fire Release—Searing Migraine!" Without any warning, not even bothering with hand seals, the black monsters with the blue and red masks slightly opened their mouths.
The two ninjutsu were unleashed at incredible speed.
Neji's expression shifted slightly as he swiftly stepped in front of Shikamaru. "Eight Trigrams Palm—Heaven and Earth Wall!" Before the blue and red light could reach them, Neji held his hands flat before him, forming a semicircular white barrier.
Kakuzu's attack vanished without a trace.
This was a new technique Neji had developed over the past three years under Ueno Kei's guidance. The Hyuga Clan's secret Rotation technique had previously only