Kakuzu tilted his head to the right, completely ignoring what just happened to his partner moments ago.
From his position he had an ample view of what was in front of him ignoring the vast sea of trees around him.
The mysterious but cocky mercenary and a large orange haired kid. "Only you two?"
"Does number truly matter?" Sasuke's curiosity was mildly piqued.
He only let out a raspy chuckle. "It never did."
He had fought against many bounty target, which meant that he didn't lack experience in fighting at numerical disadvantage since many of his bounties were heavily protected or had followers with them, but trash was always trash no matter the number and he had the perfect way to get rid of them quickly and efficiently.
Kakuzu crossed both arms and watched attentively the bounty hunter completely disregard the other who was in the scene since the very moment he laid his eyes on him was quick to deduce the lack of fighting experience of the other member.
His stoic face hid the glee in his eyes when he saw his tendrils sprout from the ground and went directly towards the bounty hunter.
Yet that moment was cut short as the tendrils were cut into pieces and fell into the ground and dissolved.
But it didn't stop as he quickly charged his sword with lightning and stabbed the spot where his attack came out, making him retreat his tendrils or face a slight discomfort.
"You stopped it..." That sneak attack would have incapacitated him if it reached him and would have made things far easier for him but that wouldn't happen anymore, just like his partner, he had to fight and be done with it.
"As if such a pathetic attack could get me." Sasuke unsheathed the second sword and clashed them together, the colliding lighting swords created sparks flying to all directions.
"It only proves you are better than the average trash." The Akatsuki dismissively shrugged before his eyes analyzed his opponent's weapons once again, discovering a unique pattern. "And I never expected to find a user of the legendary sword of the mist, now you got my attention."
Sasuke pointed both swords at the zombie. "You should."
The Akatsuki shifted his footing. "Of course, after all, your weapon can fetch quite the price."
Sasuke didn't move his gaze, all his focus on his new target.
"Juugo, go." His order was loud and clear.
In an instant, Juugo's calm and humble appearance had changed to a bloodthirsty bulking monster with only one thing in mind.
"KILL!"
His right arm being the most affected by the sudden change was in front, aiming towards the head of the zombie.
However, the Akatsuki remained unfazed and extended both hands to welcome the beastly strike.
Juugo's massive fist perfectly landed on Kakuzu's palms with full strength, however that strength was practically absorbed on the impact.
The shock wave rolled back Kakuzu's sleeves all the way up to his shoulders.
There was a moment of tense silence before Kakuzu's arms exploded in uncountable tendrils, which directly aimed at Juugo's face with a single objective.
Even being in such beastly mode, he possessed a survival instinct making him cover his face with both arms. Kakuzu's tendrils however pierced the supposedly rock hard skin and pushed him away.
In that moment of vulnerability, Kakuzu rushed at Juugo and delivered a direct kick on his stomach with enough force to propel his body as far as his strength could reach.
"Get your filthy dog off me."
Sasuke watched unfazed how Juugo was sent flying and crashed against the trees however his eyes quickly focused on where his skin had been pierced and noticed the trickles of blood on the affected spots. "You could pierce his skin."
Sasuke knew how hard Juugo's skin could be, but that could mean the potential danger those things possessed.
"I fought against famous skilled shinobis and won, I even fought and survived against Hashirama himself, a mindless beast is an insult to me."
"Then my plan is busted." One of his fleshy wings manifested, ripped through his shirt, and grabbed Juugo mid air who was about to charge at the Akatsuki member again. "Juugo, leave."
Juugo sharply turned to look at Sasuke with anger, but it quickly cooled down to the point that he reverted back to his calm and more humane form.
Only then Sasuke released his teammate, who didn't hesitate to retreat deeper into the woods as soon as he landed on the ground.
Kakuzu stretched both arms and rolled his neck in semicircles."Make it interesting."
Sasuke on the other tensed his shoulders to harden his posture with both swords ready for action, however he raised one pointing to the sky.
"I will." Soon his vision went red, and the world acquired a whole new perspective as it pumped more adrenaline into his veins, a change that went completely undetected by the enemy.
Sasuke's arms flare up in lightning in a flash, the energy boost to throw one of his blades towards Kakuzu was standing.
The zombie didn't stay to receive the attack and jumped away as both arms extended and his hands clenched into a fist before being propelled by his jiongu at high speed towards the Uchiha.
He quickly ducked under them, barely missing his hat and ran to close the gap between the two.
On the way he grabbed his blade, that was slightly buried after the impact, and cut the tendrils above him, yet he only grazed them as Kakuzu showed the skill and dexterity he could use them and coiled around his sword and wrist.
Once he was within Kakuzu grasp he pulled them back forcing Sasuke to compete in strength against him to prevent from losing his weapon even for a second before using the twin blade to break free.
His sharingan didn't rest a second before he noticed chakra concentrating under his feet. Without hesitation he jumped away as from the ground emerged earth spikes aiming to his vitals.
Realizing the potential death trap the terrain had become, he was quick to jump towards the nearest tree and watch from above as he gave himself a slight margin of time to think for a solution.
But that short time was shorter than expected as he had to jump from his tree towards another, almost immediately the spot where he used to explode in a blazing inferno, his sharingan tracing the projectile back to Kakuzu position.
Sasuke quickly looked up to the sky and saw dark clouds already in place, a plan immediately hatched inside his mind.
From his pouch he pulled three kunais which didn't hesitate to throw until there were no more in his arsenal, but they weren't directed at the Akatsuki. Every single one embedded itself deep into the surrounding trees.
Kakuzu only focused on the pursuit, trying to predict where his opponent might land next, but no matter how many times he accurately predicted the movement the pesky bounty hunter would always move in the last second, completely avoiding his flying fists or earth spikes.
And he was known for his little or better said, his lack of patience.
"I'm getting tired of this joke."
His hands returned to him and reattached to his arms, his gaze locking on Sasuke who was on a tree also had his focus on him waiting.
Sasuke aimed his sword at him.
"We agree on something."
Soon after the words left his mouth, lightning struck the area, specifically one of the many kunais scattered around. Almost immediately it revealed itself, the entire purpose to become a cage to restrain Kakuzu's movements.
The Akatsuki member was quick to realize his situation as well and dropped all pretense and his human figure as well.
Kakuzu no longer had any trace of the resemblance of a human, standing at an even higher height than before. The masks placing themselves next to his head to all glare at him with the same anger of being so blatantly deceived and the tendrils flailing around.
"You only show your true colors, a monster under the skin of a man." Sasuke mocked the irony of the situation.
However, Kakuzu wasn't one to be idle or take any mockery and jumped towards him however the electric cage did its job perfectly by zapping him away.
Sasuke looked at the sky again, the clouds perfectly aligned.
His hand slowly went up to reach for the sky just as his gaze looked below at the monster trying to escape.
"KIRIN!"
Like an enraged divine deity descending from the sky in dragonic form to strike the heretic.
Kakuzu could only look up helplessly as the lighting body opened its raging mouth and engulfed him completely and exploded in a blinding, thunderous light.
The immediate explosion destroyed the earth, followed up by a shock wave, demolishing anything that didn't possess good foundations. Being so close to the zone of impact, he had to immediately use the tree for cover.
Sasuke closed his eyes allowing his sharingan to rest as he dropped his shoulders and released a long tired sigh, that single jutsu took a sizeable chunk of his chakra, not dangerous levels but enough to significantly reduce his overall effectiveness, his muscles felt sluggish.
But it piqued his attention the moment he heard the crumbling of earth, and his eyes focused on the center of the explosion where Kakuzu had been struck.
The wind dissipated most of the smoke.
Kakuzu's smoking body was on the ground face down with most of his clothes burned revealing his unkempt long hair and his stitched body, but most importantly revealing his 5 masks stitched to his back.
Moments later, two masks disconnected from his body and fell unceremoniously to the ground before turning to ashes.
"You...you bastard…" Tendrils erupted from his charred body and slammed on the ground before taking root to support his weight as he slowly but shakily got up.
His face didn't have resemblance to the infamous bounty hunter as it had his tendrils hanging instead of his jaw while his pure black eyes directed their burning hatred to Sasuke, who could only sigh in disappointment at the scene.
"It was very naïve to hope that it would be enough to pulverize you." He channeled more lighting into his swords. "But at least I got two masks."
"You...you won't get away with this!" As soon as he shouted, the remaining masks jumped from his back and landed on the ground before forming an amorphous body to support themselves.
Soon four pairs of eyes glared at the Uchiha with the utmost flaming hatred they could muster.
Two masks jumped into action and shot forward their arms while Kakuzu's main body with the other mask rooted their hands and tendrils in the ground.
Sasuke didn't need to be an expert to predict the attacks in every direction and so he channeled some chakra to his feet to jump to a safer distance, preferably away from the smoking crater to reduce the amount of places where his deadly threads could come out.
Kakuzu's and his mask's tendrils shot forward giving him no room to escape, forcing him to block the attack.
Then tendrils connected with his arms, sending him flying and crashing against a tree, but they didn't stop; almost immediately they took hold of his feet and threw him even further not giving him time to react; even less cut those tendrils.
Just like a doll, his body crashed on the ground, bounced a couple of times before completely stopping, his face eating facing down, tasting the dirt and grass.
He rolled his body to the side, taking one look to the darkened sky.
A perfect climate for lengthy rain or a volatile storm.
Yet his attention screamed to focus on the pain his shoulders were currently suffering as the adrenaline was slowly dissipating from his system. "Ugh, that really hurt."
That blunt attack did a number on his joints. He was sure if he didn't have enough physical strength, then Kakuzu would have easily dislocated his joints with those brutish attacks.
Yet there was no time to stay deep in his thoughts, a monster was surely closing in and needed to prepare for his arrival.
However, he was surprised that his clothes and equipment remained relatively intact; all except for his straw hat that was completely gone.
Allowing the wind to caress his black hair whenever it pleased.
Using his right hand he slowly pushed himself up, yet midway he saw an extended hand from a particular olive-skinned girl. "Hey, are you alright?"
His eyes immediately connected with a pair of orange eyes staring right back at him with unexpected concern.
Only then his eyes wandered around his current surroundings to notice two more shinobi standing behind the green-haired girl, but he couldn't care less about them.
"What are you doing here?" He frowned, it was obvious that the rest of his team didn't finish with their own task.
"We had to investigate that explosion, hard to miss, honestly speaking." She checked her surroundings. "Do you need any help?"
Sasuke silently refused the helping hand and stood on his own.
"As if you can do anything." He snarled while accommodating collar and checking if none of his equipment fell or detached, despite he was sure he would only need the kiba blades to fight against such a monster of a man.
He quickly grabbed both blades and strapped them back to their sheaths.
"Hey don't underestimate us!" One of Jinchuuriki's teammates was quick to react negatively to such an insulting comment.
However, Sasuke didn't bother to explain as his gaze focused in a particular direction, exactly where his body was thrown through while his hands reached for the handles of his blades.
Even with the shouts and complaints, he could focus very well to notice the rattling sounds of trees and crushed leaves.
All culminating on a single point.
"I WILL RIP YOU APART!" Kakuzu's raspy voice echoed through the vast sea of trees originating from a specific point where the tree trunk exploded in pieces as the deathly threads shot forward.
All aimed at Sasuke but they had no finesse or technique they directly went to him no matter the obstacle. He reacted in time to grab Fu's arm before jumping towards the nearest tree top, taking her to safety.
As he was reaching the treetop, he watched below how Kakuzu's brutish attack pierced at every possible place on Fu's teammates and ended up impaling them to a tree.
They had no chance to scream, their bodies slowly sliding down to the ground after the tendrils dislodged themselves from their fresh corpses.
"Fucking weaklings." He spat in frustration. He could only hope that the whole heart transplant was a long and delicate process, or those two would have completely destroyed all progress against Kakuzu.
"He...he just killed them in a second…" The green-haired girl muttered under her breath, trying to swallow her shock.
Sasuke grabbed Fu's shoulder and pushed her down to take a seat.
"You wanted to help? Don't get in my way." His voice coldly delivered a very clear message before jumping down to face the monster again.
After landing, his sharingan scanned the surroundings as fast as possible to find traces of chakra.
When he found a faint trace, his sharingan followed the trace until his gaze stumbled upon a black form.
Sasuke stood face to face with one of Kakuzu's masks
"You mocked Juugo for being a beast, yet here you are acting like one."
However, the mask ignored his words and opened its hollow mouth wide to spit a big torrent of water towards him.
His instinct reacted in time to unsheathe one of his words and cut in half the torrent of water. However, things were not that simple as more of those deadly tendrils rushed to stab him, making him put all his focus on blocking and parrying every single one of those attacks.
He knew perfectly that without the power of the sharingan he probably would have been impaled a long time ago, but he didn't need one to understand the implications on staying on the defensive specially against an enemy like that mask and the possibility of Kakuzu coming back with his other mask.
With one powerful sweep attack he pushed the monster away and jumped towards another tree, with the thing following close trying to reach for his feet. His hand extended and grabbed one of the thick branches to get a firm grip and a support point to propel himself forward to increase the distance between the two further but enough to give a room for breath.
Sasuke didn't miss that chance to perform his unique hand seals with his sword still in hand and sharply turned around to face the mask one last time.
"Chidori!" His hand encased in raw lighting directly shot forward towards the center of the amorphous being.
With the short distance it couldn't read or even understand the counter attack Sasuke had planned beforehand and took the hit with no obstruction.
The chidori exploded inside the thing and fried everything it touched while the mask could only shriek in a deranged sound, agonizing over the pain his chidori inflicted. The two bodies came crashing down to the earth, but Sasuke was the one on top and letting the mask take all the fall damage.
Sasuke removed his fist from the body leaving a wide smoking hole in it and just like the rest the body wriggled in agony for a moment before dissipating into the ground, leaving a hollow mask behind.
Mask, which he didn't hesitate to crush under his foot.
"One down, two more to go." His eyes immediately scanned his surroundings for any trace of chakra or where it could concentrate large quantities. Kakuzu's berserker state wasn't by any means subtle about it.
Quickly catching the direction where large quantities of chakra were coming into view.
A large fireball materialized right in front of him with full intention to oblilerate him to ashes. That would have meant the inescapable death for many others but he wasn't like the rest and was fully aware of that minor fact.
"Never use fire against an Uchiha!"
Sasuke mastery over the fire element was refined under Orochimaru's guidance, it channeled the elemental chakra to his mouth before he responded with his own fireball clashing against the fire.
The fire mask pushed forward, dissipating the fire between the two as the two arms shot forward aiming for the head.
Once again Sasuke remained still unfazed by the monster coming for his head but the attack never reached him.
His partial transformation except that just like Juugo intercepted it, the attack pierced his wing but not enough to pass through, remaining stuck and keeping the two near each other in a single spot.
Space that didn't allow to go to waste and stabbed one of his blades on its body before it followed the attack with more of those dangerous tendrils.
The skies immediately struck them with lighting by the kiba influence.
The Fire mask was the only affected body however, chunks of burned mass fell from the body.
Sasuke's flesh wing closed around the threads that pierced his skin and tore them apart with ease. He pulled out his other sword and stabbed next to the other, becoming the prelude for another lightning strike to fall from the sky, finishing once and for all; Kakuzu's fire mask.
Turning the immortal zombie to a mere human with a single heart.
The burned mass collapsed on its own weight, leaving behind Sasuke's swords hanging in the air, stopping the mask from touching the ground for a moment.
"I won't die here!"
"You shall not pass."
Sasuke commented as he landed at the top of a high tree next to Gaara's sand cloud. "What a pleasant surprise to find you here."
The Kazekage calmly turned to look at the Uchiha with raised brows.
"Where is Deidara?"
Sasuke didn't turn to look at the kazekage or had the time to explain anything to him, since a madman was perfectly immobilized for one last strike.
"Later." Soon after, he jumped towards the dome of sand and looked down at the once feared shinobi in history restrained by Gaara's sand, desperately trying to break free. Every time his jiongu broke free more sand came forward restraining the rogue tendrils.
"You are only a stepping stone to my path to immortality." Sasuke arrogantly declared as he raised his hand again.
"YoU sPoILEd bAsTarD!" Kakuzu's broken voice roared to the skies.
"KIRIN!"
And the skies once again delivered their punishment to earth striking with even greater force, engulfing the area.
Gaara sand instinctively formed a protective dome around him to stop the shock wave from touching him.
His sand slowly crumbled when no longer sensed danger and his eyes witnessed another smoking crater below but his eyes didn't stay focused on that scene more than a couple seconds. His focus shifted towards the surroundings where his sand used to be.
Instead, he only saw everything crystalized in different shapes and forms, Gaara inspected to realize his mistake, it wasn't crystals but glass.
All his sand turned into glass.
His gaze went towards the center where the so-called immortal member used to be, only to find a shattered glass sphere with ashes spread all over the surroundings.
Gaara kept watching from above until he noticed the last Uchiha walking towards the center of the smoking crater. Part of his clothes were burned or missing pieces.
He didn't hesitate to go forward to meet him and check if he was injured and in need of medical help, he could later question him.
Sasuke looked up at the darkened skies. "Akatsuki will burn and from the ashes Yūgure will be born!"
Akatsuki declared to be the beginning of a new dawn, then he shall be the one to bring an end to that day.
Only then he allowed his body to give in to exhaustion.
AN: Hi, honestly I kind of wanted to finish this before new years eve but more things kept coming and well the year in itself was a very shitty one and the beginning of this one doesn't give that much hope either. But at least I finally got this chapter and concluded the first arc of this story which I hope you have enjoyed reading so far, so now is time for omakes and an interlude before the next arc.
Also after months trying I gave up in trying to draw digital art, I'm just not cut for it which put my focus on pixel art and have seen good progress every time I draw a new one and I'm proud about it and animating them is cool as well!
Though, I cannot deny that I discovered the Nemesis engine for skyrim which honestly revolutionized the whole gameplay experience to a whole new level...goddammit.
And Summer classes as well.