Four masked monsters emerged from behind Kakuzu. They were pitch black, with only a mysterious, furry mask on their faces. However, Fumori Masaki knew that those pitch-black "hairs" were actually mutated blood vessels. These masked monsters were all life forms transformed by Jiongu.
Before Orochimaru's Impure World Reincarnation appeared, Fumori Masaki believed that Jiongu was the closest secret technique to Orochimaru's ideal of eternal life. As long as one continuously plundered the hearts of others, fresh vitality would fill their entire body. Kakuzu, over ninety years old, still possessed formidable combat power, which demonstrated Jiongu's power.
The only aspect where Impure World Reincarnation surpassed Jiongu was perhaps its reliance on the spirit as a vessel, making it even more mysterious than Jiongu, which depended on real hearts. However, considering the spiritual damage caused by Impure World Reincarnation and the need for a new body every few years, it was hard to say which method of achieving eternal life—Jiongu or Impure World Reincarnation—was superior. Each had its advantages and disadvantages, depending on one's choice.
However, in Fumori Masaki's eyes, both Impure World Reincarnation and Jiongu were full of sin. He believed that life should be treated with basic respect. Even if the opponent was an enemy that had to be killed, this fundamental respect should not be lost. Both Impure World Reincarnation and Jiongu were acts of contempt and trampling upon life.
Frankly speaking, Kakuzu was a very capable person, and he didn't belong to any organization. In some of the stories Fumori Masaki had read, if one had the ability, they might choose to recruit Kakuzu as a subordinate. Even Fumori Masaki himself had once considered whether he could subdue Kakuzu, but the thought vanished as soon as Jiongu came to mind.
If he were to subdue Kakuzu, he would have to condone Kakuzu plundering the hearts of others to ensure his own survival. Fumori Masaki's morality could not accept such a thing, nor could he be sure that Kakuzu would agree to a mutually acceptable pact. Therefore, the idea of eliminating Kakuzu remained his priority.
As the masked monsters emerged, Kakuzu's outer garment was torn, revealing a body that looked as if it had been stitched together with threads. This was the bodily mutation brought about by Jiongu, transforming his body into a tool that could be disassembled at will, with only the black blood vessels providing connection.
"I really don't know who created such a terrifying secret technique as Jiongu," Fumori Masaki thought to himself, gripping his Fuuton tightly. The enemy's actions were somewhat unexpected; he had directly released all four masked monsters. This meant he couldn't take out all five hearts with a single blow—he had initially thought Kakuzu would try to exploit the intelligence gap, using his multiple hearts to set a trap for him, but he would return the favor.
It seemed the opponent was going all out, releasing all the masked monsters directly. This was indeed very troublesome. The positions of the masked monsters were not fixed, making it impossible to take them all out at once. Moreover, Kakuzu had no intention of letting him get close. Fortunately, he also had other preparations.
Fumori Masaki touched something in his ninja pouch.
His movement was very slight, and with his body blocking it, Kakuzu couldn't possibly see it. At this moment, the opponent spoke: "This is the forbidden jutsu I obtained from the village. Although I can't show it to the First Hokage, letting you—the student of the Second Hokage—witness it, is better than nothing."
"Is it really a good idea to expose your jutsu directly?" Fumori Masaki asked. "Perhaps you might fall here."
"Heh heh, don't worry about it. The power of this secret technique is beyond your imagination," Kakuzu sneered.
"Is that so?" Fumori Masaki shrugged. He was certain that Kakuzu didn't know his jutsu secret had already been exposed; he was just adopting a different combat method. Although he couldn't take them all out with one blow, he had to act quickly. If the opponent attacked together, he wouldn't be able to handle it easily.
Thus, as soon as the lingering sound of "Is that so?" left his lips, Fumori Masaki charged forward. The surface of his Fuuton began to show a distorted arc. Seeing this, Kakuzu's pupils slightly contracted, and he immediately knew what kind of jutsu Fumori Masaki was about to use.
Although he didn't know the name of the jutsu, Kakuzu knew that during the Ninja World War, Fumori Masaki was very skilled at using a Wind Release jutsu that resembled an air cannon, often concentrating it on a ninja tool and suddenly releasing it upon impact with an enemy's ninja tool, catching them off guard.
"He wants to separate me from the masked monsters, right? With Fumori Masaki's speed, if he closes the distance, he can achieve an instant kill."
Various thoughts flashed quickly through Kakuzu's mind. Initially, he also wanted to deal with Fumori Masaki by exploiting the unknown nature of his multiple hearts, but because Fumori Masaki had shown powerful close-quarters combat abilities in their first encounter, his Wind Release chakra could even break through his Earth Release jutsu, and that disk-shaped Wind Release jutsu had directly split a body in two. Even with multiple hearts, Kakuzu didn't dare to easily engage in close combat with the opponent, thus he chose this tactic—using the masked monsters for long-range ninjutsu attacks to restrict the opponent's movements and slowly wear him down.
Therefore, Kakuzu had long anticipated how he would react when the opponent used Wind Release. The masked monster with Fire Release chakra quickly condensed a small fire ball and spewed it towards Fumori Masaki. Despite its size, this fire ball contained a very powerful chakra, and the moment it exploded, it would unleash a fire wave beyond human imagination.
Seeing this, Fumori Masaki smiled, as if to say, "Just as I expected." To counter Wind Release, the best choice was naturally Fire Release ninjutsu, especially against his long-range Wind Release jutsu. Therefore, he took out the item he was hiding from his ninja pouch and threw it violently at the fire ball.
Kakuzu saw what Fumori Masaki threw, and then the fire ball was detonated in mid-air. A bright flash of fire instantly filled his vision, and the temperature rapidly rose. Before he could recover, he heard a loud bang, and a wave of fire surged towards him, making it almost impossible for him to breathe.
Kakuzu knew his Fire Release didn't have such power; whatever Fumori Masaki threw must have been problematic, perhaps an ignitable substance like oil, detonating the Fire Release midway to maintain distance between them, and then using Wind Release ninjutsu to guide the amplified Fire Release towards him.
Fumori Masaki's timing was impeccable, striking the rapidly flying fireball precisely and ensuring that when he used Wind Release, he could guide the fire wave. If the distance were too close, even with Wind Release, the suddenly exploding fire wave couldn't be pulled away and would instead engulf him.
"He knew I would use Fire Release beforehand?"
This thought flashed through Kakuzu's mind. He couldn't understand it, because to employ this tactic, one first had to know that he would use Fire Release. But he had only ever used Wind Release; how could he know that he could use Fire Release?
Without time to think, Kakuzu had the Water Release masked monster use Water Release to block the oncoming fire wave. However, an attack amplified by both fire and wind attributes could no longer be blocked by mere Water Release—unless the power gap between them reached a certain level, it might be possible to block a compound ninjutsu attack with just Water Release, but the difference between Kakuzu and Fumori Masaki was not that great.
Kakuzu had no choice but to add another layer of Earth Release to block the surging high-temperature steam. And it was at this moment that he felt a sense of crisis. The ground in front of him suddenly exploded, and a figure shot out from it. A cold gleam converged on Kakuzu from all directions.
Kakuzu forcefully held on by hardening his body with Earth Release, but countless bloodstains appeared all over his body. He saw Fumori Masaki holding a disk-shaped ninjutsu in his hand. He had just uttered, "You..." when he felt a warm gust of wind, and his strength suddenly vanished. The reason was simple: his heart was split in two by the Eight Trigrams Wind Wheel.
Of course, Kakuzu wouldn't die from this, but what truly shocked him was his Fire Release masked monster, which was suddenly pierced through the mask by a sword. That was Fumori Masaki, and the person in front of him was... Kakuzu had just shifted his gaze when the Fumori Masaki in front of him disappeared—that was just a shadow clone—his body knelt on the ground, and the Lightning Release masked monster immediately burrowed into his body, spreading the heart's vitality throughout. He barely managed to feel his strength return.
"Huff, huff." Kakuzu panted, touching his lost Earth Release heart. A chill slowly crept up his spine. Fumori Masaki not only used a shadow clone to approach him and destroy his Earth Release heart with one blow, but his main body also approached from the other side, ambushing and destroying his most threatening Fire Release heart. All of this was predicated on countering his pre-planned Fire Release tactic. All of this revealed a certain piece of information.
"Fumori Masaki knows my intelligence! He knows the true nature of Jiongu!"
Kakuzu couldn't believe it. He had never revealed the true nature of Jiongu to anyone else; those who knew had already died. Now, Fumori Masaki was the only one who had personally seen Jiongu still alive, and he was his current opponent. Where had his opponent obtained information about Jiongu?
Even a ninja like Kakuzu couldn't help but feel a hint of panic at this moment. The secret of a ninjutsu was a ninja's greatest guarantee of survival, but when it was exposed, their chances of survival would significantly decrease. Although there were people who wouldn't be affected even if their secrets were known, Kakuzu was certainly not one of them. The immortality brought by his multiple hearts was his greatest guarantee, and countless people had died because of it.
As Kakuzu felt wary, Fumori Masaki quickly moved to an area not covered by the fire wave and took a deep breath. However, in this almost enclosed space, suddenly detonating such a powerful flame would, no matter what, still leave a sensation of a scorched throat.
However, Fumori Masaki knew he had the advantage. The enemy's Fire and Earth Release hearts had both been destroyed. Losing the former would no longer pose a threat to Fumori Masaki's Wind Release, preventing him from facing the same situation as Kakuzu. Losing the latter would deprive Kakuzu of a way to protect his body; his body was now as fragile as an ordinary person's.
It must be said, Kakuzu's Earth Release was indeed troublesome. To destroy it in one go, the chakra he infused had exceeded any previous attempt, but the result was well worth it. Now, Kakuzu didn't need much chakra; a normal attack could easily cut him down.
Once the fire wave was completely extinguished by the Water Release, the air was filled with dense, high-temperature steam. Fumori Masaki's body was covered in a layer of Wind Release chakra, dispelling all the steam. He squinted slightly, using his perception to observe Kakuzu's movements. At this moment, he saw Kakuzu absorb the other two masked monsters into his body, then charge towards him through the steam.
Fumori Masaki saw Kakuzu emerge from the steam, no longer in human form. A large number of black threads protruded from his body, making him look no different from the masked monsters. This method of bodily mutation allowed Kakuzu to condense more chakra, and his altered physical form also enabled him to perform movements impossible for humans.
Dense black threads rapidly pierced towards him, sealing Fumori Masaki's escape routes. But Fumori Masaki simply continued running as usual, deflecting the incoming black threads with the sword in one hand. The remaining threads were blocked by the Wind Release chakra on his body. Although it only held them off for an instant, it was enough for Fumori Masaki to seize the gap and escape.
"Is that a jutsu similar to the Cloud Village's Lightning Release Armor?" Kakuzu, in mid-air, silently watched Fumori Masaki's reaction, and the mask on his left shoulder quickly spewed out an air cannon.
"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"
The biting Wind Release chakra exploded in all directions. Fumori Masaki, relying on the impact he felt, continuously dodged, only his clothes getting some cuts. As he dodged to the side due to the impact of Wind Release: Pressure Damage, a water pillar descended from above, and Kakuzu's main body amplified it with Lightning Release.
Fumori Masaki retreated, leaping onto the rock wall. A large amount of water accumulated on the ground, with faint electric arcs flickering. He knew he couldn't step into it again, otherwise, he would be paralyzed by the Lightning Release in the water, and then Kakuzu would easily take his heart.
"Heh heh, now your dodging space and movement speed will be restricted, won't they?" Kakuzu, however, stood brazenly in the water filled with Lightning Release. The Jiongu on his body seemed to act as a guide, preventing his main body from being affected by the Lightning Release. Of course, it could also be the effect of his Lightning Release heart, as Jiongu was still a very mysterious secret technique, and there might be uses Fumori Masaki didn't know about.
Despite losing two hearts, Kakuzu did not retreat. This was the first time he had experienced such a loss, and his heart was filled with anger. Although he could leave, he wanted even more to personally take Fumori Masaki's heart!
Fumori Masaki had always felt that Kakuzu was a somewhat contradictory person. His ideal was to pursue the path of eternal life, so preserving his life was his main goal. However, due to his inherent need for battle and his greed for hearts, he wouldn't immediately retreat when the situation was unfavorable, but instead would want to risk plundering hearts.
Although Kakuzu would certainly choose to retreat when the situation was truly critical—after all, staying alive was his primary goal—it was precisely this mindset that sometimes led him to harbor a Luck mentality (stroke of luck) and believe he could win, even if the outcome wasn't necessarily as smooth as he imagined.