Right now, Kakuzu still hadn't been able to free up his hands. If he lost here, the situation would spiral completely out of control.
During the earlier exchanges, the ordinary-faced man had already realized that Might Guy didn't seem very good at ninjutsu.
He planned to use that as a breakthrough—find a way to deal with the opponent in front of him.
The ordinary-faced Akatsuki member forced Might Guy back with a desperate strike, then fled toward the river in the distance.
How could Might Guy let him go? His fighting spirit surged as he chased straight after him.
"In a battle between men, there is no retreat!"
"I will never forgive this kind of behavior that betrays burning youth!"
The ordinary-faced man didn't care about youth or whatever.
He only wanted to lure his opponent into a trap.
The thick-headed Might Guy charged around recklessly, swinging his nunchaku straight into the enemy's face.
Any prey targeted by Konoha's Blue Beast has never escaped!
"Double Assault Fang!"
With two strikes, the ordinary-faced man was sent flying, spitting blood.
Just as Might Guy thought it was over, the enemy suddenly turned into a puddle of water.
"This is… the Substitution Technique?"
Might Guy might be simple-minded, but he still recognized basic ninjutsu.
Seeing that, how could he not understand the enemy had used a trick?
Might Guy's expression turned angry.
"Damn it!"
"Where did he run off to?!"
At that moment, a great blade suddenly fell from above.
"Die!"
Facing the enemy's sneak attack, Might Guy chose to smash through it with brute force.
"Leaf Bad Rock Rise!"
With a fierce elbow strike downward, Might Guy crushed the ordinary-faced man head-on again.
However—
What no one expected was that this attacker was also a clone.
"Got you."
A cold voice sounded beside his ear as the ordinary-faced Akatsuki member suddenly appeared behind Might Guy.
"Water Release: Water Prison Technique!"
Might Guy's brows furrowed as he realized something was wrong.
He actually set up a ninjutsu trap?
This is bad!
The ordinary-faced man activated his ninjutsu, and Might Guy was instantly trapped inside a water prison.
This was a common technique used by Water Release ninja from Kirigakure—highly binding.
Even elite jōnin would have difficulty breaking free in a short time.
After trapping Might Guy, the ordinary-faced man released one hand seal with a single hand.
"Water Release: Water Clone Technique."
After casting ninjutsu repeatedly, his chakra had been heavily consumed.
He fixed his gaze on Might Guy inside the water prison, and his clone began forming seals rapidly.
Judging by the complexity of the seals, the power of this technique shouldn't be weak.
The ordinary-faced man's mouth curled into a smile.
The next move would decide the winner of this battle.
It's over!
Seeing Might Guy fall into trouble, Kurenai immediately glanced at Kakashi, asking with her eyes whether they needed to provide support.
Kakashi slowly shook his head.
"Against that level of opponent, Guy will be fine."
"We just need to deal with the enemy in front of us."
Hearing Kakashi say that, Kurenai nodded slightly.
When it came to understanding Guy, among Konoha shinobi, there was probably no one who could compare to Kakashi.
If Kakashi said it was fine, then there basically wouldn't be an accident.
Even if something unexpected really happened, wasn't Yusuke still there?
With a stabilizing pillar like that, they had no real worries.
Thinking that, Kurenai gradually relaxed.
Seeing the two of them turn their attention back toward him, Kakuzu couldn't help sneering.
"Heh. Not going to send someone to help? Really no problem?"
"My partner may not be talented, but his brain is pretty flexible."
"That teammate of yours—strong limbs, simple mind—he's dead for sure this time!"
Facing Kakuzu's mockery, Kakashi said solemnly,
"Don't underestimate Konoha shinobi."
"Guy isn't as simple as you think."
Kakuzu snorted dismissively.
That muscle-brain—what tricks could he possibly pull?
At this moment—
The ordinary-faced man had already finished forming his seals.
He thrust both hands forward, unleashing his ultimate technique.
"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"
A spiraling column of water crashed forward. Might Guy crossed his arms before his chest, and an astonishing green aura suddenly burst from his body.
"Eight Gates Technique, Sixth Gate—Gate of Joy, open!"
With Might Guy's roar, ripples instantly spread across the water prison.
The ordinary-faced man's face went pale with shock.
What the hell is this?!
Before he could react, Might Guy had already broken free from the water prison.
Might Guy's fists moved like a gale, actually blocking the Great Waterfall's impact with pure taijutsu.
Shocked, the ordinary-faced man grabbed his blade and charged again, trying to resist to the bitter end.
Might Guy flashed forward and appeared right in front of him, kicking him straight up into the air.
Immediately after—
Might Guy sprang upward, rising to the same height as his opponent.
His arms spread slightly, taking on the stance of an eagle spreading its wings.
His fists carried scorching flames as he hammered down on the ordinary-faced man in a relentless barrage.
"Ya—cha-cha-cha…!"
"Daytime Tiger!"
Might Guy seized the Akatsuki swordsman and beat him senseless.
Kakashi and Kurenai were fine, but Kakuzu was completely stunned.
That bowl-cut freak in the bizarre green combat suit—
His taijutsu was actually that strong?
What the hell—this is unbelievable!
Kakuzu's mood turned anxious.
Even facing Kakashi and Kurenai alone, he didn't have much advantage. Add in a taijutsu monster like that, and his situation was obvious.
Watching this, Kakuzu couldn't help cursing his partner in his heart.
"I knew he was unfit for the job… but I never expected him to be this useless!"
Now the situation was getting worse and worse for him—he had to find a way to break it.
Kakuzu formed seals rapidly.
"Secret Technique: Earth Grudge Fear!"
With Kakuzu's roar, countless stitched seams across his body actually spewed out massive amounts of black threads.
Dense black threads shot forward like tentacles, lunging at his opponents.
Kakashi and Kurenai stood ready, gripping sharp kunai as they repeatedly sliced the approaching threads apart.
"Heh. You two are underestimating me!"
Kakuzu suddenly let out a cold laugh.
Kakashi and Kurenai had just cut down the threads in front of them when countless threads burst up again from beneath the ground.
The threads were extremely fast. Before the two could dodge, their limbs were instantly bound.
Seeing that, Kakashi and Kurenai realized something was wrong.
"Damn!"
"We were too careless."
After catching them, Kakuzu quickly formed seals and launched a ninjutsu attack.
"Compound Ninjutsu: Blazing Wind Turbulence!"
Kurenai formed seals to defend.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
However, simple Water Release was no match for Kakuzu's compound ninjutsu.
The water wall held for only a moment before the flames began to scatter it apart.
"Kakashi… Kurenai…"
Seeing his teammates fall into danger, Might Guy immediately wanted to rush over to save them.
But the Eight Gates had severe side effects.
Even though he had only opened the Sixth Gate, he had already fallen into a weakened state.
Kakuzu's voice was cold, without the slightest emotion.
"Die!"
At the critical moment, Kakashi's potential was finally forced out.
He suddenly pulled down his forehead protector. His left eye—scarlet, with a rapidly spinning three-tomoe pupil—whirled at high speed.
"Mangekyō Sharingan, open!"
"Kamui!"
As Kakashi's words fell, a massive spatial vortex suddenly appeared on the battlefield.
Kakuzu's compound ninjutsu—mixed with two chakra natures—was slowly sucked into another dimension by Kakashi.
Uchiha Yusuke's eyes lit up.
So this is the dōjutsu born from Tobi's eye?
It really does have something to it!
In truth—
Just like Obito, Kakashi had already awakened the Mangekyō back when Nohara Rin died.
But Kakashi had been plagued by inner demons and self-abandonment.
That was why he had been unable to grasp the essence of Kamui for so long.
As for Tobi—
By the time the Nine-Tails attacked Konoha, he was already capable of coming and going freely with Kamui.
Although that involved the help of Uchiha Madara's legacy—White Zetsu cells—it was also inseparable from Tobi's harsh training.
Now—
Kakashi had come into contact with Kamui earlier than in the original timeline. This would definitely benefit his future training.
Kakuzu was stunned again, eyes wide.
How did my ninjutsu suddenly get neutralized?!
What the hell is going on?!
Space-time ninjutsu was extremely rare in the shinobi world.
Even for a force like Konoha, among known shinobi, only a handful—Senju Tobirama, Namikaze Minato, and a few others—had ever mastered it.
Kakuzu was experienced, but this was the first time he had ever encountered space-time ninjutsu.
Being shocked by something beyond his understanding was only natural.
Once he regained his composure, Kakuzu quickly saw the key.
"The Sharingan of the Uchiha clan…?"
"I didn't expect you to be hiding a dōjutsu like that!"
For someone like Kakuzu to say such a thing was already a form of acknowledging Kakashi's strength.
Even so, although the enemy was troublesome, Kakuzu still had no intention of giving up.
The reason was simple.
The goods on Uchiha Yusuke's group were real, undeniable valuables.
With three Konoha jōnin acting as escorts, calling it the Fire Daimyō's private caravan wouldn't be far-fetched.
This job carried enormous risk—but the payoff would also be enormous.
People die for money. Birds die for food.
To give up robbing and stop here—
That clearly wasn't Kakuzu's style.
Kakuzu subtly glanced at Might Guy.
With his keen perception, he could clearly tell Might Guy was in poor condition now.
Kakuzu secretly let out a breath.
His partner might be trash, but at least he had drained some of the opponent's stamina.
Kakuzu was still slightly ahead. Even if he had to deal with one more person, it shouldn't be too much of a problem.
With that thought—
Kakuzu regained his confidence.
"Hand over the valuables!"
"Then I might consider sparing your lives."
Kakashi and Kurenai felt speechless.
After all this, this guy was still doing it for money?
A ninja who had fought the First Hokage—how could his personality be this bizarre?
Uchiha Yusuke smiled and shook his head.
Strong shinobi with unusual hobbies were hardly rare.
For example, Uchiha Madara liked dancing, Senju Hashirama loved gambling, Senju Tobirama either played with water or made forbidden jutsu, Jiraiya not only peeped but also wrote dirty books, and Kakashi was utterly obsessed with that stuff.
Akatsuki didn't have many normal people either.
Sasori of the Red Sand was an artist who collected puppets, Deidara worshiped momentary aesthetics and blew things up everywhere.
Nagato controlled six corpses and played the role of a cultish "god," Konan made wings and pretended to be an angel.
Obito wanted to create a world with Rin in it, and Black Zetsu—like a little tadpole—spent thousands of years looking for his mother…
Compared to them, Kakuzu was far more down-to-earth.
Don't talk to me about dreams. All I see is money!
Kakuzu roared and launched another attack at Kakashi and Kurenai.
"Compound Ninjutsu: Strange Mask Explosive Flames!"
With the previous experience, Kakashi and Kurenai didn't dare use Water Release to block again and could only leap back to evade.
But the moment they retreated—
They fell right into Kakuzu's plan.
Kakuzu knew very well that the two Konoha jōnin weren't easy to deal with. He had long wanted to bypass Kakashi and Kurenai and strike directly at Uchiha Yusuke.
After all, most of the valuables were concentrated on Uchiha Yusuke.
Although Yusuke's behavior made Kakuzu feel some wariness, Kakuzu still believed Yusuke's confidence came from having three Konoha jōnin backing him.
Capture the leader first.
Grab the money and run—that was Kakuzu's perfect battle plan.
Kakuzu's sudden move left Kakashi and Kurenai completely stunned.
The two exchanged a look, their expressions strange.
He's… trying to rob an Uchiha?
This really is someone who wants money more than his life!
At this moment—
Even Uchiha Yusuke was momentarily dumbfounded.
They were fighting just fine over there—why did he suddenly come for me?!
Yusuke thought for a moment, then quickly got the answer.
Kakuzu had set his sights on the money on him!
At that realization, Uchiha Yusuke's mouth twitched twice.
I only showed some valuables to bait you.
You can't seriously treat me like a fat sheep like Tsunade and slaughter me!
Kakuzu didn't care about anything else. He directly unleashed a killing move at Uchiha Yusuke.
"Tentacle Fist!"
Perhaps because he feared damaging the valuables, Kakuzu didn't use wide-range ninjutsu this time. Instead, he chose a focused physical attack.
Even though it was only taijutsu, this strike still carried tremendous power.
If an ordinary shinobi took it head-on, their body might be punched through.
With a thought, Uchiha Yusuke directly entered Fire Release chakra mode.
Without question—
Kakuzu's fierce punch failed to cause him any harm at all.
"This is…?"
Kakuzu's pupils contracted slightly.
The contact had been brief, but he had already sensed the strangeness of his opponent's ability.
Uchiha Yusuke casually removed the pack from his body and smiled faintly at Kakuzu.
"You want these valuables?"
"As long as you can injure me, take whatever you like."
Hearing that, Kakuzu sneered.
"Big talk!"
"You think I can't do anything to you?"
The smile on Uchiha Yusuke's face didn't fade.
He gave him a look—enough to make him understand.
Kakuzu instantly flew into a rage from humiliation.
Since the day he entered the shinobi world, he had never seen such an arrogant shinobi.
Even Leader Pain, with the Rinnegan, didn't dare look down on him like this.
Kakuzu stared at Uchiha Yusuke coldly, killing intent overflowing.
Since you're looking for death yourself, don't blame this old man for being ruthless!
Kakuzu's hand seals shifted as chakra rapidly gathered.
He shouted angrily at Uchiha Yusuke.
"This is the ultimate secret art of mine."
"Prepare to die!"
A mixed-nature chakra cannon began charging as Kakuzu pronounced a death sentence on Uchiha Yusuke.
At full strength, Kakuzu could fuse five different chakra natures at once.
Even now, after two of his hearts had been destroyed, the chakra cannon still contained three natures.
Sarutobi Hiruzen combining two chakra natures into a single attack was already something that made Konoha's ANBU marvel.
Now Kakuzu was fusing three chakra natures—its power spoke for itself.
Glancing at Uchiha Yusuke, Kakuzu's face showed smug satisfaction.
Now you understand how formidable I am, don't you?
It's too late for regret now!
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