Naruto didn't waste a second.
His feet dug into the earth.
FWSSH!
He sprinted straight at Kakuzu, the ground cracking under each step. Kakuzu braced himself, lowering his center of gravity, muscles tightening beneath his stitched body.
The instant Naruto reached striking range, he threw a devastating jab, his fist blurring with sheer speed and force. The air around it whistled violently.
Kakuzu's eyes widened. He felt the danger ,a chill he hadn't felt in decades.
He twisted sharply, ducking aside, Naruto's punch grazing past his mask. Kakuzu's arm shot out, stretching unnaturally with black tendrils as he tried to grab Naruto's torso.
Naruto caught the arm mid-lunge.
A solid GRAB.
Kakuzu's eyes flicked up just in time to see Naruto step forward, twist his waist, and—
WHAM!
A fist rocketed into Kakuzu's stomach with speed the masked monster couldn't track.
The impact launched Kakuzu like a cannonball, smashing him through the morgue building's wooden wall. The structure cracked and dust erupted as he crashed through tables and stone slabs inside.
Naruto shook his hand out and grinned.
He turned toward Hidan, still trapped in Shikamaru's shadow bind.
"How's it going?" Naruto asked casually.
Hidan frowned… then smirked as he glanced toward the ruined morgue.
A voice shouted from within:
"WIND STYLE: PRESSURE DAMAGE!"
BWOOOOOOSH!!!
A massive wind blast tore out of the rubble, fired from Kakuzu's wind mask. The gust hit Naruto dead-on, blasting him across the field like a ragdoll. Trees snapped, electric poles shredded, the earth gouged open.
Kakuzu emerged from the dust, grabbing the wind mask and pulling it back into his body with a flick of black threads.
"Hidan, stay put. I'm going to kill the Jinchūriki."
He leapt away.
Hidan yelled after him, "At least release me FIRST! Damn it—I hate that guy!"
---
Naruto slammed into a thick tree trunk, the bark exploding on impact before he dropped to his knees.
"Ghh—damn…" he hissed, clutching his ribs.
'Fuck… even my clones never hit me that hard.'
'That's what I get for getting cocky.'
He forced himself up, stretching out his arms with a wince.
Kakuzu landed in front of him, cracking the ground.
"You made a grave mistake thinking you could fight me. I am the immortal Kakuzu."
Naruto tilted his head.
"Immortal, huh? Let me guess—you've got a bunch of extra hearts or something?"
Kakuzu froze.
"…How?"
The teen smirked. "Just a hunch."
Kakuzu's expression hardened.
"I cannot allow you to leave with that knowledge."
Two masks shot out from his back—one wreathed in fire, the other swirling with turbulent wind.
Both opened their jaws.
"Die."
Naruto's eyes narrowed.
'Let's see if it works.'
FWOOOM!
Fire and wind combined into a massive explosion that swallowed Naruto and tore a long crater through the forest. Trees vaporized. The ground boiled.
But Naruto didn't move. He didn't even flinch. Kakuzu blinked— Naruto vanished.
The blast behind him erupted as it missed its real target.
"Yo!" Naruto's voice came from beside the Akatsuki member.
He shoved a Rasengan straight into Kakuzu's face mask.
BOOOOM!
Kakuzu was sent flipping through the air, smashing through boulders and skidding across torn soil. Smoke poured off his body as he slammed to a stop.
' I planted a mark on him when I punched him. Guess it works. Good thing or I would've been roasted' he thought.
Naruto glanced toward the masks still floating overhead.
"Shadow Clone jutsu."
Four clones appeared, each tackling a mask beast to keep them busy. Naruto walked toward Kakuzu slowly, his expression cold—almost feral.
Kakuzu staggered up, dust rolling off his stitched body. His eyes narrowed into hateful slits as two more masks forced themselves out of his back—the Earth and Lightning hearts. Black tendrils wrapped around them, pulling the masks tightly into Kakuzu's frame until the monstrous fusion stabilized.
His chakra spiked violently.
"You… have no idea what you've just started," Kakuzu growled.
Naruto cracked his neck slowly.
He didn't say anything. He wasn't good with one-liners. He just stared Kakuzu down.
---
Meanwhile, Naruto's clones fought the other masks.
— Fire Mask vs Clone
The clone sprinted across the clearing, feet shredding the earth as he charged forward with a kunai in hand. The Fire Thread Mask floated above the forest, the mouths around its mask stretching open.
BWOOOOOM!!
A massive fireball erupted toward the clone, hot enough to warp the air and blacken the trees instantly.
But the clone didn't stop.
He leaned forward, accelerating, aura flickering with chakra.
Then—
Fwish–clink!
He threw the kunai.
The kunai shot through the fireball like a bullet, splitting the flames down the middle.
A narrow path appeared—just long enough for one person to pass through.
The clone vanished inside the fire.
Heat scorched his skin. His clothes steamed. But he kept running.
Suddenly—
he burst out of the flames, feet digging into the dirt as he rocketed forward.
Chakra spiraled in his palm.
"Rasengan!"
He slammed it straight into the Fire Mask's face.
BOOOOOOM!!!
A huge explosion tore the treeline apart, flames crashing upward like a small sun. The blast obliterated everything. Trees toppled. The shockwave rippled across the clearing.
The clone vanished in the explosion—but not before its memories returned to Naruto.
Naruto smirked faintly.
— Wind Mask vs Clone
The Wind Mask took the sky, its tendrils swirling a massive vortex of cutting air.
The clone didn't hesitate.
He formed a spinning disk of screaming chakra.
"Rasen Shuriken!"
He threw it—
It cut through the wind blast like a buzzsaw tearing through paper—
then carved straight into the mask itself.
KRRRRRRRIIIIIP—BOOM!
The Wind Mask exploded in mid-air, its pieces raining down like burning metal fragments.
Back with Naruto.
Kakuzu had just lost two of his hearts. Just like that.
His face turned black as if he just died but quickly returned to normal the next second. Kakuzu's body jerked in fury, his face twisting into something barely human. The remaining masks pulsed violently on his shoulders as his stitches writhed.
He glared toward Naruto, rage burning so hot it felt like killing intent was cracking the air. Kakuzu marched forward, his steps heavy and sharp.
"I'LL KILL YOU!"
Black threads burst from his mouth, his shoulders, his arms—thick ropes of living tendon stretching outward like monstrous tendrils ready to skewer Naruto alive.
Naruto wiped the smirk off his face.
He lowered into a stance, chakra swirling around his legs. His eyes hardened. This was a real fight. And he was ready.
TO BE CONTINUED