Naruto: Starting with Tsunade

Chapter 300 Defeat

During this time, Kakuzu did not attack Hiruzen Sarutobi, but instead rushed to a guard who was unconscious.

Since the other party was able to become Hokage, he must not be an idiot. After this round of contact, he should be able to guess the characteristics of his abilities.

While we still have time, we need to quickly repair the damaged heart.

Kakuzu had been scheming against his opponent from the very beginning of the battle.

He didn't kill the enemy Konoha ninjas because he waited until several of their hearts were taken out, then replenished them as needed.

With that thought in mind, he reached out and stabbed the other person, taking their heart.

Humph.

Is it a fire-attribute heart?

Forget it, there's no time to be picky now.

Kakuzu's Earth Grudge Limit is four hearts, not necessarily hearts of different attributes.

Four hearts with different attributes—that's just the ideal state.

After their exchange, Hiruzen Sarutobi had finished his analysis: "I see. I now have a general understanding of your abilities."

I can't remember the exact name of Kakuzu's ninjutsu, but I can recall its general abilities.

He had only heard of this ninjutsu, never actually fought against it, and no Konoha ninja had ever encountered it since his time.

So even he couldn't recall the relevant information at first, until the continuous fighting just now gradually awakened the long-buried memories.

"Did you finally find it?"

Kakuzu shook off his blood-stained hand. "But isn't it a little too late?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi solemnly said, "Don't underestimate the Hokage."

Sensing its master's intentions, the ape demon transformed itself, the smoke dissipating to reveal a large, black, and hard iron rod.

Hiruzen Sarutobi picked up the Vajra staff, swung it around once, and then pointed it at Kakuzu.

Since the opponent is not truly immortal, all we need to do next is launch a targeted attack.

Although his opponent's abilities were formidable, Hiruzen Sarutobi, in the prime of his life, did not believe he would lose.

Kakuzu narrowed his eyes, looking at the iron rod in Hiruzen Sarutobi's hand: "Is this the legendary Ruyi Jingu Bang (Monkey King's Staff)?"

This iron rod was transformed from the ape demon, possessing the same indestructible body as him, and its hardness is enough to match the sharpest Kusanagi sword in the world.

It can also change size and length, and most terrifyingly, it can also occasionally transform into a part of the ape demon's body. It is incredibly powerful, and countless people have fallen under its iron root.

Facing Hiruzen Sarutobi in this state, Kakuzu dared not be careless in the slightest and summoned back the heart creature represented by the Earth Grudge Fear back into his body.

Now that the other side knows his abilities, they will definitely find an opportunity to destroy these heart creatures referred to by the Earth Grudge.

The heart-shaped creature is quite strong, but only to the level of an average ninja. If it were to face a ninja of Hiruzen Sarutobi's caliber, it could easily be destroyed if the opponent were willing to seize the opportunity.

Kakuzu's current heart is the result of careful selection; he doesn't want it all to be destroyed in a battle, as it would be very troublesome to repair later.

Moreover, besides that, his current body only has one heart. If he is defeated by Hiruzen Sarutobi, he will have to summon the heart monster back into his body to revive. There will be a gap in the process, and Hiruzen Sarutobi can no longer allow him to revive as he did before.

Kakuzu enters his strongest Earth Grudge Fear mode, his body is wrapped in black lines, his face transforms into a giant tentacle, and he exudes an evil aura.

"What a formidable enemy."

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked serious, but his strength was still within the limits he could withstand.

With a casual wave of his hand, Kakuzu unleashed a surge of black lines from his body, like ocean waves.

Hiruzen Sarutobi dodged the attack with agility, and as he spun in mid-air, his Ruyi Jingu Bang suddenly extended at great speed, striking Kakuzu directly in the heart and sending him flying.

Kakuzu got up from the ground, clutching his chest, and cursed, "Damn it, now that they know my abilities, they've started to target me."

Of all his body parts, the only part that Kakuzu fears is his heart.

No sooner had he finished speaking than Hiruzen Sarutobi leaped into the air and swung his staff down.

Kakuzu crossed his arms to block, the staff was so powerful that it forced his knees to bend and the ground to crack.

Hiruzen Sarutobi swung his staff horizontally to Kakuzu's left, knocking him away.

Since acquiring the Ruyi Jingu Bang, Kakuzu was surprised to find that Hiruzen Sarutobi's strength had increased dramatically.

Kakuzu clapped his hands together, and three masks appeared on his face, each corresponding to a chakra heart of the fire, wind, and water attributes.

He gathered the chakra of the three attributes together and shot out a beam of light.

Hiruzen Sarutobi formed hand seals, transformed into a cloud of white, and somersaulted around to Kakuzu's back.

Ninja Art: Somersault Cloud.

A type of teleportation technique, it transforms one into a cloud and moves rapidly.

Even among the many instantaneous movement techniques, this one is the most outstanding, and ordinary instantaneous movement techniques cannot compare with it.

As far as he knew, the only space-time ninjutsu that could surpass this technique in speed was the Flying Thunder God Technique created by the Second Hokage.

The downside is that it consumes a lot of chakra.

"So fast!"

By the time Kakuzu reacted, Hiruzen Sarutobi had already circled behind him and completed a set of hand seals: Tiger-Dog-Horse-Rat.

"Fire Release: Samadhi True Fire"

Unlike ordinary flames, a red flame emerged in the air. Hiruzen Sarutobi flicked his sword finger, leaving a tongue of fire, and swept it forward.

The crimson flames ignited the black threads binding Kakuzu's body the moment they touched it. The fire was fierce, and the scorching heat caused Kakuzu excruciating pain. He rolled on the ground, trying to extinguish the flames.

Damn it, what kind of flame is this?

Even though my body has hardened, why is it not affected by these flames?

Seeing Kakuzu's pained expression, Hiruzen Sarutobi was confident of victory.

Fire Release: Samadhi True Fire.

This red flame, which cannot be extinguished by strong winds or torrential rain, is a fire-style ninjutsu that even regeneration techniques cannot overcome.

Therefore, theoretically, no matter how many corners are touched, it is not enough to burn them with the Samadhi True Fire.

Aside from the Amaterasu of the Uchiha clan, Samadhi Fire is the highest-level Fire Release ninjutsu currently in existence.

At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi took a few deep breaths.

"Is your chakra alright?" A worried voice came from inside the Ruyi Jingu Bang.

Since facing Kakuzu, Hiruzen Sarutobi has used many ninjutsu, including many wide-range techniques and even advanced techniques like Samadhi Fire and Flying Nimbus.

Hiruzen Sarutobi replied, "It's alright."

At the prime of his life, he still had enough chakra left to deal with any unexpected situation.

He quickly looked around and found that there seemed to be no one else around. He wondered if the assassin was just the one in front of him.

Just as he was thinking this, he suddenly realized that Kakuzu on the ground was bursting with an unprecedented amount of chakra.

not good!

Suddenly, Hiruzen Sarutobi kicked his foot and retreated. In mid-air, he quickly formed hand seals and unleashed a Lightning Release ninjutsu.

Lightning Release: Heavenly Punishment.

With a deafening roar, the lightning bolt struck Kakuzu with pinpoint accuracy, creating a massive explosion that whipped up a thick cloud of snow.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked solemn and stared intently.

It's unclear when exactly, but a dark red chakra began to appear on Kakuzu's body, draped over his body like a garment. If you looked closely, you could even see the Samadhi Fire still burning on it.

Seeing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes widened in disbelief, and his heart skipped a beat: "This is...!"

Kakuzu lay on the dark red chakra and pulled hard, as if tearing off clothes. The dark red chakra was stripped away, along with the Samadhi True Fire attached to it.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's face darkened: "Jinchūriki..."

"You can guess again, which tailed jinchuriki I am."

Kakuzu was once again enveloped in dark red chakra, and tails appeared behind him.

........................

After a fierce battle, the ground was riddled with craters and the trees were destroyed.

Kakuzu removed his tailed beast cloak, revealing his bare upper body.

He slowly walked towards Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was lying motionless on the ground, and looked down at the person beneath him.

With only one of his five hearts remaining, Kakuzu had to admit that the guy in front of him was indeed quite strong.

Before obtaining the Seven-Tails, he believed he couldn't defeat the Third Hokage.

Fortunately, we won...

Next...

Kakuzu's gaze burned as he extended his right hand, hardening it until it turned black.

Your heart is mine now...

Kakuzu bent down and reached down to grab something.

"call out."

A shuriken pierced through the air, passing between him and Hiruzen Sarutobi, interrupting his heart-pulling action.

Kakuzu glanced in the direction of the shuriken in his hand and scoffed, "As expected, they won't let me have my way..."

After saying that, he wisely distanced himself from Hiruzen Sarutobi, indicating that he had given up on the idea of ​​taking out Hiruzen's heart.

The mission to beat Hiruzen Sarutobi half to death is complete. Now, prepare for the next mission...

(End of this chapter)