"This is getting annoying!"
Kiyosuke's voice rang out with unshakable confidence as his body reformed. He scratched his head in frustration and said:
"Fighting you guys really is a hassle. As expected of the Akatsuki. But right now, I don't have the time to keep playing with you."
Sensing Kakashi leading his team farther away, Kiyosuke chuckled.
"Guess I'll end this with one move."
"Don't tell me he's planning…!" Kisame's already narrow pupils shrank further. His voice dropped, tense and heavy.
"Stop him, now!"
"Lightning Style: False Darkness!"
Kakuzu unleashed a surge of lightning across the water, not caring whether his allies were still standing there. But Kiyosuke's form ignited into flames—lightning couldn't bind him. He moved freely within the storm of electricity.
Flames roared skyward, forcing Kisame to dive into the water while Itachi and Kakuzu fell back together.
"Tch. Fighting alongside you is unbearable," Kakuzu muttered, recalling his masked hearts. They were useless in this situation, and worse, they might even hinder him.
"He's no ordinary shinobi," Itachi said, his Sharingan scanning the inferno. "Far more dangerous than Orochimaru. His flames are saturated with chakra. They're his body itself. Unless we wipe out all of it in one go, killing him is impossible."
But how could that be done?
At that moment, a hand suddenly appeared before Kakuzu, clamping tightly around his throat.
"What—!?"
The abruptness left Kakuzu stunned. His breath caught as the grip tightened.
Kiyosuke materialized, smirking.
"You thought you could hold me here with that little strength? You're underestimating me. Don't think living for decades makes you impressive. So you fought Hashirama Senju? Big deal. Back then, assassination attempts came by the dozen every day. If a shuriken flew in from eight hundred miles away, you'd call it a battle and brag for decades? Pathetic."
"Damn you!! Die!"
Enraged, Kakuzu lashed out. Black threads burst from his arms, abdomen, and mouth, skewering Kiyosuke's body. But nothing happened. Instead, Kiyosuke's flames spread across the threads, burning them to ash and releasing a foul stench.
Splash!
Kisame burst from the water, swinging Samehada down. At the same time, Itachi attacked from the other side with a kunai strike.
Kiyosuke whispered softly.
"Die."
BOOM!!!!
Flames erupted, a deafening explosion shaking the earth. Even from afar, Kakashi and his team turned to see the towering pillar of fire.
"It's over," Kakashi said. "Let's wait a moment."
Sure enough, not long after, Kiyosuke strolled back unscathed, as if nothing had happened.
"Let's go."
"It's finished?"
"Yeah."
"Then let's move."
"Kiyosuke-san," Naruto asked anxiously, "did you kill Itachi?"
If Itachi had died by Kiyosuke's hand, what would happen to Sasuke?
Seeing Naruto's worry, Kiyosuke smiled.
"Don't worry. That was only a clone. The one who died wasn't him. The real Itachi is somewhere else."
"Another person's body? There's a technique that lets you project your true self onto others?" Shino adjusted his sunglasses, curiosity piqued.
"The world's a big place, full of strange things. Enough chatter—Gaara's in grave danger right now. We move."
...
At that moment, in one of Akatsuki's temporary hideouts in the Land of Rivers.
Gaara writhed in agony as the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path extracted Shukaku's chakra from his body. Upon its ten fingers, aside from Deidara and Sasori, seven other phantoms appeared.
Itachi's projection spoke.
"The mission failed."
Pain, the leader, replied calmly.
"The opponent was Kiyosuke. Failure is understandable. Hurry. Extract Shukaku's chakra before they arrive."
If Kiyosuke showed up, Deidara and Sasori would stand no chance.
"That guy… Next time, I'll kill him for sure!"
Kakuzu seethed, Kiyosuke's mocking words gnawing at him like a thorn. His proudest memory was surviving an encounter with Hashirama, yet in Kiyosuke's mouth, it was nothing but cowardly boasting. He would never forgive it.
"Still terrifying as ever," Kisame muttered. "One second he's standing there, the next—boom. Doesn't even give you time to react."
Their vessels—bodies filled with chakra and consciousness—had all been incinerated in an instant. That was the worst part of fighting Kiyosuke. He was a walking powder keg. At any moment, he could blow himself up and take you with him. The most infuriating part was that when he exploded, you died—while he walked away unharmed.
And the guy had an absurd amount of chakra to keep doing it.
He was a monster.
"All of them… my puppets… gone?" Sasori's raspy voice was laced with malice.
The bodies Itachi and the others used had been Sasori's hidden pieces inside Sunagakure—valuable assets. Losing them was like bleeding from the heart.
"No one survives against Kiyosuke," Kisame shook his head. "We barely had a chance to stall him."
Pain spoke.
"Sasori, I know you grieve for your losses. But for the sake of our grand plan, such sacrifices are necessary."
"Your plan," Sasori retorted coldly. "I'm not interested. I'll stay right here and wait for Asakawa Kiyosuke. Let's see what he can do to me."
"He'll burn you to ash," Hidan said with morbid glee, his eyes shining fanatically.
"Speaking of which, it was because of him that Jashinism fell into decline. Lord Jashin will definitely relish this heretic. Once I capture him, I'll make him suffer the most exquisite torment. Lord Jashin will be delighted!"
"No one cares about your cult, Hidan," Kakuzu snapped. "His head is worth a fortune. An obscene fortune."
"There are very few shinobi alive who can stand against Asakawa Kiyosuke," Itachi said quietly.
"Killing him would demand a price too great for us to afford."
"Finish the task quickly," Pain ordered. "Once Shukaku is sealed, withdraw. If Kiyosuke arrives, you'll be in grave danger."
"Then let him taste my art," Deidara sneered.
Sasori shot him a sidelong glance.
"Art? Don't forget, when we chased Orochimaru, it was Kiyosuke's explosions that drove us away. Compared to him, your 'art' looks like child's play."