Chapter 51: Deception, Shockwave, and Falling From the Cliff
[DING!]
[You bravely confronted Kakuzu, who looked down on you for being poor, and acquired a random skill from him: Secret Technique - Earth Grudge Fear Stitching (Proficient, A-Rank)]
[Your Heart of Steel level has increased.]
The Flowing Flame Greatsword slashed downward.
Carrying an unparalleled storm of fire and trailing flames, it plummeted.
It crashed toward the water barrier Kakuzu had raised from the ground!
The massive, seemingly imposing water barrier—standing six meters high—was sliced through like a hot knife through butter.
HISSSSS—
Violent steam surged forth, then was swept away by the gust of wind generated by the Flowing Flame Greatsword.
The battlefield suddenly cleared.
Tsukasa could now see what lay beyond the water barrier—his pupils contracted sharply.
At this moment, Kakuzu had replaced his heart with a Water Release one. The Earth Grudge Fear masked entity, hardened completely, leaped high to intercept Tsukasa's Flowing Flame Longsword.
Tsukasa had assumed that Kakuzu's three masked entities—Fire, Wind, and Lightning—were preparing to engage him head-on.
But now, they had their backs turned to him!
The next moment, the Earth Grudge Fear's final blue beam cannon roared forth. A fusion of Fire, Wind, and Lightning—a massive cannon with each element continuously amplifying the others—it blasted in the exact opposite direction from Tsukasa, slamming into the barrier of the Absolute Encirclement Formation!
The barrier's light screen rippled and deformed, bulging and cracking under the cannon's assault.
The entire cliff face enclosed within the barrier began crumbling, forming vast chasms and threatening to collapse.
Seeing this, Tsukasa's eyes widened, his pupils suddenly contracting to pinpoints.
The skin on his face twisted horribly, veins bulging on his forehead.
With both hands struggling to control the Flowing Flame Greatsword, he slashed down at Kakuzu's position.
Feelings of betrayal and near despair surged wildly through his heart!
"What are you doing?!"
"Kakuzu! What are you doing?!"
"You coward!"
"Are you trying to run away?!"
"Answer me!!"
At this moment, Tsukasa had given everything—determined to fight to the death with his formidable opponent.
And yet, at this critical moment, Kakuzu was trying to escape?
He was actually running away?!
This was absurd!
If Kakuzu fled, would Tsukasa—separated from combat and burned alive by his own technique—survive?
Tsukasa didn't know, and there was no way to gamble on it.
So, with a frenzied look in his eyes, he forcibly controlled his body—already at its absolute limit—and lunged forward!
"Come back!"
"COME BACK!"
"AHHHHHHH!"
"You coward!"
"Come and fight me to the bitter end!"
Tsukasa's eyes were bloodshot, his crimson Sharingan wide open, emanating a ferocious, demonic, and frenzied aura.
He twisted his waist and lowered his stance mid-air, spinning and tumbling while swinging the Flowing Flame Sword in a wide circular arc.
Kakuzu's Water Release Earth Grudge Fear masked entity was driven deep into the cliff face by this strike, only to be carried along by the blade and launched into the air where it met the return slash.
This return attack brought Kakuzu and his other three masked entities within striking range!
"This power is truly extraordinary."
Kakuzu gazed up at the god-like blade descending, his eyes narrowed, a flicker of genuine fear within them.
Then a sneer crossed his lips as he formed hand seals.
"But I still win."
The Flowing Flame Greatsword descended, sweeping across Kakuzu's form.
His eyes widened as his body began evaporating from the waist down.
Then it transformed into a puddle of water.
Water Clone Technique.
The moment the water hit the ground—BOOM!
Dense, countless Earth Grudge Fear tentacles burst through the surface, surging wildly and wrapping around the Flowing Flame Greatsword!
This was Earth Grudge Fear—hiding its true form beneath the battlefield, its dark tentacles ready to strike!
The sword slashed downward, scorching the dense masses of tentacles, but beneath the surface they continued surging forth—wave after wave—forcibly slowing the greatsword's circular slash.
With just that tiny opening, the Earth Grudge Fear's final blue cannon blast shattered through the Absolute Encirclement Formation's barrier.
Kakuzu leaped from beneath the cliff surface where he'd been hiding, recalled his three masked entities, and dove through the gap in the barrier.
Then he surged forward, dashing before anyone could react toward the old, gnarled tree at the cliff's center.
"Hidan, run!"
Tsukasa's furious voice echoed from within the collapsing barrier.
The three people outside—startled by the sudden turn of events—finally reacted. Mei Terumi was first to recover. She turned, catching sight of Kakuzu charging toward them, and instinctively began forming hand seals.
However, from above on the cliff face, a hand wrapped in Earth Grudge Fear tentacles burst forth, grasping Mei Terumi's leg and yanking her downward, interrupting her technique.
Hidan, perched on the tree trunk, looked left and right—seeing only the bottomless abyss on either side. A wave of despair suddenly surged within him.
"What the hell! Where am I supposed to run to?!"
Trusting in Tsukasa's judgment, Hidan simply closed his eyes and leaped from the tree toward the void below.
Shinnō, observing this, was startled and immediately dove down the cliff face, attempting to catch Hidan.
However, Kakuzu was one step ahead.
He twisted his waist and swung his arms—Earth Grudge Fear limbs stretching out, entangling Hidan and pulling him under his arm.
Hidan finally opened his eyes, shock written across his face.
Kakuzu didn't exchange a single word with his future "Immortal Duo" partner. He simply struck Hidan on the back of the head, knocking him unconscious.
Then he leaped repeatedly—from cliff face to castle wall, then from the wall onward.
Within moments, he reached the entrance to the underground caverns of the Jashin Cult headquarters.
Shinnō watched the scene unfold, his eyes narrowed, and he hesitated.
When Kakuzu grabbed Hidan, at that distance, Shinnō could have activated Physical Regeneration and the Eight Gates technique to intercept him—or at least engage him in combat.
But for some unknown reason, he paused.
After the chaos subsided, the scene returned to eerie calm.
The full moon faded, wind howled, and the barrier that had stretched between heaven and earth crumbled away.
The flaming giant sword in Tsukasa's hand disintegrated into scattered wildfire, dispersing with the wind.
He collapsed to his knees on the cliff face—his skin completely destroyed, scarlet flesh exposed. Thick oils from burned tissue sizzled and dripped across his charred body.
The tightly gripped kunai tore away a piece of flesh before plummeting down the cliff with a trail of smoke, shattering into a pool of molten metal at the bottom.
All the chakra in his body had been completely burned away.
Tsukasa turned his head blankly, staring in the direction of Kakuzu's escape.
An expression of rage immediately crossed his face—eyes bloodshot, teeth grinding, fists clenched.
But beneath this fury, a hint of panic lingered.
Ultimately, all his intense emotions vanished under a sudden overwhelming sense of powerlessness.
What happens now?
I fought with everything I had. Can I still go home?
But the enemy escaped, and I'm dying from my own technique. Will insurance still cover this?
Will the system be that stingy?
Will Hidan still become that crazed Jashin follower?
Was everything I did worthwhile?
Question after question emerged in his mind, urgently demanding answers.
But he no longer had the mental capacity to think.
His brain felt like it had burned out.
His body was completely unable to move.
He could no longer hear any sound because his eardrums had been incinerated.
Only silence remained. Only endless silence.
Tsukasa closed his eyes powerlessly as the last trace of chakra on the soles of his feet dissipated.
He fell headfirst down the cliff.
Strangely, he didn't feel the pain of crashing into the ground below.
Instead, it felt like falling into something soft and warm—like landing on a gentle cloud.
End of Chapter 51
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