It wasn't without reason that Konan had this doubt.
In fact,
on the journey back to Amegakure from the Land of Wind,
Konan and Kyo had encountered some enemies who had inexplicably rushed out at them.
Back then, Kyo had simply clapped his hands together and instantly unleashed a technique that seemed to be called 'Hado #4: Byakurai'.
He had subdued the entire group of them with swift lightning.
And now, facing Kakuzu's secret technique attack, Kyo once again clapped his hands together and unleashed a Fire Release Ninjutsu with power far exceeding the previous one.
Both its speed and power were far greater than before.
'Come to think of it...'
'Could this blue-white flame still be considered Fire Release?'
Konan was very puzzled.
Meanwhile, Pain and Zetsu, who were completely spectating from the side, also sensed the strangeness of this technique.
Though it was as blue as the sea, it possessed the form and temperature of flames...
On the other side, Kakuzu's expression also changed.
Feeling the powerful wave of heat, he naturally didn't dare to be careless. He quickly used the Body Replacement Technique and directly dodged to another side of the cave.
Boom!!
The Sokatsui struck a stone pillar beside the cave, shattering it into pieces!
As dust flew, Kakuzu steadied himself and looked over, surprise appearing in his mind.
'Tch... I never expected that with such faint Chakra, he could still unleash an attack like this...'
Just as he was pondering this,
on the other side, Kyo, who had just released his attack, suddenly had a very puzzled expression. Looking at Kakuzu with an innocent face, he said in an exaggerated tone:
"Huh? How strange... Kakuzu-san, aren't you known as the 'Immortal Shinobi'?"
"Why would you dodge such a weak attack?"
"..."
As his words fell, the entire scene fell silent.
Everyone's gaze simultaneously shifted to Kakuzu's face.
The atmosphere was extremely awkward for a moment.
And Kakuzu's mouth twitched directly, his expression freezing.
'What the hell?!'
'I just have a lot of hearts, that's all, alright?!'
'Do you really take me for someone who's absolutely immortal???'
'Besides, if you encounter an attack and don't dodge, wouldn't that make you an idiot??'
Growing more furious the more he thought about it, Kakuzu glared at Kyo. Then, without another word, he quickly formed hand seals, placed his hand in front of his mouth, and said fiercely:
"I'll kill you!"
"Fire Release: Intelligent Hard Work!"
As his words fell, the back of Kakuzu's body suddenly began to bulge and swell. Then, a black, thread-like masked creature suddenly appeared!
This was the secret technique of Takigakure, Earth Grudge Fear!
Then, this Earth Grudge Fear suddenly opened its mouth wide and spat out a blazing fireball!
The moment the fireball touched the ground, it instantly expanded its range, directly igniting a monstrous, surging fire that nearly raised the temperature of the entire cave by a dozen degrees!
That blazing firelight, as if possessing a will of its own, rapidly spread towards Kyo ahead!
And Pain, Konan, and the others nearby were also affected by the flames at the same time!
Everyone's expression changed simultaneously.
Beside them, Zetsu let out an exaggerated cry: "Ah! Not good, not good! Dodge!!"
Immediately after, he leaped backwards and quickly used the Mayfly Technique, merging into the wall.
Konan, on the other side, immediately spread her paper wings, instantly carrying Pain with her as she flew high into the air as well.
They all knew that being caught in these flames was no laughing matter.
This strange wave of heat could be said to completely exceed the Sokatsui that Kyo had just released!
Moreover, its range was exceptionally wide!
"This guy... releasing such a large-scale Fire Release Ninjutsu in a cramped place like this..."
An expression of displeasure appeared on Pain's face.
At that moment, on the ground, Kakuzu's eyes gleamed with excitement. He didn't care about that.
After acquiring the hearts of many Fire Release Shinobi, this was currently Kakuzu's most prized Fire Release Ninjutsu!
A sea of flames, incinerating everything before his eyes!
"So..."
"Brat, you have nowhere to hide now. What will you do?!"
Kakuzu stared intently at Kyo ahead, smirking coldly in his mind.
Over on this side, Konan and Pain, floating in the air thanks to Konan's Paper Ninjutsu, were also watching Kyo ahead, curious to see how he would respond.
After all, ordinary Shinobi weren't like her, possessing the power of flight.
Faced with such flames, there were almost only two simplest ways to respond: either dodge or endure head-on.
Now, in this cramped cave, dodging was already impossible.
Only enduring head-on remained.
So... how exactly would he endure it...
Everyone was anticipating the next development, but then, a scene that left everyone utterly stunned unfolded.
They saw Kyo, showing a faint smile, lightly leap into the air.
Then... he simply stopped, hovering in mid-air!
'He was — hovering in place!!'
'Without using any technique, without any support beneath his feet, he was... flying!?'
Everyone present, whether it was Kakuzu, Zetsu, or even Konan and Pain, upon seeing this sight, looked as if they had seen a ghost!
Everyone's eyes were wide, their expressions frozen.
Kakuzu's breathing completely stopped, his train of thought instantly severed, his mind utterly short-circuited.
And then, Kyo stood high in the air, looking down at them with a smile:
"You didn't really think I was going to endure that Fire Release head-on, did you?"