"Boom...!!!"
Sage Art: Goemon and Kakupai's Earth Grudge Fear: Final Barrage... collided in a hellish storm of destruction!!
Not to mention the buildings left riddled with holes by flames, raging winds, thunderbolts, and Chakra blasts!
The boiling oil that rolled and splashed in every direction was the most terrifying part!
The rain streaking through the sky evaporated the moment it approached this zone of convection!
Fortunately, this area was an uninhabited zone of Amegakure, so no innocent civilians were caught up in it.
When the aftermath settled... Kakupai stood amid scorching, distorted air.
Jiraiya... was nowhere to be seen!
The words Nagato had spoken to Obito atop the tower were simultaneously murmured through Kakupai's mouth: "Did he escape? Honestly, running away like that was the wisest choice..."
"Clang!"
A section of steel piping above, heated to its melting point, snapped loose and fell, landing on the ground behind Kakupai with a sizzling sound.
Kakuzu glanced back!
"Now!!!"
The figure lurking in the darkness seized that fleeting opening and launched a fierce taijutsu strike from Kakuzu's blind spot!
"Smack!" Yet... Kakuzu casually raised his right hand and caught Jiraiya's fist!
"What!?" Jiraiya's eyes widened in shock.
In that instant of surprise, Earth Grudge Fear black threads flowed from the seam in Kakupai's forearm and wrapped around him. The Fire Release mask on his right shoulder opened its mouth, and a terrifying stream of fire erupted in an instant... swallowing Jiraiya in white smoke!
Kakupai lowered his hand and murmured, "So it really was a clone... at least you weren't reckless."
Jiraiya, hidden among distant ruins, said with lingering fear, "That was close. If it hadn't been a clone just now, I would've been badly injured even if I didn't die!"
Sage Fukasaku said, "How strange. Why could the enemy respond so