Hashirama Senju... the God of Shinobi.
Back when Kakuzu was still an elite Jōnin of Takigakure, he had been ordered to assassinate Hashirama Senju. Naturally, he failed. That overwhelming pressure still haunted his memories. To regain his composure—and rid himself of that laughable village leader—he killed his comrades and stole the forbidden technique, Earth Grudge Fear. It was thanks to this technique that he had managed to survive to this day.
He had outlived the First Hokage, then the Second, and now he was close to outlasting the Third as well.
Yet today, he was mocked by a brat.
Fury surged from the depths of Kakuzu's heart. He had to kill this kid. This brat had to die!
Especially after the brat shattered one of his hearts. That broken heart would be repaid with the boy's life!
Kakuzu thrust out both hands, and black tendrils erupted from every part of his body, swarming toward Kazuyama Gekkō like a plague of locusts.
Kazuyama didn't flinch. A confident smirk tugged at his lips.
In a flash, he vanished—Flying Thunder God Technique.
Missing his target, Kakuzu began scanning for Kazuyama's whereabouts, only for the injured Bobosai to suddenly rise again.
"Wind Release! Pressure Damage!"
A violent gale surged forth, sweeping over Kakuzu and his masked monsters once again.
Even in agony, Bobosai was determined to pin Kakuzu down.
But with his injuries, the technique had lost its former power.
"Wind Release! Great Breakthrough!"
Just as his strength began to fade, Yahiko appeared at his side. Though Wind Release wasn't his specialty, he could still conjure gusts with chakra alone.
With the added wind force, Bobosai's Pressure Damage gradually regained its edge, becoming increasingly lethal.
"Hmph!"
But Kakuzu didn't flinch. The three masked monsters stood in front of him, enclosing him, as Earth Release activated.
Their rock-hard bodies emerged—fully shielding him from the attack.
When the storm finally settled, Kazuyama had disappeared again, and Kakuzu clenched his jaw in frustration.
Then, something bizarre happened.
From above, countless pieces of paper-like objects began to flutter down.
The strange sight froze Kakuzu, Bobosai, and Yahiko in place.
Kakuzu grabbed one and held it up. The moment he saw it, his eyes widened.
This wasn't paper. It was money!
Two hundred ryō bills—raining from the sky!
Just as he was debating whether to scoop them up, a slow voice rang out from the air, crushing his last thread of resistance.
"I love money, money loves me, money comes from all directions..."
"Money Style: Endless Flying Banknotes!"
That one line hit Kakuzu right in the heart. He did love money! In all his long life, he had come to realize one thing—money was everything. It never betrayed him. With money, he had it all.
At that moment, Earth Grudge Fear's tendrils surged to life with unmatched vigor.
Each black tentacle snatched a bill and swiftly delivered it back to Kakuzu's hands.
The speed was unreal—so fast it left Bobosai and Yahiko dumbfounded.
Wasn't this supposed to be a battle? A fight to the death?
Why had it suddenly turned into a money grab?
Was this monster even serious? Why was he acting like this?...
"Hehehehehe..."
Just as Kakuzu finished gathering all the money, a sly laugh echoed out of nowhere.
The moment he heard it, Kakuzu felt a sense of dread rise in his chest.
Before he could react, Kazuyama Gekkō's mocking face appeared right in front of him.
With a single grab, all the money was in Kazuyama's hands. Before Kakuzu could even process what happened, he vanished on the spot.
Kakuzu stared at his now-empty palms, stunned. Completely dumbfounded.
And then, the shock gave way to rage!
He stole my money! From my own hands! So brazenly!
When had Kakuzu ever suffered such humiliation?
"You bastard brat! Give me back my money!!!"
He was seething with fury.
But that was exactly what Kazuyama wanted. He held the stack of cash Kakuzu had just painstakingly collected.
[Ding! Host has been detected toying with money-obsessed Kakuzu, sending him into a near-mad frenzy. Truly, a strike right where it hurts! Reward granted: Fire Release: Searing Migraine!]
Oh? Just like that, he scored a jutsu drop from Kakuzu?
Even a technique like Searing Migraine dropped?
Too funny! Kazuyama grinned—he was definitely going to squeeze more value out of Kakuzu now.
He looked down at the furious Kakuzu and chuckled darkly.
"Looking for this?"
"Huh? Isn't that my money?"
"You dropped it while running away just now. Thanks for the delivery, sewing freak."
"You're actually kind of a nice guy."
Merciless! It sounded like gratitude, but every word stabbed straight into Kakuzu's chest.
If his body wasn't already full of black tendrils, he probably would've coughed up blood right then and there.
Instead, when he opened his mouth, only black threads spilled out.
He had still resembled a human moments ago—now he was full-on monster.
"Hey hey hey? Getting worked up already?"
"Crystal Release: Torrential Pear Blossom Needles! Ascending Dragon!"
Kazuyama flashed a sharp grin and launched his attack—countless crystal senbon rained down, along with a massive crystal dragon roaring through the sky.
Kakuzu, completely unhinged, reabsorbed all his masked monsters into his body, transforming into a true abomination.
Faced with the attack descending from above, he didn't hesitate.
"Fire Release: Searing Migraine!"
"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"
Twin elemental blasts erupted from two of his mask monsters, combining fire and lightning into a devastating wave of force.
Their techniques collided midair with Kazuyama's, and the resulting shockwave sent Bobosai and Yahiko stumbling backward.
"What a terrifying clash."
"So that's the power of the Ghost of Konoha?"
"Crystal? That's a Kekkei Genkai."
Bobosai gazed up at Kazuyama, suspended midair by a platform of crystal, a look of awe on his face.
"No wonder he made such an impact in this war—with power like that, he's definitely a force."
"But..."
He didn't finish, but Yahiko understood what he meant.
That if this was all Kazuyama had, it still might not be enough to take down Kakuzu.
What they didn't know was that Kazuyama Gekkō's true power remained hidden. Even if he couldn't reveal everything right now, he still had plenty of ways to handle Kakuzu.
Sure enough, floating in the sky, he curled his lips into another mischievous grin.
It was obvious—he had another trick up his sleeve.
After all, messing with opponents mid-battle? He lived for it...