Jūzō noted the green-haired kid was no longer by the man's side.
She must have been hidden away.
At the moment, capturing the Tailed Beast was indeed their top priority.
However, looking at Kakuzu, it seemed the man was really just full of hot air.
It made sense.
In the shinobi world, besides Uchiha Madara, how could anyone else possibly rival the God of Shinobi, Senju Hashirama?
Hashirama's legendary name had endured until now and would surely persist for centuries to come.
As for Kakuzu, Jūzō had never even heard of him before joining the Akatsuki.
As fellow members of the same organization, he naturally wouldn't go out of his way to expose Kakuzu's boasting.
Ryōsuke watched the three men before him as he slowly activated his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
His eyes, glowing with a crimson light, stared directly at the trio.
The pressure they felt was suffocating.
They looked at the intricate patterns within his eyes.
It was clearly far more advanced than a standard three-tomoe Sharingan.
Kisame demanded an answer.
"Who exactly are you to the Uchiha clan?"
He had never heard of anyone outside the Uchiha clan awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan.
As for Uchiha Madara, he obviously possessed it.
Ryōsuke chuckled at the question.
"Who told you this was a Mangekyō Sharingan? These eyes are the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan."
The trio's expressions turned grim upon hearing that.
They had never heard the term 'Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan' before.
However, the word 'Eternal' gave them an ominous feeling.
It was clearly a higher stage of the Mangekyō.
Just as the Mangekyō was a step above the standard Sharingan.
Even Jūzō and Kakuzu were starting to wonder. This man possessed eyes that no living Uchiha had; could he really be Uchiha Madara?
After a moment of thought, they regained their composure. It didn't matter who he was anymore; anyone standing in their way had to be eliminated.
Kakuzu's killing intent flared even higher.
He clasped his hands together, and the arms on his sides detached from his body as two masked monsters emerged from his shoulders.
"Composite Ninja Art: Fire-Wind Raging Wave!"
A massive torrent of flames and a high-pressure wind sphere erupted from the monsters' mouths, surging toward the white-masked man in black.
Kakuzu saw that his opponent didn't even try to dodge. He simply stood there with a cruel smile on his face.
'He's asking for death. Does he think these are just two ordinary A-rank jutsu?'
No, this was an S-rank level attack.
Suddenly, a thunderous boom echoed.
The high-pressure wind sphere exploded, fueling the flames into a raging inferno that turned the ground into a sea of fire.
Jūzō was genuinely surprised by the scale of the attack.
Kakuzu actually had some skill; combining jutsu like that increased their power exponentially.
The fire burned brighter and more fiercely with the wind's help.
The wind, in turn, carried the searing heat of the flames.
This was several levels above simply adding two jutsu together.
It was easily on par with an S-rank technique.
Yet, the white-masked man hadn't even flinched.
Was he really killed that easily, swallowed by the sea of flames?
Moments later, a massive skeletal frame made of chakra materialized within the inferno.
Then, the man calmly stepped out of the fire, shielded within the structure.
The trio stared at the skeleton with grim faces.
This had to be the Susanoo, an ability unique to the Uchiha's Mangekyō Sharingan.
It was their first time seeing it in person. They hadn't expected its defensive power to be high enough to shrug off an S-rank jutsu.
Ryōsuke noted that even the basic skeletal form provided incredible defense, easily blocking Kakuzu's near S-rank technique.
He looked at the three men.
"It's only polite to return the favor."
"Now, try my Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu."
He clasped his hands, and a colossal fireball erupted from his mouth.
The sphere of fire was as massive as a mountain.
The sheer heat was overwhelming, and the orange glow illuminated the entire landscape.
The trio watched in horror as the mountain-sized fireball bore down on them.
Jūzō's face turned pale.
"Are you kidding me? What kind of Fireball Jutsu is that? It's terrifying!"
How could a single person manifest a fireball of this magnitude?
Its power was clearly tied to the sheer quantity and quality of his chakra.
Tailed Beasts, for instance, didn't just have more chakra; their chakra was of a higher quality.
That was why they could fire Tailed Beast Bombs that leveled mountains.
Yet the shock this fireball gave them surpassed even a Tailed Beast Bomb, simply because its physical scale was on a completely different level.
If that fireball exploded, they would be incinerated in seconds.
Kisame watched the incoming attack with equal gravity.
Fortunately, there was a river nearby formed by a waterfall. He could use it to boost the power of his Water Style.
"Jūzō, get to the river! We'll use Water Style together!"
Jūzō snapped out of it. It was a matter of life and death. In an instant, both had reached the riverbank and began forming hand signs.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
As they kneaded their chakra, the river water surged, swirling into two massive dragons that roared toward the incoming mountain of fire.
The two water dragons clashed with the aerial fireball.
Even though these dragons were much larger than a standard Water Dragon Bullet, they still looked small compared to the massive fireball.
The stalemate lasted only a few seconds before the water dragons began to give way.
Their heads were instantly vaporized by the intense heat.
The fireball continued its descent toward the trio.
Kisame and Jūzō were paralyzed with fear.
The temperature of the flames was absurd. Normally, Water Style held a natural advantage over Fire Style.
Even if the fireball was larger, their elemental advantage combined with the river's resources should have been enough to stop it.
The fact that it didn't meant the opponent's jutsu was simply too powerful to be extinguished.
Panic set in.
Kakuzu, who had assumed the two could handle it, finally lost his cool.
He also rushed to the riverbank as another masked monster emerged from his body.
"Water Style: Water Trumpet!"
A powerful jet of water shot from the monster toward the fireball.
With the combined effort of all three, they finally managed to hold the fire at bay.
The fireball began to shrink.
Relief finally flickered across their faces.
It looked like they wouldn't be roasted alive after all.
But their relief was short-lived.
Just as the fireball was nearly extinguished, the river ran dry.
Without the water to buffer it, the remaining flames surged toward them.
At the very last moment, Kisame slammed his palms onto the ground.
"Earth Style: Mud Wall!"
A thick stone wall rose in front of them, blocking the final remnants of the fire.