Chapter 48: The True Art of Shuriken Manipulation!
The full moon sank low, a faint glow filling the sky.
The gentle early spring breeze, which should have been mild, now surged violently.
As the Earth Grudge Fear tentacles lashed down, the sounds of impact became almost continuous.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
However, none of them hit their target. Each time, just before impact, Tsukasa would suddenly—as if through some miraculous instinct—duck, roll sideways, or flip away.
Even without looking, he was able to evade every attack.
"Tsk, such unreasonable intuition!"
Kakuzu frowned, watching Tsukasa constantly dodging and maneuvering while fiddling with something in his hands.
He felt this couldn't continue.
He immediately manipulated his tentacles to smash massive craters in the cliff face, tearing out enormous boulders one after another, and suddenly hurled them toward Tsukasa!
WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
The rocks twisted the wind and shattered the surface as they came crashing down!
Even Mei Terumi, watching from outside the barrier, couldn't help but be startled by the scene.
This move was almost equivalent to a dozen shinobi simultaneously performing Earth Release: Rock Gun Technique—completely blocking the opponent's escape routes and forcing a direct confrontation.
However, this was only the beginning.
Kakuzu manipulated his tentacles to hurl boulders while simultaneously forming hand seals with both hands.
The next moment, two masked entities suddenly emerged from behind Kakuzu, their dark forms woven from vast strands of Earth Grudge Fear threads, perching on his shoulders.
These were Kakuzu's Fire Release and Wind Release masks—working in perfect tandem.
What was coming next would be a combination ninjutsu: Flame Wind Wild Wave!
This technique combined the Earth Grudge Fear Fire Release mask and Wind Release mask, simultaneously unleashing Fire Release: Intelligent Hard Work and Wind Release: Pressure Damage, creating a vast sea of flames.
Combined with Kakuzu's preemptive use of boulders to block escape routes, Tsukasa would have nowhere to run in this confined space!
Kakuzu's expression remained impassive as he pronounced his verdict in a cold voice:
"Broke brat, game over!"
With those words, he clenched his palm—
BOOM!
A sea of fire erupted! A violent maelstrom raged!
The entire space was engulfed by Kakuzu's devastating attack.
In that instant, all that was visible was dust, boulders, scythe-like wind blades, long tongues of flame erupting from the ground, and a chaotic dance of sparks and debris flying in all directions.
Within seconds, everything would be consumed!
Yet, amidst this hellish scene—this despair that filled every corner of vision—Tsukasa strangely felt no fear!
His eyes widened, as if wanting to record every detail of this apocalyptic moment.
He felt electricity surge throughout his body, from head to toe, from fingertips to heart. Then this current flowed inward, piercing deeper into his cells, attempting to unlock a switch hidden deep within his being.
Dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins flooded his brain, bringing Tsukasa to a near-peak state of heightened awareness.
[Talent: Combat Intuition (S-Rank) - Evolved to a higher degree. You can now utilize your body with far greater precision.]
The next moment, Tsukasa lowered his head slightly, glancing at the Earth Grudge Fear threads wound around his fingers, a grin spreading across his face.
He raised his head, taking one final look at Kakuzu's position.
His fingers curled slightly, pads arched.
The tomoe in his Sharingan spun wildly, nearly forming a single continuous black ring.
His eyes burned with the madness of a desperate gambit!
"Come!"
"Come!"
"COME!"
"Fight! Not fighting means losing, and the end of battle is death!"
"I'm risking everything for that moment of glorious death!"
"Here, I shall achieve my wish!"
With that, Tsukasa closed his eyes.
His single-tomoe Sharingan was no longer able to keep pace with his battle speed.
So he closed his eyes and trusted his instincts.
He trusted the battle strategy he had already formulated in his mind.
So, the first step—
Tsukasa withdrew the only four shuriken wrapped with ninja wire from his remaining tool pouch and hurled them fiercely toward the sea of fire, the massive boulders, and the wind blades!
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
The shuriken pierced through the air, trailing four black wire threads, and embedded themselves into massive rocks flying from the distance.
Then Tsukasa pulled slightly with both hands, and the wires he'd carefully laid while dodging suddenly went taut from their positions on the ground. Their intersection point was directly beneath Tsukasa's feet.
Like a bow drawn to full crescent and ready to release—
SNAP!
The giant bow composed of ninja wire served as the initial propulsion, launching Tsukasa forward with tremendous force!
He became a living arrow, diving into the sea of flames while pulling the ninja wires of the four embedded shuriken, changing direction mid-air, spinning his body—
He tapped against an incoming boulder to gain momentum, accelerating further!
He slipped through the gap created by two colliding massive rocks, flipped upward as violent wind blades erupted around him, and formed hand seals before the crisscrossing flames could burn him—
Rabbit-Sheep-Snake!
Water Release: Water Fang Blade!
Tsukasa wielded the water blade in his right hand while his left controlled direction by manipulating the wires. He spiraled rapidly through midair, spinning the water blade like a drill, and suddenly opened his eyes!
"Dead already?" Kakuzu narrowed his eyes slightly. Everything before him was engulfed in a maelstrom of wind and flames.
Combined with the boulders he'd thrown earlier blocking all escape routes, the opponent should have had no way to survive.
Short of using a jutsu more powerful than his own combination technique, Kakuzu couldn't imagine any method for survival.
The ninjutsu he employed derived from the hearts of the strongest individuals he'd hunted over decades:
Earth Release: Earth Spear, Wind Release: Pressure Damage, Lightning Release: False Darkness, Fire Release: Intelligent Hard Work, and Water Release: Water Encampment Wall.
Five hearts!
The five jutsu he could perform were all near-peak caliber in their respective elements!
Kakuzu didn't believe a kid this age could possess such capabilities.
So he was probably dead—or if not, very close to it.
Kakuzu turned his head slightly, his gaze icy as he swept over the three figures outside the barrier.
He glanced past his target Hidan, then Mei Terumi beside him, and finally toward another direction—at Shinnō, dressed in his yellow cloak with a strangely calm expression.
Kakuzu couldn't help but narrow his eyes, wondering what this man's purpose was in just standing there.
Would he interfere with capturing Hidan?
After all, this guy hadn't even reacted to his apparent disciple's death before his eyes.
He must be a cold and calculating individual.
Standing beyond the barrier, witnessing this terrifying combination jutsu, Mei Terumi and Hidan couldn't help but swallow hard, their eyes filled with horror.
"This attack is even more terrifying than that Wind Release from before."
"Tsukasa, he..."
Mei Terumi gritted her teeth, her eyes desperately searching within the barrier.
But no matter how she looked, within this cliff-side battlefield, aside from where Kakuzu stood, all that remained visible was a blazing inferno.
Hidan collapsed to his knees on the tree trunk in despair, looking at this hopeless scene.
As far as the eye could see, there was only—fire, fire, fire, Kakuzu, fire, fire, fire.
This man wearing a black mask, wielding tentacles and devastating ninjutsu, was like a god of destruction incarnate!
And all that could be heard was the surging wind, the roaring flames, and the anguished wails of Hot Water refugees who had suffered casualties from Kakuzu's jutsu below the cliff.
Hidan couldn't help but clench his fists tightly, gritting his teeth as his eyes trembled looking at everything before him.
His eyes grew moist.
He squeezed them shut, pressed his palms against the tree trunk, and tears burst forth!
Then, with every ounce of strength, he roared mournfully into the barrier:
"TSUKASA!"
"If you're still alive, then—"
"GET OUT HERE, NOW!"
As the desperate cry faded, a moment of silence descended—the soundless flames making even breathing difficult.
But then—
The blazing sea of fire suddenly trembled!
As if something massive was tearing through it!
Gravel, dirt, ash, sparks!
A whirling mass of blue, spinning blades carved through, toppling everything in its path.
Suddenly, a roaring vortex surged!
A gaping hole was ripped through the wall of flames.
Tsukasa, like a deadly arrow, burst through the opening spinning through the air, aimed directly at Kakuzu's head.
He took a deep breath, gripped his blade with both hands, and swung with all his might toward Kakuzu's neck—accelerating to his absolute limit, the blade shrieking through the air.
The water blade blazed brilliantly, reflecting a pair of cold, ruthless, crimson eyes.
Kakuzu's eyes suddenly widened in shock!
End of Chapter 48