"So the intel was right—Konoha's famous Silver Moon really is a foul-mouthed bastard."
As he spoke, the black threads on Kakuzu's left arm suddenly extended, linking back to the severed left hand Hoshiyomi had cut off earlier. With a sharp whoosh of retracting strings, the hand was drawn back and reattached to his body.
Flexing his restored arm, Kakuzu began brazenly setting death flags for himself:
"Not that it matters. After today, that mouth of yours won't be running anymore. A bounty worth five hundred million—I won't be passing that up."
Hoshiyomi, meanwhile, had been hesitating. After all, this guy was a canon character—a walking EXP packet for Naruto later on. Should he maybe spare him?
But seeing Kakuzu setting flags like that, if Hoshiyomi didn't take him down now, wouldn't that make him look bad?
"Since you're at least a named character in the original story, I'll give you a dignified death. Better that than living long enough to get ganged up on by kids."
Because he was certain Kakuzu wouldn't be leaving alive today, Hoshiyomi casually revealed what to anyone else would've been a massive spoiler.
Unfortunately, Kakuzu had no interest in such "classified intel." Knowing Hoshiyomi's power was overwhelming, he didn't waste words and instead unleashed his strongest form:
Secret Art: Earth Grudge Fear.
As he spoke, the black threads writhed madly. Four masked hearts floated out and arrayed themselves before him.
The Fire and Wind masks positioned themselves at his shoulders.
Above them, the Water and Lightning masks took their places.
Eight terrifying cords of black thread writhed around the quartet.
This was a form Kakuzu had never displayed in the original story—his true strongest state. With ninjutsu from all five elements at his disposal, combined with close-range domination by the black threads, he could fight effectively at any distance.
In the canon timeline, his overconfidence had cost him two hearts early on, so his performance never showed this level of terrifying strength. Had he started out like this, Kakashi and Ino–Shika–Cho would have been wiped out before they could say "GG."
Against them, this form was horrifying. But before Hoshiyomi? Not nearly enough.
Kakuzu noticed Hoshiyomi didn't dodge, didn't counterattack, didn't even look tense. Was this guy underestimating him? He was a man who had fought Hashirama, damn it! Why wasn't Hoshiyomi nervous at all?
Falling deeper into that dangerous mindset, Kakuzu snapped:
"If Wind and Fire weren't enough to stop you—what about adding Lightning?!"
As he spoke, three of the mask-hearts on his shoulders opened their mouths in unison:
"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"
"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"
"Fire Release: Intelligent Hard Work!"
Secret Art: Earth Grudge Fear — Final Shot!
Three different chakra natures surged out at once, twisting together into a terrifying spiraling chakra cannon that blasted straight toward Hoshiyomi.
Seeing the immense energy of the combined elemental barrage, Hoshiyomi finally allowed a serious look to cross his face. A fusion of three high-level ninjutsu like this wasn't something to take lightly.
But his answer?
When faced with a raging chakra cannon—
A real man charges straight through!
Watching Hoshiyomi stand his ground, ready to take his "Final Shot" head-on, Kakuzu's expression beneath the mask twisted into a confident, almost triumphant grin.
This Gekko Hoshiyomi really was still young and hot-blooded—he actually dared to face his Final Shot head-on. Until now, no one who had ever taken that attack directly had survived.
Five hundred million was already waving at him.
Just as Kakuzu was certain victory was his, Hoshiyomi instantly activated Nature Transformation: Nature. Blue-silver sparks of light surged all over his body, and a mysterious mark appeared on his forehead.
In his Perfect Sage Mode, Hoshiyomi gripped the Mikazuki Munechika with both hands and began slashing furiously. With every strike, waves of sword energy poured out like they cost nothing.
Instead of using a special chakra nature, Hoshiyomi channeled the most basic—Fire Release chakra, layered atop the two-tailed chakra sealed in the blade.
At a speed so fast it left afterimages, Hoshiyomi unleashed one crescent slash after another. In the mere second it took Kakuzu's Final Shot to close in, Hoshiyomi had already thrown out twenty-three arcs of flaming blue sword energy.
At first, the eerie blue flames clashed against the spinning chakra cannon and were overwhelmed. But as Hoshiyomi's slashes piled on, more and more energy stacked together, gradually eating away at the Final Shot's destructive force.
What had been surging toward Hoshiyomi suddenly slowed, then stalled in place.
Kakuzu's eyes widened in disbelief. Impossible! His strongest technique—his Final Shot—was actually being held back by nothing but repeated layers of sword energy?!
But the truly unbelievable part was still to come.
Because Hoshiyomi's assault wasn't over.
As the blue flame arcs and the cannon locked in deadlock, Hoshiyomi paused for just a fraction of a breath. He poured about one-tenth of his chakra directly into the blade itself.
The amount was so massive that even the two-tailed chakra sealed in Mikazuki Munechika began to tremble violently.
Vrrrmm!
Then Hoshiyomi unleashed one final strike—a massive slash two meters long and half a meter wide, carrying the momentum to annihilate everything in its path.
The colossal blade of energy crashed into the stalemate, then, with irresistible force, drove the Final Shot backward.
Both attacks had reached their limits. After being forced back several meters, the clashing powers finally detonated.
The explosion was so overwhelming that even Kakuzu, the caster himself, had to shield his body with writhing black threads. Shock nearly drowned his mind—never in his wildest dreams had he imagined his Final Shot would be pushed back at him!
Even with Earth Grudge Fear threads shielding him, the leftover force tore into his body. His thread-wrapped wounds split open again, leaving him battered.
When the smoke finally cleared, Kakuzu exhaled deeply, his protective threads tattered and shredded.
But the moment he relaxed them, dread shot through him—because three blades of light flashed before his eyes.
This combo—Pseudo Phantom Sword Dance + Secret Technique: Swallow Reversal.
From left, right, and above—three perfect, seamless strikes with no blind spots. The slashes shattered the Fire, Wind, and Lightning masks all at once.
At the same time, Hoshiyomi's mocking voice echoed:
"Afraid I wouldn't hit them? So you went and lined up three hearts nice and neat for me? I've never seen anyone fight like that in my life."