Chapter 49: Piercing the Heart, Igniting the Fire Within!

Chapter 49: Piercing the Heart, Igniting the Fire Within!

The spinning water blade hissed sharply!

Before it even reached him, Kakuzu felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

Uchiha Ci's lightning-fast strike completely caught Kakuzu off guard and ruthlessly hit his weak point.

Indeed, Kakuzu possessed the near-immortal ability.

As long as the five hearts he carried weren't all destroyed, he could keep reviving.

However, even so, his head remained a special case.

If his head was severed, his control over Earth Grudge Fear would weaken, creating a fleeting moment of vulnerability.

That would give Uchiha Ci a brief window to target the five hearts still within Kakuzu's body.

This was something Kakuzu could absolutely not tolerate!

A death threat he hadn't experienced in decades exploded at that moment!

"How could I possibly let you succeed!!!"

Kakuzu's eyes widened as he gritted his teeth and roared in fury. He formed the Snake hand seal, and his entire body instantly turned pitch-black.

This was Earth Release: Earth Spear.

Despite its name, Earth Spear was a pure defensive technique, capable of hardening the skin to an attack or defense state. Its destructive power was immense, easily capable of breaking down a wall or withstanding the explosion of an explosive tag.

However, this technique had a significant flaw—

After using it, the body would stiffen due to the hardening process.

As a result, Kakuzu's physical prowess, which overwhelmed Uchiha Ci, couldn't be utilized.

Uchiha Ci's gaze sharpened, and a smirk crept up his lips. The water blade that had been spinning down toward Kakuzu vanished in an instant, leaving only the kunai in his hand.

Then, he reversed his grip on the kunai and stabbed it directly into the Wind Release: Earth Grudge Fear mask perched on Kakuzu's left shoulder!

Splat!

The sharp edge pierced the mask!

The Wind Release: Earth Grudge Fear mask shattered instantly, and it was only a fraction away from destroying the heart inside!

"What?!" Kakuzu was shocked, disbelief filling his ghostly green eyes.

The hardened skin had not been touched by Uchiha Ci's water blade.

Yet Uchiha Ci had switched his target just as he was about to succeed.

It was as if he knew all of Kakuzu's secrets!

In a panic, Kakuzu quickly shifted his shoulder and dodged to the side, urgently using his secret technique to control the Fire Release: Earth Grudge Fear mask on his right shoulder.

It opened its mouth wide and spat out a blazing fireball right at Uchiha Ci!

Fire Release: Searing Migraine!

Once ignited, it would explode into a vast sea of flames!

However, facing this lethal jutsu,

the reflection of the approaching fireball shone in Uchiha Ci's scarlet Sharingan, yet his expression remained calm.

He hooked his index fingers, and a black thread suddenly emerged from the ground!

With a pull of his fingers, he yanked hard on the thread, causing his body to plummet swiftly, diving between Kakuzu's legs, and he sprang back onto Kakuzu's back, once again stabbing the Water Release: Earth Grudge Fear mask on his back with a kunai.

The fireball shot out, crashing into the barrier with a resounding explosion, setting off a dazzling display of fireworks!

Kakuzu's face darkened, veins bulging across his forehead.

"That damned instinct again. This brat's body reacts faster than his mind!"

"Damn it, he's like a flea!"

At that moment, Kakuzu's gaze turned fierce, and he clasped his hands together.

The four masks on his back twisted and contorted, pulling the Earth Grudge Fear bodies halfway out.

Then, they all opened their mouths at once towards Uchiha Ci—

Wind Release: Pressure Damage!

Lightning Release: False Darkness!

Fire Release: Searing Migraine!

Water Release: Water Formation Wall!

The four masks spat out jutsu like machine guns, spraying Uchiha Ci with elemental attacks!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Water splashed, wind howled, lightning crackled, and flames burned!

Upon seeing this, Uchiha Ci grinned viciously and tugged on the string once more,

turning his body into a speeding arrow, spinning and leaping, his eyes closed, letting his body follow the pulse of his instincts!

When he opened his eyes again, he had already slipped through the gaps between the four jutsu and landed on Kakuzu's back once more.

Immediately,

Uchiha Ci stepped on Kakuzu's back and leaped high into the air, performing a full 360-degree roll.

His hands came together, pulling his arms over his head,

then,

he tugged all the threads!

The black threads on the ground snapped tight, slicing through the earthen walls, and using the momentum, they whipped around and wrapped tightly around Kakuzu.

They bound his limbs, chest, abdomen, head, and even the Earth Grudge Fear bodies on his back—

all were firmly bound, pulled, and twisted!

The grating sound of the threads tightened, screeching incessantly.

"What is this?" Kakuzu's pupils shrank sharply as he realized that the threads binding him were his own Earth Grudge Fear threads.

He immediately began to struggle.

However, under the constraint of multiple Earth Grudge Fear threads, the more he struggled, the tighter they became. Only his body, reinforced by Earth Release: Earth Spear, could forcibly tear through some of the threads.

But to escape would clearly take several seconds.

Yet this few seconds of restraint was all Uchiha Ci needed.

He took a deep breath, forming hand seals, and pulled out the kunai.

Rabbit-Sheep-Snake! Water Release: Water Fang Blade once again spun furiously in his hand!

Then,

Uchiha Ci's gaze turned ferocious as he bit down on his back teeth.

"Hissss..."

A cold breath rushed into his chest, turning into fuel, igniting a spark between his teeth!

Even his crimson eyes at that moment blazed like a fiery inferno!

"This is it!"

"This is the moment I've been seeking!"

Uchiha Ci's eyes widened, and he fiercely struck his own heart, stepping forward boldly!

Fire Release: Chakra Mode, activate!

Blazing fire-type chakra erupted violently from Uchiha Ci's body!

"Burn the soul!"

"Surpass the limits of oneself!"

The power from his heart spread instantly to every corner of his body!

In an instant, the flames surged wildly!

Illuminating the entire cliff, castle, and refugee camp.

Countless refugees of the Land of Hot Water looked up with squinted eyes, gazing at the barrier on the cliff.

Within the barrier, a blazing sun rose!

Its blinding light shattered the darkness of the night, bringing the dawn of a new day!

"Uchiha Ci, what are you doing?" Terumi Mei and Hidan's eyes widened as they shouted in shock.

Even Shinno, who had been watching calmly from the cliff, couldn't maintain his composure any longer. His expression twisted as he looked on, his gaze filled with shock.

"That jutsu… that kind of power will kill him!"

"Even if he learned the forbidden technique: Body Revival from me, he'll still die!"

"Is he insane?! Has he lost his mind?!"

"All for such insignificant bonds, for two so-called 'friends' he's barely known for a day?"

"This kind of person..." Shinno clenched his fists tightly, staring at Uchiha Ci within the barrier, shaken to his core.

For the first time, the long-dead emotions within Shinno's heart seemed to reignite.

A surge of jealousy, a tangled yearning suddenly rose within him.

If, if he had friends like that...

On the day the Sky Ninja Village was destroyed, would he have chosen to die with them,

or would he have swallowed his pride, choosing to live in disgrace, surviving in a fate worse than death?

Within the barrier,

"Arghhhh!!!"

Uchiha Ci's eyes bulged with rage,

He was on the verge of losing control of the rampaging power, his only release was to roar aloud to ease the pressure!

Gripping his blade,

the surging fire-type chakra poured madly into the Water Fang Blade in his hand, evaporating the spinning water blade instantly.

From the hilt, a blazing six-foot-long fire blade shot out!

Wielding the fiercely transformed fiery sword, Uchiha Ci's blood-red eyes glowed as he slashed out a brilliant flame arc!

And with a vicious roar, he shouted at the sweat-drenched Kakuzu:

"Earlier, didn't you enjoy yourself?"

"Now,"

"It's my turn!!"