"Cut me up all you want! I'm immortal!" Hidan cackled wildly mid-air.

But the laughter barely lasted a moment.

A crack suddenly appeared across his body—and then, like a broken dam, the damage poured out.

Boom!

Chunks of scorched flesh, muscle, and bone rained down, falling in pieces. The tendon-lined remains hit the ground like black hail.

Bit by bit, Hidan's body shrank in size, dismembered in mid-air by Kaito's lightning-infused strikes.

Kaito had no intention of severing Hidan's head like in the original timeline. He knew Hidan's secret.

Watching the falling remains, Kaito sneered. The light of lightning flashed once more above his head as chakra flared.

White arcs of electricity surged into the sky, converging into a radiant dome—a Thunder Barrier.

Crackle! Sizzle!

The chunks of Hidan's body struck the barrier, burned instantly to ash, and scattered into the breeze.

"Let's see you come back from that," Kaito muttered coldly.

Hidan's soul might still linger, but with his body reduced to ash, there was nothing left to revive.

Whoosh!

Kakuzu, who had remained calm until now, finally moved. He appeared beneath the lightning dome in a blur, staring grimly at the black ash below.

His expression twisted.

Damn it! I turned away for one minute—and the brat reduced him to nothing! I can't even stitch this one back together!

His wariness toward Kaito instantly spiked. Though Hidan's immortality was real, his combat skills weren't anything special. But for Kaito to destroy him that fast? That meant trouble.

As the saying goes—old age makes you cautious. And Kakuzu had lived long enough to fear death.

"Your power is impressive… but it lacks real combat experience," Kakuzu said, stepping back. "Seeing your forehead protector reminds me of my first fight against Konoha—the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama."

He dramatically cast aside his Akatsuki cloak, revealing a heavily stitched and reinforced body—clearly flaunting the grotesque results of his many surgeries.

As he raised an arm and sewed up a cracked wrist, black tendrils burst from the gaps. They slithered into the air like serpents or oversized leeches—disgusting, alive, and twitching.

Kaito narrowed his eyes.

So this is Earth Grudge Fear… grotesque.

He crouched slightly, lightning flaring under his feet, then vanished in a flash.

When he reappeared, he was already behind Kakuzu—Thunder Sword in hand.

"What a fast Body Flicker Technique, or is it teleportation!" Kakuzu gasped, but it was too late. A slash came from behind, severing him clean in two at the waist.

Slash!

Black threads erupted from the top half of Kakuzu's body, yanking the pieces back together as a dark energy enveloped the cut.

Within a heartbeat, his body had reconnected and healed.

It had all happened in a blink.

"You little brat… you've really pissed me off now," Kakuzu growled. His killing intent erupted like a pressure wave.

"An honor," Kaito replied coolly.

From what he remembered, Kakuzu's Earth Grudge Fear allowed him to steal hearts and extend his life. Each heart represented a different elemental chakra nature. He still had four left—meaning four more lives.

If Kaito could eliminate them one by one, this so-called immortal duo would be erased for good.

It was just a shame the two hadn't yet killed Asuma in this timeline.

Crack! Crack!

Kakuzu's hands weaved signs rapidly. Behind him, a sound like glass shattering echoed through the air.

Black tendrils burst out from his back and surged upward, merging above his head.

In seconds, a massive chrysalis-like shell formed.

The shell broke open, revealing a grotesque white mask on its surface. The summoned creature dropped to the ground with a lifeless thud.

Kaito's eyes narrowed.

That's one of his stored hearts.

More tendrils lashed out, and in the blink of an eye, three more masked creatures emerged, floating in the air around Kakuzu.

"Boy, not many people have forced me to fight at full strength," Kakuzu said with a sneer. "When you're dead, brag to the Shinigami that you were killed by me—Kakuzu."

"You finished talking? Then die."

Kaito vanished once again.

"Hmph! You think I'll make the same mistake as Hidan?"

Kakuzu clapped his hands together.

Black threads spiraled outward from him like a cyclone, forming a defensive barrier around his body.

He weaved more hand signs—so quickly that his movements blurred—and shouted:

"Wind Style: Pressure Damage! Fire Style: Searing Migraine!"

One of the masked monsters above him opened its mouth and fired a dense ball of compressed air downward.

Boom!

As soon as it hit the ground, it exploded in a vortex of high-pressure wind.

The wind expanded outward in violent spirals. Each gust was sharpened to the level of cutting blades.

Trees in the path were instantly shredded, trunks severed cleanly in half.

Crack! Snap!

One after another, trees toppled—cut as if by a thousand swords.

At the same time, another masked beast launched a small fireball.

At first glance, it didn't look threatening.

But the moment it hit the ground…

Fwoosh!

It erupted into a massive blaze. The flames expanded rapidly, feeding on the wind, and in seconds a massive wildfire spread through the forest.

The combined force of wind and fire—a large-scale elemental bombardment—doubled the area of destruction.

Kakuzu stood in front of the inferno and sneered.

"Let's see if you can survive that."

He couldn't tell exactly where Kaito was, so he'd opted for a full-area bombardment. With an inferno that size, there was no way anything inside had survived—at least not in one piece.

Even if the kid was still breathing, he'd be halfway to the grave by now.

Shame, though. Hopefully the body wasn't burned beyond recognition—he still wanted that bounty.

__

Get access to chapters in advance by becoming patrons.

patreon.com/Zphyr_