Bang!!!
A tremendous crashing sound erupted.
That golden lightning cannon blast struck the two Earth Grudge Fear masks, sending Kakuzu's body flying!
He slammed viciously into the wall on one side of the cave, embedded deeply within it.
The next moment, the two Earth Grudge Fear masks, now shattered, rapidly detached themselves from Kakuzu's body, dissolving into black threads that fell to the ground, dying on the spot!
"?!"
Feeling the pain wracking his body, Kakuzu's breath caught in his throat. He lifted his head in disbelief, staring at Kyo before him, his mind reeling with shock.
'What happened!?'
'When exactly did he appear behind me...!?'
'I clearly just saw his figure being consumed by my flames!'
'Could it be... a Genjutsu?!'
Realizing this, Kakuzu's expression instantly darkened further. He glared at Kyo, gritting his teeth, and said unwillingly:
"Tch, you bastard..."
"So you were hiding this many trump cards all along?!"
He never would have imagined that someone with Chakra so faint it was like that of an infant, after just a few short exchanges, would possess so many bizarre techniques!
First, there was that blue-white flame, released instantly with a simple clap of his hands. Next came that strange ability to stand in mid-air.
And now, there was yet another strange Genjutsu, and... a Golden Lightning Release of terrifying power!
'This guy... could he be some kind of rare Kekkei Genkai holder?'
This was a bit too terrifying!
More than that,
what truly sent a chill down Kakuzu's spine was the thought that, if he had revealed all five of his masks earlier...
then maybe, he would already be a corpse by now!
Thinking of this, Kakuzu felt a faint coldness creep up his back. He stared into Kyo's eyes and slowly sucked in a breath.
After this brief skirmish, he had basically confirmed it —
'This guy named Kyo was an out-and-out monster.'
'And moreover, his full strength was very likely not inferior to that Pain!'
Realizing this,
a shadow flickered in Kakuzu's eyes.
'Looks like I'd need to go collect the hearts of some new Fire Release and Wind Release Shinobi...'
Just then,
the flames within the cave began to slowly die down.
Konan and Pain returned to the ground. Even Zetsu, who had burrowed into the wall, re-emerged onto the floor.
"My, my... how terrifying!"
"I never expected both newcomers to possess such frightening strength..."
Zetsu's mouth let out a strange sound.
Konan, her expression calm, looked towards Kakuzu and said flatly:
"Kakuzu, things have reached this point. There's no need to continue fighting. You must be convinced of his strength by now, right?"
As her words fell, a soft "Tch" escaped Kakuzu's lips.
Then he slowly stood up, and without another word, headed straight for the cave entrance.
Now that he was down to only three hearts, in order to maintain his immortality and peak condition, he naturally needed to find a way to acquire two more hearts.
As for Kyo?
For the time being, he had no desire to fight someone like that again.
As Kakuzu walked away,
Pain slowly turned his gaze to Kyo. His expression was calm as he said flatly:
"Impressive."
"I acknowledge your strength, person known as Kyo."
"The Akatsuki's goal is the 'true peace' of the Shinobi World, for the Akatsuki to dominate the world in place of the Five Great Nations."
"To this end, we gather exceptional Shinobi, regardless of their origin or past."
"So now,"
"wanderer, welcome to the Akatsuki."
As his words fell, a purple ring suddenly materialized in Pain's hand. On it was an inky black character for "Jade".
He flicked his wrist, tossing the ring over, and said flatly:
"From today, this is your ring. It represents your status as a full member of the Akatsuki."
"Next, Zetsu will take you to our residential area. You are free to choose your own dwelling within Amegakure."
Snap.
Kyo raised his hand and caught it firmly.
As expected, it was the same "Jade" ring that Sasori had in the original work.
Just then, Zetsu approached from the side, letting out a strange chuckle and saying:
"Let's go, newcomer."
However,
just as Kyo was about to turn and leave,
suddenly, Pain spoke up from behind him once more.
"Wait."
"Hm?" Kyo turned back, surprised. "Something else?"
"No."
Pain shook his head slightly and said flatly:
"I'm merely curious about your abilities."
"In the battle just now, all the techniques you displayed were performed with a single hand seal, or even no seals at all... how?"
As his words fell, Kyo raised an eyebrow slightly and said with a light laugh:
"Which proper Shinobi uses hand seals? Do you?"
"Can a Ninjutsu that requires hand seals to release even hit anyone?"
Kyo chuckled disdainfully.
Then, without caring about their reactions, he turned on his heel and strolled away nonchalantly,
Leaving only the two people standing frozen in the cave, staring at each other.
Pain and Konan exchanged glances.
"Konan, when you fight using your Paper Ninjutsu, do you use hand seals?"
"Uh, no. You... when you use the Rinnegan, do you use hand seals?"
"...No, I don't either."
'Huh?'
'How the hell does that... kind of make sense?'