Hyuuga Nen activated his Byakugan. Through its vision, he saw that Kakuzu's body was unlike an ordinary person's. His organs were connected by countless densely packed black threads, like pulsing black blood vessels.
Even more astonishingly, Kakuzu's body had no meridians like a normal person's. The places where meridians should have been were all replaced by the black threads of the Earth Grudge Fear secret technique. The flow of chakra within Kakuzu's body was also different from that of other people.
Looking at his body, I wonder if the Gentle Fist will work on him. Hyuuga Nen charged at Kakuzu as he thought.
Seeing Hyuuga Nen rush toward him, Kakuzu hurriedly retreated, hoping to put some distance between them. At the same time, he directed the two black-masked monsters to attack Hyuuga Nen from behind.
The two black-masked monsters simultaneously fired air blasts and fireballs, aiming for the path Hyuuga Nen was taking and blocking his approach to Kakuzu.
Since Hyuuga Nen had already activated his Byakugan, its three-hundred-and-sixty-degree field of vision let him see the monsters' attacks behind him without looking back.
Hyuuga Nen easily dodged the attacks, but the monsters' interference had given Kakuzu more time to widen the distance between them.
"Against an enemy as powerful as Kakuzu, I won't get a chance to use elemental ninjutsu in the middle of the fight. I have to find an opportunity to get close and fight him at close range. That's my best chance of beating him!"
Hyuuga Nen ran toward Kakuzu, dodging as he went, while silently reminding himself of this.
Hyuuga Nen threw a kunai tied with an Explosive Tag at Kakuzu to keep him from attacking, while also keeping part of his attention on the two monsters behind him.
Here it comes!
Hyuuga Nen thought this as he clearly saw the two black-masked monsters behind him drawing chakra from within their bodies and channeling it toward their mouths.
In that instant, Hyuuga Nen concentrated his chakra beneath his feet and released it in a sudden burst, propelling himself forward. The attack that should have struck him from the front was left behind.
"Gentle Fist: Body Strike!"
As he shot forward, Hyuuga Nen abruptly released the chakra within his body through the tenketsu in his back, deflecting part of the attack behind him.
"Rumble! Rumble!"
Hyuuga Nen burst out of the smoke. From the front, he looked completely unharmed, but from behind, his hair and clothes were scorched, and his exposed back showed signs of burns.
Using the explosion's shock wave, Hyuuga Nen gained a great burst of speed and flashed in front of Kakuzu before he could react.
"Gentle Fist!"
Although Hyuuga Nen called it the Gentle Fist, his movements were broad, fast, and fierce. He drove Kakuzu back again and again.
After taking one of Hyuuga Nen's strikes head-on, Kakuzu used the chance to retreat and formed a single hand seal. A black sheen appeared across his body.
"Earth Release: Earth Spear!" Kakuzu roared.
Hyuuga Nen pressed in close and continued using the Gentle Fist to keep Kakuzu on the defensive.
"Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!"
As their fists and feet collided in a brutal close-quarters clash, each impact rang out with tremendous force. The battle's shock waves left the ground covered in cracks.
This technique has increased Kakuzu's strength and defense. His defense, in particular, has improved considerably, but his speed has slowed a lot. Most importantly, this technique can't stop my Gentle Fist! Hyuuga Nen reached this conclusion during the fight.
Break through his defense. The thought flashed through Hyuuga Nen's mind, and he increased the chakra flowing into his Gentle Fist. With Kakuzu's speed reduced, Hyuuga Nen easily planted both palms against his chest.
With two cracking sounds, the Earth Release technique coating Kakuzu's chest in black light was instantly broken by Hyuuga Nen's Gentle Fist. Kakuzu flew backward, rolled across the ground several times, then struggled to his feet.
"That's impossible! Only Lightning Release can break my Earth Spear!" Kakuzu coughed several times, clutching his chest as he stared at Hyuuga Nen in disbelief.
"All ninjutsu is made of chakra. That's its very nature. So no ninjutsu is anything special against the Gentle Fist, which destroys its target by injecting chakra into it."
Hyuuga Nen looked at Kakuzu and answered calmly.
But the Earth Grudge Fear secret technique has transformed Kakuzu's body into something monstrous. An ordinary person would have died from that blow.
"Impossible! You're lying. If that were true, the Hyuga Clan would have been the greatest clan in the Shinobi World long ago," Kakuzu retorted, trying to refute his claim.
"Believe what you want."
Hyuuga Nen was, of course, bluffing. The Gentle Fist's chakra could counter ninjutsu to some extent, but its effect was limited and not very noticeable.
As for Kakuzu's claim that the Hyuga were the greatest clan in the Shinobi World, Hyuuga Nen thought that perhaps, before long, the Hyuga Clan would start making that claim themselves.
"Your secret technique doesn't seem to be doing much against my Byakugan and Gentle Fist, Kakuzu," Hyuuga Nen said, trying to provoke him.
"There's no point trying to provoke me. I've seen tricks like yours countless times over my decades of fighting," Kakuzu said, now calm as he stared intently at Hyuuga Nen.
"You have no secrets in front of my Byakugan. Your plan is going to fail," Hyuuga Nen continued, ignoring Kakuzu's words and taunting him.
"You arrogant brat. You'll pay for this soon enough," Kakuzu said, fixing Hyuuga Nen with a murderous glare.
Hyuuga Nen was trying to provoke Kakuzu, but what he had said just now was true. Kakuzu's Earth Grudge Fear secret technique really wasn't very effective against him.
After several exchanges, Hyuuga Nen had learned all he needed to know about Kakuzu. The black-masked monsters were made up of countless black threads. Those threads were tough, but they still couldn't withstand Hyuuga Nen's attacks.
Kakuzu had only two advantages in his fight against Hyuuga Nen: greater combat experience and ninjutsu with a longer range.
Under Hyuuga Nen's Byakugan, Kakuzu's advantage in combat experience was almost completely negated. The only thing Hyuuga Nen truly feared was Kakuzu's long-range ninjutsu.
Hyuuga Nen didn't want Kakuzu to send more monsters after him. His main way of attacking was taijutsu, and his short reach was a weakness.
If Kakuzu really sent more monsters to attack him, Hyuuga Nen would have a hard time striking back effectively and might well be worn down to death. That was why he hoped his verbal attacks would make Kakuzu withdraw the monsters back into his body.
If Kakuzu really feared Hyuuga Nen's Gentle Fist enough to withdraw the monsters, Hyuuga Nen was confident he could take him down in one attack as soon as he found an opening.
He hadn't realized it before, but his fight with Kakuzu had shown him just how powerful the Byakugan, a Kekkei Genkai, truly was—far more powerful than he had expected.
As they traded taunts, the same thought crossed both their minds:
He's stalling for time!
He's stalling for time!
As he spoke, Hyuuga Nen began forming hand seals. "Shadow Clone Technique!"
He created two Shadow Clones, and the three Hyuuga Nens began forming hand seals at the same time.
At the same time, across from Hyuuga Nen, Kakuzu did indeed withdraw the two black monsters into his body. A series of cracking sounds came from his body, and two black monsters gradually emerged from his shoulders, making him look as if he had three heads.
The two monsters on Kakuzu's shoulders opened their mouths, glowing with dazzling chakra as Fire Style and Wind Style burst forth together.
"Combined Ninjutsu: Searing Migraine! Die!"
The flames of Zukokku were greatly enhanced in range and speed by Wind Release: Pressure Damage. Everything in their path—trees and earth alike—was instantly incinerated, leaving only charred traces behind.
As the sea of flames rushed toward them, Hyuuga Nen's two Shadow Clones had also finished preparing their ninjutsu. They opened their mouths and aimed at the flames ahead. "Fire Style: Dragon Fire Technique! Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
"Combined Ninjutsu: Wind Fire Tornado!"
This combined technique was one Hyuuga Nen had learned from Aoki. After trying it once himself, he had already mastered it.
Although Hyuuga Nen's Shadow Clones had used their ninjutsu, the original Hyuuga Nen didn't perform a technique after finishing his hand seals. He only took a defensive stance and stared intently ahead.
The two combined techniques clashed on the battlefield. After a brief deadlock, they erupted in a violent explosion. The ninjutsu, which had been under control, immediately became chaotic, bursting in every direction with the force of a natural disaster.
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