Chapter 74

A wave of intense pain surged through his entire body. The hardened skin, reinforced moments ago with Earth Release ninjutsu, now cracked open like shattered porcelain.

His entire form was blasted out from the ground,

slamming hard against the jagged cliffside in the distance.

For a moment, dust and debris enveloped the battlefield in a violent storm of sand and smoke.

"Great! Captain Tian Yu killed that guy!"

Standing at the edge of the field, Sunflower's eyes lit up. She leaped into the air with unrestrained excitement, her face bright with joy.

But the calm voice of a woman next to her quickly dampened the enthusiasm.

"Don't celebrate too early. That man... there's something unnatural about him. Even with his heart shattered by Captain Tian Yu's kick, he still didn't die."

The one who spoke was none other than Shizune, a seasoned medical-nin with sharp analytical skills.

She had seen the entire clash and made an immediate, precise judgment about the situation.

"How… how is that possible?"

Sunflower's eyes widened, disbelief written all over her face. "How can anyone survive with their heart destroyed?!"

What Shizune had just said…

It completely defied her understanding of biology and chakra-based survival.

---

"Cough… cough…"

"You actually injured me? I underestimated you… Konoha brat..."

In the distant ruins of the battlefield,

a sight even more unbelievable than before stunned Sunflower.

Kakuzu, the enemy whose heart had been crushed by Tian Yu's devastating taijutsu kick, had crashed into the rocky ground—

And after a few coughs laced with blood,

He actually stood back up.

Chunks of cracked, cloth-like flesh peeled off from his body.

Beneath the half-destroyed mask,

A trace of undisguised shock flickered in his expression.

Since the founding of the ninja villages during the Warring States era, Kakuzu had roamed the world.

His age exceeded even that of Ōnoki, the Third Tsuchikage—one of the oldest living shinobi.

In all his long and battle-hardened years,

Never once had he been this humiliated by someone so young.

Not only had he been knocked back,

But one of his precious hearts had been destroyed.

He raised a hand,

Brushing the cavity in his chest where the organ once pulsed.

His eerie, dark green eyes flared like cursed fire.

"Damn kid!"

"I'll tear you apart and rip out your heart!" Kakuzu bellowed with murderous rage.

"Rip out my heart? You?"

The voice floated down from the air, light and disdainful.

Tian Yu hovered above, the Nichirin Blade in hand, a mocking smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"You really think you've lived this long by your own strength?

You didn't even dare to assassinate the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, to his face. You ran."

"If you had even an ounce of self-awareness, you'd keep running."

"Because someone like me…"

"…is not someone you can provoke and expect to survive."

Kakuzu froze.

For a brief moment, his wrath turned to hesitation.

And then—buried deep in his eyes—something far more telling than anger appeared.

Fear.

"You… What do you know?!"

There was a faint tremble in Kakuzu's voice.

His fists clenched tightly—knuckles bone-white—his body betraying the emotional chaos within.

He thought no one knew the truth.

Not about that mission.

Not about the cowardice that had haunted him for decades.

He was proud, once, of his "assassination" attempt on Hashirama.

But the truth?

The truth was this—

He survived not because he was the strongest…

But because he never actually fought.

He had thrown a kunai from a distance.

Then watched as Hashirama obliterated his comrades—one by one.

He had frozen.

Terrified.

And in that moment, he turned and ran, abandoning his mission and his teammates.

A deserter.

A disgrace.

The memory had remained locked away ever since.

And now—Tian Yu's words pulled the scab right off the wound.

The killing intent radiating from Kakuzu intensified. His eyes blazed, glaring murderously at Tian Yu.

"Cowardice! Greed! Stupidity!"

"Following me, chasing money, was the most idiotic mistake you've ever made!"

He stormed forward through the dust,

Each step echoing across the battlefield,

Until he stood once more before Tian Yu, worn but unyielding.

"You think you can talk down to me?"

Beaten back and humiliated,

Exposed for the fraud he'd buried deep,

Kakuzu's expression twisted in rage.

"Back when I roamed the world, brats like you weren't even born!"

With a furious roar, he surged forward.

"Earth Grudge Fear – Tendril Strike!"

Though one of his five hearts had been destroyed,

The remaining four still made him a monstrous opponent.

And now—

He intended to make Tian Yu pay.

From the seam of his wrist,

A black mass burst forth—

Tangled cords of writhing, chakra-infused tendrils erupted into the air.

His punch extended like a spring-loaded battering ram.

CRACK!

A massive boom echoed.

These tendrils—part of the Earth Grudge Fear (Jiongu) technique—carried power rivaling even Tsunade's punches.

Walls shattered under their weight.

"This is it, huh?" Tian Yu muttered calmly, analyzing the jutsu as the blow approached.

"The hidden forbidden technique of Takigakure—Earth Grudge Fear."

He stood still, eyes deep and unmoved, like autumn lakes in the mountains.

"Disgusting."

"You turned your body into this patchwork abomination..."

Had the system not assigned a special task to recycle this technique's data—

He'd have rejected it outright.

Even with its utility, it repulsed him.

Sure, Earth Grudge Fear granted pseudo-immortality.

It used black tendrils like blood vessels to steal and control the hearts of others, allowing the user to manipulate multiple chakra natures at once.

Its versatility in long-range attacks, flexibility, and regenerative prowess made Kakuzu nearly invincible.

Even severed from the main body, these tendrils acted like sentient organisms—

Morphing, stretching, adapting.

In full combat state, Kakuzu wielded four masks—each housing a stolen heart with unique elemental chakra.

Hidden deep within the flesh, protected by layers of cords—

These masks made him nearly impossible to kill.

He had no real vital point anymore.

But Tian Yu remained unshaken.

"Still not enough to threaten me."

He smiled faintly.

Then whispered—

"Eight Gates Released Formation…"

"First Gate: Gate of Opening – Open!"

"Second Gate: Gate of Healing – Open!"

"Third Gate: Gate of Life – Open!"

"Fourth Gate: Gate of Pain – Open!"

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