chapter 68 part 1
Chapter 68: Uchiha Ren vs. Kakuzu
"Fire, Wind, Earth, Water..."
"Aside from Lightning Release, this guy has used ninjutsu of four different Chakra natures on me. His Chakra reserves are also astonishingly large."
"If what you said is true, that he has five hearts..."
"This is really tricky!"
Kakashi and Uchiha Ren whispered to each other, plotting. Opposite them, Kakuzu didn't seem to be in a hurry to take them down, looking completely confident.
"No, Kakashi-sensei. Under the gaze of these eyes, I saw that he also has lightning-nature Chakra transformations. No! That's not right! His Lightning Release is the most vicious!" Uchiha Ren attributed the source of his intel entirely to his two-tomoe Sharingan with its scorpion-tail tomoe.
Kakashi had no reason to doubt him; on the contrary, he felt a little guilty.
He glanced at Uchiha Ren's large, pitch-black, scaled tail, his heart filled with apology.
In Kakashi's view, this was all that bastard Orochimaru's fault. It was also because of his own negligence that Uchiha Ren had to face the Sannin Orochimaru alone, getting modified into such a monstrous form.
Kakashi sighed, thinking to himself: 'This kid is exceptionally talented, but because of the strain from the Cursed Seal of Heaven, he's bound to die young... It's all my fault.'
"Hey! Kakashi-sensei!" Uchiha Ren interrupted Kakashi's thoughts. "Stop saving Chakra! Use the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu, and we'll escape separately! Find a way to get back to the Land of Lightning!"
"Getting to the Land of Lightning might not be a good thing," Kakashi replied anxiously.
"A diplomatic incident is better than being killed directly by someone from the Akatsuki! Don't hesitate! Our only option is to run!"
As he spoke, his ukaku wings flapped, and his entire body flew towards the sky.
Seeing this, Kakashi's expression was moved!
If Uchiha Ren had just spread his wings and fled for his life a moment ago, he probably would have already escaped.
But he turned back to say all this...
Was it all just for the life of his teacher?
Kakashi didn't dare hesitate any longer. He pulled up his face covering and pressed his palms together.
"Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Kakashi's Chakra was nowhere near as vast as Naruto Uzumaki's. His Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu only managed to produce a little over thirty clones.
Fortunately, the individual speed of these shadow clones was extremely fast. They all leaped from their spots at once, scattering and fleeing in all directions!
In the sky, the flying Ren saw Kakashi's clones begin to scatter and sighed in relief.
With Kakashi's strength and the detailed intel on Kakuzu, as long as he didn't face Kakuzu head-on, his chances of survival were very high.
"This mission has been such bad luck. Every enemy we've met is more ruthless than the last."
Just as Uchiha Ren thought he was about to escape danger...
Suddenly, his pupils constricted, and his heart skipped a beat.
Deep in the forest, a fast-moving, black, thread-like monster was rushing straight in his direction.
This was one of the monsters separated from Kakuzu's body in his Earth Grudge Fear mode!
Its threads flowed smoothly and bizarrely. The face on its Mask was cruel and merciless. The wings on its back flapped into a blur, making it as fast as a ghost from a horror movie.
Aided by his Sharingan, Uchiha Ren saw the color of this monster's Mask!
Blue!
This was the Earth Grudge Fear monster that represented Wind Release!
The Earth Grudge Fear monster, carrying the power of Wind, was extremely fast. In the blink of an eye, it caught up to the flying Uchiha Ren!
Uchiha Ren knew Kakuzu's monsters could fly, but he didn't know this thing could fly *so* fast.
Feeling the gale approaching from behind, Uchiha Ren immediately tried to form Hand Seals, but he was a step too slow!
The monster separated from the Earth Grudge Fear didn't need Hand Seals at all. It opened its mouth, and a Wind Release jutsu shot out.
With a whoosh, a violent Wind swept past. Uchiha Ren's posture was thrown into disarray by the Wind Release: Pressure Damage jutsu.
He plummeted towards the ground.
In the instant before impact, Uchiha Ren forcibly adjusted his posture, his hands quickly forming Hand Seals.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
A pillar of water steadied Uchiha Ren's body, reducing the force of his fall.
He had just gotten to his feet when he took a deep breath and spat a fireball at the monster in the sky!
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"
A ball of scorching flame gathered and took shape under Uchiha Ren's control.
But just then, the monster in the sky opened its mouth and spat out a fierce gust of Wind!
This Wind was incredibly powerful, directly blowing apart the formed Great Fireball. The flames were scattered in all directions, completely unable to maintain their original shape!
As the saying goes, Wind can aid fire, but in this situation, the power of the Wind was too immense. The flames of the Great Fireball Technique couldn't converge in the gale, let alone hit the target.
It was as difficult as trying to light a cigarette in a gale with a lighter that wasn't windproof!
Uchiha Ren reacted quickly, immediately trying a new method of attack.
The feathers on his ukaku wings shimmered with a cold light. Aided by his Sharingan, he fired them straight up.
Black feathers streaked through the air. They glinted with a sharp, cold light under the sun, like black arrows aimed directly at the monster in the sky!
"Whoosh~!"
The gale howled!
But the feather attack was faster and more powerful, not something a wide-area ninjutsu like the Great Fireball could compare to.
Some of the feathers successfully pierced through the gale's obstruction and struck the monster's body.
They left momentary holes in the monster's body!
However, the body structure of these Earth Grudge Fear thread monsters was exceptionally peculiar. It was composed of countless black threads. After being attacked, these threads rapidly rewove themselves, filling the damage caused by the feathers!
Within a second, the holes were filled again by the black threads. The body of the Earth Grudge Fear's Wind monster returned to its original state, as if it had never been injured.
"Rumble—"
In the distance, Fire Release: Searing Migraine covered an entire section of the forest!
The red-Masked Earth Grudge Fear Fire monster leaped across the treetops, searching for Kakashi!
Seeing this, Uchiha Ren's heart filled with anxiety!
Kakuzu could split into five monsters with different Chakra natures. This was just one of them, and it was already so hard to deal with. If another one showed up, he would surely die!
He had to take down the flying Earth Grudge Fear Wind monster as quickly as possible.
"You're a monster, but I'm no pushover either!"
Uchiha Ren's entire body was covered by the markings of the second stage of the Heaven Cursed Seal. These marks flickered with an ominous red light on his skin, as if flames were burning in his veins.
His bikaku tail and ukaku wings were also mutating under the activation of the second stage Cursed Seal. Coupled with the activation of his Gene Lock, Uchiha Ren reached his peak physical combat power!
The Wind Spirit Earth Grudge Fear monster sensed the threat from Uchiha Ren. It let out a sharp screech, the black threads on its body becoming even more frantic, and the power of its Wind grew more violent.
It tried to blow Uchiha Ren away with the gale, but Uchiha Ren was too fast. The power of the Wind could only make the corners of his clothes flutter!
His body accelerated again, and he charged directly in front of the Wind Spirit Earth Grudge Fear monster. He gathered all his strength into his fist and punched the monster's body!
The force of this punch was enough to shatter a boulder. The Wind Spirit Earth Grudge Fear monster's body was dented inward, but it once again recovered at an astonishing speed.
Uchiha Ren didn't give up. His attacks became even more ferocious. The feathers from his ukaku wings shot towards the Wind Spirit Earth Grudge Fear monster like raindrops!
"Swish, swish, swish, swish!"
The feathers pierced through the body of the Earth Grudge Fear Wind Spirit, but it was like stabbing cotton cloth with an awl. In just the blink of an eye, the body of the Earth Grudge Fear Wind Spirit recovered once more!