Black Zetsu Is Always Thinking

Based on the "multiplication" of Yang Release, by changing its length and shape, and combined with Kakuzu's Earth Release: Earth Spear, a beggar's version of "True Several Thousand Hands" has been formed.

Earth Grudge Fear's signature black lines burst forth from behind Kakuzu once more, forming a pair of wings.

Kakuzu pushed off with his foot and flew into the air.

"What is that?" Even Uchiha Itachi, who was quite worldly, was Kakuzu by Kakuzu's appearance. "So ugly!"

As they spoke, the tentacles formed by the Earth Grudge Fear suddenly extended and slammed down on the Konoha Ninja below at an extremely fast speed.

To be honest, if this move were used between the First Shinobi World War and the Third Shinobi World War, he would definitely be a monster-like character, an unparalleled warrior on the battlefield.

But at this moment.

The real monster is much simpler yet far more brutal than that.

Uchiha Shingen activated his Rinnegan and slapped his hand towards Kakuzu's direction.

Shinra Tensei!

The powerful repulsive force propelled the extended Earth Grudge Fear and its Kakuzu dozens of meters into the sky.

All the Konoha Ninja felt the ground beneath their feet tremble violently.

Uchiha Shingen pushed off with his feet and also shot into the sky.

"Kakuzu, you've got some nerve!"

Upon hearing this, Kakuzu saw Uchiha Shingen appear in front of him.

Uchiha Shingen knew that the Earth Grudge Fear possessed superb physical binding abilities, capable of precisely binding an opponent's hands to prevent them from forming hand Hand Seals or summoning. In this respect Jiraiya's Lion's Hair Substitution Technique Jutsu.

But unless facing an opponent like Uchiha Madara, Uchiha Shingen basically doesn't rely on technique anymore.

For him, this function of Earth Grudge Fear is no different than not having it at all.

Uchiha Shingen spread his hands, activated the Cursed Seal, and unleashed the Tailed Beast Chakra.

Inferior - Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack!

Kaguya Otsutsuki's Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack, based on her most powerful Chakra and progenitor-level insight, regardless of the number of punches, the power of each punch is equivalent to the full power output of Six Paths level, with no blind spots within its range, and neither Ninjutsu nor Genjutsu can dodge it.

It is also an Absolute Defense, capable of completely covering Kaguya Otsutsuki.

Although Uchiha Shingen couldn't use or learn the complete version of the Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack, he still unleashed dozens of materialized Chakra punches and used the Chakra insight brought by the Rinnegan to seal off all of Kakuzu's evasive options.

From Konan's perspective in the distance, dozens of enormous blue fiery fists slammed Kakuzu into the ground in the blink of an eye.

She was stunned.

What kind of Ninjutsu is this?

That's terrifying!?

This was even harder for her to accept than Uchiha Shingen having the same eyes as Nagato.

Uchiha Shingen, on the other hand, was very satisfied with his experience of using the Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack for the first time.

The degraded version of the Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack, performed with Matatabi's Chakra, achieved exactly what he expected.

Dozens of Chakra fists plowed through the land in front of them, and Matatabi the Chakra itself had a burning property, the area below was now a blue sea of fire.

This is a genuine, legitimate branch of the Ōtsutsuki Clan.

I'm not going to play Ninjutsu with you. Take one of my punches first, and if you survive, then we can talk about technical stuff.

Uchiha Shingen glanced behind him and saw that the Special Operations Team members had stopped in front of the sea of fire and turned to run south.

Uchiha Itachi certainly had many flaws, but he had one good point: his comprehension was exceptional. He could explain everything clearly without Uchiha Shingen having to say much.

Uchiha Shingen withdrew his gaze, flew past the blue flames, and landed on Konan.

Chapter Twenty-One: Black Zetsu Was Always Thinking

As Uchiha Shingen crashed down, Konan, who was stunned by the knock-off version of the Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack, reacted instinctively, flapping her paper wings as she was about to fly away.

But since she was Jiraiya's apprentice, she used a Dance of the Shikigami, using the flying paper pieces and Paper Clone to try to hide her true form.

In Uchiha Shingen's eyes, her true form had nowhere to hide.

Uchiha Shingen felt this was wrong, so he threw a punch.

Describing this move as "Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack" is not quite accurate, as it's been significantly downgraded. "Uchiha Vacuum God Strike" would be a more fitting name.

But to be fair, this move is a perfect match for the Juinjutsu.

Compared to Jinchūriki techniques, the burden on the body is heavier when the Tailed Beast Chakra is transmitted through the Cursed Seal. However, if the Divine Vacuum Attack is used, the burden is almost zero— the Tailed Beast Chakra stays in the body for a very short time, almost non-existent.

This time, Konan saw it much more clearly.

Blue Chakra surged from Uchiha Shingen's palm, forming a fist shape in mid-air. The violent Chakra began to affect the surrounding environment as soon as it appeared.

The temperature in the air suddenly rose, and the fragile pieces of paper spontaneously combusted. A violent emotion welled up in Konan's heart.

But it was soon replaced by fear.

The blue Chakra fist roared terrifyingly in the air, and the impact, accompanied by a ring of flames, instantly burned all the scattered pieces of paper in the air to ashes.

As the ridiculously large, fiery fist—enough for ten people to encircle—getted closer and closer, Konan closed her eyes in despair.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The deafening explosion rang in her ears, leaving only a buzzing sound.

The scorching heat made her clothes cling to her body, preventing any sweat from seeping out—it all evaporated.

Konan opened her eyes. Although the tinnitus hadn't disappeared, she was still alive.

It turned out that the fiery fist had separated before hitting her, precisely avoiding her position and blasting everything else around her.

Centered on her, within a hundred-meter radius, there wasn't a single piece of paper left, regardless of up, down, front, back, left, or right. Any Paper Clone were long gone. The ground had been flattened away, so any traps that had been set up were now gone.

A gravitational pull came from ahead, and Konan was unable to resist being pulled down.

This was Uchiha Shingen directly throwing a Banshō Ten'in at her.

"We've known each other for ages, why are you running away the moment we meet?" Uchiha Shingen looked at her with displeasure. "If Yahiko were still alive, he'd spank you for treating an ally like this, believe me?"

Hearing this name, Konan snapped out of her daze.

You're not going to kill me?

"Which eye of yours sees me as someone who's betrayed their alliance? I'm here to mediate; I'm telling you not to leave, aren't I?"

Upon hearing this, Konan looked around and then gazed into the distance at the spot where Kakuzu had fallen—the fire there had been extinguished, but the ground had collapsed in large sections due to the previous bombardment and melting effects, turning it into a sinkhole.

Konan felt that both of her eyes were fixed on this person as if they were looking for trouble.

Kakuzu still hasn't climbed up, and she's starting to suspect Kakuzu have been killed.

"Stop looking at me like that. If I wanted to kill you, would I need to go through all this trouble?" Uchiha Shingen said. "Kakuzu dead. You underestimate him. I was already holding back. Besides, he attacked first. If he really got killed, it would be his own fault."

"Where are your men? I saw them head south."

"Of course we should go to the Sand Ninja; they can mediate with both sides present."

Konan remained silent for a while, then decided not to think about whether there was a trap involved.

After all, she was facing someone who could kill her with a single punch.

When someone like that offers you a way out, you can't refuse.

She wasn't afraid of death, but she wasn't willing to die like this.

"You look much better now, let's go."

Where to?

"We need to find a good location. Negotiations should be conducted in a scenic spot with beautiful scenery. A pleasant environment will help everyone have a better mood for the discussions."

Uchiha Shingen swore that he meant it sincerely; that's what he truly thought.

He definitely didn't intend to find an auspicious burial site for someone.

His reputation has recently soured, probably because of the damage he caused in Kumogakure.

Inviting the now well-behaved Konan, Uchiha Shingen also started walking towards the direction of Sand Village.

After a long time, a small mound rose up on the scorched earth.

Bang!

With a sound like a bottle cap being popped open by air, Kakuzu poked his head out.

He cautiously looked around to make sure no one was there before the ground around him began to churn.

Countless black lines broke through the ground.

In the blink of an eye, the black lines had spread all over the ground, densely intertwined and constantly writhing, emitting eerie sounds of unknown meaning, presenting a scene that was extremely unfriendly to those with trypophobia.

Kakuzu's head was covered in black lines from the neck down, and his head was being propped up by these lines.

As the black lines intertwined more and more, they began to shrink back into human form, and the light representing Medical Ninjutsu continued to flash. Skin began to grow on the surface of this dark humanoid shape.

Uchiha Shingen held back, but the Void God Strike was a devastating blow to most ninjas of this era. With the support of the Tailed Beasts, Uchiha Shingen cleverly avoided the skill's biggest weakness—high chakra consumption.

With the Rinnegan at his disposal, Uchiha Shingen can strike his opponent without any blind spots by Chakra, which means he can deliberately hold back.

But the hardships they're meant to endure still need to be faced.

If Kakuzu hadn't possessed the Earth Grudge Fear and the Yang Release, which was incredibly powerful compared to most people of that era, and given Uchiha Shingen's "holding back," he would have been mortally dead.

Under the healing power of Medical Ninjutsu, the skin below his head was rapidly repaired. However, during the repair process, the black lines of Earth Grudge Fear also trembled and spat out four objects.

They were severely damaged by external forces and are no longer usable.

[That Uchiha Shingen guy...]

Kakuzu looked at the destroyed heart on the ground, knowing it was a warning to him.

He now only has one heart left, a heart with earth-type transformation Chakra.

In just a few years, the other party has already reached a level that he can no longer reach.

Just like when he faced Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara then.

No, it's even worse. Uchiha Shingen's move—he believed he hadn't lived in vain all these years. After personally experiencing it, he concluded that it was the product of cultivating Chakra to a level he could no longer comprehend, surpassing all the Ninjutsu he knew.

He could draw his own conclusion without further comparison.

Nagato is not as good as Uchiha Shingen.

Uchiha Shingen also possessed the Rinnegan, but Nagato certainly wouldn't use this technique.

This has nothing to do with any bloodline limit or ability; it's a higher level of Chakra.

This is the highest threshold.

[Nagato, you'd better make it up to me.]

Having repaired his skin, Kakuzu longer looked at the abandoned heart on the ground and left.

He's going to find the scorpion.

Nagato's instruction to him was to test Uchiha Shingen's current level.

Kakuzu is a reasonable man. Nagato is much stronger than him, but he has always respected him.

He will keep his promise.

Especially this time, he has truly lived up to Nagato's long-standing respect for him.

Uchiha Shingen is a difficult person to deal with; he needs to meet with Sasori first.

Before that, he had to see someone and get his heart repaired.

Kakuzu quickly left the land that had been slightly ravaged by Uchiha Shingen.

He headed north until he saw his target—the stronghold that Rain Village had established in the rear.

Along the way, he encountered a patrol squad of Rain Ninja, from which he learned that the person he was looking for was in this stronghold.

He was looking for his former "colleagues".

Now, he has become the de facto spokesperson for the Akatsuki.

This two-faced guy is now completely black, and he's not wearing any clothes—his entire body is black, so he's clearly not human.