> "It's coming… so damn fast."
Kakuzu clenched his teeth as he forced the words out.
He thought he had calculated everything—he was cautious, conservative, and had planned for contingencies. But still, Logan was faster than expected.
This was just a mission. Kakuzu had no desire to throw his life away.
Clang.
The sound of weapons hitting the ground echoed behind him.
Many samurai and ninja couldn't even grip their swords anymore. Their legs trembled, their breathing turned shallow—just standing was difficult, let alone fighting someone like Logan.
Across the battlefield, Zabuza and Terumi Mei finally relaxed a little. But instead of relief, they looked awkward.
It was the same feeling a kid had when caught red-handed after making a mess—scrambling to fix things, only for their parent to kick open the door.
Sure, the problem was now solved.
But after two decades in the ninja world, the two seasoned warriors had just been utterly overshadowed. In front of Logan, it felt like they had lost all dignity.
Meanwhile, Oda Ieyasu stared down blankly at the scarecrow in his hands.
On its chest, under the golden glow of rippling light, a small human heart thumped rhythmically.
> "Hold on to that," Logan said softly as he walked past. "Once this is over, I'll get Hideyoshi's heart back for you."
Startled, Ieyasu looked up sharply.
Logan gave him a calm smile and gently patted his arm.
A stream of pure wave energy entered Ieyasu's body. The searing warmth of the ripples flowed through his veins, cleansing the poison and stitching together torn tissues with life energy.
Ieyasu turned to look at his unconscious son and the scarecrow in his arms. For the first time in years, a strange sourness pricked the back of his nose.
A man who had long accepted the darkness of the political world suddenly found it hard to hold back the emotion.
He lowered his head and said solemnly,
> "Then I'll leave everything to you, Mr. Logan."
Logan continued forward.
The battlefield fell silent as he walked past everyone, his breathing steadying with each step, his aura intensifying.
He stopped, facing the enemy.
Kakuzu instinctively took a half-step back. His eyes darted, scanning for an escape route.
Only Hidan remained confident.
Perhaps sensing his partner's hesitation, Hidan stepped forward with a wide, deranged grin. He threw his scythe across his shoulders and gestured confidently.
> "Brother Kakuzu, don't worry! We immortal brothers are invincible! We carry the world's sin—the Evil God will protect us!"
Kakuzu's lips moved.
Judging by the shape of his mouth, he muttered:
> "Idiot."
But in that moment, he made his decision.
Let the fool charge. He would use that distraction to flee.
Without a second thought, Kakuzu turned and ran.
> "Run, brother!" Hidan called joyfully. "Live on! Carry our sins!"
Then, cackling wildly, Hidan charged at Logan.
His scythe was dulled from combat, and his body was scorched from earlier flames. Still, he charged.
> "But Logan—my will is immortal! The Evil Go—"
Logan glanced at Hidan.
Time Stop.
Hidan froze mid-charge, his mouth still open.
Logan ignored him completely and sprinted toward Kakuzu.
Earlier, Hayato Kanhara had whispered key intel to Logan: Hidan's immortal ability was troublesome but manageable. Outside of his curse technique and his regeneration, Hidan was not a real threat.
Kakuzu, on the other hand...
He was the bigger problem.
Tactically brilliant. Strategically elusive. Ruthlessly efficient.
Logan couldn't allow him to escape.
> "We're all adults here," Logan said calmly, now directly behind Kakuzu. His Star Platinum stand manifested beside him, its glowing fists at the ready.
> "You accepted the commission to assassinate me. From that moment, you should've been ready to die—without regret."
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Four devastating punches.
Star Platinum crushed Kakuzu's skull and obliterated three of his hearts, shattering them like overripe melons.
But Logan didn't relax.
Three hearts.
Something wasn't right.
From Konan's memory disc, Logan had learned the specifics of Kakuzu's Earth Grudge Fear technique. His entire body was a puppet of black tendrils, controlled by hearts implanted inside him.
Each heart retained consciousness, memory, and skill—like Bluetooth clones.
Kakuzu had five hearts in total. As long as even one survived, he could be revived at full strength.
One heart had left earlier, hiding within the dummy that carried the scarecrow.
Three had just been destroyed.
That left one more.
Where was it?
Logan didn't waste time thinking.
He cancelled Time Stop and instantly summoned Hermit Purple, his spirit vine Stand.
He had to act quickly, before Kakuzu harvested another heart to replenish himself and disappear.
As time resumed—
Bang!
The frozen Hidan flew backward, crashing into a wall. Bone cracked with a sickening crunch.
Meanwhile, Kakuzu's broken body exploded violently. Black tendrils of resentment erupted, screeching with a high-pitched wail that made nearby ninja nauseous.
Across the battlefield, one masked man trembled.
He had Kakuzu's last remaining heart.
And it was beating furiously.
Kakuzu's masked body began to panic.
> "He's a monster…"
He had felt all three hearts shatter in perfect unison. There had been no warning, no escape. Logan appeared out of thin air and instantly executed him.
The pressure... the suffocating oppression...
It was just like facing Senju Hashirama back in the day.
Kakuzu's old instincts screamed.
He looked up—and met Logan's eyes.
Only for a second.
Then Logan looked away.
To anyone else, it would've seemed casual.
But Kakuzu, a survivor of a hundred years of war, was not fooled.
> "Why did he look at me?"
> "Did he find me?"
> "If he found me, why hasn't he acted yet?"
> "What is he waiting for?"
Then it hit him—
Time.
> "He's recovering from that ability! He's going to use it again!"
From the moment Time Stop ended, to Logan summoning Hermit Purple, to that single eye contact—it had all passed in a fraction of a second.
Kakuzu didn't hesitate.
> "Everyone—gather around me!"
Samurai and ninjas rushed toward him like madmen, some stripping off their shirts.
> "Take mine!"
> "Use my heart! Take it!"
Four volunteers emerged. Kakuzu's tendrils whipped out, impaling them instantly, stealing their hearts.
Pairing complete.
Kakuzu's body returned to peak form.
He raised one arm, now merged with the elemental masks of Wind, Fire, and Lightning.
All three masks roared together.
> "Compound Ninjutsu: Earth's Wrath — Final Shot!"
A monstrous wave of elemental energy surged forward.
Logan inhaled deeply, bracing himself to counter.
Then—his body suddenly froze.
On a distant rooftop, Yamanaka Feng formed a heart with his hands and locked his fingers into a seal.
> "Mind-Body Switch Technique."
Logan's soul was instantly paralyzed, locked by the jutsu.
Meanwhile—
Crash!
Hidan, bloodied and broken, burst through the wall again.
He leapt behind the immobilized Logan, swinging his sickle.
> "See that, Logan?"
> "This is our friendship combo technique!"
> "Now go to hell, together!"
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