Chapter 62: The Death of Jūzō Biwa

Chapter 62: The Death of Jūzō Biwa

Gazing at the comatose Kabuto before him, Yusuke ignited a small flame at his fingertip.

The first thing he had to do was deal with the wooden spikes crisscrossing Kabuto's body.

He reached out and touched one of the protruding spikes with his fingertip.

With a soft whoosh, like the sound of fire catching, the tiny flame instantly spread, burning all the interconnected wooden spikes inside Kabuto's body to ash—without causing the slightest harm to Kabuto himself.

In truth, had these wooden fragments not remained inside him, Kabuto's regenerative abilities would have been enough to heal his body on their own.

However, the wood had blocked the flow of chakra needed to repair his tissues, forcing Kabuto to waste massive amounts of chakra just to barely cling to life—making self-recovery impossible.

This alone was proof of how terrifying Obito's Wood Piercing Technique truly was.

After clearing away the wooden spikes, Yusuke retrieved a vial containing a Hashirama Cell Fusion Solution—something he had acquired through a deal with Orochimaru—and injected it into Kabuto's shoulder.

Just as he had once saved the Fourth Hokage and his wife, Yusuke now performed the miraculous healing technique known as the Seal of Vitality, rapidly infusing Kabuto with an overwhelming surge of vitality.

As soon as the Seal of Vitality took effect, Kabuto let out a weak cough and slowly opened his eyes.

"Sensei... I'm sorry. I failed to defeat the enemy and ended up collapsing instead..." Kabuto said feebly, his voice full of self-blame.

Yusuke shook his head.

"No. You've done more than enough."

"It was my own lack of vigilance—falling for a diversion—that gave that old fox Danzo the opportunity to strike."

Hearing this, Izumi, who had been listening nearby, looked puzzled.

"Then, big brother, how did you suddenly show up here? And… what's with that severed head?"

The scene shifted to about ten minutes earlier.

At that time, Yusuke had still been in a valley within the Land of Rain, facing off against Sasori, Kakuzu, and Jūzō Biwa.

Wanting to end the battle quickly, Yusuke immediately released the Shikai form of Ryūjin Jakka.

The moment he did, the entire valley was engulfed in suffocating heat as the flames turned the falling rain into rising mist.

Sasori, Kakuzu, and Jūzō exchanged a glance.

Seeing Yusuke wreathed in flames and radiating overwhelming pressure, they wordlessly decided to strike first.

Kakuzu swiftly formed hand seals, and the wind and water mask monsters beside him opened their mouths simultaneously, launching a combined elemental attack:

"Wind Style: Water Style: Whirling Wind-Water Dance!"

Countless razor-sharp wind blades, mixed with high-pressure water bullets, rained down in a relentless assault toward Yusuke's position.

Facing Kakuzu's compound ninjutsu, Yusuke raised Ryūjin Jakka and swung it forward with a mighty slash.

The slash Yusuke unleashed carried no accompanying flames.

Relying solely on the pressure of his spiritual energy, he cleaved the dense Whirling Wind-Water Dance cleanly down the middle, leaving marks from the wind blades and water bullets only on the ground to either side of him.

At that moment, Sasori's Third Kazekage puppet had already soared overhead, preparing to launch an attack from above.

"Magnet Release: Iron Sand World Method!"

"Solar Flare!"

Just as the puppet unleashed a torrent of iron sand, Yusuke simultaneously activated his Sharingan's ocular technique, Solar Flare.

The puppet, its entire form ignited in radiant crimson-gold flames, began vomiting a massive volume of black iron sand, quickly forming a deadly iron sand barrier.

Within an instant, sharp black spikes blanketed the area where Yusuke stood.

"What?!"

Sasori's expression shifted dramatically—he hadn't even seen how the flames had struck his puppet.

Had it been a normal, visible attack, Sasori could have easily manipulated his puppet to evade it with his expert puppet mastery.

But Yusuke's ocular-based, direct ignition attack was another matter altogether, leaving almost no time to react.

Realizing the Third Kazekage puppet was beyond saving, Sasori surged his chakra output to the limit, magnifying the strength of the Iron Sand World Method—one final, desperate act of the puppet's dying might.

The already densely packed iron sand spikes rapidly sprouted additional branches, filling the entire valley in a matter of seconds, leaving only small safe zones around the other Akatsuki members.

"Hmph. Even if I lose my most prized puppet, taking down a monster like this is worth it," Sasori thought grimly.

"Kakuzu—use Lightning Release!"

Though Sasori believed the iron sand trap should be foolproof, he still ordered Kakuzu to attack as insurance, aiming for complete annihilation.

Kakuzu immediately understood.

The iron content in the sand was extremely high, making it highly conductive—perfect for a Lightning Release technique to maximize devastation.

However, before Kakuzu could complete his lightning attack, they all witnessed a small point of light ignite at the very heart of the iron sand barrier.

From that tiny spark, flames spread outward in an instant.

In mere moments, the black iron spikes crisscrossing the entire valley were consumed by searing, crimson-gold fire.

In just a few seconds, the elaborate Iron Sand World Method was completely melted away—utterly undone.

"Impossible! How can a Fire Release technique reach such a temperature?!"

Sasori was stunned, while Kakuzu and Jūzō Biwa were equally shaken by the spectacle.

Yet before any of them could react, a scream suddenly tore through the air.

They turned to see Jūzō's body igniting from the shoulder down.

"He's using an ocular flame technique!"

Finally, Sasori understood: Yusuke's attacks weren't traditional projectiles or jutsu—they were ignited by direct visual targeting through his Sharingan.

Such attacks were eerie and hard to anticipate.

But, as seen in the original canon with techniques like Itachi's Amaterasu, there was usually a slight delay between the eye locking onto the target and the flames actually manifesting.

If a ninja was fast and alert enough after being targeted, it was possible—though difficult—to evade the flames by quick movement.

Yusuke's Solar Flare seemed to work similarly.

Yet even as Sasori grasped the mechanism behind the technique, an even more shocking scene unfolded before them.

From the burning flames on Jūzō's shoulder, Yusuke's upper body suddenly emerged.

Sensing the surge of killing intent behind him, Jūzō spun around in alarm—only to meet a pair of cold, indifferent gold-red Sharingan eyes.

A crimson arc of light flashed past.

A burning head flew through the air.

"Impressive..."

The severed head managed a final word of admiration—the last words Jūzō Biwa would ever speak.

Without pausing for even a moment, Yusuke immediately lunged toward Sasori next.

Given that Kakuzu, with his Earth Grudge Fear ability and four elemental hearts, could survive multiple fatal blows, Yusuke decided it was best to take down Sasori first.