Konoha Strikes Against the Akatsuki (2)

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"Naruto, I'll deal with the scythe-wielding guy, and you will handle the other opponent.", Kakashi stated in a serious tone, his abruptness betraying his urgency. Although he was still tower than Naruto, the blonde remained undaunted, exuding readiness for battle through his unyielding posture. Following the loss of Asuma, both Naruto, and Kakashi held an intense grudge against the Akatsuki organization and these two specific adversaries. Kakashi chose his target based on their perceived weakness, recognizing that he was currently the weaker fighter between himself and Naruto. Naruto now needed such opponents to ready himself for what was about to come as well.

"Understood, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto replied, his gaze fixed on the two individuals clad in black cloaks with a tinge of anger in his eyes. The memory of Shikamaru's devastation especially after being denied the opportunity to join the mission remained fresh in Naruto's mind, fueling his resolve to avenge Asuma's death. Kakashi had been entrusted with the special scroll seals necessary to take down the Akatsuki member responsible for the tragedy. He was ready to deal with the other one. The last time he faced some members of their organization was six months ago in Sunagakure. He immediately used Fugasaku to reverse summon his clone and enter his newfound Sage Mode.

"Hooray! My luck has finally turned! After days of waiting, I can finally offer new sacrifices to Lord Jashin!", Exclaimed Hidan, his eyes gleaming with anticipation. Kakuzu, ever the practical one, added, "Indeed, this is a very valuable opportunity. Kakashi Hatake's bounty is quite substantial..."

Nonetheless, Kakuzu's brows also suddenly furrowed in concern a bit, 'This amount of chakra and his appearance... he's the Jinchuriki of Konoha. And he's very powerful, even stronger than Kakashi. However, just before he wanted to say something to Hidan, with a resigned sigh, he watched as he charged forward, a manic glint in his eyes, 'It seems that there is no backing out of this one now...', Kakuzu knew Hidan's personalities and that there is no hope for them to turn back from this then.

With a wild grin on his face, Hidan brandished his primary weapon - the giant Triple-Bladed Scythe - in the air. The unique weapon was specifically designed to aid him in collecting blood for his curse ritual, meaning it was intended to wound rather than kill. The three blades varied in size from top to bottom, giving the scythe a large range despite its reduced lethality. Hidan's skill in bukijutsu allowed him to use the weapon both as a short-range and long-range tool with impressive aim and control. His opponents found it nearly impossible to predict the scythe's path due to its unusual, curvilinear trajectory. Hidan was even able to make the scythe swerve perpendicularly at a target from a significant distance away, thanks to the scythe's long metal cable that was wound around two spools on his left hip. Kunai were no match for the scythe's strength and his hand speed, deflecting them. Hidan used the cable to further increase the scythe's range by swinging it through the air. His mastery of the weapon was apparent in every move he made, and his opponents often found themselves on the defensive, struggling to keep up with Hidan's unpredictable agile attacks. Hidan's body also had to be extremely strong, agile, and fast in order to utilize this strange weapon.

As Hidan charged towards him, Kakashi acted quickly, pulling out his own saber made of chakra metals. The two began exchanging blows in a flurry of strikes, Hidan's maniacal laughter filling the air. Kakashi remained calm and focused, analyzing Hidan's movements and looking for an opening. He noted Hidan's impressive physical strength and his mastery of the unique Triple-Bladed Scythe.

However, Kakashi was confident in his ability to emerge victorious as long as he prevented Hidan from drawing his blood successfully. Recalling the intelligence gathered by Shikamaru, Kakashi knew that Hidan didn't have any other tricks up his sleeve. All of his unusual attack patterns were designed with the sole purpose of drawing blood. With this knowledge, Kakashi continued to defend himself against Hidan's attacks, waiting patiently for an opportunity to strike back fiercely.

Kakashi wanted to end the fight quickly using his superior attack potency, channeling his Purple Electricity slowly to deal a devastating blow. His plan was to then seal Hidan away until they could bring him back to Konoha for interrogation. There, their team of experts could delve into Hidan's memories, uncovering all of his secrets before burying him deep underground for eternity. As he prepared to unleash his attack, Kakashi began to recall what he knew about Hidan's strange jutsu. He knew that Hidan believed himself to be immortal due to his ability to transfer injuries to others by consuming their blood in a ritual. However, Kakashi was confident that he could defeat Hidan without falling victim to his cursed techniques. He remained focused on his goal, determined to finish the battle quickly, seal him away inside special scrolls, hence secure Hidan for interrogation.

Despite his state seemingly in frenzy, Hidan was inwardly surprised by his opponent's skill. He had trained for decades to collect blood for his sacrificial ritual and had developed countless patterns and techniques to trick his opponents and draw blood. However, he found it nearly impossible to get a drop of Kakashi's blood, given his opponent's superior levels of kenjutsu skill, reflexes, and bodily strength. As he fought, Hidan remembered that he was basically nothing more than a one-trick pony. And he was not sorry about that. After all, He was not a true fighter, but a devoted follower of Jashin. He saw no purpose in learning anything beyond what was necessary for his ritual.

As a result, his only offensive technique was his Jahinism ritual called the "Curse Technique: Death Controlling Possessed Blood." It had two special conditions. One was that Hidan must have drawn an insignia of Jashin on the ground in his own blood, to which he must remain in the center for the technique to function properly. The other was for him to must acquire and ingest the blood of his intended victim. And once ingested, his skin then turns black with white markings which makes him look like a skeleton, a symbol of absolute death. This serves as the link between him and his victim.

Once his sacrificial ritual takes place, the victim is linked with Hidan until he either steps or is forced out of the circle. Any kind of injury that Hidan inflicts upon himself (or the injury they inflicted on him) is reciprocated on his target, be it a mere scratch to a pierce in the heart. If Hidan is forced to step out of the circle, the link is temporarily broken and the victim is set free, but only as long as Hidan has stepped out of the circle's reach. This jutsu effectively makes Hidan a living voodoo doll.

On the other side of the field, Kakuzu found himself in a fierce battle with Naruto. He had no time to think about Hidan's situation, as he was too busy trying to defend himself from Naruto's relentless attacks. The blond ninja's strong fists packed a powerful punch, and he didn't even need to touch Kakuzu in order to inflict damage. Naruto was all over Kakuzu, jumping onto him and delivering blow after blow. Even Kakuzu's powerful "Earth Release: Earth Spear" was useless in the face of Naruto's superior taijutsu skills. The user of the "Earth Spear" flows earth-natured chakra through all or parts of their body, causing it to become noticeably darker, all while increasing their defensive power to become as hard as a diamond. However, it still wasn't enough for a Sage Mode.

Naruto also employed the ancient "Frog Kata" technique during the fight. This particular fighting style was exclusively utilized by those who had achieved mastery over Sage Mode and received instruction from the revered toads of Mount Myoboku. The infusion of senjutsu chakra associated with Sage Mode activated his body in manifold ways, bolstering his agility, reaction time, raw strength, endurance, and overall resilience. The result was a profound ability to accomplish awe-inspiring feats such as bounding incredible distances, effortlessly shattering solid materials with his bare hands, and hefting colossal objects. The technique was widely regarded as an immaculate taijutsu form that possessed no weak points or flaws, offering exceptional defense and devastating attack potential.

When using Frog Kata, the natural energy used by the practitioner to create senjutsu chakra also surrounds the user in an aura of that same natural energy. This aura can act as an extension of their body and cannot be seen by anyone other than those who have trained in senjutsu. By utilizing the aura, the user can extend the range and force of their physical attacks. Strikes that seemingly or would normally miss will actually make contact with the target. Only users of Sage Mode can see or sense this aura's extension. Nothing else, not even the Rinnegan can see it. One punch has been shown to have enough force to cripple and completely finish off an opponent, not unlike Chakra Enhanced Strength. In addition, the enhanced speed, reflexes, and heightened chakra-sensing from Sage Mode, combined with the skillful body movements of Frog Kata, allows the practitioner to not only evade enemy strikes at the last possible moment but also accurately counterattack them too.

Kakuzu's breathing became deep and slow as he focused his chakra. He then unleashed his unique technique, "Earth Grudge Fear," which allowed him to manipulate the black tendrils protruding from his body. Each tendril was made of hardened threads of his chakra and could detach from his body to attack or defend. As he activated his technique, the black tendrils sprang forth from his back, in different batches, each one aiming to strike Naruto from a different direction. Naruto was taken aback by the sudden onslaught, but his instincts and training kicked in. He dodged and weaved through the tendrils, striking them with his powerful blows. Kakuzu threads allowed him to catch a breath for a while and withstand Naruto's attacks, but he was about to start getting beaten again. The tendrils were powerful, but they obviously lacked a lot in front of Naruto's Frog Kata. However, they also bought enough time for Kakuzu who now burst open while summoning his other four hearts with different elemental affinities of fire, wind, lighting, and water, his own innate was earth.

Naruto was taken aback as he watched four monstrous-looking creatures made of chakra threads emerge from Kakuzu's back, each one more terrifying than the last. The sight of them was both shocking and repulsive, especially as they had caused Kakuzu's back to contort in a disturbing manner before bursting out from it. Naruto felt a surge of revulsion at the sight, but he quickly regained his composure and focused on the task at hand. He knew that he had to be careful now that Kakuzu had unleashed his true power, and he prepared to face the chakra thread monsters head-on. Kakuzu looked at this sight and smiled, preparing to launch a long-scale offensive now.

"You're very good at taijutsu, young man, however, let's see how good you are against a combined force of five different shinobi, with five different chakra natures! Even though it was still not your turn to be captured, I guess there would be no problem If we imprison you early!", Kakuzu suddenly stated confidently. Beside him now stood his four black chakra thread monsters in various demonic-like forms. They could launch one of the strongest elemental ninjutsu attacks of their respective affinities at the same time, not to mention that they could even use a combination and fusion ninjutsu attacks as well. The extra hearts in Kakuzu's body were normally stored in various animal masks that were sewn onto his back, granting him vast amounts of chakra and numerous elemental affinities. He could then detach these masks and have them take on a body of their own, composed entirely of threads which he did just now. These masks were capable of unleashing devastating blasts of elemental chakra. He learned about them and how to incorporate those elemental attacks through his nearly hundred years of age. That was also one of the benefits that his technique gave.

Kakuzu's fighting style and unique abilities revolved around the special nature of his body structure, which was composed of hundreds of thick, grey tendrils woven throughout his flesh called Earth Grudge Fear, holding his body together like the stitches of a rag-doll. Seemingly through this, it had allowed Kakuzu to retain his youthful strength, health, and appearance despite his advanced age. This also let him separate his body parts at will, perform mid to long-range physical attacks, and sew up almost any injury he suffered. The threads could also be used to repair the bodies of others.

The threads could pierce the flesh and bodies of others, allowing him to remove their organs and integrate them into his own body, thereby extending his life. He commonly removed hearts in this fashion, keeping a total of five at any time, and requiring that he be killed at least five times in a battle before he truly died. The respective hearts could then also be released from his body and wrapped in a vast blanket of threads, forcing a heart into a limb before being detached or forming a monstrous body with a mask as its face. These masks could move and attack independently, unleashing powerful blasts of elemental chakra from their mouths. If Kakuzu was killed somehow, then one of his extra hearts could sacrifice itself by re-entering his body and resurrecting him again.

The Earth Grudge Fear, his primary technique, was the once prized forbidden jutsu of the Takigakure until it was stolen by him. It was invented by a medic-nin who specialized in using threads infused with medical chakra to stitch up wounds, a primitive style of treatment that went unrecognized by the wider world. This ninja would go on to develop a powerful and versatile ninjutsu that drastically modifies the human body, granting the user the ability to generate organic black tentacles from their own flesh and chakra. The tentacles could be produced in great numbers and lengths and manipulated as easily and precisely as the user's own limbs. They were like extensions of the body.

The primary purpose of the tentacles was for sewing up any injuries the user or others might suffer, commonly by reattaching body parts. The tentacles are infused with a special kind of medical chakra that instantly reconnects any kind of severed tissue, including nerves and chakra pathways – as a result, a reattached limb is immediately restored to full functionality. The tentacles could also be used to transplant organs and limbs between different people without any bad risks of rejection. A patient could even be saved from decapitation if the head is reattached before brain death sets it.

Furthermore, because the tentacles do not require hand seals to generate or control them, the user of this kinjutsu was granted an incredible power of recovery from physical trauma. They could even literally will their body to pull itself back together from any injury that is not instantaneously fatal. However, while the medical usage of this kinjutsu is almost miraculously effective and versatile, it was also much cruder and obscurer than other advanced medical ninjutsu such as the Mystical Palm Technique. The healed tissue was not bonded very strongly and it was easy to accidentally reopen the wounds through physical exertion. It was thus necessary for the tentacles to remain in the body to act as sutures, holding the tissues together until they can heal properly over time or further medical ninjutsu can be applied. For this reason, any ninja who uses this kinjutsu and frequently engages in battle will eventually come to have a body that resembles a rag doll. The more injuries they've accumulated over their lifetime, the more stitches are required to keep their body in place.

The secondary purpose of the said tentacles was to be used as weapons. The tentacles could be extended very quickly and accurately in order to ensnare and impale opponents. The user could also generate a large number of tentacles and compact them together around their body into thick tentacles for long-ranged combat. Kakuzu, once an honorable and proud shinobi of the Hidden Waterfall, was the first to use the technique to its fullest potential. The injuries inflicted upon him in his life of warfare also led to the discovery that he could use this technique's ability to transplant organs to steal the heart of another human being and assimilate it with his tentacles, allowing him to connect his chakra system to the chakra generated by the heart. He mastered and perfected it.

The heart usually retained the strongest chakra nature of the original owner and then a significant portion of their chakra which Kakuzu could use as a shortcut for generating elemental chakra by channeling his chakra through their heart. This discovery led to another when he decided to steal the hearts of more of his enemies and learned that he could stock up to five hearts, ideally one for each element. Thus Kakuzu could cast any ninjutsu of the five nature transformations that he possessed knowledge of. All of these abilities made him a very dangerous individual and the most prized fighter in his village at that time. That's the reason he was chosen to eliminate the First Hokage. It was believed that not only would he have the greatest chance of defeating him, but that by stealing his heart he would get his unique chakra nature and present his village with new power.

However, Kakuzu lost that battle quite easily and only survived by faking his own death. His stolen hearts were able to sustain his life force and slow his aging process so that, as long as he still has a single beating heart, he can stay alive with a quasi-immortality. His skill with Earth Grudge Fear had led to a derivative that enables his stolen hearts to split off from his main body with masses of tentacles and act independently for a limited time. He took advantage of that independence to fool Hashirama with his lifeless body until the danger had passed and the heart returned. However, after that, he was surprisingly punished by his own village for failing that mission. So, he stole the scroll containing that kinjutsu to prevent others from gaining his power and restored his strength by carving out the hearts of the village elders, who betrayed him in the first place, before fleeing away. In his following years as a bounty hunter, Kakuzu's skill with his unique Earth Grudge Fear only grew.

Naruto abruptly summoned an overwhelming number of his Shadow Clones, filling the surrounding area with their presence. Meanwhile, Kakuzu's ominous black puppet monsters began to prepare their elemental ninjutsu offensive. Naruto seized the opportunity to ready a barrage of his most powerful Rasengan-like attacks of his own, preparing to utilize every single one of his clones. Rather than relying on his giant frogs, Naruto wanted to challenge himself to push his limits and gauge his current abilities. Could he truly take on an S-class Akatsuki member alone? Was he capable of defending against their organization in the future? These were questions that burned within him, driving him forward with unwavering determination. He prepared to now use four different ninjutsu.

After performing the previous Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, some of the clones fastly created several Big Ball Rasengans, that's how the "Big Ball Spiralling Serial Zone Spheres" was formed. The clones then quickly charged toward their target in formations and overwhelming numbers in order to cut him off from all lines of escape. They also collided with Kakuzu's massive elemental torrent of chakra, on the surface, preventing it from affecting Kakashi's battle in any way. Naruto then took a couple of his clones with him and moved underground in order to finish off his enemy entirely while also sensing Kakuzu's location with his Sage Mode. Kakuzu furtively wanted to escape with his own underground hopping technique this time, toward Hidan. Realizing that they were outclassed today, he wanted to try and take Hidan away with him and escape. His intuition of nearly a hundred years never failed him. But, there was no escaping Naruto's Sage Mode's sensing and speed. Some of Naruto's clones underground used ordinary Rasengans to drill ahead toward his enemy's position.

After a few moments, Kakuzu's eyes widened in surprise as he saw Naruto summon not just one, but a multitude of human-sized Ultra Big Ball Giant Rasengans, all connected as one. Naruto had created them by utilizing dozens of clones. As if that wasn't enough, Naruto also summoned one Big Ball Rasenshuriken, which was currently his most powerful technique. Kakuzu only had a moment to witness a blinding flash of light underground before being obliterated by Naruto's devastating attack, filled with immense energy. The force was so powerful that it created an earthquake on the ground, even catching Kakashi's attention who had just finished his battle with Hidan. Kakashi's Purple Electricity had already dealt with the other enemy of today. Their mission was done successfully. Kakashi smiled a little proudly after seeing the big earthquake all around. Hidan was already sealed away in some kind of previously prepared seal coffin which was made by Konoha's sealing force, especially for this mission. It seemed that they finally managed to deal with some Akatsuki members. Not to mention the intel they could try and get from this sealed criminal.