Chapter 428

"An old man who doesn't die is a thief"—this saying is not the least bit false.

No matter how many years pass, compared to powerhouses like Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara, Kakuzu's strength is still not enough to look at.

But for so many years, Kakuzu has not been standing still.

Time has brought Kakuzu an advantage called "experience."

Especially compared to the extremely immature Kurotsuchi in front of him, Kakuzu's combat experience can be said to be more than ten streets ahead of Kurotsuchi.

Regarding Kurotsuchi's slightly impatient counterattack, Kakuzu appears unhurried, his eyes carrying a bit of disdain.

Faced with his probing attack, the opponent actually chooses to reveal her trump card directly; such combat awareness can be said to be "childish."

And this is unavoidable; with Kurotsuchi's background and age, she hasn't experienced many bloody battles, so it is perfectly normal for her to reveal flaws.

Kurotsuchi's Lava Release: Ash Stone Coagulation Technique solidifies all the pitch-black tentacles gushing out from Kakuzu's shoulder blades on the spot.

Because the tentacles are solidified by cement, the huge weight also restrains Kakuzu, causing Kakuzu to be unable to move for a time.

Seeing that Kurotsuchi's seal forming is about to be completed, Kakuzu is not panicked at all.

Or rather, he deliberately let Kurotsuchi perform the ninjutsu.

Just when Kurotsuchi is one seal away from completing her ninjutsu, the ground under her feet suddenly ruptures.

"Boom!!!"

With a roar, several pitch-black tentacles condensed from pitch-black, filthy threads burst out from the ground.

"What!"

Kurotsuchi is greatly alarmed in her heart; seeing that the pitch-black tentacles are about to pierce her body, a struggle flashes in Kurotsuchi's eyes.

Because it must be known that at this moment, Kurotsuchi's ninjutsu is only one seal away; as long as she forms this seal, her ninjutsu will also be successfully activated, and at that time, Kakuzu, who cannot move, will also be directly killed by her ninjutsu.

If she can kill Kakuzu first, then Kakuzu's strange tentacle ninjutsu will inevitably stop, and she will be able to directly win the battle.

So should she take a gamble?

In this less than one-thousandth of a second, a struggle flashes in Kurotsuchi's heart.

And opposite Kurotsuchi, a hint of playfulness flashes in the eyes of Kakuzu, who is imprisoned by the cement.

A ninja's battle is not only a continuous collision between each other but also a game on a psychological level.

Kakuzu could have directly manipulated the tentacles to attack Kurotsuchi, but he deliberately waited until the moment Kurotsuchi was about to complete her seal to make a move, also wanting to use Kurotsuchi's gambling psychology to solve Kurotsuchi directly.

If Kurotsuchi really decides to take a gamble, then she will also fall directly into Kakuzu's trap.

This kind of situation is exactly what Kakuzu is best at; when it comes to the style of "trading injury for injury," he has never been afraid of anyone.

Because even if he stood still and let Kurotsuchi hit him, Kurotsuchi could not kill him with one move.

Now, it depends on how Kurotsuchi chooses.

In the end, Kurotsuchi decides to follow her instincts.

She forcibly stops the seal-forming action and uses the Body Flicker Technique to dodge behind her.

"Whoosh!"

Kakuzu's tentacles miss again, but this time it is no longer a wasted effort.

Even though she activated the Body Flicker Technique in time, Kurotsuchi fails to dodge the tentacle attack perfectly this time.

"Damn it!"

Kurotsuchi clutches her arm and curses through gritted teeth.

She lowers her head and looks at her arm; on her flawless white forearm, there is an extra pitch-black mark.

Not only that, on the wound on her forearm, filthy thread ends seem to be surging within it.

It turns out that when she dodged just now, she was caught off guard and scratched by Kakuzu's pitch-black tentacles.

Before Kurotsuchi can catch her breath, the sound of stone shattering enters her ears.

"Boom!!!"

The cement blocks that had solidified Kakuzu's large number of tentacles are actually torn apart directly by Kakuzu's Earth Grudge Fear tentacles.

Kurotsuchi's pupils contract slightly; it turns out that Kakuzu had been teasing her all along; he could have broken free from this little bit of cement at will.

"Now, I've played enough, so please die."

Looking at the delicate and lovely young girl opposite, there is not a hint of chivalry in Kakuzu's eyes; all there is, is a desire and greed for money.

Under Kakuzu's evil gaze, goosebumps rise all over Kurotsuchi's body.

"Run! Must run!"

Kurotsuchi suddenly realizes that evaluating her combat power, it is simply impossible to match this twisted and ugly man in front of her.

To survive, the only way is to run!

Instantly, Kurotsuchi prepares to flee without looking back.

However, would an old fox with rich experience like Kakuzu leave her a chance to run away?

The answer is obviously negative.

Or rather, the reason Kakuzu is entangled with Kurotsuchi here is just to set up measures to prevent Kurotsuchi from escaping.

Kurotsuchi does not notice that, silently, one of the masks Kakuzu had sewn on his back is missing.

When she turns around and prepares to run away, she suddenly stops her steps.

I don't know when, but a monster has already quietly touched a short distance behind her; it is currently tilting its head and staring at her fixedly.

The monster has a bloated and huge body, wearing a terrifying and strange mask; the monster's whole body is composed of glaring, filthy, pitch-black threads; it looks like an oversized black sea urchin, filled with a sense of unclean and evil turbidity.

With a wolf in front and a tiger behind, Kurotsuchi obviously has nowhere to escape.

And at this moment, Kakuzu's patience has long since been worn out.

"Die!"

Kakuzu shouts, the murderous intent in his fluorescent green eyes soaring.

"Pfft!!!"

At this moment, the place where Kakuzu's shoulder blades were sewn together by black threads ruptures again, but this time, unlike before, what appears in the opening is not pitch-black tentacles, but two twisted heads wearing strange masks.

Kakuzu has actually transferred the two masks sewn on his back to his shoulder blades.

Fire Release: Searing Migraine!

Following Kakuzu's seal forming, the mask on his left shoulder slowly opens its big mouth full of fangs, and a terrifying high temperature gathers within it.

At the same time, the pitch-black monster behind Kurotsuchi is not idle either; it also opens its pitch-black big mouth, brewing purple electric sparks within it.

Lightning Release: False Darkness!

Violent red flames and purple electric sparks are spat out from the mouths of the two masked monsters simultaneously.

Whether in terms of coverage or the quality of the technique, these two escape techniques have definitely reached the peak level of the ninja world.

In terms of ninjutsu release, Kakuzu has undoubtedly surpassed the vast majority of ninjas in the ninja world.

Faced with this equally violent attack from front and back, Kurotsuchi has no power to resist.

This is an almost full-power strike from a Kage-level powerhouse; what can she use to block it?

"Is it destined that I can only die in this era that doesn't belong to me?"

Kurotsuchi's heart is filled with unwillingness, but at this moment, she is helpless.

In the end, she can only choose to close her eyes and calmly accept the arrival of fate.

"Boom!!!!!"

The red sea of fire and the earth-shattering thunder occupy everything before her eyes, the terrifying power causing huge smoke and dust.

Kakuzu shakes his head indifferently, praying in his heart that the target's head will not be excessively damaged, otherwise it will be a trouble when claiming the bounty and identifying the identity later.

Even so, Kakuzu does not regret his move of fully performing Searing Migraine and False Darkness.

After all, even a lion uses its full strength to fight a rabbit; a rogue ninja like him who drifts outside the ninja village naturally needs to be even more careful and cautious.

Even with an "immortal body," Kakuzu will not lower his vigilance because of it.

Being able to be active in the ninja world for so long and become a "legendary figure," Kakuzu doesn't just rely on having a thick skin.

As the smoke and dust slowly dissipate, Kakuzu walks slowly, preparing to receive his "trophy."

But suddenly, Kakuzu's steps stiffen, and he stands on the spot with an ugly face.

"How is this possible!"

He looks at the scene before him in disbelief, his face gradually turning gloomy.

"Is this heaven?"

Kurotsuchi closes her eyes, feeling the warmth coming from all around her body, and subconsciously whispers in her heart.

At this moment, an unprecedented feeling of warmth surrounds Kurotsuchi's body; in this warm environment, an unprecedented sense of ease and comfort slowly overflows from the depths of her heart.

"Why, my little maid, is the master's embrace so warm?"

Just when Kurotsuchi is greedy for this heavy warmth and reluctant to open her eyes, a voice with a hint of teasing suddenly rings in Kurotsuchi's ear.

Hearing this gentle male voice full of mockery, Kurotsuchi's originally relaxed body suddenly stiffens.

"Swish!"

She opens her big, clear eyes, her eyes filled with disbelief. She looks at the familiar handsome face close at hand with a shocked gaze.

"You, you are—"

Kurotsuchi is completely dumbfounded; she says foolishly, somewhat sluggishly.

After all, in her subjective consciousness, Kurotsuchi feels that she has already died and is now in heaven.

And this dazed look of Kurotsuchi makes Mizunuki Ryosuke have the thought of wanting to bully her a little.

"What? Haven't seen you for a few days, could it be that you've forgotten me, your master."

Mizunuki Ryosuke's handsome, sword-like eyebrows wrinkle slightly, his eyes narrow slightly, and a dangerous aura brews between his brows.

Seeing this, the instinct carved into her DNA sends a "danger" signal to Kurotsuchi.

"Didn't forget, didn't forget—"

Not having figured out the situation yet, Kurotsuchi, whose brain is still crashing, waves her hands and says hurriedly.

"Then tell me now, who am I?"

Mizunuki Ryosuke strikes while the iron is hot, pressing on without giving an inch.

Perhaps it is the instinctive fear and the previous training by Mizunuki Ryosuke that took effect; Kurotsuchi subconsciously chooses to continue following Mizunuki Ryosuke's words.

Kurotsuchi, whose brain is still in a crashing state, suddenly says the answer Mizunuki Ryosuke wants in a soft, glutinous tone, dazed.

"Mas, master—"

Hearing this, the corners of Mizunuki Ryosuke's mouth lift into a pleasant arc, the force of holding Kurotsuchi increases by a few points, tightening Kurotsuchi's delicate body into his arms even more.

Feeling the powerful tactile sensation from Mizunuki Ryosuke's arms on her waist, only at this moment does Kurotsuchi suddenly react.

She didn't die!

This is not heaven either!

Only then does Kurotsuchi look around, belatedly.

What meets her eyes is all pure white ice, with a semicircular ice wall protecting the two of them.

It is likely that this ice wall blocked the damage from Lightning Release: False Darkness and Fire Release: Searing Migraine.

That is to say—

She was saved by Mizunuki Ryosuke?

Leaning in the familiar embrace, Kurotsuchi's heartbeat suddenly stops.

Before she can experience the joy of surviving a disaster, Kurotsuchi's heart is already filled with another emotion.

Then, since that is the case—

What exactly did she just say!!

She called Mizunuki Ryosuke "master"?

"Boom!"

Thinking of this, hot blood begins to surge wildly toward Kurotsuchi's head; almost instantly, Kurotsuchi's fair, pretty face turns deep red directly.

I can't live like this! It's so embarrassing!

At this moment, the young girl only has this one thought in her heart.