Kakuzu understood that Orochimaru had no intention of stopping, but this only intensified his anger, and he decided to teach Orochimaru a lesson.
"A mere beast dares to bare its fangs at me? Let Senju Hashirama come!"
Kakuzu formed hand signs and unleashed a burst of purple lightning, interwoven like a net, blocking all of Orochimaru's advance. This Lightning Release was extremely precise.
Hidden within the serpent's belly, Ling quietly used Twin Curse Method to transform herself into Orochimaru, then manipulated Ame no Habakiri with Magnet Release and the Secret Scroll of the Sky Forbidden Technique.
A cold light shot out from the serpent's mouth with incredible speed, instantly arriving before Kakuzu. Without an Earth Release heart, he couldn't use Earth Release: Earth Spear, so Kakuzu dared not meet it head-on.
He intended to parry the incoming blade with his Kunai, but he underestimated the Wind Release Chakra and Cursed Energy attached to it. In an instant, the Kunai, forged from fine steel, was severed.
Then, Ame no Habakiri pierced through Kakuzu's heart without obstruction. The lightning-attributed mask shattered directly, leaving Kakuzu in disbelief that he would be defeated so quickly.
He looked down at the empty hole in his chest, the mark left by Ame no Habakiri's penetration. Although there was no blood, countless black threads, like worms, writhed within.
Kakuzu feigned death and collapsed to the ground. This move had always worked for him. He planned to ambush Orochimaru, to make him understand that an old veteran was not so easy to kill.
However, Ling was not Orochimaru, and naturally understood what Kakuzu was trying to do. The great serpent, struck by the lightning net, was on its last breath. Ling performed a'snake spitting out a person' move, emerging from the serpent's mouth.
Dismissing the Shikigami Great Serpent, she casually caught the returning Ame no Habakiri and re-inserted it into the scabbard at her waist. Ling, disguised as Orochimaru, slowly approached Kakuzu.
"Heh heh, still talking about fighting the First Hokage? Was it a Shuriken thrown from eight hundred li away? Pathetic, nothing but an empty name!"
Ling's voice, disguised as Orochimaru's, was just as cold and hoarse, and even the sinister smile at the corner of her mouth was so real. However, upon hearing Ling's words, Kakuzu almost couldn't resist jumping up.
But he held back. Now was not the time to jump up and retort. As long as Orochimaru took a few more steps, he would be able to kill him.
In the distance, due to the fierce battle between Uchiha Rei and Kakuzu, the court officials and samurai had escorted the Fire Country Daimyo to flee quickly, looking extremely disheveled and without any decorum.
"Soon, closer!" Kakuzu counted Orochimaru's steps. Once the distance was right, his Earth Grudge Fear would be able to completely trap Orochimaru.
"Forget it, I'm in a hurry. I won't collect the body. Such a useless person has no research value!"
To mess with Kakuzu's mind, Ling stopped just one step short of entering his trap. She muttered a few words to herself and then prepared to leave.
"Damn Orochimaru! Why don't you take one more step! Damn it! What do you mean 'no value'? This old man's bounty is over fifty million Ryo!"
Kakuzu roared in his heart, but still didn't move. Escaping by feigning death was a good outcome. As for Orochimaru's life, he would harvest it next time.
"I remember this useless person should have a bounty, right? I happen to be short on research funds, so I'll take it along the way."
To mess with Kakuzu's mind, Ling turned around and walked back. Kakuzu began to get excited again, not expecting to have another chance in the end. Indeed, one shouldn't be too greedy!
"He's been alive since the Sengoku period, after all. This old man isn't faking death, is he? Should I test if he's dead?"
Ling stopped again just as she was about to step into the trap, making Kakuzu almost frantic. She wouldn't go in, wouldn't retreat, and even wanted to test if he was dead or not! Can't you sense if he's dead or not?!
Watching the color representing Kakuzu's soul emotions constantly change, Ling knew her manipulation was working well. Now, she had successfully made Kakuzu hate her.
With Magnet Release combined with the Secret Scroll of the Sky, Ling's speed and flexibility while riding the sword were extremely powerful. Standing on the sword, she could even cosplay as a sword immortal without issue.
Ame no Habakiri flew out from the scabbard, transforming into a cold gleam that plunged firmly into Kakuzu's body. Since it didn't aim for the heart, Kakuzu didn't move.
"Damn Orochimaru, I will definitely make your heart into a mask!"
The physical pain from Kakuzu's Earth Grudge Fear was somewhat dulled, but not absent. With a sword plunged into him, Kakuzu almost couldn't help but tremble.
However, it wasn't over yet. Ame no Habakiri circled and pierced, repeatedly entering Kakuzu's body, then separating to gather power again before piercing through.
"Damn Orochimaru!" Kakuzu gritted his teeth, his eyes bloodshot from the intense pain. If he hadn't hidden his remaining two hearts underground, he would have been pierced by a thousand swords long ago.
"Is he really dead? How boring! The next strike will be a decapitation!"
Ling said so, but she controlled Ame no Habakiri to pierce towards one of the hearts underground. Kakuzu didn't even react for a moment.
The heart two meters underground was pierced through. Now he only had his fire-attributed heart left, only one life remaining. Kakuzu trembled all over.
Kakuzu could no longer hold back. He burst out, burrowing into the ground and fleeing rapidly. He hadn't felt this lack of life security, this feeling of being on the verge of losing everything, in a long time.
"Escape! Can you escape? Lava Pillars!"
Exhibiting the Lava Curse Method for the first time, it was truly worthy of being a cursed technique. A small, reddish-orange volcano erupted from the ground, turning to face Kakuzu, and from it, high-speed lava flames violently spewed forth.
The lava flames gouged a three to four-meter deep trench in the ground, melting a large amount of soil into lava, and extended over a hundred meters in an instant.
Kakuzu felt the sudden heat behind him and couldn't believe what kind of Fire Release this was. Not only was it unbelievably fast, but it also possessed extreme heat.
Kakuzu's last water-attributed heart immediately spewed out a water dragon, intending to extinguish the fire pillar striking from behind. Unfortunately, as steam spread, a reddish glow still surged through the mist.
The flames pressed against Kakuzu's water dragon, rapidly approaching the terrified Kakuzu, who was then slammed into the rock face by the impact.
The next instant, a Flying Thunder God Kunai traversed several hundred meters and plunged into the rock. Ling appeared in a flash, gazing at Kakuzu, who was sealed by solidified lava in the pit in the mountain wall.
Seeing Kakuzu still struggling, trying to escape, Ling used Body Flicker Technique to appear before him. Sealing runes covered Kakuzu's water-attributed heart mask.
She also placed a Flying Thunder God Mark on Kakuzu's heart. Now, Kakuzu was completely reduced to a prisoner, his surging Earth Grudge Fear twitching weakly.
"Old man Kakuzu, you don't want to die, do you?" Ling playfully gestured with Ame no Habakiri over Kakuzu's heart, seemingly considering where to strike.
"Yes, I surrender. How can you let me go? State your terms."
Kakuzu's face was ashen. He never imagined he would come to this, captured by that damned Orochimaru.
He thought that if he could survive this, he would definitely take cruel revenge on Orochimaru in the future, but he wouldn't let Orochimaru live.
Ling felt no qualms about letting Orochimaru take the blame while wearing his appearance.
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