Chapter 82 (Patreon)

“That’s right. I’m Nerona Mihawk, a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf.”

Mihawk slid his sword back into its sheath and lowered himself into a sword-drawing stance.

His expression remained calm as he stared at Kakuzu.

“And I’m the one who’s going to kill you.”

“Arrogant brat. I’m not someone like Sasori.”

Beneath the sleeves of Kakuzu’s Akatsuki cloak, countless black tendrils writhed.

The wrists he had driven underground earlier withdrew from the earth and reattached themselves to his arms.

“Even though Konoha has kept information about you hidden, your head still carries no bounty in the black market.”

His voice turned cold.

“But today, I’ll make an exception. I’ll take your head and your heart without expecting a single ryō in return.”

Whoosh!

Mihawk offered no reply.

He had never been one to waste words once a battle began.

The moment he locked onto Kakuzu’s presence, his figure vanished.

Unlike the Body Flicker Technique, his movement did not rely on a sudden burst of chakra from his feet.

Kakuzu’s eyes widened slightly.

Fast.

And what kind of movement technique is that?

In the next instant, Mihawk appeared directly in front of him as though he had teleported.

Shing!

A clear metallic sound rang out as Mihawk drew his blade.

An overwhelming sense of danger surged through Kakuzu.

He instinctively prepared to harden his body with Earth Release: Earth Spear, but the experience he had accumulated since the Warring States Period warned him against it.

That blade could not be blocked.

Rip!

Trusting his instincts, Kakuzu channelled chakra through his feet. A faint spark flashed beneath them as he pushed himself backwards.

He opened a distance of nearly two metres between them.

Even so, the front of his Akatsuki cloak suddenly split open.

A long cut stretched diagonally from his left shoulder to his right leg.

A chill ran through Kakuzu’s entire body.

Mihawk remained where he had completed his draw, holding his sword with a faintly disappointed expression.

A drop of cold sweat slid down Kakuzu’s forehead.

For perhaps the first time in years, a slight tremor entered his voice.

“That strike… What exactly was it?”

It had been nothing more than an ordinary sword draw.

The weapon was not a chakra blade, and Kakuzu had sensed no chakra fluctuations from it.

Yet every instinct in his body told him that even Earth Spear would have been cut apart with ease.

Kakuzu had fought countless swordsmen throughout his long life.

Aside from the White Fang of the Leaf, he had also hunted and killed many skilled samurai from the Land of Iron whose heads carried substantial bounties.

However, compared to the boy standing before him, their swordsmanship seemed worlds apart.

It was not only the power of Mihawk’s earlier Ranged Slash.

Even that simple sword draw contained an incomprehensible level of skill.

This brat is a monster.

Just like Shikamaru of the Nara clan, he could not be underestimated.

One possessed terrifying intelligence.

The other possessed overwhelming strength.

Carelessness against either of them could lead to his death.

Those thoughts flashed through Kakuzu’s mind as he landed on the ground and formed a hand seal.

“Wind Release: Pressure Damage!”

Kakuzu leaned backwards and drew in a deep breath.

His cheeks swelled before he expelled a violent torrent of compressed wind toward Mihawk.

The air twisted into a massive tornado.

Its currents were as sharp as countless blades, ripping through the ground and tearing apart everything in its path as it roared forward with a deafening howl.

This was no ordinary gust of wind.

It contained the cutting power created by Wind Release chakra.

Mihawk’s expression did not change.

He did not even consider cutting through the tornado.

Boom!

He stepped forcefully against the air and launched himself into the sky.

A burst of compressed air bloomed beneath his feet as he rose above the attack.

After avoiding the tornado, Mihawk looked down at Kakuzu.

Black tendrils had already begun writhing beneath the back of the Akatsuki cloak.

Mihawk still did not attack.

He was waiting.

He had deliberately made himself the bait, intending to force Kakuzu to release the masks contained within his body.

Once that happened, Kakuzu would enter his strongest state.

At the same time, he would also expose his greatest weakness.

Kakuzu frowned as he watched Mihawk remain suspended in the air without launching another attack.

Had it been anyone else, even someone capable of flight, Kakuzu would have extended his arms and dragged them back to the ground.

However, after experiencing Mihawk’s sword draw, he understood just how dangerous the boy’s blade was.

If he attacked with the tendrils of Earth Grudge Fear, they would undoubtedly be cut apart.

Besides, aerial combat was better suited to the power he was about to unleash.

Rip!

The sound of tearing cloth echoed through the forest.

Kakuzu’s Akatsuki cloak split apart and fell from his body in ragged pieces, revealing flesh covered in countless stitches.

The four masks embedded in his back began writhing violently.

Several seconds later, the seams across his body tore open.

Countless black threads erupted from Kakuzu’s back, gathering together into four monstrous forms.

Each creature possessed a different mask and represented one of the hearts stored within Kakuzu’s body.

Boom!

The moment all four masks separated from him, Mihawk attacked.

A dazzling dark-red Ranged Slash tore through the air.

The crescent-shaped blade of force stretched nearly ten metres as it descended toward Kakuzu.

Mihawk followed directly behind it, running through the air.

Through his Observation Haki, Kakuzu’s figure and every subtle movement he made remained perfectly clear.

It was as though Mihawk had already seen what he would do next.

Kakuzu brought his index fingers together.

“Lightning Release: False Darkness!”

The lightning-nature mask behind him immediately opened its mouth.

A massive spear of lightning erupted into the sky.

Boom!

The lightning spear collided with Mihawk’s Ranged Slash.

The two attacks exploded on impact, producing a violent shockwave that swept across the forest like countless invisible blades.

However, Mihawk had already begun descending the instant he saw the lightning attack being released.

Using the shockwave from the collision, he kicked against the air once more.

Boom!

His body accelerated sharply, transforming into an arrow as he shot downward.

“So that’s it. Your target is me!”

Kakuzu finally understood.

Mihawk had never taken his eyes off him.

He quickly retreated while the four masked creatures leapt forward to intercept the descending swordsman.

“I don’t know how you learned about my abilities, but I won’t let your plan succeed so easily!”

A triumphant smile appeared on Mihawk’s face.

“Who said you were my target?”

His gaze shifted toward the four masked creatures.

“Those four hearts are what keep you alive, aren’t they?”

Mihawk abruptly stopped his descent.

Suspended in the air, he returned his sword to its sheath and once again assumed a sword-drawing stance.

Kakuzu’s expression changed.

A terrible feeling surged through him.

Shing!

A dazzling flash of sword light appeared.

In the next instant, an enormous wave of dark-red light swept across the sky, shining over the entire forest like the first rays of the sun tearing apart the night.