The giant hand rising from the tsunami clenched the inferno tight. The once majestic sea of flame was now on its last breath, leaving only warped white steam.
Sssss.
The seawater had been boiled to a rolling frenzy. Scalding vapor surged upward without end, making the lead gray clouds above grow even heavier. Kakashi and the others looked up. The steaming white haze spread across the sky, twisting and tangling with the gray overcast, and between them there was a clear dividing line.
And then.
A shadow flashed across that gray white seam.
Whoosh!
A figure wreathed in heat burst through the boiling mist. Dense, slender black tendrils trailed behind him like a comet tail of steam as he shot forward like a cannonball toward Konome Taketori, the one controlling the waves.
"Boring tactic."
With her Byakugan active, Konome Taketori only shook her head lightly at Kakuzu's ambush. The hand clutching empty air opened and pressed downward.
The sky blotting tsunami was erased in an instant.
The massive weight of seawater crashed back into the ocean. Even the flattened afterswell nearly flooded the coastline of the Land of Waves.
At the same time.
Bzzzzz.
Six terrifying floating cannons spun like mad, chakra compressing inside them as it built pressure.
In less than a quarter of a second.
Layered torrents converged into one thick beam, a brutal "laser" that slammed straight into Kakuzu as he flew in.
A water attack was faster than wind bullets. It hit harder. It left no room to dodge.
The moment it made contact, the wind water drill stream punched through Kakuzu's pitch black body. His so called all in one offense and defense, the Earth Spear, looked like shoddy tofu construction.
The floating cannons in "sniper" mode had high rate of fire and long range, perfect for mid to long distance fights. The wind water high pressure water cannon was better for mid range execution, but its reload cycle was longer, with gaps between volleys.
Right now, with six cannons firing together, this was Konome Taketori's most lethal offensive ninjutsu. Even she herself would have to evade it. Blocking was not an option.
Kakuzu, of course, knew Earth Spear alone wouldn't hold.
An enemy with wide area sensing and S rank long range jutsu was a confirmed threat. There was no way he would charge in without preparation.
Rip.
It was like heavy force tearing through leather paper pierced by a pencil.
Three masks of different shapes split away from Kakuzu's main body, each taking a portion of black Earth Grudge Fear with them. Only the central mass of black threads remained, and it was shredded into nothingness by the beam's wind filaments.
"Scatter."
At Konome Taketori's command, the beam that had fused into one instantly fanned out.
Straight "lasers" sliced toward the separated Kakuzu. The sky itself seemed carved open. Even the vast steam clouds were cut into clean rectangular blocks, and faint golden light spilled through the gaps.
But the speed of the beam's cross cutting no longer matched that first, impossible to react to burst.
Kakuzu and his three elemental masks moved like ace fighter pilots, rolling, diving, sliding, and climbing through the air to evade the six beams hunting them down.
With that agile flight, plus a tendril body with no true weakness except the hearts, even if a beam clipped him, he could calmly shift his hearts and keep moving.
No wonder he was one of the longest lived men in the shinobi world, second only to the Otsutsuki clan.
Watching Kakuzu maneuver more nimbly than any bird, Konome Taketori couldn't help but marvel.
Most shinobi barely lived past their twenties. In the era of constant war, children as young as four or five could be sent to the battlefield with a kunai, and the average lifespan dropped into the teens.
Kakuzu had survived from Hashirama's era to the present. By age alone he was at least eighty or ninety.
One man, single handedly raising the ceiling of "shinobi lifespan."
In that brutal era, in the environment of a small village, he likely started fighting around five. And for decades he stayed active on the front lines of the black market. Eighty years of combat experience had aged into something almost glossy.
In the original story, getting one shotted by Naruto was pure plot kill to showcase the Rasenshuriken.
Among all the powerhouses Konome Taketori had ever met, Kakuzu was without question a top tier shinobi in chakra nature mastery, combat experience, and technique.
Still.
Flight.
Staring at him with open envy, Konome Taketori found herself without a clean answer.
She felt like a boss in a soulslike game facing a high end player: her numbers and mechanics were overwhelming, but the opponent always found a hair thin path to survive.
The floating cannons had limits.
After several cuts failed to land decisive damage, the spindles' internal force began to run thin. Wisps of steam vented from the barrels. Her heart poured chakra into them to recharge.
"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"
Kakuzu's combat sense was razor sharp. The instant he caught an opening, the ox mask opened its mouth and fired a terrifying spear of lightning.
The bolt fell from the sky like judgment itself, striking Konome Taketori head on.
Bzzzt bzzzt bzzzt.
A red multifaceted barrier expanded instantly. The diamond like shield was unimaginably hard, rejecting the lightning spear in full.
Sizzle.
The spear hammered the barrier with extreme piercing force, making it flicker like a faulty lamp arcing with electricity.
Crack.
Fractures spread across the surface, the kind of damage even Kurosuki Raiga had never managed to create before dying.
In the end, the barrier's power held. The lightning spear drained away and vanished. The cratered, cracked barrier still stood.
But before Kakuzu could even react.
Pale violet chakra surged across the barrier like glue. The fractures knit together. The dents filled. The cracks sealed at a visible pace.
Inside it.
The floating cannons finished charging in a blink and began spinning again. The instant Konome Taketori lifted her gaze, beams carved the sky into a rain of golden light once more.
So you want to play that game?
The moment his Earth Release heart got pierced by a beam he couldn't counter, Kakuzu's mind cracked.
He'd finally found an opening, and she had an instant, omnidirectional defensive barrier around her body.
Not only could even Lightning Release fail to punch through it, it repaired itself.
And worst of all, the barrier could identify threats while defending, and she could immediately return fire. That disgusting long range "light cannon" had almost no downtime, and her chakra supply looked endless.
In all his decades, he'd never seen a ninjutsu type shinobi this shameless.
Rip.
Down to three lives, Kakuzu split again, spiraling through the sky with "movement tech" that would make elite pilots scream in envy. On the ground, Konome Taketori only watched coldly, directing the floating cannons to pour firepower into the heavens.
Kakuzu's limit play was impressive, yes.
But Konome Taketori hadn't trained for five years to compete with anyone's mechanics.
Mechanics and stats both crushed him. She could make countless mistakes. He could only make five.
No.
Wait.
The first ultra long range ambush burned one life. He burned another just now in the air.
Three left.
"Naruto, watch out!"
Naruto had been staring blankly at the ground to air duel when Sasuke's urgent shout snapped into his ear.
Naruto turned on instinct, and a red giant scythe swept toward his face. The brutal three segmented blade flashed cold, and he could even see the blackened blood on it.
Wham.
The air itself made that violent whoosh a staff makes when swung at full speed.
It was the sound of pure taijutsu.
Five years of training under Might Guy wasn't for show.
Naruto's entire body jolted. His lower abdomen tightened.
Knees bent, waist dropped, chin tucked, center of gravity lowered.
A textbook chain of movements.
Naruto ducked under the scythe in a perfect crouch slip. At the same time his bright blue eyes lifted, locking onto the black white figure like a wolf.
First rule of fighting.
Stay focused. Do not split your attention.
It was the most basic lesson taught at the Academy, and right now it nearly became the difference between life and death. Without Sasuke's warning, Naruto would have died to Hidan's sneak strike while he was distracted watching the fight onshore.
Sasuke himself was shaken.
He'd also been watching Konome Taketori's side of the battlefield. If not for the Sharingan's insane dynamic vision catching a faint trace of abnormal chakra, he might not have noticed the attack either.
Their combat awareness and experience were still too shallow, Kakashi thought grimly.
Naruto and Sasuke had advanced quickly over five years, but they were still fledglings who hadn't been through enough real life and death combat.
Training matches or cleaning up weak thugs didn't expose it. Facing opponents stronger than them did.
"Nngh!"
Hidan, charred black like coal, let out a feral howl. He yanked his scythe back with the steel rope and charged straight at Naruto again.
Unlike Kakuzu, he possessed true immortality. Tactics rarely existed in his skull.
To him, fighting had only three steps.
Kill. Sacrifice. Please the evil god.
The scythe whipped savagely for Naruto's throat. He couldn't draw the ritual circle on the sea, so his most important sacrifice method was gone. That left only one option: kill the target directly.
Clang!
Naruto's wind infused trench knuckles smashed into the blade, sparks bursting. Naruto raised his right fist to block, wind chakra colliding with the monstrous force behind the scythe.
"So heavy!"
Even with jutsu enhancing him, the transmitted power was brutal.
It felt like taking Guy's Dynamic Entry head on. Naruto's arm trembled violently from the shock.
But Naruto wasn't alone.
The instant Naruto was ambushed, Sasuke and Kakashi didn't stand there watching.
Lightning Release: Chidori.
Uchiha Style: Sword Leap Flame.
Lightning and fire intertwined as both turned into blurs, striking from left and right.
Their coordination was tight.
The moment Naruto saw them commit, he braced the scythe with his trench knuckles and used his other hand to seize the long handle, locking Hidan's weapon in place.
Hidan's mouth curled into a sneer. He didn't care about Kakashi and Sasuke closing in. He simply twisted the scythe sideways and poured pressure down.
Screech.
Steel ground against the knuckles. The three segmented blade was long, and with that sideways angle it sliced across Naruto's shoulder, leaving a thin red line.
Naruto didn't even care. It would heal in seconds.
Both hands shook as he held the scythe steady, giving Kakashi and Sasuke the opening they needed.
"Heh! Kid, you're already dead!"
Seeing the blood on his blade, Hidan laughed wildly. He'd never sacrificed an Uzumaki shinobi to the evil god before. The god would love this.
Tap tap.
Ripples spread across the sea as Kakashi and Sasuke finally arrived, Chidori and a flaming blade stabbing toward Hidan's chest and abdomen.
Against attacks that would kill a normal person instantly, Hidan lifted his chin and didn't dodge.
And seeing Naruto refuse to let go of the scythe, Hidan drove a hard kick straight into Naruto's waist.
Naruto answered with his own kick.
Orange and black collided midair.
Hidan screamed.
Flash.
Kakashi and Sasuke crossed through him, leaving twin trails of lightning and flame. Hidan's blackened arms were severed instantly, thrown into the air, the exposed bone ends scorched.
Konome Taketori had warned them he was immortal. Why waste effort?
They attacked the chest and abdomen first, pretending they didn't know, baiting him into arrogance.
Then they cut off his arms, the most dangerous part.
After that, going for the neck would be simple.
They'd wanted to decapitate him directly, but changing a strike line from torso to arms didn't alter the blade arc much. Switching straight to the head would have created too obvious a change, and he'd likely dodge.
Arms first was safer. The beheading would come naturally.
Splash.
Both arms hit the ocean with a dull splash.
"Bastards!"
Hidan roared in fury, but the manic swagger in his eyes was gone.
Immortality wasn't invincibility. What he feared most was losing limbs.
And these enemies moved like they already knew his weakness, hitting his vital point immediately.
Now Kakuzu was busy entangled onshore. No one would stitch Hidan back together.
And with no ritual possible on the sea, Hidan had effectively lost his ability to fight.
Of course.
He still wouldn't die.
The panic in his face was partly an act.
As long as Kakuzu killed the shore target and came back, Hidan could be revived even if chopped into pieces.
Right now, his main job was to stall these three and buy Kakuzu time.
"How do you know my abilities?" Hidan demanded.
Kakashi didn't answer. He didn't relax either.
Konome Taketori had said if they got injured and let Hidan reach land, they would die. She hadn't explained the mechanism, but it was obvious Hidan was far more dangerous than he looked.
Naruto and Sasuke had been shaken by Kakuzu's compound ninjutsu, then nearly paid with their lives after being distracted by the shore fight.
Now was the time to be most careful.
The three advanced cautiously, following their set tactic, backs to the shore as they encircled Hidan.
Naruto held the captured scythe in front of Hidan. Kakashi and Sasuke stayed to his sides.
A reversed triangle defensive formation.
Their goal was simple and absolute.
Do not let him step onto land.
Meanwhile.
Kakuzu was being forced to flee under relentless beam fire.
Hidan, missing arms and weapon, was held outside the island.
The Immortal Duo.
Both had been pushed into a corner.
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