In Dragon's palm rotated a compact sphere of deep-brown energy, radiating an oppressive, almost suffocating aura.
Kakuzu's eyes widened as he immediately sensed the danger. 'That chakra—it's incredibly dense!' The immortal man could sense the massive power contained in the small glowing sphere. 'It's Earth chakra nature. How can an earth jutsu have so much power?'
In an instant Kakuzu's survival instincts kicked into high gear. 'No! I can't let myself get hit by that… Or I'll die.'
The moment that thought came to his mind, the masks with the lightning and wind nature hearts opened their maws. Panicking internally, Kakuzu desperately forced his chakra to gather. Without wasting a moment, Kakuzu fired his jutsus.
"Lightning Style: False Darkness!" "Wind Style: Pressure Damage."
Two powerful jutsu of lightning and wind nature formed in a second and fired towards Dragon who was falling towards him. 'I won't miss him at this range..'
Dragon had contempt as he saw the desperate attempt his foe made. His senses captured the jutsu coming towards him and just before they were several centimeters away from him, Dragon disappeared.
Kakuzu didn't even have time to register what had happened before he felt the touch of the reaper approaching.
The teleportation marker on Kakuzu's back activated and Dragon appeared directly behind him in a flash. Sensing the threat, Kakuzu tried to have his masked beasts move away from his position as fast as possible. But it was too late.
Dragon's arm outstretched and his palm was pressed forward with the compact whirling sphere of spiraling earthen chakra.
"Earth Style Rasengan: Great Eruption!"
The Rasengan, no larger than the size of an orange, glowed an ominous brown color. It was churning with immense density and had tremendous power. Dragon rammed the sphere into Kakuzu's back with all his force.
A second after the sphere made contact with the Akatsuki ninja, Dragon vanished from the immediate vicinity so as to not get caught in the blast radius of his own jutsu.
He reappeared hundreds of meters away and looked at his enemy.
The Lightning masked beast was the first to come in contact with the jutsu. It shattered in an instant due to the sheer power of the Rasengan.
"Wha—?!" Kakuzu's alarmed gasp was cut off as the sphere drilled into him. The effect was instantaneous and catastrophic. The concentrated earth chakra exploded outward through Kakuzu's body.
"Aaaarrr!" He screamed in pain as his limbs began stiffening rapidly. His limbs were starting to become solid stone in mere moments.
As the foreign chakra invaded his body, his chest began turning to stone from the point of impact. The jutsu petrified flesh and threads alike. It's momentum carried Kakuzu off his feet.
He felt the petrification creep along his left shoulder and coughed violently as his black threads snapped. "Damn you…" he rasped, his eyes flicking to his enemy far away.
Then came the eruption. All the built-up chakra detonated in a single, focused moment.
BOOOOOM!
A deafening shockwave erupted instantly. It shattered the ground beneath Kakuzu's feet and pulverized nearby rocks into dust. The quake triggered by the Earth Rasengan collided with each launched mask and the force generated smashed them against newly formed boulders and slabs of rock.
Dragon's jutsu kept generating shockwaves in pulses with increasing intensity in energy. A swirling storm of energy catapulted entire chunks of land into the sky.
The sound was like the earth itself roaring. A second later, a blinding flash of orange-brown light seared the battlefield. The ground beneath Kakuzu split wide open and then buckled upward in a dome.
The earth-nature chakra expanded in power, turning soil to superheated stone and crystal.
Kakuzu, who was in the eye of the disaster, felt his end approaching. 'Noo… I can't die… like this.'
He tried to resist the jutsu. He tried to shield himself with his earth style but the jutsu crushing him was increasing in strength. It eroded his body and Kakuzu the immortal was soon petrified and crushed to pieces. His two remaining masked beasts were crushed under tons and tons of earth and stone.
Orochimaru's lab near the battlefield collapsed and was obliterated by the force of the Rasengan's eruption.
The ground shook violently, sending powerful tremors rippling outward and created a miniature mountain of solidified stone at the impact site.
Dragon noticed the impact spreading and was swiftly moving away from the destruction. 'What a wide impact. I suppose that's to be expected since I put even more power into this jutsu than when I created it in the dungeon.'
Several hills nearby collapsed and the earth split and crumbled for a kilometer around. Deep beneath the rubble, Hidan's body was also pulverized completely and turned into a bloody paste. His head, which Dragon's clone had thrown towards the powerful Earth jutsu, had petrified and was reduced to dust.
The immortals Hidan and Kakuzu were completely destroyed.
A tremendous localized earthquake rippled out from the point of impact. The earth contorted violently, forming a jagged miniature peak that towered over the site of the lab. The cataclysm is so intense that small hills even beyond the immediate battle zone also crumbled.
For kilometers around, the ground cracked, toppling rock formations and creating new ones. Plumes of dust and debris mushroomed into the dark sky. Any lingering presence was thoroughly decimated.
"No more evidence." Dragon murmured softly. 'Still, this will attract the attention of everyone in a dozen kilometers.'
Suddenly a few system notifications appeared in front of him. 'Now what could this be?'
[You have defeated your enemies. Mana Tracker skill is removed.]
[Hidan and Kakuzu. The immortal duo is dead. You have defeated two strong and infamous ninjas outside of your quest. Special rewards for defeating named enemies are given to the player.]
Having confirmation that Hidan and Kakuzu had died was a load off the disguised Daichi's chest. But he was surprised as he read the next couple sentences. 'Special rewards? Ohh please tell me it's something good.'
[You have received One 'Diamond Skill Upgrader' Card. This card has been placed in your inventory.]
[You have received One 'Gold Skill Upgrader' Card. This card has been placed in your inventory.]
Dragon was surprised as he read the messages. 'I wondered why I didn't get a quest when these guys appeared. Was it for this?'
The Gamer ninja sighed as he couldn't get detailed information on items in his inventory. 'Since I'm a clone I can't take anything out of the inventory.'
Still, he wasn't too disappointed. He looked at the name of the Skill cards and could come to the conclusion that it upgraded his abilities. 'Based on its name, it's a level up Card. But I don't know if there are any restrictions. Better inform the boss.'
Dragon immediately activated his communication array jutsu. "Hey. I have an update for you. But are you busy? How is sensei?"
Daichi, who was in the Hokage tower, paused for a split second as he received the message from his shadow clone. "The emergency treatment I gave her at the battlefield worked. She's stable for the moment. There are medics prepping sensei for a full evaluation. The 2nd and 3rd Hokage are near me. The old man wants to know exactly what Orochimaru did. So once the medic completes their diagnosis, I'll begin my work. Now, tell me."
Dragon let out a sign of relief and nodded to himself. "I got good news too. Hidan and Kakuzu are dead. I'm sure you got the memories of my clones but it's confirmed."
"Excellent. Crippling Akatsuki is essential for my plans." Daichi mentally nodded and a small smile formed on his lips.
"Ohh it gets better. I didn't get a quest for defeating these guys but I got something else. Two skill upgrader cards. They're in your inventory."
Daichi was internally surprised. "Really?" He immediately opened the inventory and saw two cards. He put a hand in his pocket and took the diamond card out of his pocket space.
"Apparently defeating famous ninjas outside of quests gets you those cards. But there could be some limitations. I'm guessing the criteria for getting this reward is no quest and the enemies have to be S rank. At least this is my guess."
Deep in the Hokage tower, Daichi discreetly glanced at his companions. Everyone had their focus on Tsunade and no one was paying any attention to him.
Without drawing any attention, Daichi nonchalantly took a small card and gazed at it. The edges of the card had a beautiful diamond design.
'Observe'
[Diamond Skill Upgrader Card: Use this card to max out the Level of any one skill, or technique. Any and all restrictions needed to max out a skill are bypassed. This Card is a one time reward for the player.
Note: Can only be used on skills or techniques that have not reached Level 100.]
Daichi was surprised as he read the details on the card. 'With this card I could…'
"Are you gonna use it now boss?" Came the question from his clone.
"No. Not now. I need some time to make the correct choice. The system says this is a one time reward. I need to be sure… But I already something in mind to upgrade using the diamond card."
"Right. Now that I'm done here, I'll head over to the northern base."
"Do you have chakra left to finish the other tasks?" Daichi asked his clone.
"Barely. Running into Hidan and Kakuzu was unexpected. But once I destroy the base and remove all traces on that battlefield, I'll find someone and drain their chakra and Mana energy." Dragon replied.
"Good. Get it done."
The masked Dragon closed his communications jutsu and disappeared.
About half a minute after he disappeared the space near the area rippled in a spiraling pattern.
Obito appeared and looked at the devastated land that still had dust and smoke covering the air. He stood still and closed his eyes.
'No doubt his is the battlefield. But I can't sense Hidan or Kakuzu… It seems I'm too late.'
Nearby, a tall flytrap-like figure emerged from the ground – Zetsu, the Akatsuki's observer. Half white, half black, Zetsu's yellow eyes gleamed as he surveyed the scene of carnage.
"What a mess..." he hisses softly to himself. His eyes held the destruction with mild shock. 'To think there was someone else other than Hashirama and Madara who could cause such a large-scale destruction.'
Black Zetsu turned his attention to Obito. "I can't sense Kakuzu or any of his hearts. And that annoying idiot Hidan is also dead. Didn't think that was possible."
Obito crossed his arms and glanced at the land. "To think he's strong enough to kill the two of them on his own…" 'Is that why he used such a large scale jutsu? Or did he want to destroy Orochimaru's Lab here as well?'
"What are you going to do Madara?" Black Zetsu asked.
"He was here. We just missed him." Obito frowned behind his mask. "I need to take care of this. He's become a serious problem now."
"Are you sure you want a confrontation so soon? The Akatsuki can't draw any attention at this time." Zetsu cautioned him.
Obito disagreed with that assessment. "We were so close, Zetsu. We recruited strong ninjas for the organization. We were about to start our operations but now we're down two people. This will set us back months. If I let him go on like this, he'll put us at an even bigger disadvantage."
Zetsu sighed and nodded. "What do you need me to do?"
"We need some strong candidates to replace Kakuzu and Hidan. See if you can find a few suitable members."
"Yeah. I'll see what I can do." With those words Zetsu vanished.
Obito slowly looked around and his one visible eye glowed with malicious intent. 'I know you're still in this country. So where did you go?'
At that moment the sound of thunder rumbling in the sky drew his attention. His eyes went in a certain direction and he recalled the orange fiery glow several minutes ago. A moment later Obito vanished as quietly as he came.
—-------------
Author's Note:
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