Now!
The sudden explosion sent Orochimaru and the others surrounding Kakuzu flying.
No one knew when Deidara had buried the bombs underground around them without anyone noticing.
Although the explosion engulfed Kakuzu as well, he had already drawn his black threads around himself to form a defense, protecting his body from injury.
Tentacle Fist!
Squelch!
The black threads connecting his wrist to his arm rapidly unraveled. A dense mass of threads shot out of his arm, crossing dozens of meters and piercing straight through Orochimaru's heart.
Orochimaru spat out a mouthful of blood.
"It's over!"
Seeing his attack land, Kakuzu sighed in relief. Before the others could react, his black threads began writhing, seeking to pierce Orochimaru's body until it resembled a pincushion.
The next second, a strange expression appeared on Orochimaru's deathly pale face. His mouth suddenly opened wide, and an arm reached out of it.
Orochimaru crawled out of his own body, looking completely uninjured.
"Hmph! Did you think I hadn't anticipated that?"
Kakuzu showed no sign of disappointment at the sight.
"Hehehe... you, urgh..."
Before Orochimaru could finish, Kakuzu's other hand burst out of the ground with a bang and instantly clamped around his neck, leaving him unable to speak.
Crack!
Kakuzu controlled his hand, squeezing hard, and the sound of shattering bones rang out.
"..."
Orochimaru could not break free this time. He was also too far from Kakuzu to hit him even with Ninjutsu that released venomous snakes or the like.
His gaze swept over the Third Raikage, who lay nearby. His body was still repairing itself. The explosion had focused particularly on the Third Raikage!
Deidara and Kakuzu both knew that, given the Third Raikage's speed and strength, they could not win unless they briefly deprived him of the ability to fight back.
That