Hidan stared in absolute shock, his neck creaking as he slowly looked up at Ren Uchiha.
Did the bond between us just get fed to the dogs?! he wondered.
"Ren... beneath us... is a four-hundred-meter drop! A four-hundred-meter cliff, for god's sake!!"
Ren's gaze turned cold and ruthless before Hidan could even finish his sentence. Without a word of comfort, he delivered a brutal, decisive kick squarely to Hidan's backside, sending the boy hurtling off the edge.
"You bastard, Ren Uchiha! I'll @#%!! Beep! Beep!"
Hidan's curses trailed off into a long string of censored screams as he plummeted into the abyss, eventually swallowed by an eerie, absolute silence.
Ren finally turned back. Meeting Mei's wide-eyed, traumatized gaze, he faced Kakuzu and flashed a brilliant, sunny smile.
"Mr. Kakuzu, you see? He's gone now. Your mission is technically complete. Actually, the reason I kidnapped that brat was to kill him right here. Since our goals align, I don't mind lending a helping hand."
Ren paused, spreading his hands wide with an air of mock innocence.
"So... look. We have no prior grudge and no recent enmity. Since the matter is settled, how about we pretend we never saw each other today and go our separate ways? Hmm?"
Even Kakuzu was momentarily stunned by Ren's nonsensical maneuver.
The moment Hidan fell, his ghostly green eyes widened. He stood frozen for a long beat, staring at the empty cliff edge before shifting his gaze back to Ren.
What is this kid's deal? Kakuzu thought. How deep was his grudge against that boy? That kick was way too decisive.
But quickly, Kakuzu's face darkened as the reality of the situation set in. A gloomy, suffocating shadow settled over his features.
"Who asked you to meddle in my business?"
Kakuzu's teeth nearly cracked from the force of his grinding jaw. He glared at Ren with a bone-chilling coldness.
"My mission... was to bring that brat back alive!"
"Wait, what?!"
Hearing this, Ren's brow furrowed, a hint of genuine ruthlessness flickering in his eyes. On the surface, however, he began to tremble, his face turning deathly pale. He stammered, waving his hands frantically:
"I... I really didn't know about that, sir! Look... the guy's already dead..."
However, having just lost a massive sum of money, an enraged Kakuzu wasn't listening. He raised his right hand, his palm flat and eyes flashing with a coldness that bit to the bone.
"Then you can die in his place!"
The stitches on Kakuzu's palm began to split, and fine, dense threads of Earth Grudge Fear wriggled out like parasitic worms. He twisted his torso and snapped his arm forward!
SHOO!
His right hand elongated instantly, spanning ten meters in a flash as it tore through the air toward Ren. This was the Secret Technique: Earth Grudge Fear—black tentacles that hid life beneath the battlefield, made of threads so fine they could stitch human blood vessels and meridians back together.
Ren watched the incoming hand with a touch of envy. If he had that kind of ability, he'd never have to buy overpriced ninja wire again. However, as the hand and its tough tether surged toward him, Ren's eyes narrowed.
When it came to playing with wires, an Uchiha was the true professional. He reached back for a kunai, and silently, his black pupils transformed into a vivid, bleeding crimson.
"What are you standing there for?!"
Beside him, Mei saw Ren standing motionless. Her brow furrowed, and she twisted her stance, launching a pre-formed water blade from her hand.
SHOO!
Water Style: Water Fang Blade! The blade curved in a spiral, slashing at the tentacles behind Kakuzu's hand. The high-pressure rotating blade sprayed fine mist as it struck, yet it only managed to sever a few threads before more surged forward to replace them.
Seeing her water blade revert to a kunai and fall powerlessly, Mei's gaze tightened.
"So tough... these tentacles have a resilience that even the Water Fang Blade can't cut through..."
"I have to use that jutsu!"
She took a firm stance in front of Ren, her feet shoulder-width apart, and wove signs with blurred speed: Dog - Boar - Tiger - Ox - Rat - Bird!
"Lava Style: Melting Apparition Jutsu!"
Mei touched her fingertips together and took a deep breath. Then, her lips parted! A torrent of acidic mud, resembling magma with a terrifying temperature capable of melting even a Susanoo, erupted from her mouth.
"Hmm? What is this?!"
Kakuzu's pupils shrank. Seeing the substance Mei spat out, he felt an instinctive surge of dread. He immediately diverted part of his tentacles to block it, preventing the Lava Style from destroying his extended arm.
The magma hit the tentacles, and like hot oil through cheese, it melted through everything in its path. Sizzle... Sizzle... Steam and smoke billowed up.
Kakuzu retracted his hand, his gaze narrowing. He began to take them a bit more seriously, scanning both Ren and Mei as if re-evaluating their price tags. He nodded.
"Sharingan and a Lava Style Bloodline Limit... Not bad. This might recover some of my losses. I'll do my best to keep your corpses intact. So, die in peace."
[Kakuzu thinks you're worth a decent bit of pocket change.]
Hearing Kakuzu's dismissive words, Mei's face turned frost-cold. She snapped back:
"These tentacles of yours are useless against me! If you keep this up, I'll kill you!"
Kakuzu shook his head slowly, his calm, green eyes indifferent. He cracked his neck, and something began to writhe beneath his black cloak.
"Then, how will you deal with this one?"
He pulled open his cloak, revealing a blue-patterned eagle mask on his chest. The mask's dark maw opened wide, sucking in the surrounding grass and stones, compressing them into a screeching ball of wind.
BANG!
Wind Style: Pressure Damage!
One of the strongest conventional Wind Style jutsus in existence made its debut. Under the sheer cutting power of the compressed wind sphere, Mei's river of magma was pushed back and pierced through instantly!
The wind shell grazed Mei's ear and shot five hundred meters away, slamming into the opposite mountain.
BOOM!
A violent storm erupted, and massive rocks tumbled down. Below, the screams of the refugees from the Land of Steam set the silent night ablaze.
Mei stood with wide eyes, her face pale and her mind blank. Blood began to trickle from her ear, her eardrum ruptured by the sonic boom of the passing jutsu.
"Ah, I almost killed you outright. Too weak... let's try another way."
Kakuzu exhaled, frowning as if in a dilemma. He clapped his hands together. The mask on his chest crawled up to his shoulder, replaced by another—a yellow-patterned dog mask.
He began to walk toward them slowly. Step... Step... His feet crushed the dust, the rubble, and the remnants of the lava—along with the young girl's pride.
The next moment, countless Earth Grudge Fear tentacles surged from Kakuzu's back, condensing into eight massive black lines that looked like obsidian serpent spears.
Kakuzu's cold voice drifted through the air:
"Secret Technique: Earth Grudge Fear Mode!"
Mei broke into a cold sweat, looking up in sheer terror.