Kakuzu was extremely hesitant.
"Based on all the information gathered so far,"
"The Heavenly Ninja's power comes from three aspects—"
"First, Wind Release. His self-created S-rank Wind Release ninjutsu and nintaijutsu, as well as the super-S-rank Wind Release giant sword produced by infusing a massive amount of chakra."
"Second, the gravitational and repulsive force manipulation cast through his cyan Byakugan, the peculiar ninjutsu cast through several odd black spheres, and a special state where his entire body is covered in blue flames, the strength limit of which no one can gauge."
"Third, the Byakugan itself. The Hyūga Gentle Fist, Konoha Strong Fist, Konoha-Style, and Water Mist-Style Kenjutsu cast under the Byakugan state. These several taijutsu styles combine into an ultimate combat form with almost no flaws."
Right now, in the center of the Land of Rain, outside a massive pipe on the exterior of a steel tower enveloped by the gloomy night of Amegakure, Kakuzu stared at the opposite building. Inside, Hyuga Yu seemed completely unaware of the outside world, burying his head in experiments. Kakuzu narrowed his eyes and calculated in his mind: "However, rather than calling these three different abilities, it's more accurate to say that these abilities... are all strange powers developed by Hyuga Yu based on the Byakugan."
"According to the analysis given by the information brokers in the underground black market, as well as the intelligence I gathered by monitoring with Earth Grudge Fear..."
"Every single ability of the Heavenly Ninja is closely related to his Byakugan!"
"The Wind Release that controls air pressure, the unique ability that controls repulsive forces, the special state where his body is covered in blue flames, and his taijutsu—all originate from that pair of special, cyan-white eyes."
"Whenever his eyes display a different color, the ability he executes is also different—he uses a normal Byakugan for Wind Release, a cyan Byakugan for ultimate taijutsu, and a cyan-white Byakugan when entering that special state of blue flames."
"As the color of his eyes keeps changing, the Heavenly Ninja becomes stronger and stronger."
"Therefore, I have reason to deduce..."
"The Heavenly Ninja's true core ability is actually his eyes! He has mastered a Byakugan evolution path similar to the Sharingan's progression!"
"Just like the Sharingan goes from one-tomoe, two-tomoe, three-tomoe, and then evolves into the strongest Mangekyō Sharingan, this corresponds to the different levels of the Heavenly Ninja's Byakugan—"
"Normal Byakugan, cyan Byakugan, cyan-white Byakugan, and finally, the powerful mode entered under the cyan-white Byakugan state, where his entire body is covered in blue flames!"
"What it matches should be the terrifying power of the Mangekyō level, just like... Madara Uchiha back in the day!"
As a top-tier bounty ninja who once assassinated the God of Shinobi and escaped unscathed, an old monster who had lived from the Warring States period to the present, many secrets in the ninja world were no mystery to Kakuzu. He also knew just how terrifying the power of the so-called Mangekyō Sharingan level was.
By this logic, upon seeing an opponent of this caliber, Kakuzu should have immediately judged that he could not defeat him, and subsequently abandoned his plan to earn this bounty.
However, things were always relative, and a ninja's condition had its ups and downs. For example, right now—
Hyuga Yu had destroyed his own Byakugan, which Kakuzu viewed as the core of his abilities.
"Without the Byakugan, Hyuga Yu's entire ability system crumbles from its very roots. He might have prepared backup measures to make up for this flaw."
"But without a doubt, this window of vulnerability is a god-given opportunity for me!"
With this thought, Kakuzu couldn't help but look up again, peering across the dozens of meters separating the two buildings into the other tower, where Hyuga Yu was instructing another Konoha Root ninja on something.
Kakuzu's already eerie green eyes flashed with an even deeper green light at this moment, as if he were no longer looking at a walking ninja, but a squirming pile of cash worth a whopping 200 million ryo!
"And now, the only problem left is—"
"To wait for the perfect opportunity!"
Soon, under Kakuzu's patient waiting, the final defensive force around Hyuga Yu—the Root Special Operations Unit numbering thirty people, who had been hiding behind him all along—seemed to receive some order from Hyuga Yu. They left, following a youth who wore a bird-head mask with red patterns and seemed to belong to the Senju clan.
At this moment, there was no protection left around Hyuga Yu!
Kakuzu, who had waited for a long time, quietly emerged from behind the steel pipe, his gaze becoming incredibly sharp!
He threw off his black cloak, revealing a lean, muscular, bare torso covered in lines of stitching. Then, he raised his palm and gave it a slight twist!
The stitches on his arm instantly burst open, and clusters of squirming black threads quietly crawled out from each opening!
"This time, I won't let you run away again!"
Kakuzu's gaze grew cold. He pressed his toes lightly against the pipe, and his whole body vanished silently from the spot. He turned into a moving black shadow on the wall of the building, rapidly leaping onto the wall of the tower where Hyuga Yu was. In an instant, he quietly poured a large amount of Earth Grudge Fear threads along the building's pipes, completely sealing off Hyuga Yu's escape routes.
Immediately after, Kakuzu brought his feet together, swung on the threads, leapt down from the roof, traced a silent semi-circular arc in midair, and swung through the observation deck into the room where Hyuga Yu was.
As soon as he infiltrated the room, Kakuzu saw Hyuga Yu, dressed in a white lab coat, still operating in the crude laboratory in the center of the room. He seemed to be slicing something and bending over to observe the slices under an optical microscope.
When Kakuzu looked closer, he discovered that the object Hyuga Yu was slicing was actually the second pair of eyes he had gouged out as a backup—that pair of cyan-white Byakugan, completely different from the rest of the Hyūga clan's Byakugan!
He actually... sliced up his own Byakugan, which was comparable to the Mangekyō Sharingan?!
At this moment, Kakuzu felt a chill rise from the soles of his feet and crawl up his back.
"But... this is perfect. Since he sliced up his eyes, he no longer has backup eyes to use against an enemy!"
Kakuzu felt his skin crawl, but since he was already here, and Hyuga Yu {had an air of completely missing his presence}, he had to force himself to take courage. Stepping silently, he bent low and rushed toward Hyuga Yu, whose back was turned to him in front of the lab table. Then, he raised his right arm and formed a hand blade, which turned pitch-black at that moment, like a black spear!
His eyes were locked onto Hyuga Yu's neck!
"Earth Release: Earth Spear!"
Previously, the battle in Iwagakure had already proven that even if Hyuga Yu's heart was pierced, this guy wouldn't die. Therefore, Kakuzu aimed straight for Hyuga Yu's neck right from the start, intending to sever his head in one strike and take his brain!
Anyway, Kakuzu only needed Hyuga Yu's head to collect the bounty. As for this body... he didn't care about it!
At this moment, Swoosh!
The thrusting hand blade made a sharp wind-breaking sound!
Carrying the force to rip through the wild wind, it slashed toward Hyuga Yu's neck in a single blow!
Kakuzu charged in!
Splat!
Kakuzu's hand blade, just as he expected, directly pierced through Hyuga Yu's neck!
From the back of the neck, it brutally tore through flesh, shattered the cervical vertebrae, and burst out through the throat!
Drip, drip-drip!
Blood converged into a red line along his iron-black fingertips, gurgling and sliding down onto the lab table!
This strike could be called a textbook assassination, so perfect that even Kakuzu found it unbelievable!
However, in the next instant, Kakuzu's expression suddenly changed!
"Wait, what is this... I can't pull my hand out?"
Hyuga Yu's neck, which had been pierced by Kakuzu, was actually regenerating at a visible speed at this moment. Countless pieces of flesh, like squirming crimson tentacles, wrapped around Kakuzu's hand that was thrust inside his neck!
Immediately after, Kakuzu saw Hyuga Yu... begin to twist his neck!
In a manner absolutely impossible for a living human, he violently twisted his head 180 degrees around, revealing a smiling face with blood overflowing from his mouth. Using his pitch-black pupils, he stared eerily at Kakuzu, his lips moving silently: "Long time no see, Mr. Kakuzu!"
Seeing this horrific scene, Kakuzu's pupils shrank violently!
Without any hesitation, he swung his left hand, and a hand blade cleanly severed his right arm, which was stuck inside Hyuga Yu's neck, right at the wrist!
No blood spilled from the cut; instead, dense clusters of black tentacles spewed out!
Immediately after, Kakuzu pushed off the ground with his toes, instantly wanting to open up some distance!
However—
Hyuga Yu merely smiled. Without any extra movements on his part, the severed right wrist stuck inside his neck unexpectedly spewed out a cluster of entangled Earth Grudge Fear tentacles in reverse, forcefully extending to re-link with Kakuzu's right arm. Kakuzu's retreat ended up pulling Hyuga Yu along with him!
"My Earth Grudge Fear! How is this possible?"
Kakuzu felt his scalp tingle with fear. He tried to control the Earth Grudge Fear tentacles in his right arm to extend and throw off the ghost-like Hyuga Yu, but he was horrified to find that the Earth Grudge Fear tentacles inside his right arm, which had always been invincible before, seemed to have lost their signal at this moment, completely refusing to obey his commands.
Seeing this, Kakuzu's heart pounded wildly. He didn't dare hold back any longer, clasping his hands into the Snake seal!
"Earth Grudge Fear: Elemental Masks!"
From behind his back, four pitch-black shadows wearing different masks immediately leaped out!
They were the Wind Release mask monster wearing a cyan bird mask, the Fire Release mask monster wearing a red dog mask, the Water Release mask monster wearing a blue bear mask, and the Lightning Release mask monster wearing a deep blue mask.
"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"
Boom!
A sharp air cannon instantly erupted from the mouth of the Wind Release mask monster on his left side, severing the right arm connecting Kakuzu and Hyuga Yu, allowing Kakuzu to pull away. Right after, without saying a word, he formed the Ram seal with one hand, unleashing his ultimate killing move without any reservation against the now completely bizarre Hyuga Yu!
"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"
"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"
"Fire Release: Intelligent Hard Work!"
"Water Release: Water Encampment Wall!"
"Earth Grudge Fear: Four Releases Ultimate Blast!"
The four mask monsters accumulated ninjutsu simultaneously, aiming the four-colored ninjutsu in their mouths right at Hyuga Yu in the center of the room, blasting them out!
The red, blue, white, and cyan ninjutsu converged together, forming a magnificent, terrifying light orb shimmering with seven colors, radiating an incredibly immense chakra fluctuation!
In an instant, it unleashed a rainbow-colored energy wave from within, booming straight toward Hyuga Yu in the center of the room!
However, at this moment, Hyuga Yu, whose neck was still impaled by Kakuzu's severed right hand, didn't care at all. He still kept his head turned 180 degrees, staring at Kakuzu with a slight squint and a smile. Then, he gently raised his hand that was turned away from Kakuzu, opened his five fingers, and a pitch-black sphere emerged from his palm. In an instant, it turned into a pale blue chakra current, swirling around his body!
In the next instant—
BOOM!!!
The seven-colored wave of light, powerful enough to blast through the entire building, slammed into Hyuga Yu. Then, it scattered into four rainbow-colored beams of light, wildly slicing around the building!
The weight-bearing pillars of the 13th floor were blown into dust in an instant!
The 14th floor crashed down violently from above!
BANG!!!
Smoke and dust rolled up, and a massive shockwave burst outward!
Under this terrifying commotion, Kakuzu also had to immediately harden his body with Earth Release: Earth Spear to withstand the crushing attack of the collapsing 14th-floor ceiling!
The 14-story steel building collapsed in an instant, leaving only 13 floors, and even the lower floors were teetering under this horrific bombardment.
The massive commotion immediately drew the attention of numerous civilians and shinobis inside Amegakure. They all looked up at the location at the same time.
Soon, some well-informed Rain ninjas recognized what kind of prominent figure currently lived there, and their expressions changed dramatically!
"Oh no! Lord Tennin is being assassinated inside the Rain Village!"
"Quick, lead men to reinforce him!"
"Someone, hurry and send an urgent message to Lord Yahiko!"
In the billowing smoke and dust, Kakuzu panted heavily. Obviously, unleashing his ultimate trump card in an instant was no small drain on him.
But there was no time to lower his guard. He clenched his fist and swung it sharply, dispersing the smoke and dust in front of him!
Looking down from what was now the rooftop of the 13th floor, and seeing the chaotic Rain Village below as well as the large number of Rain ninjas rushing toward him, Kakuzu's expression couldn't help but tighten. Immediately after, he turned back around, looking toward the center of the floor swallowed by billowing smoke, where Hyuga Yu was located.
"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"
Kakuzu immediately urged the Wind Release mask monster to spit out another blast of condensed high-pressure wind. A huge gale rose out of thin air on the 13th floor, tearing through the pervasive smoke and dust, revealing the scene in the center of the area!
However, when he saw the scene in the center, Kakuzu's face suddenly changed dramatically!
"Th-This... how is this possible!!?"
In the center of the clearing, Hyuga Yu casually pulled out Kakuzu's severed right hand that was stuck in his neck, threw it onto the ground, then twisted his neck back and slowly turned around.
Under the Earth Grudge Fear: Four Releases Ultimate Blast, aside from his throat which Kakuzu had stabbed earlier, Hyuga Yu was completely unscathed!
A faint cyan-colored ring of light, resembling a barrier, surrounded Hyuga Yu. It seemed it was this impossibly thin layer of chakra film that had completely blocked all the damage from Kakuzu's ultimate trump card, Earth Grudge Fear: Four Releases Ultimate Blast, which had allowed him to traverse the ninja world for years!
Moreover, when Hyuga Yu turned around, Kakuzu saw that the bowl-sized bloody hole on Hyuga Yu's neck was actually regenerating at a visible speed!
In just two seconds!
Hyuga Yu was fully restored. He even had the leisure to raise his hand and clear his newly grown throat. Then, he slowly raised his head, staring eerily at Kakuzu. As if answering Kakuzu's question, he said calmly, "Oh? Why is it impossible?"
Hearing this, Kakuzu's eyes widened slightly, staring at Hyuga Yu in sheer horror. Such terrifying regenerative power instantly awakened a piece of agonizing memory buried deep in Kakuzu's heart that he dreaded to recall. He couldn't help but gasp, staring at Hyuga Yu, and asked in horror, "You... you clearly lost your Byakugan, how can you still have this kind of ability!?"
"And this is definitely not Wind Release. What... what kind of jutsu is this!?"
Hyuga Yu only smiled and said nothing. He didn't have the habit of telling his trump cards to his enemies.
Under Kakuzu's horrified gaze, he slowly took a step forward, brushing aside strands of dust and smoke, his expression turning indifferent as he walked forward!
"Mr. Kakuzu, you hunted me for three whole days, attacked me twice, and inflicted one fatal wound. Now, let's settle this debt..."
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