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For a heartbeat, Shikamaru thought the board was already solved.
…which, in hindsight, was exactly the kind of thought that jinxes a mission.
Beneath Kakuzu's shadow, a black tendril of [Earth Grudge Fear] pushed up through the dirt, just the tip at first, then slithered toward the embedded [Chakra Blades]. Filaments threaded through the hilts, probing the holes and seams.
With [Shadow Possession] already running through Hidan, Shikamaru curled his fingers. Hidan's arm mirrored the motion, gripping his triple scythe on command.
"Burn this into your skull," Hidan snarled through clenched teeth. "No matter what happens, I'm going to kill you."
Shikamaru's reply was dry and cutting. "You'll need the skull part functioning first."
He swung Hidan's scythe toward Kakuzu—
"Move, Kakuzu!" Hidan blurted, panic breaking through the bravado.
Shikamaru smirked. "Dodging won't—"
Kakuzu dipped his head. Hidan's blade sliced cloth, shearing off a loose sleeve… and met only empty air.
What?
Hidan burst into manic laughter. "Ha! Knew it!"
The [Chakra Blade] that had pinned Kakuzu's shadow jerked free pulled up by a corded, jet-black arm shot through with those grotesque "veins."
In the same breath, more tendrils erupted from the earth, writhing like exposed nerves.
Up on a branch, pale eyes narrowed. Neji's Tenseigan cut through skin and cloth to the anatomy below, tracing the network of [Earth Grudge Fear].
A parasite that stole hearts to fuel chakra, granting obscene longevity and composure enough to hold a conversation.
A researcher's delight, really. Neji couldn't help one stray thought: How did Orochimaru not obsess over this?
…Too ugly, maybe.
Yeah, definitely the ugly.
Kakuzu retracted the arm and gave Shikamaru a measuring look.
"You said 'checkmate,' but you hadn't accounted for my ability. You're clever far more than my partner but a battle never follows a single script."
Hidan bristled. "What do you mean by 'unlike me,' huh? Say that again—"
Shikamaru didn't let him finish; the shadows pulled Hidan forward into a flurry of forced strikes.
"You're right about one thing," Shikamaru said, voice cool. "Your power isn't unknown to me."
Kakuzu's eyes narrowed as he batted aside the scythe and the screaming priest it was attached to.
"Tch. Body's not responding Kakuzu, figure something out!" Hidan barked, panic creeping back in.
Kakuzu yielded ground step by step until his back touched a dead trunk.
"Now," Shikamaru thought.
From above came a thunderous blur Choji, a living comet of muscle and spin, descended like a falling star.
[Spiked Human Bullet Tank]!
The impact cratered the clearing, exploding soil and splinters outward. The shockwave drove grit into everyone's teeth and stung their eyes.
Choji rolled to a stop near Shikamaru, panting. "That felt… weird."
Shikamaru's gaze sharpened. "As Neji said… hardening. An armor-type technique—"
Kakuzu stood, smoke peeling off his body where Choji had ground him into the earth.
"Correct. There isn't a physical strike among you that can pierce me."
He flexed and the air changed.
"Counterattack time."
A white forearm speared cleanly through Kakuzu's chest from behind.
Lightning howled.
For a surreal second, even the forest held its breath. Kakuzu's head turned, eyes tracking the arm to the white-haired shinobi standing at his back.
"…You."
Neji's palm crackled, lightning coiling in a tight spiral. "Random draw time. Which heart did [Spiral Thunder Thrust] hit?" His gaze flicked to Kakuzu's torso. "Also heads up: relying on 'iron body' is how people die. [Tekkai] gets you killed."
Hidan blinked. "Wrong show, man."
The joke died under the scream of electricity. Black tendrils convulsed all over Kakuzu's frame, [Earth Grudge Fear] writhing out of joints like a nest of snakes.
Hidan swallowed, sweat beading at his temples. "Whoa, whoa don't go full exorcist right next to me!"
Crack.
Something broke inside Kakuzu. His eyes tightened. Second heart gone. He tried to peel away, but the lightning wrapped him like barbed wire, pinning nerves and tendons alike.
Crack.
With a ripping sound, a mask-creature tore free from Kakuzu's back and tumbled Akatsuki cloak flapping into Neji's grip.
The detached heart-mask hit the dirt beside a spill of black threads, twitching, then stilled.
Kakuzu staggered to Hidan's side. On his back: three masks…and one slowly closing hole.
Of the original four externalized hearts, one had been punctured by Neji's thrust, another wrecked by lightning feedback, and a third shattered during emergency separation.
Three down.
Sutures crisscrossed Kakuzu's torso as the remaining masks yanked free, snarling like fiends.
Two fractured masks keened and collapsed, lifeless. The last pair hovered, wind and earth, their chakra signatures grinding in Neji's sight.
Neji flicked the recovered mask-heart into an item pouch, then faced Kakuzu.
"Water and fire are gone. Lightning is gone with the body you shed to escape me. That leaves earth and wind. Two lives left, Kakuzu."
Shikamaru exhaled slowly, recalculating lines on the invisible board. "As much as I wanted to end this with our team alone… good timing, Neji."
They'd spoken before leaving: If we can finish it, let us. If we can't cut in. Your judgment.
So Neji had watched from Kakashi's old vantage point overwatch until the checkmate needed a final piece.
Across the clearing, lightning scars still crawled over Kakuzu's skin. Hidan writhed uselessly in the grip of Shikamaru's shadow.
"Two hearts left," Neji repeated softly. The Tenseigan flared, and the storm gathered in his palm again.
"Let's take them."
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~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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