New Technique

"Threads? What a coincidence. I've recently become quite interested in threads myself..."

Shin'yu's Hands flashed repeatedly, knocking away every Black Line that shot toward him. Though he could not see them, he precisely anticipated where each Black Line would land. Most astonishing of all was his terrifying hand speed—afterimages filled the air in an instant!

Shin'yu fought as he retreated, his footwork seemingly chaotic, yet it somehow kept Kakuzu circling around the Original Spot. At one point, Kakuzu suddenly noticed a fleeting crystalline glint in Shin'yu's hand.

"Something's wrong!"

He immediately stopped attacking. The masks on either side of his head began gathering Wind Style and Fire Style Chakra.

Suddenly, Shin'yu's lips curved upward. Like a conductor waving a baton at a concert, he rapidly moved both Hands, his fingertips shifting and weaving like fluttering butterflies before he gave a fierce pull!

"Buzz—"

Kakuzu froze slightly. His arm suddenly tightened, as though something invisible had wrapped around it. Before he could struggle free, his limbs were bound as well, followed by his chest and Black Line tentacles. Everywhere Shin'yu had touched was seized by a suffocating restraint!

He abruptly realized that the air had long been filled with nearly imperceptible transparent Threads, connected to Shin'yu's ten fingers. Like a flying insect caught in a Spider Web, he could no longer escape!

The unfinished Wind-and-Fire combo Ninjutsu also collapsed midway.

Shin'yu shook his head and sighed softly. "Sure enough, compared to Chakra nature transformation, I still prefer shape transformation."

"Clap clap clap clap clap!"

As soon as he finished speaking, countless hair-thin Threads Emerged in the air. These Threads were several times tougher than Kakuzu's Earth Grudge Fear tentacles. In mere moments, he was tightly bound by innumerable Threads and pulled uncontrollably into Mid-air like a puppet at someone else's mercy.

"This is... no, these are all Chakra Threads! You're... a Puppet Master!?"

Kakuzu's Pupils contracted sharply. "No, that's not right! The density of these Threads makes them sharper than blades. If I hadn't hardened my body in time, I would have been sliced to pieces already!"

"Fun, isn't it? This is a Ninjutsu I just developed. I haven't even named it yet."

Shin'yu elegantly spread his fingers and murmured, "Gold Gathering, Armament."

In an instant, several of the densely packed Threads darkened in color, taking on a thick Metallic Sheen. They coiled around Kakuzu's chest, limbs, and shoulder masks.

Shin'yu lifted his index finger slightly. The Threads instantly sank into Kakuzu's body as smoothly as silk cutting through a soft egg.

"Slice!"

In the blink of an eye, Kakuzu's head was severed from his body. His monstrous body was chopped into scattered pieces, his black Threads cut apart along with it. Fragments of all sizes rained down, while his head rolled away, its horrified expression frozen in place.

This bloody scene was deeply seared into the eyes of the three children, each of their Pupils widening slightly in terror.

They had never imagined that the Young Man with black satin wrapped over his eyes, who seemed refined and easygoing, could possess such cruel methods!

Yet the Young Man did not leave. He merely stood in the Original Spot with a faint smile, quietly watching Kakuzu's "corpse."

Before long, the fragments began trembling. Countless Black Lines started swaying like cobras dancing to a flute, spreading toward the distant head and the scattered pieces around it.

"That monster... he's not dead yet!"

Orochimaru stared wide-eyed in shock, having forgotten to breathe.

In his gaze, the Black Lines scuttled about like living things, drawing the fragments on the ground together and gradually piecing them into a complete body. They stitched it together bit by bit until, at last, the Threads gathered into one stream and pulled the head back onto the neck.

Thus, a man who had just been hacked to pieces miraculously returned to normal.

The Black Lines stitched every crack shut, and Kakuzu began breathing again, panting heavily.

An expression of extreme pain crossed his face. Two large holes automatically tore open in his back, and two strangely shaped White Masks flew out from the Cave Entrance before bursting into countless Black Lines.

"You destroyed two of my hearts in one blow!" Kakuzu raised his head and glared viciously at the Young Man before him, his gaze savage. "You really... have made me furious!"

Shin'yu clicked his tongue and shook his head, seeming somewhat dissatisfied. "I thought I'd shattered all four. I went too easy on you."

As soon as he spoke, he vanished from the Original Spot. Wind Sound rose and fell as more than a dozen afterimages flashed around him.

Kakuzu immediately swung out his tentacle fist. The Black Lines automatically separated, detaching his wrist from his arm. His iron fist pierced through an afterimage, but there was no sense of impact.

"Rasengan."

A piercing hum sounded beside his ear. Three Shin'yus, each holding a rapidly spinning Chakra sphere, slammed them fiercely into Kakuzu's body and blasted him high into the air.

All the afterimages merged into one. Shin'yu raised a Sword Finger and swiped toward Mid-air. A streak of azure Sword Qi flashed past, striking Kakuzu's hardened neck with a crisp clang.

"Damn it!" Kakuzu immediately separated a mask from Inside the body. Lightning gathered in its gaping mouth while he formed Hand Seals with both Hands, gathering Water Release Chakra in his throat.

"Water Release Combo: Thunder Water Dragon Bullet!"

A curtain of water spread out as a Water Dragon that churned rivers and seas descended with dazzling lightning. Countless sparks flickered ceaselessly through the damp air.

Shin'yu smiled, bringing his palms together before forcefully spreading them apart. With his motion, the majestic roaring Water Dragon split open from its mouth, as if ripped apart by an invisible Big Hand, its lightning falling to both sides along with it.

"Rasengan." Shin'yu raised his right hand. Flowing light spun and converged, and the ice-blue Chakra sphere appeared once more.

Kakuzu had just landed. Before he could adjust his stance, he sensed danger and immediately hardened his arms, raising them before his chest.

At the same time, the Pitch Black color of hardening spread toward his chest.

Shin'yu suddenly changed his hand gesture. As the blue Light condensed, the Rasengan abruptly shrank, hovering at his fingertip like a bullet.

"Spiral Bullet!"

"Whoosh!"

The Spiral Bullet tore through the air, turbulent currents spiraling around it as it formed a straight trajectory. It passed through the gap between Kakuzu's arms and, before the Pitch Black hardening could completely cover his chest, struck precisely into it.

A huge hole instantly opened in Kakuzu's back. The Spiral Bullet pierced through his body and blasted the Lightning Release mask behind him into fragments!

"Argh!"

Kakuzu's face twisted grotesquely, his Facial Features contorting together as he endured immense pain.

"If I remember correctly, you should still have two hearts left..."

Shin'yu rolled his wrist, his tone casual. "I'm tired of playing. At this point, you might as well listen to what I have to say."

"What you have to say?" Kakuzu glared at him viciously. "You destroyed three of my hearts, and now you expect me to speak with you calmly?"

Shin'yu tilted his head. A faint azure steam drifted from his body. "Third Gate of Life, open."

He stepped forward. A tremendous Sonic Boom erupted with a roar, and a powerful aura crashed toward Kakuzu. A figure blocked all his sunlight, and Shin'yu's tall, heroic frame reflected in his rapidly contracting Pupils.

"That speed!"

"Splurt."

Kakuzu lowered his gaze in disbelief. An arm had already pierced through his chest, clutching a mask in its palm as five fingers slowly tightened.

"Crack."

It was the sound of the mask shattering.

Too fast. He had no time to react at all!

His barely raised Hands were also seized by Shin'yu's iron-pincer grip. With a slight exertion of force, Shin'yu tore off both his arms at the shoulders.

A Big Hand covered the top of his head. Then, the Young Man with black satin wrapped over his eyes revealed a wicked smile. Raising his hand as though pulling up a radish, he used tyrannical strength to tear Kakuzu's head from his body, leaving only Black Lines still barely connected before snapping one by one.

Kakuzu's face turned pale, and a deep sense of helplessness welled up within him. Before this guy, he was like a toy at someone else's mercy, casually and violently dismantled.

Shin'yu lifted Kakuzu's head before his face. His frivolous tone made him seem like a demon from hell. "Now... are you willing to listen to what I have to say?"

This guy had been toying with me from the very beginning! Kakuzu's face was full of disbelief. His expression shifted several times before he finally resigned himself to it.

Uchiha Shin'yu was simply a monster. Invincible in Ninjutsu, invincible in Taijutsu, and as an Uchiha, his Illusion Technique could not possibly be weak either...

If he had shown this terrifying Taijutsu from the start, then even if Kakuzu had ten hearts, he would not have lasted more than a few exchanges.

"Go on, then." Kakuzu spoke in a low voice, yet there was not the slightest hint of humiliation on his face.