Now's the time!
The sudden explosion knocked over Orochimaru and the others who had been surrounding Kakuzu.
No one had realized when Deidara had buried explosives underground throughout the area while keeping them completely undetected.
Although the explosion also engulfed Kakuzu, he had already surrounded himself with protective black threads, shielding his body from harm.
Earth Grudge Fear: Tentacle Fist!
Whoosh!
The black threads connecting his wrist and arm rapidly extended outward. A dense mass of dark tendrils suddenly shot forth from his arm, crossing dozens of meters to pierce directly through Orochimaru's heart.
With a wet thunk, Orochimaru spat out a mouthful of blood.
"It's over!"
Seeing his attack succeed, Kakuzu breathed a sigh of relief. While the others couldn't react, his black threads began surging forward, attempting to pierce Orochimaru's body into a pincushion.
The next second, a disturbing expression appeared on Orochimaru's pale face. His mouth opened unnaturally wide, and an arm emerged from within.
Orochimaru shed his damaged body like a snake molting, appearing completely unharmed.
"Hmph! Did you think I hadn't anticipated this?"
Kakuzu witnessed this scene without showing any sign of distress.
"Hehehe... you—ugh..."
Before Orochimaru could complete his sentence, Kakuzu's other hand suddenly burst from the ground, instantly seizing Orochimaru's throat and preventing him from speaking.
Crack!
Kakuzu controlled his grip and applied sudden pressure. The sickening sound of breaking bones filled the air.
"..."
Orochimaru had no way to break free. The distance between him and Kakuzu was too great—even if he released techniques like Hidden Shadow Snake Hands, he couldn't reach his opponent.
His eyes swept toward the Third Raikage lying not far away. The legendary shinobi's body was still regenerating. The previous explosion had focused special attention on the Third Raikage!
Both Deidara and Kakuzu understood that with the Third Raikage's speed and power, they would have no chance of victory unless they could temporarily incapacitate him.
Therefore, the primary target of Deidara's buried explosives had been the Third Raikage.
Moreover, they hadn't sought to eliminate their opponent in one strike, but simply to temporarily prevent the Third Raikage from coordinating attacks with Orochimaru.
Their battle plan had succeeded—the Third Raikage had lost one of his legs to the blast, robbing him of his lightning-fast speed.
Without the Third Raikage's threat, Kakuzu could focus entirely on dealing with Orochimaru and his remaining forces.
"Go to hell!"
Kakuzu increased his grip strength, intent on killing Orochimaru once and for all.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
"Dance of the Clematis: Vine!"
Kaguya Kimimaro had already entered the second stage of his curse seal, his elongated tail swaying behind him. As he approached rapidly, he fired numerous finger bones like bullets toward Kakuzu.
Thunk, thunk, thunk...
Massive black threads spread outward, whipping rapidly like tentacles. With dull impacts, they blocked all of Kimimaro's bone projectiles.
Even though some threads were severed by the finger bones, the black tendrils growing from Kakuzu's body seemed endless—there was no concern about damage.
"Release Orochimaru-sama!"
Kimimaro sprouted bone spurs across his body and charged forward with a bone blade.
"Hmph!"
Kakuzu sneered disdainfully. While he would remain cautious against Orochimaru, this brat before him was far from threatening.
Swish!
A massive black thread suddenly emerged, instantly knocking the bone blade from Kimimaro's hand before crashing into him.
With such terrifying impact force, Kimimaro found resistance difficult.
However, Kimimaro's exceptional taijutsu skills allowed him to dodge the thread's attack at the critical moment.
He quickly pivoted on his legs, flipped upward, drew another bone blade to sever the writhing thread before him, supported himself on the ground with one hand, then rushed toward Kakuzu again.
"Quick reflexes, but you're finished!"
The number of black threads on Kakuzu's body increased dramatically. The closer one approached him, the more threads they encountered. Once the density exceeded a certain threshold, completely avoiding them became truly difficult.
Bang!
Bang!
Two clouds of smoke rose as the Kaguya Kimimaro in front of Kakuzu suddenly transformed into Orochimaru.
The person Kakuzu had been gripping tightly, whose neck was about to be snapped, was actually Kaguya Kimimaro!
It turned out that when they had been blown away by the explosion, using the fire and smoke as cover, Orochimaru and Kimimaro had employed Transformation Technique to assume each other's appearance and switch positions!
The one Kakuzu had captured was actually Kimimaro, while the one who had been attacking and approaching was Orochimaru!
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
Several massive serpents were summoned instantly, rushing toward Kakuzu and binding him tightly!
Swish!
Before Kakuzu could use his black threads to strangle the snakes, Orochimaru's neck suddenly elongated like a giant serpent. He shot forward and bit viciously into Kakuzu's neck.
Cursed Seal of Heaven!
As Orochimaru's fangs sank into Kakuzu, curse marks that bound his body began appearing across his form. The writhing black threads suddenly ceased their movement.
"O...rochi...maru..."
Kakuzu's eyes filled with shock as he unleashed all his remaining strength, but it proved insufficient to break free. His neck twisted slightly in extreme rage.
Orochimaru was equally shocked but didn't dare release his grip at this moment!
Multiple serpent summons and curse seals together couldn't completely restrain Kakuzu—his strength was simply overwhelming.
Fortunately, Kakuzu's four previous hearts had been destroyed; otherwise, he might have actually broken free.
With only one heart remaining, Kakuzu's explosive power had been greatly diminished.
On the other side, Kimimaro's neck and body had been broken, but as an Edo Tensei entity, he could regenerate quickly.
More crucially, the Third Raikage's severed leg had completed its repair, and he was now standing upright. Lightning crackled across his entire body, releasing a powerful aura that inspired fear.
Deidara noticed the ground battle had taken a turn for the worse. Although he didn't share a particularly close relationship with Kakuzu, he wouldn't simply watch his teammate die.
But he had been the one engaging the Third Kazekage, making it impossible for that opponent to support Orochimaru.
Now it was the Third Kazekage who held him back, doing everything possible to prevent Deidara from reaching the ground.
"Damn it!"
The enraged Deidara even forgot his characteristic speech pattern, continuously hurling massive amounts of explosives in an attempt to destroy the Third Kazekage blocking his path.
Sizzle...
Lightning vibrated as scorch marks spread beneath the Third Raikage's feet!
Swish!
In an instant, the Third Raikage's body transitioned from stillness to motion, rushing toward Kakuzu at speeds impossible for the naked eye to track.
Hell Stab: One-Finger Nukite!
As the Third Raikage charged forward, violent lightning force concentrated on a single finger, aimed directly at Kakuzu's final remaining heart.
"Bastard!!!"
Bound tightly, Kakuzu felt time slowing to a crawl. His rigid body couldn't move—he could only watch the Third Raikage approach.
Then, that finger capable of piercing anything was about to penetrate his last heart!
Was today the day he would die?!
"Shinra Tensei!!!"
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