Chapter 158: The First Clash: Eagle vs. Akatsuki
"Yo! Looks like I caught up just in time."
The sudden, casual remark sliced through the tension in the forest clearing. Both the wounded Konoha shinobi and their Akatsuki pursuer froze, their attention snapping to the newcomer perched effortlessly on the hilt of the massive sword embedded in a tree.
Kakuzu slowly straightened, his multiple eyes narrowing as he assessed the interloper. The distinctive blade and the man's demeanor sparked recognition. "You... you are one of the Eagle team," he growled, his voice a low, gravelly threat. "Our organization has no current quarrel with yours. Explain this provocation."
Suigetsu, the newcomer, simply shrugged, a playful grin on his face. "Eh, you'd have to ask the boss about the 'why.' I'm just the muscle. I follow orders."
"Hmph. Uchiha Ren's orders?" Kakuzu's tone was icy. "I have no desire for an unnecessary conflict. Leave now, and I will consider this... interruption... forgotten."
"Tempting, but I'll have to pass," Suigetsu replied, his grin not fading. He hopped down from the sword, landing lightly and yanking the blade free from the trunk with a practiced ease that belied its size. He rested it on his shoulder. "The boss was pretty clear: keep you busy. If I wimp out now, that red-headed witch Karin will never let me hear the end of it. And the boss... well, let's just say he has a low tolerance for disobedience. So, sorry, but I'm staying."
"So, Uchiha Ren actively seeks to make an enemy of Akatsuki?" Kakuzu's patience, thin at the best of times, evaporated. "I offered a peaceful resolution. You chose death. Very well. Let me test the mettle of the team that dares to challenge one of the great villages!"
As a shadow-level powerhouse who had survived an assassination attempt on the First Hokage, Kakuzu possessed a deep-seated arrogance. His initial concession was strategic, not born of fear. This defiance was an insult.
He was about to utter another threat when Suigetsu vanished in a flicker of movement. He reappeared directly in front of Kakuzu, the decapitation sword already a silver blur arcing toward the Akatsuki member's neck. Kakuzu barely had time to raise a hardened forearm, the clash of steel against flesh echoing with a sharp *clang*.
"You talk too much," Suigetsu sneered, pressing down with his sword. "If you want to fight, then fight!"
"Insolent brat!" Kakuzu snarled. With a grotesque tearing sound, one of his arms detached at the shoulder, connected by a thick web of black threads, and shot forward like a projectile to grab at Suigetsu's face.
"Whoa! An extending arm? That's a new one!" Suigetsu exclaimed, leaping back and parrying the grasping hand with his sword. "The boss was right, you Akatsuki guys are a bunch of freaks!"
Kakuzu responded by detaching his other arm. The two limbs, controlled by the intricate network of threads, launched a coordinated assault from different angles. Simultaneously, more black threads sprayed from the stumps of his shoulders, weaving a net meant to ensnare the swordsman.
"Disgusting!" Suigetsu muttered, his body becoming a fluid blur as he weaved between the grasping threads and slashing arms. His hydrification technique allowed the physical attacks to pass through him harmlessly, but the sheer volume of threads was overwhelming. For a moment, several thick cords wrapped around his limbs, solidifying.
"The Hydrification Technique of the Hōzuki clan," Kakuzu acknowledged, a hint of clinical interest in his voice as he retracted his arms. "It seems ordinary physical attacks are futile. Then, it is time I stopped playing games." He gripped the collar of his Akatsuki cloak and tore it away, revealing a torso crisscrossed with thick, black sutures. On his back, four grotesque, colored masks were stitched into his flesh. "Since you represent the Eagle, I will not hold back. I will eradicate you swiftly!"
The sutures on his body began to strain and split open with a sickening sound. The four masks on his back peeled away, each one pulling a monstrous, formless entity composed of swirling black threads out of his body. The entities solidified into four distinct, monstrous shapes, each radiating a palpable and different elemental chakra nature—fire, wind, lightning, and water. The air grew heavy with their malevolent pressure.
***
"Shikamaru, what's happening? Who is that?" Choji asked, having spat the red pill back into its container. The sudden intervention had given them a precious moment to breathe.
"I don't know," Shikamaru admitted, his mind racing through the possibilities. The headache of the situation was immense, but a sliver of hope appeared. "But his target is clearly the Akatsuki member. This is a distraction we desperately needed. While they're occupied, we have to move. Now."
"But... what about him?" Choji argued, his inherent kindness warring with his sense of self-preservation. "He helped us. Isn't it wrong to just abandon him?"
"We can't afford to be sentimental!" Shikamaru hissed, his voice tight with stress. "Our only priority is getting Asuma-sensei to safety! You and Ino take him and go! I'll stay behind to—"
But before he could finish his sentence, the air itself seemed to vibrate with the release of Kakuzu's terrifying chakra. The four monsters were fully formed, their inhuman gazes sweeping the area. The brief window of escape was slamming shut. The forest, once a site of their desperate retreat, had now become an arena for a clash between two formidable powers, and the fate of Konoha's Tenth Squad hung precariously in the balance.
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