Because he possessed five hearts, Kakuzu essentially had five lives. To truly kill him, all five of his hearts had to be destroyed—nothing less would suffice.
Otherwise, as long as even a single heart remained, Kakuzu could seize another person's heart and fully recover.
This was the reason he had survived for so long and remained active across the shinobi world. Even Uchiha Madara would have to admit some envy toward that.
Thanks to this unique ability, Kakuzu had developed a tactic he used often when facing strong opponents—he would play dead.
By capitalizing on the enemy's lack of intel, he could strike when they let their guard down. It was a tactic that had never failed him… until now.
Because this time, he was facing Aoshi—a shinobi who knew exactly how his ability worked.
And so, not only did his sneak attack fail, but Aoshi took advantage of the moment and destroyed Kakuzu's second heart.
The outcome left Kakuzu both furious and stunned.
He couldn't understand. All his past victims had been dealt with completely—there had never been any survivors. So how had Aoshi learned about his abilities?
He wasn't foolish enough to chalk it up to mere luck.
Aoshi's previous actions had already made one thing clear: this opponent knew his abilities inside and out.
Seeing Aoshi preparing to attack again, Kakuzu acted swiftly. He unleashed a barrage of black, tendril-like threads, forcing Aoshi to retreat.
"Thank goodness you're alright, Aoshi!" Tsunade let out a breath of relief as Aoshi returned safely to her side.
She didn't even want to imagine what would've happened if he had died in front of her.
What Tsunade hadn't realized yet… was that without knowing when, the young man she'd once seen as just a promising subordinate had begun to mean something more to her.
Splurt!
Splurt!
Elsewhere, two of Kakuzu's masked beasts collapsed to the ground. They were the Lightning and Water Release hearts that Aoshi had just destroyed.
Kakuzu looked grim. To lose two hearts in one battle—this was the most humiliating defeat he'd suffered in decades.
Fire Release: Searing Migraine!
Wind Release: Pressure Damage!
In his fury, Kakuzu ordered his remaining Fire and Wind masked beasts to attack. A torrent of blazing fire and a howling wind sphere roared toward Aoshi and Tsunade.
The wind fed the flames—magnifying their destructive force exponentially. Everything in their path was scorched black. It was an overwhelming combo jutsu: Scorching Wind Chaos Wave!
The massive area of effect left nowhere to run.
Aoshi, not daring to take it lightly, quickly swallowed a soldier pill to recover chakra. He immediately cast Water Release: Water Wall.
A towering wave of water surged forth, acting as an unbreakable barrier to block the sea of fire. Once the clash subsided and the rising mist cleared, Kakuzu was gone.
He had fled right after launching the attack. His chakra reserves were nearly depleted, and he'd lost two of his five hearts.
Kakuzu knew he wasn't in any condition to keep fighting against both Aoshi and Tsunade. Failure wasn't the end. Survival mattered most. He would bide his time and strike again later.
"We need to find somewhere to rest and recover, Lady Tsunade," Aoshi said.
Though she'd received emergency treatment, her wounds weren't something that could fully heal overnight. She needed proper rest.
Tsunade agreed without resistance.
Soon, the two of them arrived at a nearby town and checked into a quiet inn.
"Get some rest, Lady Tsunade. I'll go get us something to eat."
With that, Aoshi left the inn.
He created a shadow clone to fetch food, while his real body slipped away toward the Land of Rivers. It was a small country sandwiched between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind.
Thanks to his Negative Emotions sensing ability, Aoshi had tracked Kakuzu's escape path—and he was headed straight for the Land of Rivers.
With his chakra drained and two hearts lost, Kakuzu couldn't have gotten far.
This was Aoshi's best chance to end it once and for all. Not out of personal hatred—but because he had his eyes set on Kakuzu himself.
Shadow clones were useful, but limiting. So Aoshi intended to turn Kakuzu into one of his Paths of the Six Paths.
And since Kakuzu wasn't exactly a saint, Aoshi had no moral hesitation about it.
"Hirakawa Aoshi… I won't forget this. The next time we meet, I'll kill you!" Deep within the Land of Rivers, Kakuzu emerged from underground, still snarling with rage.
In his mind, this failure was due to one thing: lack of intel.
Next time, he'd come prepared. For now, he needed to recover chakra and replace the two lost hearts.
But then—
A voice rang out, and his face darkened instantly.
"Oh? But today is the day you die."
Kakuzu's eyes darted to the source—and there stood Aoshi, having caught up to him alone.
Seeing it was just one opponent, Kakuzu didn't hesitate. Black tendrils burst from his body in every direction, striking from all angles.
"No more games, brat—give me your heart!"
But Aoshi remained calm. Behind his sunglasses, his golden eyes shifted into the Rinnegan.
Shinra Tensei—Almighty Push!
A tremendous wave of repelling force scattered all the incoming threads.
Kakuzu's eyes widened. What the hell was that?! Another hidden ability?!
Before he could react further, Aoshi raised a hand toward him. A crushing gravitational pull surged forward.
Banshō Ten'in—Universal Pull!
Kakuzu's body was forcefully dragged toward Aoshi, unable to resist. Everything happened so suddenly that he had no time to defend himself.
Still, he wasn't about to die quietly. He summoned his remaining Fire and Wind masked beasts, commanding them to unleash their jutsu at Aoshi.
A sea of flames and a raging windstorm surged forward, but Aoshi didn't even flinch. Raising his other hand, he absorbed both jutsu in an instant.
Preta Path: Ninjutsu Absorption!
"What the hell are you?!" Kakuzu couldn't help but roar in disbelief.
How could someone with so many terrifying abilities remain unknown until now? He began to wonder if Aoshi had taken over someone else's body, like how he himself harvested hearts.
After all, such possession-based techniques weren't unheard of in the shinobi world. But his questions would go unanswered.
Aoshi had no intention of explaining anything to someone he was about to kill.