The southwest coast of the Land of Waves.
The fishy, salty sea wind shaved the fog down to a thin veil. Waves rolled and slammed against the reefs, bursting into frothy white spray.
By now, all the civilians had been evacuated. Only the Black Hoe gang remained, trussed up tight and locked inside coffins, mouths stuffed with filthy socks and rags as they made muffled, frantic sounds.
No one wanted to haul those heavy wooden coffins away from the square, and Gato's lot along with the Black Hoe gang were hated by everyone. So Kaiza simply left them packed inside. If they somehow survived the fight about to come, they would face the Land of Waves' judgment.
And if they died instead, well, the funeral supplies were already prepared. Nothing wasted.
When Kakashi returned with Naruto and Sasuke, they saw Konome standing alone on the shoreline, staring out into the distance. Six water spindles, each as long as an adult man's forearm, floated around her like a guard formation, rising and dipping as they spun at terrifying speed, twisting the air itself into ripples.
Whoosh!
The six long spindles spun even faster, then abruptly halted. Slits tore open at their front ends, and those vicious vertical pupils split wide.
Naruto's eyesight was nowhere near good enough to catch the details. He only saw something flicker past, and then, far out in the thin fog, holes began to appear in dense clusters.
"So… so cool!"
Staring at the strange weapons orbiting Konome, Naruto's eyes shone. This fighting style completely conquered him.
This was way cooler than plain taijutsu.
"Kakashi-sensei, can you tell what jutsu she's using?"
Compared to Naruto, who was dazzled by the spectacle, Sasuke worshipped power. His eyes were so strained they looked bloodshot, yet even he could only see faint, transparent afterimages.
It looked like some kind of elongated chakra projectile. He couldn't make out the structure, but he knew one thing for sure: that weird technique did not belong to ordinary Water Release.
"Probably some kind of vacuum bullet," Kakashi said after studying it with a frown.
Based on Konome's sensing, Zabuza and his pursuers were fighting two nautical miles out.
A laser-type technique could reach maybe a little over a thousand meters at best. It was nowhere near enough to kill a powerful enemy four kilometers away.
What she fired now had to be a Wind Release vacuum projectile shaped through form transformation. Only wind, nearly weightless and less affected by air resistance, could travel four kilometers and still retain such lethal force.
But those vacuum bullets weren't the usual spherical kind. They were wider at the rear and sharp at the front, like a streamlined cone. Kakashi had never seen a Wind Release technique shaped like that before, so even after a long look, he couldn't be completely certain.
What Kakashi didn't know was this:
That special shape was modeled after a sniper round from another world. Streamlined by aerodynamics, with the primer and casing removed, leaving only a finger-length "bullet head" that pushed the lightness of Wind Release to its extreme.
Whoosh, whoosh…
The water spindles spun and fired nonstop, launching vacuum sniper rounds in a continuous storm. The fog instantly filled with layered holes like a honeycomb. Six spinning spindles were like suppressed sniper rifles, except their firing rate was absurd, more like a Gatling gun.
That backpack-carrying "big brother" loved using this thing to hunt zombies. Sniper-level power and penetration, machine-gun fire rate, an infinite magazine, and if you pushed it further and turned on full wallhacks, that was basically it.
Konome wasn't that "big brother," but she had already switched on everything she could.
Her pupil power, far beyond a normal Byakugan, pierced the fog of war. Violet chakra surged like a tide to feed the "magazines." Six floating guns hummed as they cycled, unloading on the immortal zombie duo far out at sea.
A wild grin tugged at her lips.
Now she finally understood the joy those "big brothers" felt.
And as for how Zabuza had been "saved" earlier, that was her doing.
Honestly, the situation hadn't been that desperate at first. When she set up her "rifle," Zabuza had only just been caught. He wasn't at the point of having his heart ripped out yet.
What she hadn't expected was how annoying beyond-visual-range combat could be. A four-kilometer shot demanded terrifying precision.
If the muzzle twitched even slightly while the floating cannon rotated, the "bullet" could drift hundreds of meters off course. She fired again and again, missing everything, not even dirtying the enemy's clothing. The weakness of "seeing through" without an auto-lock became painfully obvious.
Fortunately, her control over jutsu and chakra far surpassed normal standards.
After a hundred shots, she mastered the trick of ultra-long-range fire.
She'd wanted to erase Kakuzu's hearts in one barrage, but he reacted in time, shifting them by a few angles. The vacuum rounds only tore away a little of his black thread "beard."
In theory, that Water Release Earth Grudge Fear should have been able to dodge too.
But it was busy binding Zabuza with a mass of tendrils, making it sluggish. It couldn't react in time, and its chakra "seed" was pierced. It died on the spot.
Maybe Water Release users really were cursed with bad luck.
Konome thought about it. Every Water Release ninja she knew seemed to have miserable luck.
Zabuza the walking disaster aside, Kisame was destined to be betrayed by Samehada that double-crossing traitor. The Fourth Mizukage was controlled by Obito and had Kirigakure thrown into chaos. The Second Hokage was called the fastest in the shinobi world, yet he still died buying time for Hiruzen and Danzo.
Maybe Water Release really was Luck E.
While she was thinking, she saw Zabuza get his back sliced open by the giant scythe in the distance.
When Hidan began licking the blood off his scythe, and black-and-white markings started spreading across his face, her suspicion only deepened.
On the other side.
Over the fog-choked sea.
Zabuza didn't understand what that wound on his back truly meant.
Compared to a shallow cut, the two monsters behind him that had been turned into pincushions and were still moving had already shattered his worldview.
The Demon of the Mist had run into actual ghosts, and he'd gotten two at once.
Did becoming a shinobi who could rival a Kage mean you had to abandon the weak body of a human?
Thinking of Konome and Orochimaru, then looking at these two grotesque creatures, he felt like he'd brushed against some ugly truth.
He didn't have time to think.
Watching the vacuum sniper rounds precisely avoid his body while blasting the two monsters behind him, he quickly traced the trajectory.
The shots were coming from the Land of Waves.
And there, on that island, there really was another inhuman monster. Only she could fight these two immortal zombies. These rounds had to be her work.
Four kilometers.
Even he couldn't help but marvel.
Zabuza raised the Executioner's Blade to cover his face and charged toward the Land of Waves, like a brave warrior sprinting through a storm of bullets.
Of course, the truth was simpler.
He was running for his life.
He'd accepted death only because there had been no hope of survival. Now that a chance appeared, he would struggle with everything he had.
Behind him, Zabuza's flight didn't matter to them.
Clang, clang, clang!
The unknown vacuum sniper rounds were slapped aside by jet-black tendrils.
Earth Release and Wind Release collided. Dust and air burst outward, making the sea's surface ripple like petals.
Half of Kakuzu's face was gone. Black threads writhed where his head should have been, like hair planted inside a skull. There was no brain, yet his movements never slowed.
He had long since shed his human body. The appearance he wore was nothing more than Earth Grudge Fear draped in human skin.
"Kakuzu, can you find where the attacker is?"
Hidan's frightening cavities were already knitting shut. He let a vacuum round punch through his brow, blood spraying from the back of his head like a fountain, and he only leaned back slightly before recovering.
He licked the blood off his scythe. His skin had turned into ink-wash black-and-white.
"Can't see them," Kakuzu answered.
With only a mouth left, his lips moved and black threads spilled out. The sight was nauseating, and it wasn't clear how he could even "see" anymore.
"Don't kill Zabuza yet. My Water Grudge Fear got shattered. I'll use his heart to replenish it."
Even now, Kakuzu didn't forget to be frugal.
"Uh… can't kill him right now."
Whoosh, whoosh!
Hidan swung his scythe, batting away the rounds aimed at his eyes. His immortality had limits. Destroy a complex structure like an eyeball and it healed slowly. Lose a limb and only Kakuzu's stitching could fix it.
"Why?" Kakuzu was surprised.
Hidan's ability was absurd. Once he consumed an enemy's blood, he could synchronize their bodies, then use his immortal flesh to curse-kill them while ignoring distance and defense.
That was exactly why Kakuzu hadn't rushed to chase Zabuza earlier.
Now Hidan was saying he couldn't kill, which meant something was wrong.
Hidan bared his teeth. Even through the black-and-white markings, his helpless frustration showed. He rubbed the blood across the sole of his shoe, and the sea below stained pink like spilled ink.
"We're on the ocean, idiot. I can't do the ritual out here."
"Heh."
Kakuzu actually laughed, coldly, at how stupid the reason was. He tilted his head to dodge another incoming round.
These vacuum bullets were insanely fast and hard to detect. Each carried power comparable to most B-rank jutsu. The only way to endure them was to tank with the Earth Spear technique.
The worst part was this: they had no idea where the shots came from. Even Earth Grudge Fear flying above couldn't find a trace. The ocean was empty except for the three of them. The only direction the bullets came from was that small island nation.
Could the attacker really be firing from the Land of Waves?
It sounded ridiculous, and yet it was the only possibility.
Kakuzu inhaled deeply, tasting the salty sea air.
This was too far. If those attacks still carried this kind of power after traveling this distance, he didn't even want to imagine what their true force looked like up close.
Whoosh… whoosh…
Another volley.
The airborne Wind Release Grudge Fear was shredded into pieces.
Hidan's neck erupted into countless blood holes, pain finally twisting his face.
"You cowardly bastard hiding in the dark. When I find you, I'll torture you to death and offer you to Jashin."
He was leaking air through his throat even while threatening.
Kakuzu, ninety-one years old, was just as furious.
On this endless sea, the two of them were nothing but living targets.
"The vacuum rounds are too dense and too accurate. Yet Zabuza hasn't taken a scratch. That's not normal.
They must be Zabuza's ally. Follow him and we'll find the shooter.
We'll stick behind Zabuza and use his body as a shield."
Kakuzu was the calmer one. Once he saw the core of the problem, the path out became obvious.
"Hah!"
Hidan let out a savage howl of excitement. He swung his scythe and surged after Zabuza, charging at the front as the true immortal. Kakuzu trailed far behind.
Zabuza sensed the two monsters closing again. He swallowed his despair and sprinted even harder toward the Land of Waves coastline.
In an instant, the three of them stretched into a straight line on the sea, like an arrow shot toward the island.
Then things started to go wrong.
Whoosh!
The tearing sound of the bullets grew sharper. Kakuzu and Hidan hugged close behind Zabuza, bodies curling inward.
The nearer they got to shore, the stronger the sniper rounds became. Their speed turned so fast it vanished to the eye. In only a few minutes, the immortal duo had been "shot" hundreds of times.
Hidan, who had charged in front relying on immortality, no longer had a single clean patch of flesh. His ear and nose were blown apart. One eye was shot out.
Even his left arm was shattered and fell into the waves, and Kakuzu had to retrieve it from behind.
There wasn't even time to stitch it back.
Now they were less than one nautical mile from the island.
The rounds had grown strong enough to punch through Earth Spear.
The two of them crouched behind Zabuza like terrified quails, not daring to expose even an inch. Even Hidan, normally arrogant beyond reason, hunched his shoulders and lowered his head, shrinking his target area.
Humiliation burned in their chests.
They hadn't even seen the enemy's face, and they'd already lost half their lives. When had the immortal duo ever suffered this kind of loss?
But the penetration was too extreme, the barrage too relentless. Even Hidan, thick as he was, finally understood.
This was not a B-rank technique.
This was an S-rank jutsu fired from four kilometers away.
They could react only because the range was so absurd. The speed and power had been shaved down by distance. Even what they felt now wasn't the full form of the jutsu.
And yet, the two of them were already riding a tiger.
If they kept charging, they didn't know how deep the enemy's strength ran. That beyond-visual-range horror had crushed their arrogance into powder.
But turning to flee across a flat, open sea would be suicide.
They had only one choice left.
Follow Zabuza, find the rat who was firing from the shadows, and kill them.
This was their only hope of survival.
It looked like they were hunting Zabuza.
In truth, they were the ones being driven into a corner.
Tap, tap…
Time bled away.
Three pairs of shinobi sandals stamped ripples into the sea. In the distance, they could already make out a lone figure standing on the shoreline.
"Once we're on land, don't start your curse technique yet," Kakuzu warned his partner again.
"Zabuza isn't the threat. Don't let him learn your secret and leak it. I'll get the enemy's blood for you. Then you curse-kill immediately.
One strike. Instant death. Don't get cute and hold back just to torture them."
Only a mouth remained of Kakuzu's body. Black threads protected the four hearts inside him like a cage. Aside from two legs still sprinting across the sea, his upper body was barely human at all.
"Mmm… mmm…"
Hidan's mouth had been blasted apart too. He could only hum in agreement.
The half-crippled zombie duo's killing intent surged like a tide.
And on the coastline of the Land of Waves, Team Seven waited with bated breath.
Konome slowly brought the spinning floating cannons to a stop.
From far away, Kakashi and the others could already see the three figures charging in, aligned more perfectly than any formation, like a thousand-armed Kannon sweeping toward shore.
A battle was about to erupt.
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