Kazemori Masaki sprinted along the wall. Behind him, a pillar of water crackling with electricity closed in, blasting chips of stone from the rock face. An invisible air cannon followed, hurtling toward his path. Although it missed, the shock wave still sent him flying.
At that moment, a mass of black threads shot toward him like arrows. Kazemori Masaki used natural energy to adjust his posture and deflected the threads aimed at his body with Wind Cutter. The remaining threads struck the wall, leaving countless holes.
Just as Kazemori Masaki steadied himself on the rock face again, the water pillar returned, forcing him to run once more. From the other side, the air cannon of Wind Release: Pressure Damage cut off his escape routes. Even if he evaded everything, the black threads of Earth Grudge Fear would follow.
Kazemori Masaki looked thoroughly harried, but Kakuzu was alarmed. Under his three-pronged assault, Masaki had not suffered a single injury. He lunged, leaped, or parried, handling every attack. An ordinary ninja would have fallen long ago under this relentless onslaught.
Good. Very good. Now this is someone worthy of being called an expert. Your heart will surely give me tremendous power.
An intense greed for Kazemori Masaki's heart welled up within Kakuzu. He did not believe he would lose. Masaki had performed well, but that was all. Dodging at this speed and intensity would rapidly drain his stamina. The moment he ran out of strength would be the moment Kakuzu won.
Of course, Kakuzu did not know that, thanks to the Sage realm, Kazemori Masaki would never grow tired as long as he had even a trace of senjutsu chakra left. His mind and body would remain brimming with energy. But the moment his senjutsu chakra ran out completely, Masaki would be