CHAPTER 281: CHAPTER 281 - KAKUZU: FLYING THUNDER GOD IS JUST RELENTLESS PRESSURE!

"No difference..."

Kyoichi yawned.

This fight still needed to be settled quickly.

Once the battle began, the others would hear the commotion and immediately flee. He had already sent out a wooden clone to catch them, but the longer things dragged on, the more likely some fish would slip through the net.

And capturing them later would just be a headache.

In the next instant, his hand fell on Kakuzu’s shoulder.

Kakuzu had crossed blades with Kyoichi several times before and understood all too well just how terrifying this man was — if he let him close in, death was never far away.

So...

The moment Kyoichi closed the distance, Kakuzu’s body split apart in an instant, countless black tendrils lashing out in all directions, accompanied by bursts of lightning and splashes of water.

One of Kakuzu’s advantages was his broad ninjutsu coverage.

He knew that Kyoichi commanded an array of handseal-less defensive techniques — ordinary attacks couldn’t touch him at all. And this particular move, he knew well.

Earth Spear...

Kakuzu had once wielded it himself — until...

He met Kanda Kyoichi. The first time he used Earth Spear in front of him, Kyoichi ran him through in a single stroke, destroying his Earth Mask.

Although he replaced it with another Earth Mask later, this one lacked Earth Spear, having only a shabby, watered-down hardening technique — the difference in effect was not small.

Lightning–Water composite jutsu could completely counter Earth Spear!

After unleashing his jutsu, Kakuzu expected Kyoichi to either retreat from its range, create some distance before counterattacking, or at least defend with a jutsu of his own.

But...

He was disappointed.

Kyoichi ignored his techniques entirely, his body encased in a thick armor of ice. Not only that—

The surrounding water suddenly began spinning madly.

Liquid condensed into a massive whirling vortex.

Kakuzu’s expression changed.

What technique is this?

He never imagined such a change could occur. He instantly severed all the tendrils in that area and pulled back at top speed. Within a heartbeat...

Every tendril inside the water sphere was shredded to pieces.

And that wasn’t all.

The next moment, another figure appeared behind him — a bizarre jutsu slammed into his back, and a wave of searing pain shot through him.

His mask caught sight of the attacker.

Minato Namikaze!

But...

That was only the beginning.

The next moment, a blade pierced through his chest — and at the same instant, Minato surged in from the front, another Rasengan smashing into his mask’s face.

Crack!

Two sharp sounds in quick succession.

Two masks shattered, leaving Kakuzu with only three.

And the most despairing part—

The two of them were utterly bullying him. One moment they were behind him, the next they were right in front!

What kind of broken, cheat-level jutsu was this?

Now...

He had only Earth, Fire, and Wind masks left.

No handseals needed — flames roared from one shoulder, gales from the other.

Fire Release: Intelligent Hard Work!

Wind Release: Pressure Damage!

A torrent of fire filled the entire underground chamber, leaving barely a scrap of safe ground. For Minato, avoiding such a large-scale assault was almost impossible.

He was about to warp away with Flying Thunder God when a wall of earth rose around him, sealing him off from the outside.

The next second...

Minato heard a rush of water from beyond.

Kyoichi’s hands flashed through seals.

Kakuzu tried to sink into the ground with Earth Release — only to realize the surrounding soil was infused with special chakra, blocking his escape.

He turned to flee another way —

But the flood came.

Wind and fire were powerful, but in such a confined space, they could never stand against the surging torrent.

Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave!

Water spread out from the underground base, forming a colossal water prison.

Kakuzu countered with his tendrils and tried to flee via Water Release.

However...

Vines sprouted in the water, binding him tight.

And those two closed in again.

"Damn it, Flying Thunder God again!"

Kakuzu went berserk, chakra surging through him as his tendrils exploded outward.

Minato had to blink away to avoid being struck.

But...

Kyoichi showed no such mercy.

A blade wreathed in Lightning chakra pierced straight through Kakuzu’s heart.

Although his body could be repaired through Earth Grudge Fear and hearts could be replaced, he now had only three left.

More precisely—

The Earth heart was destroyed by Kyoichi’s lightning-infused strike, leaving only Fire and Wind.

Panic set in.

Two more kills and he would be finished — and worse, he saw no way to escape.

Earth Release? That heart was gone.

Wind and Fire were strong in battle, but useless under the crushing flood of Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave. To escape, perhaps...

Only surrender remained.

But...

Underwater, he couldn’t even speak!

Kakuzu’s mind raced in chaos.

In all his years, this was the first time he truly felt the shadow of death—

Even when he fought the First Hokage, Hashirama had no intent to kill him, so he’d never felt such despair.

This time was different.

Kanda Kyoichi genuinely meant to kill him!

Minato was already gone — ever since Kyoichi unleashed that massive wave, this fight had little to do with him. His own jutsu was ill-suited for underwater combat, so rather than waste time here, he went to the perimeter to catch Kakuzu’s fleeing allies.

He might even snag a few key targets.

Kakuzu was hopeless, with no way to surrender.

In the end...

He snapped. His tendrils expanded far beyond their normal limits — even if it would kill him. Better to take someone down with him than die to Kyoichi’s blade alone.

The grotesque nature of Earth Grudge Fear revealed itself in full.

He no longer resembled a human — more like the nameless horrors from Kyoichi’s past life, thrashing tentacles striking through the water toward him.

Yet...

They couldn’t break his defenses.

Sage Chakra combined with Earth Spear, and with Kakuzu’s Lightning heart gone, the idea of piercing his armor was laughable.

The tendrils might be many, but they were useless. Kyoichi, on the other hand, had a very simple way to kill him.

Water Release: Heavenly Weeping.

A column of highly compressed water chakra, sharper than any blade, sliced through all the tendrils in front of him and drove straight into Kakuzu’s heart.

The Fire heart shattered.

At that moment, Kakuzu no longer felt fear.

He had gone completely mad, his form collapsing. Even if Kyoichi stopped now, he could not survive —

Forbidden jutsu were forbidden for a reason: there was always a price.

His current state had pushed Earth Grudge Fear beyond its limits. Even if spared, his tendrils could never re-form into a complete body.

In the end, all that awaited Kakuzu was death.

This was a mutual-destruction technique.

But...

The tragedy of such techniques was that they often failed to take the enemy with you.

Just like now—

Kakuzu still couldn’t break through, while Kyoichi only needed to send one more water column to end him.

And yet...

He held back.

Kakuzu carried too many secrets — ones Kyoichi intended to dig out.

For instance—

Why had he and Sasori sided with Madara?

Even if the intel wasn’t especially valuable, it could be a bargaining chip to draw other villages into cooperation. Selling him to Takigakure could even fetch a good stock of supplies.

Killing him outright? That would get nothing.

Besides...

Kyoichi didn’t want Kakuzu to return to Takigakure whole and alive — if they recovered the secrets of Earth Grudge Fear, they might produce a second Kakuzu.

As he was now, Kakuzu was perfect — deranged, inhuman, and impossible for anyone but the Yamanaka Clan to extract information from.

With that decided, Kyoichi drew out a scroll and flashed through handseals.

Four Symbols Seal!

Kakuzu’s chakra was sealed away, his tendrils forcibly stripped until only a vaguely humanoid lump remained.

Though truth be told...

It barely resembled a person anymore.

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