Chapter 560: Killing Move
Blunt attacks could not damage the flexible tentacles. No matter how strong the explosive power of Sakura's Nintaijutsu was, it would be useless if the force could not land on a solid target.
Kakuzu, who had taken a direct hit from the Star Cannon Hammer, knew this very well.
Therefore, even if Sakura used the Body Flicker to get close to him, he remained entirely fearless.
But...
Who stipulated that Haruno Sakura had to use her fists to hit people?
"Nintaijutsu: Sword Drawing Slash!"
The girl grabbed the giant ice horn deeply inserted into the ground, which was completely disproportionate to her body size.
The ice horn, over forty meters long, made Sakura's figure look incredibly tiny. The scene of her grabbing the ice horn was as ridiculous as a baby trying to wield a hundred-pound Green Dragon Crescent Blade.
However, when the tens of tons of ice horn was swung by the girl as if it weighed nothing, and when the forty-meter-long ice sword was raised by her to slash at the enemy, the scene was no longer ridiculous, but horrifying and terrifying.
Kakuzu's expression changed slightly.
"Hah!" she shouted explosively!
Using the earth as a scabbard and the ice horn as a sharp sword.
Haruno Sakura executed an earth-shattering Sword Drawing Slash!
If Yugao's Iai Slash released an instantaneous power sufficient to cut iron and snap steel, approaching the limits of ordinary humans;
Then Haruno Sakura's Sword Drawing Slash was a power that only a true giant could unleash. The momentum of this slash could even sever mountains!
Whoosh—
The giant horn underwent shape transformation in her hands, becoming thinner and sharper, opening up an edge. The place where Sakura held it transformed into a hilt, extending a handguard.
It turned into a giant forty-meter-long ice blade.
Dragging a bottomless trail on the ground, it slashed towards the enemy in front of her with the thunderous momentum of toppling mountains and overturning seas!
Kakuzu's murky yellow eyes instantly shrank to a point.
"Crap...!"
The huge blade enveloped his entire body within its attack range!
If this slash connected solidly, he feared the entire Earth Grudge Fear would be cut in two!
Kakuzu's figure rapidly retreated, but this was a futile effort. With the opponent's movements being so fast, how could he possibly dodge it?
Connecting a Taijutsu attack immediately after the Body Flicker, the girl in the Sakura Dash state executed it faster than the blink of an eye!
Having said so much, in reality, from Haruno Sakura using Body Flicker to reach the ice horn, to her executing the Sword Drawing Slash at Kakuzu, not even a tenth of a second had passed...
And after this instant, the cold edge of the ice sword had already approached Kakuzu's main tentacle body.
Swish—
As a Kage-level opponent, Kakuzu's reaction speed was absolutely not slow. In a mere thought, countless black tentacles frantically surged forward, rushing towards the giant ice sword, attempting to use their own bodies to intercept the edge of the Sword Drawing Slash.
Then, Kakuzu's remaining three mask monsters and his main body simultaneously cast the fastest-sealing ninjutsu, attempting to block the ice sword!
"Wind Release: Wind Cutter!" "Fire Release: Small Flame Bullet!" "Lightning Release: Lightning Ball!" "Earth Release: Rock Pillar Spear!"
Boom—!
The ice sword crashed head-on into Kakuzu's main body, emitting a deafening roar and stirring up a sky full of flying dust!
Crack, crack.
Even though the resilience of the ice sword in Sakura's hands had been strengthened by chakra, it was only a temporary enhancement after all. Swung out with Monstrous Strength like this, it ultimately shattered into pieces of ice dregs, leaving only the empty hilt in her hand.
The dust obstructing the vision quickly dispersed, revealing Kakuzu's thoroughly battered figure.
"You've been beaten quite miserably..." Sakura sneered and said.
Shattered Earth Release rock pillars, messy Wind Release cut marks, scorched Fire Release burn spots, and tree-like Lightning Release electrical patterns entered her sight.
In front of Sakura, the tentacle monster that was previously tens of meters large now looked like a plucked phoenix, leaving only a core section of less than a few meters.
Most of the tentacles, having been used by Kakuzu to intercept this strike, had been cut in two by the ice sword and lay limply scattered on the ground, forming a thick layer.
And the giant mask monsters floating in the air just now had all shrunk significantly in size, lying listlessly on Kakuzu's shoulders, one on the left and one on the right.
Yes, one on the left and one on the right, only two left...
Sakura saw clearly that the mask monster that used Lightning Release, along with the mask and the chakra source behind the mask, had been completely chopped in half in her strike, collapsing lifelessly on the ground!
Thus, the severed tentacle limbs that already covered the ground had another thick layer added on top of them...
"It seems that as long as I take down you and the remaining two masks at the same time, you'll be completely dead, right?"
The girl's clear and cold voice said, biting killing intent overflowing from her lips and teeth.
Her chakra was running low. The ninjutsu and Sword Drawing Slash just now had consumed a massive amount of stamina, and next she might have to deal with that guy named Hidan who was also unkillable...
So, let's use Taijutsu.
The opponent was similarly in poor condition. Therefore, relying solely on Taijutsu was enough. As for other large-scale ninjutsu, she should save them if she could!
In her hands, two crystal-clear ice blades condensed.
Pushing the Ice Release nature transformation to the extreme under extremely low temperatures, the hardness of the ice blades was inherently extremely high, even reaching around 8 on the Mohs scale. And after being enhanced by the Kekkei Genkai chakra, their hardness was even comparable to diamonds!
Those indifferent, emotionless emerald eyes cast an icy gaze at the listless and weak Kakuzu not far away.
She couldn't give him a chance to catch his breath.
"I'll finish you off right now." Her thin lips parted slightly as she said softly.
Her body leaned forward slightly, her feet pressing into the ground, ready to exert force—
Snap!
But her foot suddenly stepped into empty space!
Kakuzu's black tentacles, at some unknown time, had tunneled through underground routes right beneath her. They hollowed out the ground beneath her and frantically coiled upwards from under her feet!
Unexpectedly... Kakuzu, having been forced to such a state, could still spare the effort to launch a sneak attack against her!
Was it at the instant she appeared using Body Flicker that he extended his tentacles into the soil, intending to ambush her from underground?
Haruno Sakura immediately realized this. The combat awareness of a Kage-level powerhouse truly couldn't be underestimated...
And at this time, the tough, long tentacle threads rapidly extended from beneath Sakura's feet, probing up from her ankles, winding around her calves and thighs, bypassing her hips, wrapping around her waist and chest—her chest instantly swelled a full circle—as well as her arms. The crazily growing fine black threads quickly bound the girl's body tightly!
"Hmph..." the girl scoffed with a snort, "Petty tricks!"
"Ice Release: Frost Armor!"
Before her hands were bound by the tentacles, Sakura had already completed her hand seals and cast her ninjutsu.
After conversing with Sasuke that day, she had a sudden flash of inspiration. By further upgrading and modifying her Ice Release Armor, she had derived her current ninjutsu.
To pursue convenience and flexibility of movement, she further reduced the protective area of the Ice Release Armor, limiting the ice armor strictly to her vital spots. This wasn't enough to rescue her from the tentacle binding.
However, the Ice Release nature transformation accompanying the Frost Armor was the key... That bone-chilling coldness transmitted through the armor to the tentacles, freezing them stiff, solid, and even brittle in less than a second. The originally incredibly tough tentacles that had squeezed her skin raw now merely needed a gentle touch to shatter all over the floor.
Crack! Under the extremely low temperature, even the previously incomparably tough tentacles became as hard and brittle as glass!
This move of Kakuzu's was just wasting his scarce remaining tentacles.
This move, aside from disgusting her and making her feel unnerved, uncomfortable, and covered in goosebumps, had absolutely no meaning at all...
At his wit's end?
He didn't even take the opportunity to attack me? she thought in her heart, while lifting her head, focusing her gaze in Kakuzu's direction.
Only to find that Kakuzu's figure...
Had vanished without a trace!