“A mere Uchiha.
Even back then…”
Clang.
Shingetsu turned his wrist, and the scabbard spun lightly.
Under the moonlight, the eerie red patterns on the gleaming blade looked even more dreamlike.
“Hiki, the strongest blade forged by the greatest swordsmith in the history of the Uchiha Clan.”
“As the first person to be cut down by this blade, you should feel honored, Kakuzu.”
Forget it.
There was no point talking to a brainless, arrogant brat like this.
Hopefully, his corpse would make up for the loss… No, he might sell for even more alive.
Whoosh—!!
Countless black threads roared from Kakuzu’s wrists, surging like a wave of black snakes.
Swish.
The instant the blade flashed, the air seemed to split in two.
The first tentacles to reach him were severed, their cuts as smooth as mirrors.
Shingetsu rushed into the net of black threads, his steps as light as if he were treading on water.
Yet every time his foot touched down, he appeared three meters away in the next instant.
A crimson crescent, beautiful and cruel, swept out with each swing, scattering severed black tendrils across the ground.
Hizuki Style: Boundless.
By slashing at extreme speed, it formed a seamless cutting formation over an area, with tremendous destructive power.
Kakuzu’s eyes moved rapidly, trying to predict Shingetsu’s next landing point.
Hard.
This brat was too fast.
Still no chakra fluctuations.
It wasn’t Body Flicker Technique, just pure Taijutsu…
How arrogant.
Was he still not going to use ninjutsu?
Against a mere brat, Kakuzu still had some pride as a strong fighter.
Being the first to use ninjutsu felt a little beneath him.
Especially when this brat was an Uchiha.
You people were defeated by the Senju Clan.
What are you acting so proud for?
More black tentacles surged from Kakuzu’s body, writhing slowly as he waited for Shingetsu to come a little closer.
Then he would unleash an attack from every direction with no blind spots.
But Shingetsu suddenly retreated, reached out, grabbed something, and pulled.
Riiip.
Steel wires threaded through the forest with faint whistles.
Under the moonlight, they were almost impossible to see.
In an instant, the steel wires snapped taut, cutting countless dents into Kakuzu’s body.
For a moment, even the tough tentacles of Earth Grudge Fear couldn’t break free.
A steel wire trap… childish tricks.
A faint smirk tugged at Kakuzu’s mouth.
As he broke free of the wires, he was about to throw out a mocking line.
Then, all at once, a tiny figure sprang out from nowhere, leaping through the steel wire net.
Wherever its snow-white cat paws landed, bright sparks flared with a sharp sizzle.
Kakuzu’s pupils shrank.
He saw the explosive tags being flicked open by the cat’s paws.
Hundreds of points of light ignited.
Not good!!
Even in shock and anger, Kakuzu didn’t forget to curse inwardly.
Chakra-triggered explosive tags cost over a thousand ryō even for the cheapest ones, and prices had risen lately because of the war.
That was hundreds of thousands of ryō!
You damn wastrel!
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!!!!
Explosions kept erupting, and a massive mushroom cloud rose in the forest.
Shingetsu was still trying to find Kakuzu through the smoke when,
Boom!!!
The ground beneath his feet suddenly burst apart.
Countless tentacles gathered into a black hand and grabbed toward Shingetsu’s face.
He wasn’t reckless enough to let Kakuzu catch him.
His upper body bent back almost ninety degrees, dodging in an inhuman posture while he swung his blade at the tentacles.
A fierce red gleam flashed past, and the black tentacles were cut clean through.
The metal used to forge Hiki was rare ore the Clan had preserved for many years.
Combined with his father’s extraordinary skill, its sharpness and durability were superior to even some Kusanagi swords.
Without him, Mikoto would probably have given it to her child in the future.
In other words…
According to the original timeline, this blade might very well have become the weapon Itachi Uchiha later used to slaughter the entire Clan!
As for why it never appeared afterward…
There was no way Itachi Uchiha would keep the blade he had used to kill his kin and wipe out his Clan at his side.
A fine blade.
So this brat wasn’t all talk.
He could even cut through hardened Earth Grudge Fear tentacles with ease.
But…
Kakuzu burst from the ground, anger rising in his eyes.
You brat, you still won’t use ninjutsu?
You’re looking down on me too much!!
Fine.
Nothing wrong with me using it first.
Krrrk.
Kakuzu’s shoulders bulged.
Black tentacles grew wildly, tearing through his clothes as two hideous masks emerged.
One mask had red lips stretched into a grin.
The other was a blue mask with a crying face.
Earth Grudge Fear Secret Art, Fire Release: Searing Migraine!
Earth Grudge Fear Secret Art, Wind Release: Pressure Damage!
“It’s over, brat!”
A high-pressure gale blasted from the blue mask, twisting the air in an instant.
A blazing fireball gathered in the mouth of the Fire Release mask.
If Pressure Damage could settle the fight, that would be best.
Searing Migraine was too powerful.
It might damage that very expensive-looking sword.
Boom!!!
The terrifying wind pressure slammed into Shingetsu.
After half a year of training under Orochimaru, Shingetsu wasn’t so easy to blow away.
More importantly…
Now!!!
Crackle!!!
A white shadow tore through the air like thunder, like fangs ripping open the night.
“Lightning Release, White Fang Instant Kill!!”
BOOM—!!
Lightning shot out from Kakuzu’s blind spot and pierced straight through the Wind Release mask.
After a brief pause,
The blue mask shattered.
The heart wrapped inside burst apart, and its meridians withered and collapsed in an instant, scattering across the ground as fragments.
Kakuzu’s pupils contracted sharply.
Undetectable before the strike.
Impossible to react once detected.
Absurdly fast!!
Who was this!!?
“Shingetsu-kun is obsessed with attacking head-on.
I prefer sneak attacks.”
“We’re ninjas, after all.
Right, Kakuzu-san?”
With that sunny, boyish face, Kakuzu found it hard to connect him with the person who had destroyed his Wind Release heart in a single blow.
The situation had taken an unexpected turn, but Kakuzu didn’t lose his composure.
He took the initiative to pull back and create distance.
“That face…”
“I remember now.
You have a bounty.”
“Konoha’s youngest Jōnin, Sakumo Hatake of the White Fang.
A bounty of twelve million ryō…”
“Too low,” Kakuzu judged seriously.
That strike alone was worth at least twenty million!
“That kind of thing is better off low, isn’t it?”
Sakumo stood beside Shingetsu, holding the White Fang dagger.
Electric arcs still flickered along the short blade.
“Lightning Release… You’re even faster than Kumogakure.
Your mastery is quite high.”
Kakuzu narrowed his eyes slightly and said in a low voice, “You waited for an opening, then destroyed the Wind Release mask that countered you first… That wasn’t a coincidence, was it?”
After a quick review, Kakuzu understood that everything that had happened earlier had been arranged to force him into using wide-area attack ninjutsu.
At the same time the mask was attacked, the tentacles connected to the heart had also been destroyed.
He realized something.
The person before him knew Earth Grudge Fear’s intelligence completely.
“Heh… So there are still people in Takigakure who remember me…”
Kakuzu almost never spent long periods of time around others.
Everyone who had ever seen Earth Grudge Fear was dead.
Only Takigakure might still have information on it.
Did Takigakure hire Konoha ninjas to hunt me down…?
How ugly and weak.
The only thing he couldn’t figure out was whether that Uchiha brat had any reason not to use ninjutsu.
And…
A body that could withstand wind pressure head-on, terrifying strength, extreme speed…
If you don’t show me the Sharingan, I’ll start thinking you’re a young Hashirama.
“Sorry, but not revealing an employer’s information is part of a ninja’s professional…”
Before Sakumo could finish, Shingetsu charged forward with his blade.
“Why waste words on him?
Move!”
Whoosh—!!
A black-and-red figure and silver-white electric arcs intertwined as they rushed out.
Kakuzu spread both hands flat.
Countless black tentacles shot forward, while the Fire Release mask on his shoulder finished gathering power.
Fire Release: Searing Migraine!!
A sea of flames that could burn everything descended with a roar!!