Tobirama remembered the night years ago when he’d planted the Cursed Seal on Kakuzu’s heart.
His chest tightened with anxiety.
“Did you really pass out that night?”
Kakuzu laughed.
“Of course not.”
“You’ve been deceiving me this whole time!” Tobirama kept his expression flat, but fury erupted within him like a volcano.
Seven years.
Seven years of deception, from that night until now.
“You were blindly confident.”
Kakuzu smiled dismissively.
“I showed you plenty of cracks.
But you were convinced you held my life in your hands.
You’ve doubted me these past few years, yet never once questioned the Cursed Seal on my heart.
Your own jutsu, you trusted it far too much.”
Tobirama, having no reference, could never have guessed that Kakuzu possessed five hearts.
Kakuzu’s words were half-truths.
He wanted Tobirama to believe the Cursed Seal had no effect.
Tobirama realized his colleague of many years still harbored multiple secrets.
A man like that was too dangerous.
If he couldn’t kill him here and now, it would only become impossible later.
With that thought, Tobirama shed his Hokage Ceremonial Robe in silence.
Blue armor gleamed beneath.
The first three Hokage had grown up during the Warring States era, all of them wore armor under their ceremonial robes.
“It seems you are finally ready to make your move.”
Kakuzu showed no fear at the sight.
Against Hashirama or Madara, he would have fled without hesitation.
But against Tobirama, he had a plan.
Tobirama was the fastest shinobi of his era, and he had mastered Flying Thunder God.
A tachi now rested in his hand, unadorned, ordinary.
In Tobirama’s grip, it might as well be famed sword.
“Dance of the Crescent Moon!”
The battle exploded.
Tobirama split into three, each clone slashing toward Kakuzu with blades aimed at vital points.
“These are all fakes…”
Kakuzu spread his left hand toward the three clones.
His right reached behind his back.
‘Fire Release: Searing Migraine’ erupted from his left hand, swallowing the three clones instantly.
His right hand closed around a tachi.
“What?!”
A fourth Tobirama appeared behind Kakuzu, shock flickering across his face.
The Dance of the Crescent Moon had been a feint.
His real attack was a Flying Thunder God Slash aimed at Kakuzu’s back.
Kakuzu had seen through it.
How could he not be on guard against someone wielding the strong spatial jutsu?
Especially against Tobirama, who was very likely to deliver Izuna special.
A palm wrapped in Earth Grudge Fear tentacles caught the blade and clamped down hard.
But Kakuzu’s grip closed on empty air.
The blade had vanished.
He whipped his left hand around to seize the blade suddenly striking from his left.
Tobirama had seen his first attack fail and immediately used Flying Thunder God again.
Blocked again.
“Impossible, Flying Thunder God Slash was blocked again!”
Tobirama’s shock curdled into frustration.
He activated Flying Thunder God once more, attacking from ten different angles in rapid succession.
“Phew…”
After the final blow, Tobirama retreated rapidly and exhaled a long breath.
Over ten consecutive uses of Flying Thunder God had drained more than half his chakra.
“While Flying Thunder God is a spatial ninjutsu and truly unpredictable…” Kakuzu spoke calmly, “wielding the power of space with a human body has its limits.”
He paused.
“That limit is reaction speed.
After teleporting, you must adjust your stance and attack at maximum speed.
The interval is brief, but it exists.”
Sharp as he was, Tobirama understood immediately.
Feeling unease.
“Don’t tell me…”
Kakuzu smiled.
“It seems you understand.
My reaction speed has surpassed yours.
No matter how much you use Flying Thunder God, I can counter the instant you appear.”
Years of Yin Release training had sharpened his five senses far beyond ordinary limits.
Tobirama, who had trained in Flying Thunder God, also possessed incredible reaction speeds, but the two were on entirely different levels.
Kakuzu was superior.
Tobirama had learned this lesson well during their previous dozen or so clashes.
He did not doubt Kakuzu’s words.
“Therefore, Flying Thunder God has already been broken by me.”
Kakuzu tore a piece of skin from his back and burned it to ashes.
“This is the skin Flying Thunder God Mark was attached to.
As long as its integrity is destroyed, your Flying Thunder God defeats itself.”
After his Yin Release improved, his sensory capabilities had received a massive boost.
The sensing range did not grow larger, but the precision increased significantly, enough to locate Flying Thunder God Mark on his back.
Tobirama’s froze.
It was true.
He could no longer teleport directly to Kakuzu’s side.
“Tobirama, I’ve said we can still be friends, and in the future, partners.” Kakuzu’s tone was detached, almost generous.
“I can understand your intent to kill me.
I choose to forgive you.”
“You’re not leaving Konoha!”
Tobirama formed hand seals and cast the Shadow Clone Jutsu.
A dozen solid clones surrounded Kakuzu.
“Even with Flying Thunder God broken, what ability do you have left to keep me here?”
Kakuzu’s gaze swept over the shadow clones, completely composed, as if everything was within his control.
Strictly speaking, he had not actually broken Flying Thunder God.
He had broken Tobirama.
The reason he claimed otherwise was to inflict mental pressure.
Besides, deception itself was a shinobi’s tool.
“Tobirama, let me show you another method of casting the Edo Tensei.”
Kakuzu’s left shoulder suddenly bulged.
He tore his sleeve open, and a dark figure emerged, a nearly three-meter-tall black-furred monster wearing a beast mask with a white base and red patterns.
Tobirama narrowed his eyes.
‘He modified his body…’
Body modification was common in the ninja world.
The dark-haired monster emerging from Kakuzu’s body raised his suspicion, nothing more.
“Edo Tensei!”
Kakuzu slapped the Fire-Nature Clone.
The clone shrank rapidly, reshaping into a human form. New chapters come out on g.com first.
Someone Tobirama didn’t recognize, looked like a Wandering Ninja.
He was exactly that: a Wandering Ninja, the original owner of the Fire-Nature Heart.
An Earth Grudge Fear Clone was a living entity, perfectly suited as a sacrifice for Edo Tensei.
Kakuzu used this trait to summon the heart’s original owner.
The original owner lacked strength, but using an Earth Grudge Fear Clone as the sacrifice let Kakuzu control his every action.
He layered the clone’s foundation with a fraction of the original owner’s power.
In other words, this Earth Grudge Fear Clone was equivalent to an Elite Jonin.
“Fire Release: Suicide Bombing Flame Bullet!”
The Edo Tensei summon formed hand seals.
Blazing flames engulfed his body as he charged through Tobirama’s encirclement, sprinting toward Konoha.
Ordinary attacks meant nothing against an Edo Tensei summon.
That was how he broke through Tobirama’s encirclement, heading straight for Konoha.
“After using that jutsu, he becomes a living bomb, ready to explode at any moment.
Are you sure it’s fine to just let him run toward Konoha?” Kakuzu said flatly.
Tobirama’s froze.
Kakuzu?
Or Konoha?
A choice between the two.
As Hokage, he could not allow the villagers to suffer.
Tobirama immediately abandoned the pursuit of Kakuzu.
Even knowing that letting him escape today meant losing the chance to kill him forever, he had no regrets.
He was the Hokage.
For the sake of the village, personal grudges had to be cast aside.
Kakuzu smiled faintly.
“I hope we get the chance to cooperate again.”
He used the Body Flicker Jutsu and vanished.
Arriving at the gates of Konoha Village, Midori had been waiting for a moment.
“Let’s go, Midori.”
“Yes, Sensei.”
Kakuzu left Konoha, advancing toward the Northern Land of Fire.
On the other side, Tobirama used Flying Thunder God to appear before the Edo Tensei summon.
He formed hand seals.
“Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!”
Surging water swirled around him, condensing into a Water Dragon in an instant.
It charged at the Edo Tensei summon with a deafening roar.
*Boom* The Water Dragon swallowed the Edo Tensei summon whole, extinguishing the flames on his body.
Having created Edo Tensei himself, Tobirama knew ordinary Five Basic Nature Transformations couldn’t destroy the summon.
The instant the summon was swallowed, the formula on his hand had already shifted into a Sealing Formula.
“Actually, I never intended to bomb Konoha.”
The Edo Tensei summon, submerged in water, suddenly spoke.
The voice belonged to Kakuzu.
Kakuzu had no interest in killing civilians.
This was merely a diversion.
“I hope we can continue our cooperation next time, Tobirama.”
The summon’s body swelled and exploded with a deafening blast.
The shockwave shattered the Water Dragon.
Tobirama instantly activated the Water Formation Wall to block the explosive force.
Once the dust settled, the Earth Grudge Fear Clone, the Fire-Nature Heart, and everything else had crumbled into ash.
Only a single Mask Fragment lay on the ground.
“Kakuzu…”
Tobirama picked up the Mask Fragment.
He stood there for a moment before leaving.
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