[Bubbles? The Six-Tails Jinchūriki?]
Link halted his hand seals, brows arching slightly. Moments earlier, when Earth Flow Wall had collided with the violent Wind Release, he had his shadows evacuate the nearby civilians. Seeing Kakuzu so brazenly unleash a huge jutsu over Nikkō Shukuba posed quite a headache.
Unexpectedly, while planning for one outcome without success, an unplanned twist occurred: the Six-Tails Jinchūriki unexpectedly revealed himself.
Even if a Jinchūriki's actual combat level may vary, once they've mastered the Tailed Beast's power, large-scale jutsu and "map-wipe" abilities are absolutely top-tier.
A thick lightning bolt cut through the dust raised by the explosion with a "Zzzt—!"
"Graah!"
The earth dragon, which had used its wings to shield its master from the explosion's aftermath, let out a pained roar after being struck by the lightning.
So durable that not even Grass Swords could harm it, the place where Lightning Release: False Darkness hit was clearly melting.
Groaning in pain, the earth dragon dropped swiftly but managed to stop before crushing a house.
Lightning over Earth…
Link felt the pain signals constantly conveyed by his ninjutsu creation's consciousness, yet he forced it to keep going. He leapt to a nearby rooftop and released the technique.
Even if it was a variant, it remained a ninjutsu at its core and had to follow ninja art logic.
The instant he landed with a "Pff…!", black threads burst up from beneath the rooftop, trying to entangle him.
But things had changed. Thanks to gorging himself on potent drugs, Link's reflexes and bodily speed had soared to a terrifying degree; even his "Eight-Gates Shadows" couldn't match his base physique in hand-to-hand combat.
[Wow, you actually want to make direct contact with me, huh.]
Link unhesitatingly grab those black threads first.
"Boom!"
All around, the man plus four masked monsters fighting the shadows abruptly surged into random collisions: person with mask monster, mask monsters with each other, mask monsters with walls—slam after slam at point-blank range.
Compared to the standard jutsu, this mutated Body Pathway Derangement was merciless: forcibly controlling whichever body part it grabbed, without needing any kind of "electrical" transformation.
Evidently, the black threads were considered a single body along with Kakuzu and his masked creatures.
With just that brief slip, the mask creature that had spat out "Lightning Release: False Darkness" was abruptly shattered in half—its heart skewered by a kunai.
"…!"
Kakuzu decisively severed the black threads Link had hold of. The remaining three mask creatures quickly merged back into his body, forming a freakish four-headed shape. He raised a hardened palm to block a lethal blow from the Eight-Gates Shadows; though flung away, at that very instant, black threads flared from his whole body, skewering several surrounding shadows.
"Splooosh!"
One of the mask monsters representing Water Release opened its mouth, spewing a giant water blast. The torrent's force demolished an already ruined structure, sweeping debris and flooding an entire street.
This stuff is disgusting.
Link eyed the squirming black tendrils in his hand, frowning. They felt slick, wriggling worm-like. Truly unpleasant.
Yet once severed from the main body, the black threads quickly lost viability, curling in on themselves.
He pulled out a small scroll, sealed that piece of black thread inside it—something for Tsunade to study later.
"Graah—!"
The shattered Lightning mask monster, which had slumped on the ground, suddenly jerked upright with a simian roar, then gradually fell limp, its sounds shifting to pitiful whimpers.
"Oooh…ugh—"
At last it collapsed entirely, the black-thread imitation hand flopping into the water.
"Kakuzu, you're worthless!" Hidan, now reduced to a talking head, kept ranting, "What, letting this brat handle you so easily?!"
Though Hidan was the one more disgracefully dismembered by the shadows a moment ago, he had at least briefly clashed with Sasori earlier, so at least he felt justified sneering at his partner.
He was immortal; a foul mouth and not a single civil word was normal for him.
Kakuzu didn't have time to acknowledge his comrade's mockery. Stabilizing himself, he channeled chakra through his black threads to keep clearing away the shadows. Those that hid in the ground's shade and took on a 2D form could disrupt his masked creatures' jutsu. Worse, among them lurked "Eight-Gates Shadows" that threatened him further. Since their appearances were too similar, telling them apart mid-battle was quite troublesome—far better to wipe out every last shadow indiscriminately.
Link had no interest in Kakuzu's "chat" with the shadows. He turned aside, fixing his gaze on the man perched atop a collapsed building in the distance.
Yes, the profile, clothes, aura—matching precisely.
[Finally found you… The Six-Tails Jinchūriki.]
He held the pipe used to blow soap bubbles, his expression chilly. The loose, blue robe exposed half his chest. Alerted by Link's stare, he coolly turned his head.
"It seems lately you've been searching for me?" His voice, even colder, had a somewhat androgynous note.
Standing off to the side, Sasori had just pushed Hidan back again. He refrained from further attacks, having replaced his broken arm, now silently monitoring everything. He hadn't wanted Link killed, so he'd intervened. However, by now this kid's growth speed was too astonishing.
In just this short time, he can casually handle Kakuzu's close-range ambush…
If pressed into close quarters, Sasori himself was uncertain he could defeat Link. It was insane someone who'd been a mere Chūnin hunted by Orochimaru two years prior could improve so fast that "Kage-tier" Kakuzu was no match.
Yes, teaming up with him was the right call… Sasori thought quietly.
"That's right," Link replied. "I need you—or rather, the power of the Six-Tails, Saiken."
"Yet another one who covets the Tailed Beast's strength…?"
Utakata murmured, glancing at Link somewhat helplessly. "Go. I don't want to kill you."
He'd witnessed the boy using those bizarre shadows to rescue innocents mid-combat. So for him, at least, Link was a power-seeker he didn't dislike.
"Leave that one to me," he said, raising his bubble pipe at Kakuzu. A heartless rogue ninja heedless of collateral damage deserved to die.
"You really are taking him lightly, Kakuzu! Some short-stuff brat, plus a prissy girly boy, hahaha— Urk!"
Hidan's words died in mid-sentence, another shadow punching him in the mouth.
"Smash his teeth; cut out his tongue," Link said icily, deliberately letting Hidan see his imminent fate. Taking a breath, he rolled his shoulders. "Time to end this farce."
"Utakata, we'll discuss our business later."
With that, Link's body vanished in an instant.
~~~
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