A new week, Monday.
The Advanced Class had theory lessons today, so Kitazawa didn't need to go to the academy.
Normally, he'd go find a quiet place to train Wood Release, but this Monday was different.
Because he'd promised Konan he'd spar with Kakuzu using Wood Release.
Of course, the main reason was to clear his system mission.
Kitazawa had never met Kakuzu in person, but he knew him very well.
Kakuzu's biggest secret was Earth Grudge Fear.
Earth Grudge Fear was a forbidden technique from Takigakure.
By releasing black tentacle-like threads from the user's body, it could rip out a target's heart.
Including his own, he could hold up to five hearts at once.
Naturally, its purpose wasn't just collecting hearts. It had two major functions.
First, each stolen heart came with a specific chakra nature. With that heart, you could use the corresponding elemental ninjutsu.
Kakuzu had five hearts: earth, water, fire, lightning, and wind. In other words, he had mastered all five basic nature transformations.
If one heart was destroyed, he'd lose access to that element.
Second, the hearts could be swapped out at will, and each one carried the original owner's remaining lifespan.
You could say Kakuzu was one of the longest-lived shinobi in the entire ninja world.
In the original story, he was already ninety-one when he died.
Because of the constant wars and missions, ninja generally didn't live long. Reaching fifty was already rare.
Theoretically speaking, Kakuzu was functionally immortal.
As long as he had hearts.
If all five hearts were destroyed, he'd still die.
In the original, Kakashi, Naruto, and Shikamaru destroyed his five hearts one by one.
Kakuzu had five signature jutsu in the story, and Kitazawa had already learned three of them via system rewards.
That even included his combined nature technique: Fire Release: Atsugai + Zukokku, rolled into one.
But Kakuzu still had one more finisher: Earth Grudge Fear: Final Shot, a composite technique of three elements.
Judging from the original, that was basically his ultimate move.
"It's already eight-thirty, Kitazawa."
Konan reminded him.
Kitazawa opened his eyes and saw nothing but fabric.
He was currently lying with his head in Konan's lap, so his line of sight couldn't reach her face.
"Then let's go."
Kitazawa sat up.
Konan nodded and followed him out of the Anbu base.
The Valley of the End was to the north of Konoha. At a normal shinobi running speed, it took around twenty to thirty minutes to get there.
In other words, no matter how intense a battle got at the Valley of the End, it wouldn't reach the village.
Kitazawa came to a stop once they reached the Forest of Death.
He looked at Konan, coughed lightly, and said, "We're on a tight schedule. You should carry me and fly us the rest of the way."
After saying that, he stepped up and pulled her into his arms.
Konan's breathing hitched. Her body tensed for a moment, then slowly relaxed.
She didn't say anything. She just quietly unfolded her paper wings.
The two of them took to the sky and flew toward the Valley of the End.
Kitazawa felt the softness of her body and the faint fragrance on her, then looked down.
In the distance, two colossal statues stood on opposite sides of a waterfall.
They were the statues of Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara.
Konoha had built them to commemorate that legendary battle.
Strictly speaking, the Valley of the End hadn't even existed before that fight. Hashirama had carved it out himself with the giant Buddha of his Sage Art.
That alone said everything about how terrifying their clash had been.
Before they actually reached the valley, Konan began descending.
She let go of Kitazawa, wanting to say something but stopping herself.
Under normal circumstances, she should've landed inside the valley itself. But she was afraid Kakuzu would see them together.
If Kakuzu reported this back—or mentioned it to Nagato—she'd… have a very hard time explaining.
Kitazawa glanced at her and basically guessed what she was worrying about.
How to put it?
With her personality, she shouldn't care about something like that—unless she felt guilty.
"Let's go."
Kitazawa didn't comment further. He turned and headed toward the Valley of the End.
Konan felt a bit more at ease and followed behind him.
Kakuzu had arrived early and was waiting under Hashirama's statue.
When he heard footsteps, he turned and saw Kitazawa and Konan.
He was wearing the Akatsuki's red-cloud black cloak and a black mask that only left his eyes exposed.
"Kakuzu, this is Kitazawa."
Konan took the initiative to introduce them.
"Nice to meet you."
Kakuzu kept it short. "Do we spar now?"
"Let's move over there."
Kitazawa smiled. "If we break the statues, I'll have to find someone to fix them."
Kakuzu didn't argue. He moved away from the statues to an open area in the distance.
"After you."
Kitazawa took his position opposite him.
Kakuzu nodded and slowly shrugged off his cloak.
Beneath it he wore something like a sleeveless shirt, exposing his shoulders and arms.
Black stitching ran along his shoulders and biceps.
Kitazawa was reminded of the Frankenstein-style "mad science experiments" from his previous life.
Starting the match by stripping down, huh?
Good thing this was just a spar. Otherwise they'd be halfway to triggering that unspoken Akatsuki rule: "take your cloak off and you die."
Kakuzu clapped his hands together.
His body suddenly split open, and a mass of black threadlike tendrils surged out.
The writhing lump of black threads squirmed, then spat out four masks.
The masks had similar shapes, but different colors around the mouth area, each corresponding to a different element.
The four masks represented fire, wind, water, and lightning.
Earth, meanwhile, was his own original heart.
Kakuzu stared at Kitazawa with a serious expression.
The number of people who could stay calm after seeing his Earth Grudge Fear form could be counted on one hand—and each of them was incredibly strong.
Lightning Release: False Darkness!
Kakuzu didn't waste words. He struck first.
The lightning mask tilted upward and opened its mouth.
A bolt of lightning shot out and swelled mid-air, twisting into a spear-like lance.
Its speed was terrifying; in the blink of an eye, it was right in front of Kitazawa.
Kitazawa knew exactly how strong Lightning Release: False Darkness was. It could pierce straight through a huge boulder.
Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall!
Rows of thick wooden pillars shot up to either side of him.
The pillars bent inward, forming a vaulted barrier that enclosed him completely.
An instant later, the lightning spear slammed into the wooden wall, drilling right through it.
But after penetrating less than ten centimeters, it suddenly stopped and couldn't go any further.
Kakuzu's eyes narrowed, and he immediately unleashed a second jutsu.
Fire Release: Intelligent Hard Work!
The fire mask on his body opened its mouth, spit out a fireball, and when it hit the ground, it erupted into a sea of flames.
In an instant, a blazing inferno spread outward, swallowing both the wooden wall and Kitazawa.
With a boom, the Wood Locking Wall caught fire and exploded.
Scorching heat and rolling shockwaves washed over the area.
Wood Release: Great Spear Tree!
From within the sea of fire, several vine-like branches suddenly shot up.
They twisted together and, in the blink of an eye, formed a massive tree.
The flames slammed into the great tree and were held at bay, the two sides locking in a stalemate.
Kitazawa stood calmly atop the giant tree, looking down at Kakuzu.
Wind Release: Pressure Damage!
Seeing this, Kakuzu formed more hand seals.
The wind mask spat out a compressed air sphere.
When the high-pressure wind ball hit the ground, it detonated violently.
A roar of wind shook the air as a savage storm was born.
And it wasn't just Pressure Damage—the sea of flames from Fire Release: Intelligent Hard Work was still raging.
When the two jutsu merged, they became the composite technique: Strange Mask Exploding Flame.
The fire, driven by the gale, spread outward at terrifying speed.
The temperature around them spiked. The giant tree under Kitazawa's feet couldn't withstand it and was burned to ash.
With the tree gone, the flames raged even more wildly.
Kitazawa looked like a lonely little boat in the middle of a burning ocean, about to be consumed.
Wood Release: Nativity of a World of Trees!
Unhurried, Kitazawa formed a new set of hand seals.
The ground shuddered, and countless vines burst out of the soil, rapidly growing into towering trees.
Branches and vines reached out in every direction, tangling together in an instant.
The surging sea of fire suddenly stopped expanding.
On paper, fire was supposed to counter wood—but reality wasn't that simple.
Because Wood Release was alive.
Kakuzu's expression changed.
In just a few seconds, his vast blaze had been completely smothered by this forest.
He'd heard of Wood Release: Nativity of a World of Trees before, but had never seen it with his own eyes.
Because back when he fought Hashirama, he'd already been beaten half to death long before that jutsu even entered the picture.
He didn't have time to dwell on old memories. The branches and vines were already surging toward him.
A green ocean rose up in front of him.
Endless branches and vines crashed forward, as if they were going to swallow him whole in the next heartbeat.
Wind Release: Pressure Damage!
Kakuzu retreated while forming seals.
A violent windstorm exploded in front of him, blasting into the oncoming green ocean.
Boom!
The raging wind tore through the forest, gouging out a swirling vacuum vortex.
Wherever it passed, leaves were shredded and vines were severed.
But Kakuzu felt no joy at all.
Because the green ocean regenerated almost instantly. The vortex of empty space was filled back up with branches and vines in the blink of an eye.
Kakuzu immediately realized the problem.
Kitazawa could control the entire forest.
As long as his chakra didn't run dry, this forest would never be destroyed.
The only solution was to ignore the trees and go after Kitazawa himself.
Kitazawa was inside the forest. If Kakuzu rushed in, he'd be walking into a meat grinder.
But if he stayed outside, all he could do was trade ranged attacks with Kitazawa.
Could he really win that kind of battle of attrition?
With that thought, Kakuzu instantly gathered the wind, fire, and lightning masks.
All three masks moved to his right arm.
He raised his right arm and aimed at the green tide surging toward him.
He could see the branches and vines twisting and writhing, converging together in a way that was almost unnervingly creepy.
Earth Grudge Fear: Final Shot!
The three masks opened their mouths at the same time.
Terrifying chakra surged out, merging into a single beam.
The beam tore through the green ocean at high speed. Leaves, vines, even whole trees were pulverized wherever it passed.
Kakuzu followed right behind the chakra cannon, running along the path it had carved into the forest Kitazawa had created.
He scanned his surroundings and quickly spotted that familiar figure.
Earth Release: Earth Spear!
Kakuzu clapped his hands, and his entire skin hardened rapidly.
Despite the name, Earth Spear wasn't a spear—it was an advanced defensive technique.
He flashed forward, charging straight at Kitazawa.
The black tendrils on his body whipped wildly around him, making him look like a massive landbound sea urchin.
When he reached Kitazawa, the black tendrils spread open all at once and condensed into eight thick main threads.
Each one was as thick as an arm, coming at Kitazawa from every direction, cutting off all avenues of escape.
Wood Release: Great Forest Technique!
Kitazawa raised his right arm.
The skin on his right arm wriggled, and eight wooden tendrils sprouted from it.
They curved outward and shot forward, tangling with Kakuzu's eight giant threads.
Kakuzu's eyes narrowed. He suddenly dug his heels into the ground, feet carving furrows in the earth as he forced himself to a halt, locking into a tug-of-war with Kitazawa.
But the force pulling on him was overwhelming, and his body was dragged forward against his will.
The ground behind him was torn open into two deep trenches by his feet.
Realizing he was being overpowered, Kakuzu immediately removed his right hand.
What sprayed from the severed arm wasn't blood, but countless black threads that shot toward Kitazawa like a storm of arrows.
Kitazawa didn't move, but the branches and vines nearby all rushed up to shield him.
Lightning Release: False Darkness!
Kakuzu pulled the black threads back.
The lightning mask opened its mouth and spat out another bolt of lightning.
In the next moment, the lightning pierced straight through the mass of branches and vines.
But right before it hit Kitazawa, the ground shook and a vine erupted upward.
This single vine was unnaturally hard and directly withstood the lightning's impact.
Kakuzu couldn't help but pause.
Kitazawa dropped the Great Forest Technique.
Without a target, the eight giant black threads went slack, making Kakuzu stumble forward.
At that moment, Kitazawa rose straight up into the air.
The vine beneath him grew madly, lifting him high above the battlefield.
Kakuzu's pupils contracted.
A wooden dragon over fifty meters long reared up in front of him.
The wooden dragon's body twisted, and its massive tail lashed toward him.
In that instant, space itself seemed to warp under the crushing pressure.
Earth Grudge Fear: Final Shot!
Kakuzu raised his right arm without hesitation.
The wind, fire, and lightning masks all spat out chakra at once.
The chakra cannon slammed into the wooden dragon and exploded right in front of Kakuzu.
A howling gale roared to life, and a wave of chakra shock spread in all directions. Leaves were blown sky-high, and the sky itself seemed to flash.
Kakuzu retreated, eyes fixed on the center of the explosion.
Suddenly, countless branches shot out around him, trying to bind him.
Hyper-alert, Kakuzu reacted instantly and leaped into the air.
But the moment he left the ground, the wooden dragon's tail coiled around him.
"What?!"
His face changed dramatically.
He moved fast, and a flood of black threads erupted from within his body, stabbing toward the wooden dragon.
But it was pointless. The dragon simply tightened its coils around him.
Just as Kakuzu began to form hand seals, a wave of unprecedented weakness hit him from within.
In a single instant, the wooden dragon had drained most of his chakra.
Kakuzu's face twisted in shock.
A terrifying thought suddenly hit him.
If Kitazawa had used Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique from the very start… would he have been one-shot?
Because his strongest attack, Earth Grudge Fear: Final Shot, couldn't even scratch the wooden dragon.
"I surrender!"
Feeling the crushing, bone-splitting pressure climbing by the second, Kakuzu shouted at the top of his lungs.
He was terrified that if he hesitated even a second longer, he'd be squeezed into paste.
The wooden dragon immediately loosened its grip.
Kakuzu dropped to the ground, panting heavily.
He had less than ten percent of his chakra left. Any slower, and he really would've been sucked dry.
And this was with five hearts—each heart capable of supplying its own chakra.
In other words, he had five people's worth of chakra.
But against the wooden dragon, he couldn't last even five seconds.
Kakuzu fell silent.
Ever since losing to Hashirama, he'd trained relentlessly, gained Earth Grudge Fear, and skyrocketed in strength.
Yet standing in front of Wood Release again, all of that meant nothing. He'd been wiped out at light speed. The power gap was so enormous it defied his imagination.
And Kitazawa had used nothing but Wood Release from start to finish.
Before he'd revealed his Wood Release, Kitazawa had been famous across the ninja world for his Water Release and medical ninjutsu.
Meaning, he didn't even feel pressured enough to switch elements. Wood Release alone had been more than enough.
That was exactly how it was.
Thinking of this, Kakuzu could only sigh inwardly.
He probably wouldn't be able to beat Wood Release in this lifetime.
Konan, who had watched the entire battle, still had the same cool expression.
Because she'd already expected this outcome.
Kakuzu was strong, sure—but he wasn't much stronger than Moryo. In terms of chakra, he was actually far worse off.
Losing was completely expected and nothing to be surprised about.
[Current Mission: Kakuzu's challenge. Defeat him using Wood Release.]
[Mission Reward: Wind Release: Rasenshuriken.]
[Mission Completed. Reward Granted.]
Kitazawa stood where he was, digesting the flood of new information in his mind.
In the original series, there were all kinds of Rasengan variants.
But in official lore, there were only three basic forms: Rasengan, Big Ball Rasengan, and Rasenshuriken.
All the others were basically derivatives built off those three.
On the surface, Wind Release: Rasenshuriken looked like a giant spinning shuriken.
In reality, it was made up of uncountable microscopic chakra blades.
Its effect was similar to an incredibly deadly toxin—it attacked the target's cells directly.
Put simply, it was damage on a microscopic level.
Once it landed, the target was essentially dead. There was almost no saving them.
But because of that, if you threw it before it fully detached from your hand, Rasenshuriken would rip apart the user's body as well.
Kitazawa rubbed his chin.
He felt he might actually be able to withstand the backlash from Wind Release: Rasenshuriken.
After all, he had the Yin Seal, Body Revival, Senju Chakra Mode, and Yang Release Chakra Mode.
But being able to tank it didn't mean it wouldn't hurt.
There was no reason to deliberately torture himself.
Yes, Rasenshuriken was insanely powerful—but Nativity of a World of Trees and Wood Dragon were hardly any weaker.
"Thanks for the lesson."
Kakuzu walked up to Kitazawa, his expression serious. "Let's spar again sometime."
"We'll definitely have the chance."
Kitazawa's tone stayed calm. "This time, for Konan's sake, it was just a friendly match. Next time… I can't promise that."
If Kakuzu stayed with the Akatsuki, then sooner or later, they'd end up on opposite sides of the battlefield against Konoha.
When that day came, they'd meet again.
Kakuzu's heart jolted. He didn't argue, because Kitazawa was simply stating the truth.
He picked up his cloak, turned around, and left.
Konan unconsciously bit her lip.
She'd guessed right.
Kitazawa had agreed to this spar with Kakuzu purely because of her.
Which meant she'd just taken on another favor she owed him.
"Time to head back, Konan."
Canceling Nativity of a World of Trees and Wood Dragon, Kitazawa spoke up.
Konan snapped out of her thoughts, stepped up to him, and this time took the initiative to wrap her arms around him.
White wings unfurled from her back, and the two of them flew back toward Konoha.
~~~
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