Hinata's Byakugan had finally reached its limit.
With a soft sigh, she deactivated it and offered Naruto and Sasuke a gentle smile. The battle had pushed all of them far beyond their normal limits, but they had survived.
Might Guy burst into laughter.
"Excellent work, Naruto! Sasuke!"
He gave them both a proud thumbs-up.
"Now that's what I call the power of youth!"
Sasuke, breathing heavily, released the second stage of his Cursed Seal. The dark markings faded from his skin as exhaustion washed over him.
Nearby, Fu lay on the ground.
Thanks to Hinata's Medical Ninjutsu, the bleeding from her wounds had finally stopped. However, her injuries were still severe, and she had been hanging on by a thread. Seeing both of her attackers defeated at last, she relaxed.
A faint smile appeared on her face.
Then she lost consciousness.
"Fu!"
Hinata immediately rushed to her side and checked her condition. After a brief examination, she let out a sigh of relief.
"She's only unconscious."
Everyone finally relaxed.
The nightmare was over.
Or so they thought.
Suddenly—
Kakuzu's body began to tremble violently.
Thump!
Thump!
Thump!
A heartbeat echoed from within his chest.
Naruto and Sasuke instantly turned around.
Their eyes widened in disbelief.
"What?!"
"How is that possible?!"
Sasuke stared at Kakuzu's motionless body.
"The last heart should have been destroyed..."
Then, without warning, Kakuzu's eyes snapped open.
Before anyone could react, he formed a hand seal.
"Wind Release: Wind Cutting Technique!"
Countless razor-sharp blades of wind erupted from his position and shot toward Naruto and Sasuke.
The two boys had already exhausted most of their strength.
Dodging such an attack in their current condition was nearly impossible.
Fortunately—
Might Guy moved.
In an instant, he appeared beside them, grabbed Naruto and Sasuke under his arms, and leaped high into the air.
The deadly wind blades swept beneath them, narrowly missing their bodies.
However, Kakuzu had never intended to continue fighting.
This attack was merely a distraction.
Dark black threads suddenly burst from his body.
Using Earth Grudge Fear, he wrapped the threads around a distant tree trunk and pulled with tremendous force.
Whoosh!
His damaged body shot backward like an arrow released from a bowstring.
By the time everyone landed, Kakuzu was already retreating into the distance.
No one had enough strength left to pursue him.
The battle was over.
And the surviving Akatsuki member had escaped.
Naruto clenched his fists.
"Damn it!"
"Why did he come back to life?!"
Sasuke narrowed his eyes as he replayed the battle in his mind.
"That last technique..."
Naruto looked toward him.
"What about it?"
Sasuke spoke slowly.
"The Wind Cutting Technique."
"Kakuzu's previous Wind Release attacks were always Wind Release: Pressure Damage."
"But this one was different."
Naruto froze.
A realization suddenly flashed through his mind.
"That's a Takigakure technique!"
Sasuke nodded.
"Exactly."
"He must have secretly stolen another heart before we destroyed his final one."
Naruto's eyes widened.
"You mean..."
"Yes."
Sasuke continued calmly.
"While we were focused on the battle, he probably used his black threads underground to reach one of Takigakure's injured ninja."
"The ninja wasn't dead yet."
"He stole the heart and stored it away."
"Then, after losing his last remaining heart, he secretly transplanted the new one into his body."
Naruto stared in disbelief.
"That's insane..."
Might Guy's expression became serious.
"If that's true, then Kakuzu is an extremely dangerous opponent."
Sasuke nodded.
"He claimed to have fought the First Hokage."
"If that's true, then his combat experience is beyond imagination."
A moment of silence followed.
The four of them had fought with everything they had.
Naruto.
Sasuke.
Hinata.
Might Guy.
Yet even with all of their combined strength, they had only managed to kill one Akatsuki member and severely injure another.
They still couldn't finish Kakuzu.
Naruto gritted his teeth.
"I'll never forgive that bastard."
Might Guy suddenly laughed.
"Don't look so depressed!"
Everyone turned toward him.
Guy flashed a bright smile.
"One Akatsuki member is dead."
"Another has been seriously wounded."
"We successfully rescued the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki."
"And Takigakure has been saved."
"That's already a tremendous victory!"
Naruto blinked.
Then he slowly nodded.
Maybe Guy-sensei was right.
No matter how terrifying Kakuzu had been, they had still achieved their mission.
Yet deep inside, Naruto remained dissatisfied.
During the battle, he had relied heavily on the Wind Release Chakra Mode.
For the first time, he had used it in an actual life-or-death battle.
As a result, he had discovered numerous flaws.
Its speed wasn't stable enough.
Its chakra consumption was still too high.
And several combat applications remained incomplete.
There was still plenty of room for improvement.
The only way forward was through continuous training and real combat experience.
Naruto silently made a promise to himself.
He would become stronger.
Much stronger.
Afterward, the group dealt with Hidan's remains.
Because of his immortal body, simply killing him wasn't enough.
To ensure he could never return, they chopped his body into countless pieces and buried them in separate pits scattered far apart from one another.
Even Hidan wouldn't be able to recover from that.
Once everything was finished, the group wasted no time.
With Fu and the remaining Takigakure ninja accompanying them, they immediately set off for Sunagakure.
Given Akatsuki's recent actions, staying in one place for too long would be dangerous.
Fortunately, as they approached the Hidden Sand Village, they encountered a welcoming escort sent by the village.
Only then did everyone finally breathe a sigh of relief.
The mission was truly over.
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)