Kakuzu's natural speed was no less than Haku's.
And with Senju Haruto carrying heavy injuries, Haku was forced to support him as they fled. Within minutes, Kakuzu closed the distance.
Boom!
A gust of force swept in from the right. A heavy blow landed, searing pain spreading across Haku's cheek as his balance collapsed, his body thrown violently to the ground.
Haruto fared no better. His battered body was flung aside, rolling several times before crashing to a halt.
Haku's condition wasn't much better.
He was gifted with a bloodline ability coveted by many, trained personally by Haruto, and his strength was already remarkable for someone so young—a true prodigy of his generation.
But against someone of Kakuzu's level, the title of "genius" meant little.
This was a man who had faced the "God of Shinobi" in assassination and lived to tell the tale. A man entrusted with the forbidden techniques once treasured as the pride of Takigakure.
It wasn't exaggeration to say that Kakuzu's lifespan alone put him among the few in the shinobi world who had endured across eras.
The things he had seen, the battles he had survived—Haku could hardly comprehend such a scale of experience.
Kakuzu rolled his shoulders, stretching slightly, before striding toward Haruto.
This far from the ritual site, Hidan's strange ceremony likely couldn't maintain its control.
As for Haku—his skills were decent, but his name meant nothing in the bounty books. Someone with no value at the exchange tables wasn't worth Kakuzu's attention.
"Hey!"
Seeing Kakuzu draw closer to Haruto, Haku scrambled to his feet, snarling through the pain.
But Kakuzu paid him no mind. His eyes fixed only on Haruto.
No—that wasn't it.
Kakuzu's eyes saw nothing but money.
And Haruto was money.
"Stay away from Lord Haruto!"
Haku flung several senbon with practiced precision, every one aimed at Kakuzu's vital points.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
But Kakuzu's body moved with uncanny strangeness. It wasn't like flesh and bone, but more like a corpse bound together with black threads. In the blink of an eye, he swatted all the senbon away.
"Your skills are sharp. But unfortunately, your name doesn't appear in my ledger," Kakuzu said flatly, glancing over his shoulder at Haku. "Why don't you go carve out some fame of your own? When the time comes, I'll return to collect your corpse."
His tone was chilling, as though he had already pronounced Haku's death.
As for Haruto—wounded, stripped of his Executioner's Blade, his body barely able to move—he was utterly helpless.
Even with Hidan's strange jutsu no longer in range, against someone like Kakuzu, his death was inevitable.
"Haku…"
Haruto sucked in a sharp breath, forcing what little chakra remained in his body to rise. He exhaled a heavy mist, trying to conjure a thick Hidden Mist Technique, hoping to give Haku a chance to flee.
"Hidden Mist, huh…"
Kakuzu chuckled as the fog swallowed the battlefield.
His bounty ledger not only held Haruto's name—it detailed his abilities.
The "Demon of the Mist," famed for his silent killing style. It was no surprise he would resort to the Hidden Mist Technique.
"What a pity. This level of fog means nothing to me."
With Earth Grudge Fear at his disposal, Kakuzu could wield all five basic chakra natures.
And Wind Release, in particular, was the perfect counter to mist.
Suddenly, his body swelled grotesquely as a strange mask-like face bulged from his back.
"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"
A violent gale burst forth from the mask's maw, sweeping the mist away as if it had never been.
And Haku—
Instead of escaping under the cover of the mist, he surged forward, senbon in hand, striking directly for Kakuzu's heart.
The suddenness of the attack caught even Kakuzu off guard.
Any killing intent, no matter how faint, could usually be sensed. Yet in that moment, Haku's presence vanished completely.
"This is… the Silent Killing Technique."
Haruto's eyes widened. He never expected Haku to unleash his signature assassination technique at such a desperate moment.
Though Kakuzu reacted at the last instant, lashing out with a sweeping punch that sent Haku crashing to the ground, several senbon still buried themselves deep into Kakuzu's left chest.
"Got him…"
Haku gasped, forcing himself upright despite his battered body. His chest heaved, but relief flickered across his face.
The threat was over—at least enough to escape.
All that mattered now was getting Haruto to safety.
He staggered toward his master.
But before he could reach him, Kakuzu's body twisted, and fire erupted from his form.
A sea of flame roared outward, devouring the ground, the heat so intense Haku barely leapt away in time. Even so, fire seared across his arm and clothing, burning flesh and fabric alike.
Haku winced, glancing at his hand—searing pain throbbed so deeply it felt like his fingers no longer obeyed his will.
"How…?"
His voice trembled. He had pierced Kakuzu's heart. He was sure of it.
Could it be—like Hidan—this man also possessed some kind of undying technique?
The inferno subsided.
And then Kakuzu shrugged off his black cloak patterned with red clouds.
Haku froze.
The body beneath was grotesque.
His arms were latticed with clear stitching, black threads writhing beneath the skin. A broken mask slipped free, tumbling to the ground at his feet.
"I didn't expect you to actually take one of my hearts," Kakuzu's voice rumbled darkly. His gaze slid back toward Haruto. "I'll just replace it with yours."
"Lord Haruto…"
Haku's throat tightened. He understood now. Kakuzu's secret was monstrous—his true body was a patchwork vessel, capable of housing multiple hearts.
And no matter how he looked at it, there was no way he could win.
Worse, Hidan could return at any moment.
If they stayed here, Haruto would surely die.
"This place… I'll hold him here. Please, you must live on."
Haku's words cut through the chaos, his voice resolute. Without waiting for Haruto's reply, his hands blurred through seals, mirrors of ice blooming around Kakuzu, trapping the man in a crystalline dome.
Ice Release: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals!
It wouldn't be enough to defeat Kakuzu. But it might stall him—if Haku staked everything.
After all, when a person sought to protect something precious, they found strength beyond their limits.
And the one thing Haku wanted to protect—
The one who had given him the meaning to live—
Was Haruto.
"Lord Haruto… please… abandon this tool."
"So long as you live… one day, you'll find another tool far more useful than me!"