Even after losing one heart, Kakuzu still had four bodies under his control, thanks to the Earth Grudge Fear technique.
These bodies were monstrous creations made from his black tendrils, each one sporting a mask as its face.
"Lightning Release: Earth Walk!"
"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"
"Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu!"
"Earth Release: Earth Spear!"
The hearts of lightning, wind, water, and earth empowered each of these creatures, allowing them to use their respective elemental jutsus. These techniques all targeted Akira at once.
Meanwhile, Hidan lurked nearby, waiting for the perfect opportunity. His eyes were locked onto Akira, watching his every move.
Hidan's ability was simple: all he needed was a drop of Akira's blood, and then his deadly ritual could begin. Kakuzu's Earth Grudge Fear was the perfect distraction, overwhelming their opponent and drawing attention away from Hidan's real goal.
"Using numbers to overwhelm me, huh?" Akira scoffed as he watched Kakuzu's creatures charging at him.
While Kakuzu and Hidan's immortality made them tricky to deal with, their strength lay more in their strange abilities than in raw power. Against an opponent who wasn't aware of their abilities, they would have the upper hand. But to someone with prior knowledge? They weren't that difficult to handle.
In fact, in terms of raw strength, they were among the weakest members of the Akatsuki.
Akira quickly formed hand seals, and in an instant, multiple shadow clones materialized, rushing toward Kakuzu and Hidan.
A fire attack passed straight through the clones, but when one of them attacked one of Kakuzu's creatures, it was solid. The clone struck down with its sword, shattering the mask of the Earth Grudge Fear creature.
In no time at all, Akira's power, combined with Shisui's Shunshin no Jutsu, had completely overpowered both of them.
In just a few moments of combat, Hidan had been skewered by Akira's Kusanagi sword eighteen times, his body riddled with gaping holes.
Meanwhile, three of Kakuzu's Earth Grudge Fear creatures had been destroyed, leaving Kakuzu with only his original body.
"This guy… it's like he knows everything about our abilities!" Kakuzu's face darkened, realizing how dire the situation had become. His voice was heavy with dread.
Akira's attacks had targeted his hearts directly—swift, accurate, and deadly.
It was clear that Akira knew about their weaknesses and was exploiting them ruthlessly.
When your enemy knew your vulnerabilities that well, it was inevitable that your strength would be cut down by at least fifty percent.
"Most importantly, what the hell is up with this guy? When we attack him, it's like we're hitting a phantom. But when he attacks us, it's real!"
"Our techniques are already weird enough, but this guy's abilities… they're even weirder!" Hidan cursed angrily, clearly frustrated by the one-sided nature of the fight.
Swish!
Without a second thought, Kakuzu turned and fled.
There's an old saying: "The older you get, the more you fear death."
At over 90 years old, Kakuzu was well and truly terrified of dying.
The brief skirmish had already taught him three key things:
First, the enemy knew his secret techniques inside and out.
Second, Akira's strength far surpassed his own—he was being completely overpowered.
And third, and most importantly, he only had one heart left. If that heart was destroyed, he would truly die.
So, after a quick assessment of the situation, Kakuzu made the decision to abandon Hidan and run for his life.
Hidan's strength was decent, but his real advantage was his immortality. Even Hidan himself didn't know how to die.
Using Hidan as bait to draw Akira's attention was the perfect escape plan.
"Wha—?!"
Standing in his ritual circle, Hidan was stunned. He hadn't expected Kakuzu to just abandon him so easily.
It might've been the first time he had ever seen Kakuzu run away so decisively.
Realizing what Kakuzu was doing, Hidan couldn't help but curse under his breath.
He knew Kakuzu was using him as a distraction, hoping to make his own escape.
Sure, he couldn't die, but having eighteen holes poked in his body still hurt like hell. Immortality didn't come with immunity to pain!
"This guy really doesn't waste any time, does he?"
Akira couldn't help but laugh. Watching a supposed Kage-level ninja like Kakuzu flee for his life was both amusing and a bit frustrating.
If Akira had his way, he'd capture both Hidan and Kakuzu.
But if he had to choose between the two, Kakuzu was the clear priority.
Akira's eyes narrowed. He couldn't afford to let Hidan slow him down, or it could give Kakuzu a chance to escape.
With that thought, he bit his thumb, quickly forming a series of hand seals before slamming his palm to the ground.
Bang!
A puff of white smoke appeared, revealing the beautiful form of Tanshin, one of the three goddesses of Ryuchi Cave.
"You keep him occupied. And whatever you do, don't let him get your blood. If he does, you'll die," Akira warned, his tone serious.
Tanshin Hime, an elite shinobi-level serpent, should be more than capable of handling Hidan.
"Understood, Akira-sama. I won't let you down," Tanshin replied with a nod.
With that, Akira felt confident enough to focus on Kakuzu. He immediately dashed off in pursuit.
Kakuzu's speed was impressive, but Akira's Shunshin no Jutsu was even faster.
In terms of pure speed, Akira was easily one of the fastest shinobi in the world.
Perhaps only a few could match him in this regard—ninja like the Fourth Raikage.
Within mere moments, Akira had closed the gap, cutting off Kakuzu's escape.
"Damn it, this guy…!" Kakuzu cursed under his breath, his heart sinking.
The fact that Akira had caught up to him so quickly meant that he was the real target—Hidan didn't matter.
But why would Akira be after him specifically?
Then it hit him. Remembering what Akira had said earlier, Kakuzu realized that Akira was after his money.
"You've got some cash on you, right? Let's see if you have enough to buy your life," Akira said coolly, his gaze locking onto Kakuzu.
Akira didn't mind taking down two Akatsuki members in one go, but first, he wanted to see if Kakuzu had any value left to offer.
"I-I only have ten thousand Ryo on me! I always bring just ten thousand when I go on missions!" Kakuzu stammered after a moment of hesitation.
"Pierce him, Shinsō!"
Akira's Kusanagi Sword shot out toward Kakuzu, extending rapidly.
Kakuzu was strong enough to dodge, just barely managing to avoid a fatal strike. Even so, the sword cut a gash across his body.
"You really think I'm that stupid?" Akira muttered, his voice laced with frustration.
"It's true! I always bring just enough money for emergencies—most of my expenses, I cover by doing side jobs during missions!" Kakuzu shouted desperately as he retreated, clutching his wound.
Akira froze for a moment, staring at Kakuzu in disbelief.
Was Kakuzu seriously saying that he did side jobs during missions to cover his expenses?
While other people might laugh this off as a joke, Akira knew better. Given Kakuzu's reputation as the most miserly shinobi in history, it wasn't that far-fetched.
In fact, Akira wouldn't be surprised if Kakuzu pinched every penny he earned.
Still, it was strange to think about. While Kakuzu scraped by, doing side jobs to make ends meet, Konan had used six billion explosive tags to try to kill Obito.
Six billion!
The sheer cost of that must have been astronomical.
She had practically created an ocean of explosions. Even Deidara, with his love of blowing things up, would have likely applauded her as the true master of "art."
If Kakuzu ever found out that he'd been working so hard to save money while Konan blew through six billion explosive tags in one go, he'd probably lose his mind.
Even Akira winced at the thought.
Konan's recklessness with money made her the ultimate "spendthrift."
Sure, Tsunade was notorious for gambling away fortunes over the years, but even her losses paled in comparison to Konan's six billion tag explosion.
Just think about it—a single explosive tag could be used like a grenade.
At a hundred Ryo per tag, Konan had spent 60 trillion Ryo on that one attack.
Sixty trillion!
That kind of money could easily shake the entire ninja world's economy.
Compared to Konan's extravagance, Tsunade's gambling addiction seemed like child's play.
Even as these thoughts raced through Akira's mind, his expression remained unreadable.
Originally, he had thought of Kakuzu as a walking gold mine. But now, it seemed like he'd stumbled upon a mountain only to find it barren.
There was no way Akira was just going to let him off that easily.
With a flicker of movement, Akira used Shunshin no Jutsu again, appearing right in front of Kakuzu.
Seeing Akira closing in, Kakuzu instinctively lashed out with his tendrils, aiming to strike Akira down.
But Akira was quicker. He grabbed hold of Kakuzu's tendril fists, holding him in place.
Then, Akira's Sharingan spun to life, the three tomoe swirling hypnotically.
Caught in the gaze of Akira's Sharingan, Kakuzu felt his very soul being drawn in.
Before long, the powerful Kage-level ninja had fallen into Akira's genjutsu.
*********
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