[Chapter Size: 1200 Words.]
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In front of Kakuzu, Sasuke struggled to rise. As the hot smoke rose, his chest began to heal!
He lowered his shoulders, bent his head, and swayed, but kept his knees straight and firm: "I'm not the type of person who can fall in a place like this..."
Kakuzu felt a chill in his heart. He grabbed the large sword behind him, held it with both hands, and swung it towards Sasuke's neck with all his strength!
"If the head is moved, even Senju Hashirama himself will die!!!"
"But you can't cut off Senju Hashirama's head..."
White Curse Seal: Hardened!
"Clang!"
The large sword was blocked by Sasuke's neck!
"!!"
As Kakuzu was shocked, a Rasengan condensed in Sasuke's palm, and at the moment of the strike, it suddenly turned white!
"Click!"
The Rasengan struck Kakuzu's chest, breaking through his Earth Release Hardening defense and spiraling through, spreading across Kakuzu's body as terrifying grafted wood emerged from everywhere!
"Ughhhhhhh!!!"
Kakuzu screamed and collapsed to the ground.
Kabuto: "When did he master that Rasengan?"
Orochimaru: "As far as I know, Sasuke-kun hasn't yet mastered the nature transformation of the Rasengan. Perhaps he subconsciously integrated the power of the White Curse Seal, allowing the Rasengan to take on the effect of the grafting technique? It's truly terrifying. One strike destroyed Kakuzu's two hearts. Although the last heart is still alive, with such a wound, I fear that not even the Earth Grudge Fear can save him..."
Sasuke was also shocked by this subconscious use of the technique. He looked at his palms, recalling the amazing sensation when he used the Rasengan just now!
At that moment, Kakuzu's hysterical roar snapped Sasuke back to reality: "Hidan, hurry, cut your own head off!!!"
Not far away, in the blood-based death ritual circle, Hidan shouted, "My head?! Hey, that's too much! How can I cut off my own head?!"
Kakuzu shouted, "Hurry up, or we'll all die!!!"
"Let me clarify first, you need to stitch me up!!!"
Hidan grabbed the spike beside him and stood up!
"Whoosh!"
Seeing this, Sasuke charged forward with all his speed!
"Don't even think about it!!"
The black wire released from Kakuzu's remaining arm wrapped around Sasuke's ankle!
"Click!"
In that instant, Hidan drove the sharp spike into the side of his own neck!
"Click!"
"Ah!!" Sasuke clutched his neck, blood pouring from between his fingers. It was where the carotid artery was. This strike was enough to be fatal, but after absorbing even more of the Curse Seal's power, Sasuke managed to heal the wound on his heart. So, this injury was certainly not an issue!
But as Kakuzu had said, if his head were severed, he would never survive!!!
"Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!" Hidan frantically twisted the spike in his neck, trying to sever his own head!
"Click!"
Sasuke used the Kusanagi sword to cut the black wire that bound his ankles and charged toward Hidan with all his might!
His throat burned with searing pain, but he didn't care. Life and death were hanging by a thread!
"Whoosh!"
At that moment, the sounds of the wind, Karin and the others' calls, Kakuzu's insistence, Hidan's roar, all the sounds disappeared from Sasuke's senses!
Only his consciousness was spinning rapidly!
"His technique uses a specific sacrificial ritual to create a co-assassination effect on me. The medium must be 'blood.' Also, he seems to need to be within the ritual circle under his feet to execute the technique. So, as long as he's knocked out of the ritual circle, the sacrifice will lose its effect. However, if I were him, I definitely wouldn't overlook the weakness. Inserting chakra beneath my feet is a basic operation."
"Then, to take him out of the ritual circle, I will definitely need a powerful attack. Such an attack will inevitably be reflected back at me due to the influence of the technique. More importantly, no one can guarantee the ritual circle is necessary. If I make a mistake, I'm doomed..."
"Then, with the means I have now, what's the best way to break the deadlock?"
"Let's not consider 'blood' for now. To be frank, the principle of this sacrifice is to build a 'connection' between him and me. No matter how things change, the essence remains the same. This connection is also a 'contract'!"
"Then the best solution should be this!!"
"I hope my inference is correct!!!"
In an instant, Sasuke, who had completed his analysis of Hidan and found the theoretically optimal solution, ran toward Hidan. He discarded the Kusanagi sword from his hand, remained calm despite the pain from his neck being severed, and pressed his palm firmly against Hidan's chest!
Contract Seal!
Crack!"
The contract between him and Hidan, established through the "Blood of Death," was unilaterally broken!
"Hiss, hiss!"
The darkness that only appeared on Hidan's body when he was in the sacrificial state disappeared rapidly!
"What's going on!?"
"Click!"
Hidan's head tilted off his neck, rolled out of the ritual circle, and came to a stop next to the safe he had thrown aside.
"Thud!"
Then, Hidan's headless body fell to the ground!
The bet paid off.
Sasuke sat on the ground, nearly exhausted, using the power of the White Curse Seal to heal the wound on his neck!
Hidan's face was pressed against the chest, his vision blocked, and his expression was grim: "Damn it, what the hell is this? It's blocking my vision, get this out of here!!!"
Although the Death God had been sealed by a blood contract, Hidan's immortal power was not invalidated. It was clear that the connection between him and the so-called "evil god" was greater than the "contract"!
"Whoosh!"
As his wounds healed, Sasuke's damaged throat also regained his voice.
He walked up to Hidan's head and said: "If you had used a sharp blade instead of a spike as the sacrifice, the head that fell to the ground would undoubtedly have been mine..."
"Ahhhhhhh, damn it! You heretics who blasphemed against the Evil God, I'll make sure you have a miserable death!!!"
Karin and Kabuto reached the ground at the same time.
Kabuto wiped the sweat from his forehead: "This life-or-death battle was so intense. I feel like my heart is going to stop!"
"It seems the battle has been decided…"
Orochimaru finally loosened his clenched fists. Although he remained calm, he was genuinely worried about Sasuke in his heart.
Fortunately, Sasuke won. Otherwise, if he wanted to resurrect Sasuke, not only would that cause problems, but it would also ruin the results of the first battle!
He left the forest, approached the severely injured and discouraged Kakuzu, and greeted him: "Kakuzu, how are you?"
Kakuzu's dark green pupils shone brightly: "Orochimaru, it seems that you're the one responsible for all this!!"
Orochimaru: "Maybe, but if your 'companion' hadn't been standing there watching, perhaps this wouldn't have been the result!"
Kakuzu: "You said they're here too!?"
"Look at the mountain, you'll find a surprise…"
Kakuzu shifted his gaze with difficulty and suddenly saw, in the valley lit by the twilight light, two figures in Akatsuki cloaks!
The unbearable past, mixed with the resentment that permeated it all, made Kakuzu, a veteran of almost 100 years, faint and lose his composure!
"Betrayal, another damn betrayal!!!"
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