"Aki vs. Kakuzu: A Will of Fire."

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Aki had only passed out from chakra exhaustion, so the loud crash when Akimichi Torifu's massive body got sent flying was enough to wake him up. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw Kakuzu walking toward Shimura Danzo. Kakuzu had several tentacle-like things coming out of his hands, lashing out at Danzo. Aki panicked—he wanted to help, but his chakra hadn't recovered much yet.

Then suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind—Hero Water!

At this critical moment, Aki didn't have time to worry about the so-called side effects. He grabbed the Hero Water and drank it. Instantly, an enormous surge of chakra exploded through his body, ten times his normal amount. In that moment, Aki had the power of a top-tier jonin. He fired off a Fire Style jutsu to burn away those tentacles and shouted:

"I'm still standing! What's the rush?!"

Kakuzu sneered, "Just worried you'd choke on your own teeth if I hit you too hard."

Without wasting time, Aki summoned shadow clones again to fight Kakuzu. Since Kakuzu had two Earth Grudge Fear masks still active, Aki created two clones to keep them at bay while he went all out.

He unleashed his ultimate technique: Fire Style – Grand Fire Dragon Rampage.

Fueled by that massive chakra, the technique finally manifested in its complete form for the first time—an enormous fire dragon that looked like it could burn the whole world to ash charged straight at Kakuzu.

Seeing how powerful it was, Kakuzu didn't dare take it head-on and quickly dodged. Aki kept the fire dragon on his tail, chasing after him relentlessly. Kakuzu responded with Water Style – Water Curtain Dome, unleashing a huge torrent of water that shot up like a cannon and smashed into the fire dragon. The clash neutralized the jutsu, so Aki cut off the chakra connection and detonated the dragon, causing a huge explosion around Kakuzu that sent him flying.

Aki immediately used Body Flicker to close the gap and stabbed at Kakuzu with a kunai—only to discover he had hit nothing but a water clone. The real Kakuzu slowly rose from a nearby lake, completely unharmed.

Looking at Aki, Kakuzu said, "That Fire Style was no joke. The Uchiha really are full of prodigies. Madara's only been dead a few years, and now someone like you shows up. I never got to witness Madara's full power, but if the first Konoha ninja I fought was any indication, there's no doubt Madara was a monster. You just destroyed one of my hearts… I'll take yours as a replacement."

He lunged at Aki.

Aki's eyes narrowed. "My grandfather is nothing like a trash ninja like you. He was a legend, on par with my master—the First Hokage himself."

Thanks to his chakra boost, Aki's clones were able to hold off the remaining Earth Grudge Fear masks for now. Aki gripped his kunai tightly and charged at Kakuzu.

Kakuzu turned his arm into a stone blade and slashed at Aki. Their weapons clashed, and Kakuzu suddenly kicked Aki in the stomach. Aki staggered back, preparing another jutsu—but Kakuzu's leg detached from his body and smashed into Aki's gut, slamming him into the ground.

Kakuzu slowly walked toward where Aki had fallen, speaking as he moved:

"Your taijutsu is pathetic. You underestimated my experience. Turns out, this is the limit of your strength. Even with all that insane chakra, you've got no real combat sense. Oh, and by the way—did I mention the first Konoha ninja I ever fought was your First Hokage? Give up, kid."

Aki coughed, forced himself to stand, and growled, "Then I really can't lose to you. I'm the First Hokage's only student! I'll stake my life on this fight. Guess I didn't drink enough!"

He pulled out the Hero Water again—this time, the one he took from Danzo's waist earlier—and drank it. His chakra exploded again, and he shouted, "Let's go another round!"

"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

A thousand shadow clones appeared, all charging at Kakuzu. Several of them fired off Fire Style – Great Fireball Jutsu in unison. Kakuzu moved quickly, dodging and countering with his two Earth Grudge Fear masks. Aki relied on his massive chakra reserves to keep producing clones and overwhelm Kakuzu with sheer numbers.

Aki knew his taijutsu didn't stand a chance against Kakuzu, and most of his ninjutsu was limited. Aside from Fire Style, his Wind and Lightning Style moves were pretty much junk. As for genjutsu? Useless against a veteran like Kakuzu. His only hope was to stall with Fire Style jutsu and endless clones until reinforcements arrived.

He thought of what Uchiha Kagami said about backup—Please let them get here soon…

Glancing at the battlefield again, Aki analyzed the situation. "Those last two Earth Grudge Fear masks can only use one element each—one shoots Lightning, the other Earth. And Kakuzu's only shown Water and Earth so far. If I want to drag this out, I have to destroy all of the masks first."

With that thought, Aki made a break for the masks.

Kakuzu looked at the mass of clones and couldn't pinpoint the real Aki among them. The two Earth Grudge Fear masks flew above the battlefield, firing attacks at the shadow clones, but Kakuzu was starting to feel the pressure. He knew Aki was stalling—but damn, most people couldn't pull off this many clones. Even Kage-level ninja would struggle with it.

If he used a big jutsu to clear the clones, Aki would just counter with more Fire Style. Didn't expect that Hero Water to be so powerful... gotta admit, that was impressive.

Suddenly, the tide shifted.

Five clones worked together to launch a combined Fire Style attack on one of the flying masks. Kakuzu rushed in to intercept—but at that moment, the real Aki appeared beneath the second mask, throwing wire-laced shuriken and binding it in place. He immediately followed up with Fire Style – Great Fireball Jutsu, reducing the mask to ashes. Afterward, he vanished back into the sea of clones.

Kakuzu narrowed his eyes, now aware of Aki's strategy. He quickly ordered the last mask to keep its distance and secretly used Water Clone Jutsu, hiding his real body.

Aki spotted Kakuzu and the last mask keeping far apart. Not thinking much of it, he moved toward the remaining mask and had his clones swarm it like moths to a flame. The mask fired off jutsu wildly at the clones, but in the brief pause between attacks, the real Aki emerged, launched a Fire Style – Fire Dragon Jutsu, and incinerated it on the spot.

Finally, all the masks were gone. Aki sighed in relief and turned to blend back into the crowd of clones—only to hear a voice from beneath his feet:

"Got you, brat!"

A hand shot out of the ground, grabbed Aki by the neck, and slammed him into a tree. Another hand burst out and transformed into a stone blade, smashing into Aki's stomach. Blood sprayed from Aki's mouth, and the intense pain made his vision blur. All his clones vanished instantly.

Kakuzu walked over slowly. His right hand retracted like a tentacle and stitched itself back to his body. He stared down at Aki and said coldly, "You've been a real pain in the ass, kid."

Then he turned his right arm into stone again and punched Aki in the stomach so hard it shattered the tree behind him.

Aki grinned weakly. "That all you got? I thought someone who fought my master would be stronger than this. Compared to him, you're nothing but an insect. Guess I gave you too much credit."

He made a single hand sign—the detonation signal.

Kakuzu's face changed. "Shit—!"

A massive explosion erupted around them. It lasted nearly two full minutes. When the smoke cleared, Kakuzu was half-kneeling, his whole body covered in a layer of stone, smirking.

"Well played, kid. Using yourself as bait to lure out my real body… that was your plan all along, huh?"

Aki lay face-down in the dirt, completely drained. Even that didn't kill him... He let out a bitter laugh.

"To die at the hands of someone like you... what a damn joke."

Kakuzu chuckled, grabbing Aki by the neck and lifting him up.

"You'd probably be worth a hefty bounty. Shame I won't get a single ryo out of this. But your eyes and your heart? I'll take those."

He glanced at Aki with a sneer.

"Still hoping that ninja who ran away will come back with help? Forget it. In this world, the only thing you can truly rely on is money. Villages, beliefs, honor—those are all illusions. Only money is real. Money never lies, never betrays you."

He raised his right hand and activated his secret jutsu:

Immortality Jutsu – Heart Extraction.

Tentacles burst from his arm and shot toward Aki's chest. Aki hung his head, powerless.

I just wanted to live a good life in this world... I didn't think it would end like this. Is this the end of my second life? I wonder if I'll get reincarnated again. Will Mom cry for me? Will Dad shed a tear? Will my teacher be disappointed in me? I just... I just want one more taste of Mom's bibimbap. It was salty... but I miss it so much...

As his thoughts faded, Aki lost consciousness.

Right when the tentacles were about to pierce Aki's heart, a voice came from above.

"Nyoi Nyoi—Fall!"

Kakuzu looked up—just in time to see a staff smash into his hand, snapping it clean off. A figure dropped down, kicked Kakuzu in the head, and forced him back.

Kakuzu retreated and looked carefully at the newcomer. His eyes narrowed.

"Konoha ninja?!"

The newcomer quickly checked Aki's condition—he was still alive. Then he turned toward Kakuzu and said calmly:

"I am Sarutobi Hiruzen, heir of the Sarutobi clan from the Hidden Leaf. If you want to kill anyone else, you'll have to go through me first."

The future Third Hokage had arrived.

"....."