"Their aura is even stronger than elite jonin!"
Sensing the overwhelming presence radiating from the three masked monsters, Fugaku Uchiha's expression grew serious.
One Kakuzu was already tough enough, but with three more creatures each possessing at least elite kage-level strength, the battle would become even more challenging.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"
Kakuzu's body emanated a fierce killing intent as he quickly formed hand seals and launched an attack at Fugaku.
From his mouth, a massive water dragon roared fiercely, snapping its jaws as it lunged toward Fugaku.
Whoosh—
Fugaku swiftly dodged, leaping away to avoid the snapping water dragon.
The water dragon crashed into the ground, creating a huge crater on impact.
At that moment, one of the masked monsters appeared above Fugaku's head.
"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"
The flying masked creature opened its mouth, releasing a spear-like bolt of lightning that extended rapidly toward Fugaku.
Crack, crack, crack—
A thick cluster of trees was sliced through by the lightning spear, as if cut by a razor-sharp blade.
The cuts were clean and smooth, but the edges were unnaturally charred and blackened.
Fugaku quickly dodged again, narrowly avoiding the razor-sharp lightning spear.
Before he could catch his breath, another masked monster appeared at a diagonal angle above him.
"Wind Release: Crushing Gale!"
From the monster's mouth, a swirling ball-shaped tempest rapidly expanded, crashing toward Fugaku.
The gale covered a vast area with tremendous force.
Trees, earth, rocks—
Everything was shredded and blown away.
With an attack of such scale, even Fugaku's speed couldn't evade it.
"Fire Release: Great Flame Blaze!"
Refusing to dodge, Fugaku formed hand seals.
A massive wave of flames erupted from him like a roaring sea, surging forward to counter the incoming gale.
Boom—
The crushing gale was stopped just short of Fugaku by the raging fire.
But the danger wasn't over yet.
As Fugaku paused to defend against the wind attack, another masked monster appeared behind him, mouth wide open.
"Fire Release: Head Engraving!"
Similar to the earlier fire jutsu he had used, a torrent of fiery waves poured from the sky, relentlessly attacking him.
With no way to dodge or counter, Fugaku found himself in a perilous position.
"Even if you've reached jonin level, today you'll die here!"
From the viewpoint of the masked monsters, Kakuzu could clearly see Fugaku.
His green eyes were cold and eerie, and a cruel smile curled at the corners of his mouth.
Whoosh—
Flames engulfed Fugaku just like they had Kakuzu before.
The fire wrapped around him in an all-consuming blaze.
Moments later, the flames died down.
The entire area burned by the fire was reduced to ash and charred earth.
Since this was not an illusion, the destruction was evident and real.
"Fugaku Uchiha has been defeated!"
Several hundred meters away, Yamanaka Kaze gasped silently as he watched Fugaku consumed by the fire.
The reversal had come so suddenly.
Kakuzu, once badly wounded, had suddenly recovered.
Not only that, but he had released three masked monsters from within his body to join the attack on Fugaku.
Under the combined assault of Kakuzu and the three powerful monsters, Fugaku was caught in the terrifying fire jutsu, and his prospects looked grim.
"No wonder he's rumored to possess kage-level strength as an S-rank rogue ninja!"
Kaze felt a strong sense of dread and tried to suppress his own chakra to avoid detection by Kakuzu.
Fugaku was no match for Kakuzu and neither was he.
If Kakuzu noticed him, his fate would be sealed.
"No, wait… what's that?"
Suddenly, Kaze's eyes widened in shock as he stared in disbelief at the spot where the flames had vanished.
There, a massive figure had appeared.
Composed of countless black bones, it stood seven or eight meters tall like the upper half of a towering monster over ten meters high.
Within the massive skeletal frame, a faint silhouette was visible Fugaku Uchiha himself.
Fugaku hadn't died.
Instead, he had survived by using some kind of jutsu to block Kakuzu's fire attack.
"What kind of… jutsu is that?"
Kakuzu eyed the black skeletal armor surrounding Fugaku with grave suspicion.
Fugaku's ability to withstand his fire jutsu was surprising but not entirely unexpected.
After all, Fugaku was a kage-level powerhouse with access to unique defensive techniques.
What truly unsettled Kakuzu was the immense danger radiating from the enormous black skeletal half-body.
It sent a chill down his spine, and he almost had the urge to turn and flee.
"I'm forced to use Susanoo…"
Blood tears welled from Fugaku's eyes as his gaze turned icy cold.
Susanoo the legendary ocular technique that only manifests when both Mangekyo Sharingan eyes are awakened.
A powerful defense and offense combined, but one that causes great damage to the user's eyes, even more so than the Tsukuyomi.
If possible, Fugaku preferred not to summon Susanoo.
But Kakuzu's strength had left him no choice.
"End this quickly!"
Susanoo's constant strain on his eyes meant he had to finish the fight fast.
He turned his gaze behind him to the masked monster that had just launched the fire jutsu.
Whoosh—
Susanoo's enormous hand shot upward, aiming to grab the flying masked monster.
Sensing Fugaku's move, Kakuzu quickly commanded the monsters to evade.
Still, Susanoo's speed was overwhelming.
Before the masked monster could dodge, Susanoo's iron-like hand snatched it firmly.
The monster struggled but was locked tight in Susanoo's grip completely immobilized.
"Fire Release: Head Engraving!"
Kakuzu reacted instantly, forcing the captured masked monster to unleash a fire jutsu, attempting to burn Susanoo's hand.
Unfortunately, Susanoo's hand remained unscathed despite the powerful flames.
Susanoo's strength balanced offense and defense perfectly its durability far beyond ordinary jutsu.
Crack—
Susanoo tightened its grip, crushing the masked monster's body as if it were made of paper.
Plop—
The monster's struggles ceased violently as its black tendril-like body dissolved into liquid.
Only the shattered mask fell to the ground.