Tian Yu hurled the Grass Pheasant Sword forward with force.
"Transform!"
As the blade spun through the air, the Grass Pheasant Sword shimmered—morphing and multiplying.
One became two, two became four, four became eight…
Thousands of gleaming blades materialized, each one reflecting a cold, deadly light as they spread across the sky like a steel storm, enveloping the world beneath in an overwhelming cascade of sword energy.
"Slash!"
With a low growl from Tian Yu, it was as if the very space around him would shatter under the might of his sword barrage.
Boom!
The ground erupted.
Countless boulders, trees, and soil were impaled and pulverized by the descending swords, reduced to fragments and sawdust that scattered in all directions like a storm of destruction.
The air thundered with a symphony of tearing and smashing sounds, deafening in its intensity.
Within the flurry of cold, steel slashes, even the Earth Grudge Fear tendrils protecting Kakuzu's body were helpless. One by one, those monstrous threads—extensions of his stolen hearts—were severed cleanly.
Even the final tendril, shrouded in the defense of Earth Release armor and containing the last of Kakuzu's hearts, could not withstand the endless storm of blades.
A single sword, streaking through like divine judgment—
Pierced it.
Kakuzu, heartless at last,
Fell.
[Ding! Earth Grudge Ontology detected. Absorb?]
The system's familiar prompt echoed in Tian Yu's mind.
He nodded calmly and whispered, "Absorb."
At his command, an invisible force radiated from his body, drawing toward a pitch-black sphere on the ground—Kakuzu's final grudge core, trying to flee from his corpse.
"Screee!!"
The tiny black mass let out a sharp, shrill scream—
Then vanished into thin air,
Absorbed completely.
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing the task: Absorb the Grudges!
System reward: Puppet Doll Forging Blueprint!]
The system issued its reward with a chime, but Tian Yu didn't have the luxury of checking it.
He had more pressing matters.
This battle—
Wasn't over yet.
"Tsunade!"
Tian Yu's eyes sharpened with resolve.
Across the battlefield, Tsunade was still engaged in a fierce clash with Hidan. Neither side had gained the upper hand.
In terms of raw power, Tsunade surpassed her opponent.
But her hemophobia—her fear of blood—held her back.
To prevent triggering it, she had tied a blindfold over her eyes and was relying entirely on sensory perception to fight, deliberately avoiding close-quarters combat.
With her vision sealed and taijutsu suppressed, her strength was halved.
And so, for the time being, she and Hidan were deadlocked.
"The rest… leave it to me."
Tian Yu leapt into the air and landed atop Katsuyu's head, appearing beside Tsunade in a flash.
His sudden arrival caused both Tsunade and Hidan to pause mid-combat in surprise.
"The battle's over on your side?" Tsunade asked, astonished.
"You… killed Kakuzu?"
Hidan's eyes widened with disbelief.
As Kakuzu's longtime partner, he knew better than anyone how difficult he was to defeat.
Tian Yu remained silent.
His presence here was answer enough.
Still, Tsunade frowned and shook her head slightly.
"Let me handle it. You just finished a high-intensity battle. Your chakra reserves must be low, right?
That guy—Hidan—isn't easy either."
"Chakra?" Tian Yu smirked.
A dark-blue mineral crystal appeared in his palm with a flick of his wrist.
He tossed it into his mouth, crunching it between his teeth—
In an instant, blue light surged around him.
Under Tsunade's blindfolded gaze, and in the stunned perception of the sensory-type ninjas nearby, Tian Yu's chakra—
Previously depleted—
Now surged like a tidal wave, overflowing within him once again.
---
An hour later…
The Sun Blade in Tian Yu's hand gleamed coldly as he slashed downward,
Cleanly severing Hidan's head from his body.
Now that Tian Yu understood Hidan's sacrificial jutsu and its reliance on acquiring his opponent's blood, the key was simply to prevent Hidan from drawing any.
As long as the conditions for the Jashin ritual weren't fulfilled,
Hidan was no more than a durable nuisance.
Compared to Kakuzu, he was far easier to deal with.
"Damn you! Damn brat! You little bastard!"
Even with his head rolling on the ground, Hidan didn't shut up—his curses were louder than ever, screeching like a banshee.
"What… what the hell is this?" Sunflower and the others finally arrived on the scene and were stunned by what they saw.
Kakuzu had required five hearts to be killed five separate times—that alone had shaken them.
But this one—
Even decapitated, he wouldn't die.
Still talking!
"It's some kind of forbidden immortality ritual tied to a cult called Jashinism," Tian Yu explained briefly.
"Immortality? This is too freaky…"
Sunflower crouched down and peered closely at Hidan's head, frowning as she inspected it cautiously.
But just then—
"Careful!!"
From beneath Hidan's head, a massive pitcher plant surged upward from the earth.
A half-black, half-white humanoid figure emerged from it:
Zetsu.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Multiple kunai shot out in all directions.
Tsunade and the others instinctively dodged.
But Sunflower, closest to Hidan's head, was caught off guard.
In that instant—
Tian Yu moved.
Flash!
He appeared beside her in a blink, his blade spinning.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
All the kunai were deflected cleanly.
But even that brief second was enough—
Zetsu seized the opportunity.
Black Zetsu grabbed Hidan's head and made a dash toward his corpse.
"Don't even think about it!"
Tian Yu's sword was already in motion, cutting across Zetsu's escape route.
Shing!!
Zetsu was forced to veer off.
Still, the blade sliced clean through the pitcher plant and sheared away most of White Zetsu's body.
Just as Tian Yu prepared to chase them down—
The Akatsuki spies realized the ambush had failed.
Abandoning the retrieval of Hidan's body without hesitation,
They sank into the earth and fled.
The others made to give chase, but Tian Yu raised a hand.
"Stop!"
"Captain…?"
"There's an old saying: 'Cornered thieves should not be pursued.' That's exactly who we're dealing with."
Tian Yu's voice was calm, but firm.
If he could confirm a kill, he'd never hesitate.
But Zetsu—
Especially Black Zetsu—was anything but ordinary.
His techniques were too unpredictable.
Chasing him might not only be futile—it could lure more dangerous Akatsuki members to the scene.
Even with Chakra Crystals, Tian Yu wasn't eager to face Pain and his Rinnegan just yet.
"Clear the battlefield. Retrieve the enemy's remains."
He turned, giving the final order with commanding resolve.
"We return to Konoha."
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