Chapter 107 sympathy for the devil
The shrill, agonizing screams were barely human, making scalps tingle and a bone-chilling cold surge through the marrow.
"Argh...!!"
Kakuzu's entire body arched backward, veins bulging on his neck like hundreds of earthworms frantically burrowing under his skin. Where the Golden Arrow had pierced him, large patches of dark purple markings spread like spilled ink, rotting through his chest in the blink of an eye.
This was followed by a series of tooth-grinding cracking sounds.
Splat!
The first heart burst like a squashed, rotten tomato.
That black aura was practically living acid, racing through his blood vessels. Kakuzu's pride, the Earth Grudge Fear—those black thread-like vessels he had nurtured for decades—now seemed to have met their natural enemy, quickly withering, turning gray, snapping, and finally turning into puddles of foul-smelling black pus.
Sizzle—
The pus dripped onto the obsidian tabletop, sending up plumes of white smoke.
Clang.
The Golden Arrow slid to the ground with a crisp ring, as if mocking the Mortal's overestimation of his own strength.
Kakuzu lay limp on the table like a boneless ragdoll, black blood mixed with pus oozing from all seven orifices, a truly gruesome sight.
Is he dead?
Orochimaru's eyelids twitched wildly as he reflexively took half a step back. For the first time, his golden slit pupils held a look of "wariness" alongside his greed. Beside him, Sasori of the Red Sand directly controlled hiruko to shrink back, fearing this damn virus might splash onto his core.
You call this evolution? This is clearly suicide!
"Is he... gone?" Biwa Jūzō's palms were slick with cold sweat as he gripped his blade, his Adam's apple bobbing with difficulty.
A deathly silence filled the meeting room, broken only by the sound of corrosion from Kakuzu's corpse.
"Is it over?"
Yahiko sat in the main seat, not even bothering to Stand and look at the pile of mangled flesh, merely swirling the red wine in his glass.
"So what if he has five hearts?" Yahiko took a sip of wine, his tone as cold and detached as an outsider's. "If a Soul is as weak as a sewer rat, even with a hundred lives, it would only be repeating the joke of death a hundred times over."
No sooner had he spoken than the mangled body on the table suddenly convulsed violently.
Crack!
On Kakuzu's back, the mask representing "Lightning Release" suddenly let out a sharp crack and crumbled into powder. The passive trigger of Earth Grudge Fear had forcibly dragged Kakuzu back from the gates of Hell at the cost of one life.
"Huff... huff...!!"
Kakuzu suddenly bolted upright, gasping for air like a drowning man finally surfacing. But in his clouded eyes, there was no joy of Rebirth—only sheer terror!
That look was as if he had seen something more terrifying than Hell itself.
"Don't... don't kill me..."
Kakuzu clutched his head, shaking like a leaf, muttering incoherently, "It's impossible to win... he's a monster... a god..."
At this moment, did he look anything like an S-Rank Rogue Ninja? He was simply a deserter scared out of his wits.
In Kakuzu's mental world, he wasn't in the Hidden Rain Village at all.
It was a forest from decades ago, under the pale moonlight.
Before him stood that man. Wearing red plated armor with long, messy black hair, just standing there he felt like a mountain that could crush anyone to death.
The God of Shinobi, Senju Hashirama.
This virus was too insidious; it directly tore open the deepest scar in Kakuzu's heart—the shadow cast by "absolute power." Under those indifferent eyes, the young Kakuzu felt like an ant; forget resisting, even breathing felt like a mistake.
"Run... run fast..."
In reality, the newly resurrected Kakuzu was covered in snot and tears, crawling backward on all fours, wanting only to get as far away from that Golden Arrow as possible.
Escape.
This is the instinct of the weak.
Hum—!
The Golden Arrow on the ground seemed enraged by this cowardly behavior; its shaft vibrated, letting out a piercing shriek.
This was the "Arrow's" verdict: Failing grade, eliminated!
The dark purple virus that had just been suppressed instantly exploded for a second time, even more fiercely than before!
"Arghhhhh!!"
Puff! Puff!
Several more dull thuds followed. The masks on Kakuzu's back shattered one after another. The black aura, like a maggot in the bone, swallowed the few lives he had just renewed in the blink of an eye.
"Help... help me..."
Kakuzu collapsed again, the tentacles of Earth Grudge Fear mostly severed. Only his final, original heart remained, beating weakly in his chest.
His last chip.
Five lives, and in an instant, he was down to his last coin; he had lost this gamble so thoroughly he didn't even have his underwear left.
"How pathetic, Kakuzu."
Yahiko set down his wine glass and stood up. His leather boots made a soft "tap" as he stepped into the pus covering the floor. He walked over to Kakuzu, looking down at the still-twitching mangled flesh with eyes devoid of pity, only bone-chilling coldness.
"Is this your limit?"
Yahiko leaned down, whispering into Kakuzu's ear with a voice as light as a devil's murmur, yet every word pierced Kakuzu's main artery with precision.
"If you don't even have the courage to face your fears, then rot here completely."
Yahiko reached out, picked up the blood-stained gold coin, waved it before Kakuzu's eyes, and laughed out loud.
"Die in peace. As for all that money you painstakingly saved for eighty years..."
"I will spend every last cent of it for you."
Boom!
These words weren't just language; they were like a high-voltage bolt of lightning that instantly jolted Kakuzu's crumbling consciousness awake.
In the mental world.
Facing the impending "Hand of God," the young Kakuzu, who had been kneeling on the ground weeping and waiting for death with closed eyes, suddenly froze.
Spend... my money?
The money I was supposed to count in my Underground Vault until my hands cramped... is going to be squandered by this spendthrift?
"Are you... kidding me..."
From beneath his lowered head came a low growl, like a beast protecting its food. In the illusion, Senju Hashirama still maintained that look of looking down at an ant as his palm descended.
But this time, the ant bared its fangs.
"THAT'S MY MONEY!!!"
Kakuzu snapped his head up, his face distorted by extreme rage and greed. The fear in his eyes was completely consumed by two green ghostly flames.
To Hell with the God of Shinobi! To Hell with psychological shadows!
Anyone who touches my money, even a god must die!!
"Roar-aaaaah!!"
In the mental world, Kakuzu charged like a madman at the invincible figure and threw a punch. It wasn't for dignity; it was to protect the sacred and inviolable nature of private property!
In the real world.
Kakuzu, who should have breathed his last, suddenly surged up, his spine straightening as if he were a reanimated corpse.
He opened his Soul, pouring all his desire, greed, and obsession without reservation into the fight against the virus.
The virus that was eroding his last heart instantly stalled, then transformed into a brilliant golden light that flowed frantically back through Kakuzu's damaged meridians.
"Uh-uh-uh... Hahahaha!!"
Kakuzu laughed wildly, his voice hoarse and crazed. Countless severed black threads of Earth Grudge Fear danced frantically behind him. Under the soak of the golden light, these tentacles lost their disgusting fleshy quality and took on a cold, eerie metallic luster, like countless surgical needles come to life.
Boom!!
A mental storm with strong attributes of "stitching" and "plundering" exploded outward with Kakuzu as the center, instantly shattering all the glass windows in the meeting room. The torrential rain and fierce winds poured inside, making the candlelight flicker wildly.
The dust settled.
Kakuzu slowly stood tall.
He had lost four hearts, yet his aura was deeper and more terrifying than when he had five.
Behind him, Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato could clearly see an eerie humanoid phantom slowly emerging.
It looked like a monster stitched together from countless tattered pieces of luxurious fabric, thick stitches, and distorted limbs, exuding an unsettling malevolence.
Stand—[sympathy for the devil].
Kakuzu clenched his fist, feeling the power capable of "stitching rules" flowing through his fingertips. He turned around, his dark green eyes no longer holding any fear, only a hunger that seemed capable of devouring the world.
He looked at Yahiko, a savage grin spreading across his face, revealing pearly white teeth.
"Leader."
"Remember our deal... for next quarter's dividend, there must be a ten percent increase."
Facing the oncoming wave of murderous intent, Yahiko couldn't help but laugh. He raised his wine glass, offering a distant toast to this miser who had crawled back from Hell.
"Deal."
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