"Incredible!"
Asuma and the others inside the crater were also stunned by Goku's punch.
They knew Goku's taijutsu was strong, but they hadn't imagined it was this powerful. They had just experienced the sheer power of that combined ninjutsu firsthand.
It had taken the combined effort of everyone present to barely withstand it.
Yet, Goku had managed to halt it dead in its tracks with nothing but a single punch—stopping it cold using only the force of the wind generated by his fist.
"Hey, you monster—do you have any stronger moves?"
Goku leaped to the edge of the massive crater and spoke to Kakuzu, who stood before him looking visibly unsettled and wary:
"If not, then I'm going to have to knock you out."
Seeing Goku leap forward, Asuma and the others followed suit, taking up positions behind him.
With Goku's formidable taijutsu skills, perhaps by joining forces, they really stood a good chance of taking Kakuzu down.
"...!"
"Hmph, knock me out? Boy, you're far too arrogant."
Kakuzu narrowed his eyes, deciding to unleash his full power.
That punch from a moment ago had instantly pushed his wariness of the boy before him to its peak.
The pressure he felt was hardly any less intense than when he had first encountered their leader, Pain.
His intuition told him that if he didn't go all out, he might well meet his end here today.
The masks from his head and shoulders rapidly shifted to his right hand, merging to form a circular cannon-like muzzle.
"Earth Grudge Fear: Final Shot!"
Chakra of three natures—Wind, Fire, and Lightning—swirled together; the astonishing surge of energy caused the expressions of Asuma and the others to change drastically.
"...Dodge!"
"A composite ninjutsu of three natures—Goku, get out of the way!"
Asuma's words had barely left his lips when a flash of lightning streaked across the air; the attack was already right in front of Goku.
"Dodge? Do you really think you can dodge a strike boosted by the Lightning element?"
Kakuzu sneered inwardly. This high-level composite ninjutsu, combining three chakra natures, possessed such immense power that even Pain, back in the day, wouldn't have dared to take it head-on.
No matter how strong that boy's taijutsu was, taking a direct hit from this attack would tear his body apart.
Crucially, the combination included the Lightning element—the fastest of them all.
Evasion would be nearly impossible.
"What?!"
But the very next second, his pupils contracted sharply, and his voice was filled with disbelief.
"That's impossible!"
Snap!
Goku raised his right hand and delivered a sharp backhand slap—and actually shattered Kakuzu's three-element composite ninjutsu attack right on the spot!
Shattering a ninjutsu attack of that caliber with his bare flesh—is he even human?
Hmm... well, he might not actually be human.
Upon seeing the tail behind Goku, Kakuzu's eyelids twitched violently; then, without a moment's hesitation, he turned and fled.
He couldn't win—there was absolutely no chance of winning.
It was just like that time back in the village when he was sent to assassinate the First Hokage; the moment he hurled that shuriken from afar, he knew he was completely outmatched.
The two sides were simply not on the same level.
That was why, back then, he had also turned and run without hesitation.
"The power is about the same as Tien's Kikoho."
Goku assessed Kakuzu's attack.
"It seems he doesn't have any stronger moves." Seeing Kakuzu turn and flee, he realized that the move just used had pushed Kakuzu to his absolute limit.
In a flash, he appeared right in front of Kakuzu.
Then, he raised his hand and delivered a slap.
"So fast!"
Upon seeing Goku appear beside him, Kakuzu's pupils contracted; a mass of black threads within his body formed tentacles and shot toward Goku, aiming to impale him.
Snap!
The slap shattered the black threads without meeting any resistance and landed precisely on Kakuzu's head.
Crack!
One of the masks on his arm—which he hadn't yet managed to retract—cracked open; he was left with three lives.
"Water Style: Water Clone Jutsu!"
Kakuzu's body split in two, and the figures sped off in opposite directions.
Although a Water Clone is inferior to a Shadow Clone, it is impossible to distinguish the real body from the fake until the clone is actually destroyed.
Snap!
Another slap.
Kakuzu was left with only two masks.
To Goku, while it might appear impossible to tell which was the real body, he could perceive the truth through Ki.
Ki represents the essence of life; the one possessing Ki was undoubtedly the real body, whereas the one containing only a mass of energy was the clone.
In reality, it didn't matter if he couldn't distinguish them; it simply meant delivering two slaps instead of one.
Kakuzu's movement speed was far too slow for him.
Moreover, even if Kakuzu managed to escape, as long as he didn't leave Goku's sensory range, Goku could simply teleport to him.
As for the extent of his current sensory range—if he used his full power, he could likely cover the better part of the planet.
If he entered the five-second "Golden Warrior" state, sensing the entire planet would be no problem at all.
"What do I do? What do I do? Damn it... what kind of monster is this guy? How can his taijutsu be this powerful?" "
Cold sweat beaded on Kakuzu's forehead; if he took another couple of slaps, he would truly be done for.
Yet, despite his ninety-one years of life experience, he couldn't think of a single way to escape the opponent's slaps.
His strongest ninjutsu attacks were easily swatted away, his speed was vastly inferior, and even his shadow clones were useless.
It was a pity he didn't possess a Sharingan like Itachi's; he lacked the ocular jutsu for mental attacks.
Slap!
No matter how he tried to dodge, a third slap landed squarely on his face. Only one mask—and thus, one life—remained.
"I surrender! I surrender!"
Before Goku could deliver a fourth slap, Kakuzu abandoned any thought of escape and surrendered outright.
He was a ninja who chased after money, not a samurai; he held no stock in the samurai code or the pride of a warrior.
If he stood a fighting chance, he wouldn't mind putting up a fight.
But right now, he was completely outmatched—they weren't even in the same league—so he didn't hesitate to surrender to save his life.
Besides, this surrender was only temporary.
He believed that Pain, the leader of Akatsuki, would come to Konoha to rescue him—both to prevent the organization's secrets from leaking and to preserve his role as their "money bag."
After all, they had intended to go to Konoha to capture the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki anyway.
"Asuma, he's surrendered, so I'll leave him to you."
Seeing Kakuzu surrender, Goku held back the final slap.
In truth, that last slap wasn't meant to kill Kakuzu; it was a "knockout slap" infused with a spell designed to render the target unconscious.
From watching the earlier battle between Kakuzu and Asuma's team, he had realized that each of Kakuzu's masks represented a life.
That was why he hadn't held back on the first three slaps, only pulling his punch for the final one.
He just hadn't expected Kakuzu to surrender first.
"Here we go!"
Only then did Asuma and the others snap out of their shock; they rushed over and immediately began casting sealing jutsu on Kakuzu.
Those three slaps from Goku didn't just shatter Kakuzu's hopes of escape—they left everyone deeply shaken.
Kakuzu—a ninja who had once clashed with the First Hokage, a member of the Akatsuki, and someone who had nearly wiped out their entire squad of eight—
—was utterly helpless before Goku.
It was like a father spanking his son; with just a single slap, Goku had stripped away one of Kakuzu's lives.
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