Chapter 14: Hashirama—"I Really Don’t Remember"

"The Gate of Joy, open!"

Realizing that the Fifth Gate wasn't enough to take down his opponent, Might Guy's aura surged again. The green vapor encircling his body condensed further, signaling the activation of the Sixth Gate. From the Fifth Gate onward, every subsequent opening of the Eight Gates brought immense power but at equally great cost.

The Sixth Gate!

Kakuzu braced himself. Decades of battle-hardened experience made him an expert in handling diverse combat scenarios. When facing taijutsu specialists, he had his own methods of countering them.

"Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!"

The ground beneath the Konoha shinobi softened into a treacherous bog, aimed at restricting their movement—particularly Might Guy's.

"Ha!"

Guy crouched slightly, then leapt with an explosive force that defied logic, propelling himself out of the swamp at a speed almost imperceptible to the naked eye.

So fast!

Even Kakashi, with his Sharingan, could barely track Guy's movements. The other Konoha shinobi were left stunned, their faces betraying a mix of awe and disbelief.

Who knew we had such a powerhouse hidden in Konoha?

Kakuzu was momentarily shaken but quickly deduced that the "green kappa" had utilized a burst of energy to generate immense propulsion, forcibly breaking free from the swamp.

What a formidable opponent!

His Lightning and Fire Heart monsters unleashed wide-range attacks of lightning and fire, understanding that targeting such a high-speed enemy with conventional jutsu was futile. Large-scale techniques were their best bet.

But Guy had no intention of prolonging the fight. His figure suddenly froze midair, directly in front of Kakuzu and Hidan. Clenching his fists, he took a stance.

"Morning Peacock!"

"Behold the power of my youth!"

A flurry of high-speed punches followed. Each strike moved so fast it ignited the air itself, generating flames that combined with the shockwaves of his punches to create an inferno. The resulting fiery onslaught swept toward Kakuzu and Hidan, filling the sky with a blaze resembling the unfurling feathers of a peacock.

"Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"

"Earth Release: Hardening Technique!"

The Water Heart monster unleashed a massive surge of water, but the flames of the Morning Peacock evaporated it instantly. The overwhelming heat reduced the water to steam before it could even touch the fire.

What kind of temperature could achieve this? To evaporate such a large water technique without losing any potency...

Kakuzu no longer harbored the illusion of escaping unscathed. He realized the terrifying synchronization of this taijutsu move with Guy's overwhelming strength.

A truly terrifying enemy!

The clash ignited the entire district, forcing the Konoha shinobi below to retreat temporarily from the intense heat.

"Guy... Guy is this strong?" Asuma muttered, his twin blades trembling in his hands. The cigarette he always held fell to the ground. Nearby, Kurenai and the other jōnin shared equally shocked expressions.

They had always viewed Guy as a comic relief figure, someone who reached jōnin status purely through sheer effort. Who would have thought that effort concealed such terrifying power?

"Man, I'm never joking about Guy again."

A special jōnin nervously admitted to his companion, both visibly shaken.

"I... me neither," the other replied, his legs unsteady.

Kakashi, however, was more composed. He had long known about the Eight Gates' secrets. Instead of gawking, he took the opportunity to act. Channeling chakra to his feet, he dashed up the burning buildings with Raikiri in hand.

Meanwhile, on the battlefield, Hidan coughed violently.

"Ack, ack!" The earlier attack had rattled him, and even with his immortality, he knew that getting hit directly would've reduced him to ashes.

Thankfully, Kakuzu had dragged him away in the nick of time. The cost? One of Kakuzu's Earth Hearts.

While losing just one of his five hearts might seem minor, it severely compromised Kakuzu's balance. Without Earth Release, his Hardening Technique—the key to his near-immunity to physical attacks—was gone, drastically reducing his close-combat defense.

"Raikiri!" Kakashi darted past a heavily breathing Guy, his Sharingan detecting an opening in Kakuzu's defenses.

"I was waiting for you, Kakashi!" Kakuzu countered with a Wind Release, only for Kakashi to vanish in a puff of smoke.

A shadow clone?!

The real Kakashi burst forth from below, cutting through Kakuzu's Fire Heart with Raikiri.

"Hey! Hey!" Hidan yelled, growing frantic. "Kakuzu, are you seriously done for? 'Cause if you're out, I'm out!"

"Shut up!" Kakuzu snapped, glaring at Hidan. Though unwilling to admit it, he was no longer a match for these Konoha shinobi.

Despite his predicament, Kakuzu wasn't overly worried about death. After all, Deidara and Sasori were still in Konoha, lying in wait. If things got worse, he could always call on them for help.

Suddenly, a chilling aura enveloped the battlefield, causing everyone to look toward its source.

In the Four Violet Flames Formation, the battle seemed to have reached its climax. A massive spectral Shinigami loomed behind the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, exuding an oppressive, icy presence.

"That's... the Reaper Death Seal!" Kakashi gasped, recognizing the ultimate sealing jutsu his teacher, Minato Namikaze, had told him about—a technique capable of subduing even a Tailed Beast at the cost of the user's life and soul.

Hokage-sama! Kakashi silently screamed.

Hiruzen methodically sealed the souls of the First Hokage, Hashirama, and the Second Hokage, Tobirama, into the Shinigami's stomach. However, when he turned to Orochimaru, his strength faltered, allowing the enemy to escape.

"Hey, Kakuzu!" Hashirama's voice suddenly echoed, startling everyone. "I just remembered something. Didn't a rogue ninja from Takigakure betray his village to steal the Earth Grudge Fear? Wasn't that you?"

Kakuzu remained silent, his face dark.

"So, back then, your mission was to assassinate me, huh? But... I really can't remember you ever trying!"

"Urk!" Kakuzu spat out blood, looking up at the sky in despair.

Hashirama, you bastard! Stop talking!

No, I'm definitely coughing up blood because of my injuries, not because I'm angry! Definitely not!

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Pls Drop some Power Stones

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