Victory!

Although the combined ninjutsu Hyuuga Nen used was powerful, it still couldn't match Kakuzu's. Before long, Kakuzu's ninjutsu had suppressed it.

Watching the flames erupt around him, Hyuuga Nen didn't hesitate for a moment. He spun his body at high speed.

"Rotation!"

The explosions on the battlefield and the sounds of Rotation colliding with the flames echoed all around them. Thick smoke engulfed the entire battlefield.

As the smoke cleared, Hyuuga Nen's figure came into view. But the instant he stopped, several enormous black tentacles burst out of the ground.

The tentacles wrapped around Hyuuga Nen at astonishing speed, binding his limbs and waist and leaving him unable to move.

Hyuuga Nen looked ahead and saw that Kakuzu had somehow changed as well. Eight enormous black tentacles extended from his body.

The tentacles were all made of the black threads of Earth Grudge Fear. They stretched out from the masks on Kakuzu's shoulders and back. One even extended straight from his mouth, making for a revolting sight.

"With you tied up like this, you can't use Gentle Fist, can you? I'll take your heart!"

Kakuzu opened his mouth wide, a long tentacle extending from it. His words came out garbled.

"Just die!" Before he'd even finished speaking, the tentacle from Kakuzu's mouth shot straight toward Hyuuga Nen's heart.

Watching the tentacle rush toward his heart, Hyuuga Nen showed no panic, even though his hands and feet were bound. He clenched his fists and tensed his entire body, as if preparing for something.

"Let me show you what true Gentle Fist looks like." Hyuuga Nen looked at Kakuzu and spoke calmly.

"Gentle Fist: Body Strike Method: Needle!"

Hyuuga Nen controlled the chakra inside his body, compressing it into needle shapes before releasing it in an instant from the tenketsu all over his body.

With a series of hissing sounds, his chakra pierced the black tentacles binding him, shattering them into tiny fragments that fell to the ground.

Instead of dodging the black tentacle launched from Kakuzu's mouth, Hyuuga Nen charged forward, grabbed it, and yanked it toward himself. Kakuzu was pulled through the air toward him against his will.

Watching Kakuzu rush toward him with his eyes wide, Hyuuga Nen began compressing the chakra inside his body. He raised his palm and aimed it at Kakuzu.

Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!

Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!

Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!

Hyuuga Nen unleashed three Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palms in succession, each one stronger than the last. Three enormous, translucent palm-shaped blasts shot toward Kakuzu.

The first palm sent Kakuzu flying into the air. Its tremendous force snapped every black tentacle in his mouth.

"Ah!"

Kakuzu let out a scream. Even so, he instantly used the Earth Spear Technique in midair and took a defensive stance.

The moment he'd assumed his defensive posture, the second Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm slammed into him. Kakuzu's Earth Spear Technique failed to block the attack as he'd expected; Hyuuga Nen's Gentle Fist chakra shattered it outright.

A third muffled boom rang out as the final Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm struck Kakuzu. By then, he couldn't defend himself and could only watch Hyuuga Nen's attack come at him.

"Ahhhhh!" Kakuzu wasn't the only one screaming. The mask monsters on his body screamed too.

Under the Byakugan, Hyuuga Nen could clearly see the mask monsters on Kakuzu's back bulge outward as the attack hit. They let out shrill cries, as if trying to escape Kakuzu's body.

After unleashing the three Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palms, Hyuuga Nen didn't pause for a moment. He charged toward Kakuzu as he fell from the sky.

"Damn it! Just give me a few seconds! If I can just get a few seconds to recover, I can counterattack!" Kakuzu spat out a large mouthful of blood in midair and thought with difficulty.

By then, Hyuuga Nen had caught up with him. Kakuzu hit the ground and staggered back several steps. Though injured, he still managed to use the Earth Spear Technique at the last moment.

Seeing the black light radiating from Kakuzu's body, Hyuuga Nen showed no surprise. Instead, the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

Closing in on Kakuzu, Hyuuga Nen extended both hands toward his chest, looking as if he were about to attack.

I have to block it!

That was the only thought in Kakuzu's mind in that instant. He crossed his arms in front of his chest, staring fixedly at Hyuuga Nen's outstretched hands as he braced himself to defend.

But just as Hyuuga Nen's attack was about to land, Kakuzu seemed to see his hands pause for the briefest instant. Hyuuga Nen then spat out a Wind Release senbon, which pierced Kakuzu's eye before he could react.

"Ahhhhh!"

With his eyeball pierced, Kakuzu let out a chilling scream. He could no longer maintain the Earth Spear Technique.

The ninjutsu Hyuuga Nen spat from his mouth was only a D-rank technique: "Wind Release: Wind Senbon." It was the technique he'd triggered with the Seal of Delay after creating two Shadow Clones earlier.

Seeing that Kakuzu's Earth Spear Technique had dissipated, Hyuuga Nen immediately gathered all the chakra within his body and channeled it into his hands.

"Gentle Fist: Maximum Rotation!"

"Kakuzu, die here!"

Hyuuga Nen slammed both hands into Kakuzu's chest, pouring all of his Gentle Fist chakra into Kakuzu's body.

The Gentle Fist chakra erupted inside Kakuzu. A muffled boom sounded from his body, and a circular wave of white air burst outward from beneath Hyuuga Nen's feet.

"Boom!"

Kakuzu flew backward, spitting mouthful after mouthful of blood. Pieces of flesh were mixed in with it. That blow had shattered every organ in his body with Hyuuga Nen's Gentle Fist.

At the same time, the masks on Kakuzu's back broke apart, scattering into countless fragments.

After crashing through who knew how many trees, Kakuzu's body slammed into the ground, leaving a long furrow behind him. His chest was completely caved in, and he lay limp on the ground.

Seeing Kakuzu's mangled state, Hyuuga Nen didn't stop. He immediately began forming Hand Seals, preparing to use Earth Style.

When Hyuuga Nen's Wind Senbon pierced Kakuzu's eye, he had already seen through his Byakugan that one of the mask monsters had used Earth Style to burrow underground in that instant.

"You're really hard to kill." Hyuuga Nen spoke as he formed Hand Seals, preparing to burrow underground and finish Kakuzu off for good.

But just then, Hyuuga Nen realized that several people had been drawn over by the commotion. Through his Byakugan, he saw that they were shinobi wearing animal masks.

One of them had silver hair that stood straight up like a broom.

"Are these Konoha's Anbu? Is that Kakashi at the front?"

In that instant, countless thoughts flashed through Hyuuga Nen's mind. Should he kill Kakuzu outright, or try to disguise his identity? But in the end, Hyuuga Nen could only let out a long sigh.

"The worst-case scenario happened after all. I'd better leave right away."

After saying that, Hyuuga Nen ignored the last black mask monster left behind by Kakuzu and ran off into the distance.