Team 7 regrouped, with Naruko animatedly boasting about handling most of the Chunins. "I took down so many! Hitomi barely did anything, because she was scared by seeing so many of them." she declared, only to be met with a sharp fist to her head from Hitomi.
Hitomi glared at Naruko. "I was not scared! I used strategy!" Hitomi countered, her voice rising.
Kakashi appeared, interrupting their bickering. "Suien has been dealt with," he said. Yuto nodded, adding, "The five special Jounins are down too, and my clones finished relocating the hostages. Though... I had to create more clones. They were running out of chakra."
Before Yuto could elaborate further, he suddenly froze, his expression tense. "No way..." he muttered under his breath, his gaze snapping to the right. The rest of the team followed his line of sight and saw Kakuzu approaching them with deliberate steps.
Kakashi immediately took out a soldier pill, swallowing it without hesitation.His headband was pulled up as his sharingan locked onto Kakuzu.
Kakuzu, observing the group, let a smirk creep across his face. 'Kakashi Hatake... and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki? What incredible luck. The bounty of the copy ninja will be a great desert to my treasure trove. Maybe even sell the Jinchuriki and the Uchiha to Kumo... No, the money outweighs any reprimand from Pain.'
Yuto's eyes narrowed as he studied Kakuzu, who was notably missing the Akatsuki cloak. 'As I thought... Kakuzu hijacked this mission for his own goals. He's using this chaos as an excuse to target the Seven-Tails while staying under the radar. The Akatsuki can't risk exposure yet.'
Kakuzu stopped a short distance away, A twisted smirk spread across his face. "An honor to meet the famed Copy Ninja himself," he said, his voice low and menacing. His gaze shifted to the rest of the team, lingering on Naruko. "Your bounty is tempting, but the kids behind you? Selling them will bring me a fortune."
Yuto's heart sank as he caught Kakuzu's lingering stare on Naruko. 'He's targeting her... If Kakuzu hands her over to Pain, it'll be catastrophic for the whole world. I can't let that happen.'
Naruko glared at Kakuzu, her fists clenched tightly. "Who are you calling a kid? I'll knock you out before you even get close!"
Yuto quickly placed a calming hand on her shoulder. "Naruko, don't provoke him." He leaned closer to Kakashi and whispered, "I sensed five different chakra natures inside him, each linked to a separate heart. I think this is the secret to how he's stayed alive for so long. We'll need to destroy all the hearts to take him down."
Kakashi's expression darkened. "Five hearts... and five nature releases," he muttered, his Sharingan spinning as he assessed Kakuzu, he was already making plans on how to destroy Kakuzu's hearts.
Kakuzu crossed his arms, his tone dripping with arrogance. "You're wasting your breath. None of you will survive this fight." He started to undo the stitches on his arms, revealing the grotesque masks attached to his body.
While Team 7 prepared to face Kakuzu, a figure hovered silently in the air above them. A girl with green hair tied in a short style, amber eyes glowing with an intense gaze, and large, translucent wings resembling an insect's beat gently as she floated high above. The waterfall village headband tied to her forehead shone faintly under the moonlight. She had been observing the rescue operation of team 7 for some time, her expression unreadable. Yuto hadn't detected her presence, having never looked up. Whatever thoughts swirled in her mind remained a mystery to the readers.
The masks stitched into Kakuzu's body detached and transformed into monstrous, thread-like beasts, each embodying different chakra nature masks. Four masks emerged while the fifth remained within Kakuzu himself. Kakuzu, wielding the fire mask, dashed alongside the wind mask towards Kakashi. Meanwhile, the earth, lightning, and water masks targeted Yuto and his teammates. As the chaotic battle was about to unfold, Yuto told Kakashi to focus on destroying the masks.Yuto then threw 50 kunais from his inventory across the battlefield, each marked with his chakra anchor ability.
Kakashi moved swiftly, slamming his hands into the ground to create the Earth Style: Dog Wall Jutsu. The massive earthen wall, engraved with canine carvings, intercepted the devastating combination of Kakuzu's Fire Style: Intelligent Hard Work and Wind Release: Great Breakthrough. Anticipating an attack, Kakashi flickered away just as thread spikes burst upward from beneath him.
With quick hand signs, he activated Lightning Style: Spider Net Jutsu, creating a chakra-laced net across the battlefield. When the wind mask beast stepped onto it, arcs of electricity surged, ensnaring it in the lightning net. Kakuzu forced the beast to split apart, saving the mask, but as he turned, a Kakashi clone unleashed Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bullet. Kakuzu countered with Fire Style: Fire Dragon, obliterating the attack but leaving the recovering wind mask vulnerable as it was still recovering it's body.
Kakashi seized the opening and struck with Chidori, piercing the mask and causing it to explode. Kakuzu roared in fury, his composure cracking. Kakashi smirked, recognizing the advantage. 'Yuto's intel was spot on. Take down the masks, and he loses his versatility. And if he's angry, he'll slip.'
Yuto quickly intercepted the Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu fired by the water mask with an Odama Solar Ball, absorbing the chakra of the dragon. He teleported away just in time to avoid being impaled by spikes from the Earth Style: Earth Spikes Jutsu, launched by the earth mask. Meanwhile, Hitomi narrowly evaded a Lightning Style: Lightning Spear Jutsu, countering with a Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu. However, the lightning mask manipulated its body to dodge, leaping high to escape a surprise attack from Naruko's horde of clones.
The lightning mask retaliated with Lightning Style: Electromagnetic Murder, but 30 Naruko clones countered with Wind Style: Great Breakthrough, overpowering the attack. The earth mask retaliated with Earth Style: Earth Smasher, shattering the terrain into massive chunks that crushed several clones. Naruko immediately summoned 100 new clones, all of which used Body Flicker Jutsu to encircle the earth and water masks. Meanwhile, Yuto hurled the water mask beast toward the earth mask with another Odama Solar Ball.
The clones coordinated their attacks, with 50 launching Wind Style: Great Breakthrough while the rest threw kunai laced with explosive tags into the winds. The beasts defensively activated Earth Style: Earth Formation Wall and Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu, managing to block the destructive onslaught. However, the explosions caused a powerful tremor that rocked the battlefield.
Kakuzu, observing the chaos while battling Kakashi, muttered, "These kids are more resilient than I thought... but in the end, it's all futile. I'll claim my money soon enough." He told himself as he decided to not hold back.
Kakuzu launched a Fire Style: Fire Dragon Bullet, but instead of targeting Kakashi, he aimed it at Yuto and his teammates. Kakashi's eyes widened in shock as he tried to intercept the attack, only to be blocked by another fire dragon from Kakuzu. The fiery onslaught caught Yuto off guard, forcing him to absorb as much chakra as possible while forming a solar ball with the excess.
The effort left Yuto exposed, allowing the lightning mask to strike with Lightning Style: Lightning Bolt Jutsu. Yuto screamed in agony as he failed to absorb the lightning, still clutching the fire dragon. The resulting explosion from the fire dragon and solar ball sent him crashing into a nearby house, leaving his chest burned as he slumped unconscious.
Naruko and Hitomi screamed Yuto's name in horror, but they were quickly overwhelmed. The earth mask used Earth Style: Fist of No Escape, summoning a massive mud fist that captured Naruko tightly before turning into stone, drawing a pained scream from her. Simultaneously, the water mask struck Hitomi with a devastating punch to the gut, causing her to cough blood before trapping her in a Water Prison Jutsu.
Kakuzu chuckled darkly, his voice filled with mockery. "Tell me, Kakashi... how do you plan to save your students now?" Kakashi clenched his fists, sweat dripping from his brow as he stood between his students and the merciless Kakuzu, desperation etched across his face.
(Pls give me some power stones!)
(Find out next time on Naruto:Eye system)