Faced with a kick from that green-clad man, Hidan was sent flying backward, crashing into several Cloud Ninja behind him and sending them tumbling head over heels.
At that moment, Hidan felt as if his internal organs were screaming in agony. With his profound understanding of the human body, he knew his viscera had been shredded. For any ordinary person—or even a ninja without some specialized life-saving technique—he would already be a corpse.
In other words, had he actually been kicked to "death" by that ridiculous bowl-cut brat across from him?!
This was truly...
Exhilarating!
"It hurts so much..."
Hidan's brown eyes were filled with a mixture of pain and frenzied excitement. As a cultist, he possessed an incredibly obsessive streak. He could endure agony that would be unbearable for any normal person. To please Lord Jashin, he had undergone inhuman torture, which had granted him his current ability.
An immortal body!
"Hahahaha!"
"It really, really hurts!"
"But you can't kill me!"
The man with the slicked-back silver hair laughed wildly on the battlefield, his laughter sounding both mad and manic.
"It seems your so-called immortal body has given you the confidence to face any enemy."
The familiar voice suddenly reached his ears, causing Hidan's laughter to freeze in his throat. The man was already standing right in front of him.
One had to remember that Hidan had been kicked a considerable distance away, landing deep within the Cloud Ninja's formations. This guy actually dared to charge straight into their midst?!
But facing Might Guy's words, Hidan had no time for laughter. He swung his crimson Triple-Bladed Scythe toward Guy.
Guy dodged the scythe effortlessly, his eyes showing no ripple of emotion. He spoke calmly:
"If I burned you to ash, or ground you into a pulp, would you die then?"
His tone was level, as if he were genuinely asking a scientific question.
"You bastard, don't get ahead of yourself!"
Hidan was furious, desperate to draw blood from Guy to perform his ritual. His taijutsu might have been considered decent by others' standards, but compared to Guy, it was like comparing a flickering firefly to the bright moon, or a speck of dust to a majestic mountain. Even comparing the two in terms of physical combat was an insult to Guy.
"Hidan, calm down."
A voice called out, attempting to bring Hidan back to his senses.
But before the speaker could finish, the tip of a finger had already touched Hidan's exposed chest.
"What is—?"
Though Guy's movements were fast, this strange gesture left Hidan bewildered.
"You're dead," Guy said coldly, looking the man in the eye.
In a split second, the finger touching Hidan's chest snapped back and tightened into a fist. That single punch exploded with terrifying power over a negligible distance!
One-Inch Punch!
A dull thud, sounding like a massive heartbeat, echoed across the battlefield!
A large spray of blood mixed with shredded flesh erupted!
Hidan's eyes turned bloodshot from the impact as he looked at the man in front of him in utter disbelief. Blood flowed uncontrollably from his nose and mouth as he instinctively looked down.
He saw a gaping hole in his chest that hadn't been there a moment ago. Through that hole, he could clearly see the scenery behind him. Blood, mixed with remnants of organs and mangled meat, flowed through the cavity...
Even so, Hidan did not die, though he collapsed to the ground, unable to move again.
Under the force of that punch, not only had his body been pierced, but his entire spinal column had been utterly pulverized. With his spine suffering such a devastating blow, he had completely lost all motor function.
"How tragic. You haven't died even from such a wound?"
Might Guy clenched his fist, looking down at the fallen man.
"Heh... cough..."
Hidan tried to speak, but with his lungs severely damaged, his voice sounded like a leaking bellows; no one could understand what he was trying to say.
Guy then turned his gaze toward the person who had tried to reason with Hidan earlier.
Kakuzu.
Staring into Might Guy's eyes, Kakuzu's heart skipped a beat. This gaze—filled with absolute invincibility and absolute confidence—was one he had only ever seen on one other person.
Hashirama Senju.
"Heh. Seeing your headband reminds me of the first Leaf ninja I ever fought."
Kakuzu lowered his voice as he stared at Guy. By now, Killer B had also approached. Hidan's defeat had happened too quickly—so quickly that neither of them had the chance to provide support.
"It was Hashirama Senju."
As Kakuzu uttered the name of the First Hokage, he slowly began to unbutton his black cloak with red clouds.
"Is that so?"
Guy showed very little emotional reaction to that famous name. Instead, he asked:
"Then, in the end, Lord Hashirama must have forgiven your child-like provocation. Otherwise, with your strength, never mind challenging Lord Hashirama—simply escaping his attack range would have been an impossible feat."
Hearing Guy's words, Kakuzu's fingers momentarily stiffened on his buttons. He then feigned indifference as he undid the last one. Although the truth of the matter differed slightly from Guy's guess, it wasn't far off. Back then, Hashirama Senju had spared Kakuzu because the various hidden villages were newly established and he didn't wish to invite further conflict.
Killer B glanced at Kakuzu but said nothing. The Eight-Tails inside him knew Hashirama Senju's strength better than anyone; the Eight-Tails had already bluntly pointed out that Kakuzu was merely trying to build himself up.
"Too much talk. If you want to die, I don't mind sending you on your way!"
Kakuzu threw aside his Akatsuki cloak, revealing a lean, muscular body that appeared to be stitched together with black thread, along with four strange masks on his back.
However, Kakuzu cast a subtle glance at Killer B. Though he looked ready to fight Guy to the death, the sight of Hidan being taken out in a single blow had magnified his inner unease to an infinite degree. He was already thinking about finding an opportunity to flee.
The Hidden Cloud's commission was certainly tempting, but no matter how much money was on the line, one had to be alive to spend it. If he died, everything was gone.
Guy remained unmoved by Kakuzu's actions; he didn't care what the man was plotting. In Guy's eyes, neither Killer B nor Kakuzu was getting away today.
"In that case, let's go."
Guy cracked his wrists as he looked at the two in front of him, showing not a hint of pressure.
Seeing this, Killer B didn't hesitate. The seven swords on his back unsheathed simultaneously, resting in various joints of his body as he charged toward Might Guy!
Seven-Swords Style—this was Killer B's unique specialty. An average person facing his seven blades would only see a dazzling blur, unable to figure out which blade to parry, falling into a state of chaotic panic.
However, his opponent was Guy.
With a flick of his wrists, the Sōshūga [Twin Attacking Fangs] nunchaku appeared in Guy's hands. He hadn't used a weapon in quite some time.
Faced with Killer B's seven blades, Guy swung the nunchaku into an airtight defense. Each time blade met wood, the sound of clashing metal rang out, like the roar of weapons in conflict.
It was impossible for Killer B to compete with Might Guy in his normal state. Guy—lauded by Kakashi as the strongest in the Hidden Leaf, with a strength that crushed the likes of Yamato and Hayama Shiragumo—was an existence that a base-form Killer B simply could not resist.
In fact... even Minato Namikaze would not be a match for a Might Guy who was going all out.
With such power, Guy's lead over the likes of Itachi Uchiha and Shizune was staggering. This was the Guy that even the current Kakashi—who possessed a 20,000% chakra capacity—had to take seriously.
In truth, Guy's decision to wait for the Eight-Tails to enter the fray seemed somewhat unnecessary to Kakashi. As long as they finished the enemies here, they could just charge into the Hidden Cloud Village to deal with the Eight-Tails later; there was no need to waste time in the Land of Frost.
"Come on. Use your Eight-Tails."
"Let me see it."
Guy spoke with ease as he engaged in the taijutsu exchange with Killer B.
This guy...
Killer B gritted his teeth. He could feel that Might Guy was still not using his full strength. Yet, with every clash, the sheer force transmitted through the blades made it nearly impossible for B to maintain his grip on his swords.
At that moment, the ground cracked, and black, tentacle-like threads surged toward Guy.
Guy's expression didn't change. As he retreated, he reached out and firmly caught the threads attacking him. With a violent tug, Kakuzu—who had been watching from a distance—was pulled off balance by the immense strength and slammed into the ground!
But Guy didn't let go. Under his titanic strength, the black threads trembled violently, almost appearing to be in pain. He kept pulling, as if he intended to yank the threads out entirely.
On the other side, Kakuzu's face turned pale, and cold sweat poured down his brow as he tried to pull the threads back. Earth Grudge Fear was the foundation of his survival; these black threads were both his primary means of combat and his actual body. None of the enemies he had faced before had ever dealt with Earth Grudge Fear in the way Might Guy was doing.
Killer B immediately noticed Kakuzu's predicament. His eyes narrowed, and he quickly understood the situation. Lightning chakra wrapped around one of his swords as he slashed violently at the ground beneath him!
With one strike, he severed the Earth Grudge Fear threads along with the soil!
"Whew... thanks."
Feeling a portion of his threads severed, Kakuzu spoke with a pale face.
Guy looked at the "lifeless" black threads in his hand and tossed them aside without a second glance.
"Stop talking. Buy me some time; I'm going into Tailed Beast Transformation."
Killer B didn't look at Kakuzu, his voice solemn. He intended to skip the Tailed Beast Cloak and enter the full Eight-Tails state immediately. Never before had an enemy forced him to be this cautious with his power. Not even his late brother, the Fourth Raikage, could have pushed him to this extent.
The brief exchange of taijutsu had allowed both him and the Eight-Tails inside him to deeply understand just how terrifying this man was. He had to go all out from the start.
"...I understand."
Kakuzu went silent for a moment. Given the power and speed Guy had displayed, if they didn't fight for their lives, they wouldn't just lose—they wouldn't even have a chance to run.
So, even though Kakuzu wanted to flee, he had to choose to fight.
The four strange masks on Kakuzu's back began to squirm as if they had come to life. In the next moment, four bizarre creatures surged out from his back. Each wore one of the masks, and their bodies were composed entirely of the black threads of Earth Grudge Fear.
"I see. You discarded your flesh and blood in exchange for this power?"
Guy looked at the four creatures formed by Earth Grudge Fear, appearing pensive. But his tone held no sense of urgency. These four monsters didn't give him any sense of danger.
"Shut up!"
Kakuzu's eyes flashed with ruthlessness. With a wave of his hand, the four monsters opened their mouths simultaneously and aimed at Guy!
In Guy's view, this was a case of putting the cart before the horse. The potential of the human body is limitless. To discard one's physical form only to pursue power of this caliber was far too extreme.
Under Kakuzu's control, the four Earth Grudge Fear monsters moved in unison!
Fire Style: Searing Migraine!
Wind Style: Pressure Damage!
Flames soared and hurricanes howled. The combined wind and fire attack transformed into a literal wall of flame and wind that blotted out the sky, surging directly toward Guy!
Faced with such an attack, Guy smiled. This Kakuzu did have some skill.
The Eight Inner Gates within his body had already silently opened up to the Fifth Gate. His eyes narrowed slightly as he took a stance, thrusting a single palm forward against the incoming wind-fire combo!
Violent palm-wind condensed in Guy's palm, and then a stronger, fiercer, and more intense storm materialized out of thin air!
The power of the Eight Inner Gates is to unlock the body's limiters to obtain strength beyond human bounds. Guy, who could perfectly control the Gates, could master every ounce of his body's power. In the past, he would have needed the Seventh Gate to use the Daytime Tiger.
Now, although he wasn't using the full Daytime Tiger, it possessed a similar nature. He simply transformed the punch into a palm strike to release the air pressure.
Kakuzu's follow-up offensive arrived immediately.
Water Style: Water Formation Wall!
Lightning Style: False Darkness!
First was the Wind-Fire combination, now it was the Water-Lightning combo. This caused Guy to fall into thought. He wasn't amazed by Kakuzu having so many chakra natures; in the Leaf alone, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Kakashi were both masters of all five elements.
Instead, Guy was considering another point. Looking at Kakuzu's two types of combined jutsu, it seemed the man couldn't fuse all five elements together to create an even stronger technique. He could only pair Wind with Fire or Lightning with Water.
"As I thought."
"Geniuses like the Third Hokage or Kakashi, who are masters of the five elements, are a rare breed after all."
Guy smiled. He no longer held back, noticing that the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki was about to officially enter his Tailed Beast form. Kakuzu's job as a distraction was done.
Which meant... he could die now!
Might Guy's eyes narrowed, and the ground beneath his feet shattered instantly!
At that moment, Kakuzu's pupils shrank, and his sense of impending doom was magnified to the extreme!
With a dull boom, Might Guy used his absolute speed to bypass the Lightning-Water combo and arrived directly in front of him!
The glow of chakra gathered on his fist! Air currents swirled around his body as he spoke silently.
Kakuzu watched the man before him in terror. What he said was...
"Daytime Tiger."
The next second...
The roar of a tiger, like one echoing through a mountain forest, erupted across the battlefield!