Naruto: The Hidden Shadow Style

Anyone with experience working with large livestock—like cows—knows that, to check their digestive health, it's common practice to insert an arm through the area beneath their tail, at the back of their body and between their buttocks, to collect fecal samples. During this process, the animal might accidentally poop everywhere, splattering the operator with loose excrement, or suffer intestinal spasms that clamp the operator's arm tightly within its lower digestive tract using muscular contractions.

Despite standing on the battlefield, Haseo couldn't help but make an unpleasant association due to the striking similarity of the situation… because right now, his arm was indeed tightly clamped by muscular walls. At this moment, all he could do was pray Kakuzu wouldn't crap himself like a dairy cow—preferably without getting him covered in it.

Unfortunately, Haseo's hope proved misplaced. Kakuzu truly had no self-control—or more accurately, he was doing this on purpose.

The good news, relatively speaking, was that Kakuzu's lack of control affected only his upper digestive tract, not the lower one.

"It's unfortunate, Konoha ninja," Kakuzu said to Haseo, who appeared completely trapped, "but my actions don't stem from the reasons you're imagining. I'm just after the bounty. Otherwise, how could I have possibly mobilized so many other shinobi?" Whether Kakuzu harbored secret plans to test out [Secret Art: Earth Grudge Fear] or not, he'd never admit it—not when he didn't want his enemy thinking they had any idea what he was truly planning.

Still, it wasn't impossible that Kakuzu had specifically targeted the reward placed on the Hokage. After all, as a rogue ninja, there was no way he could have gathered so many fellow shinobi on his own. The most obvious—and plausible—reason for convincing them to act collectively would naturally be the bounty placed on the Third Hokage.

So who did it? Who had placed the bounty on the Third Hokage—could it be Sunagakure, defeated on the battlefield?

Haseo couldn't say for sure, but from the start of this fight until now, one thing was certain—he already knew Kakuzu genuinely didn't care about the lives or deaths of his temporary allies at all.

At this moment, black threads of Kakuzu's Earth Grudge Fear extended from his body, wrapping around Haseo and pinning him in place. Then, his back slightly bulged outward before a head wearing an Anbu mask emerged from behind him and flipped over onto his shoulder.

Then, the mask suddenly yawned open wide, zeroing in straight on the closely positioned Haseo.

"Seriously?! I just said don't go spewing crap everywhere—what exactly are you trying to pull?!"

Actually, Haseo should probably think that if all Kakuzu was about to do was spray feces, then things might still be acceptable. Sure, his clothes would get dirty and stink for a week, but at least nothing too dangerous would happen. However, the real issue lay elsewhere—what Kakuzu was preparing to unleash wasn't bodily waste, but rather a powerful elemental technique:

[Wind Release: Pressure Damage!]

Dense compressed air gathered in arcs before the mask, forming semi-transparent wind blades imbued with the cutting power characteristic of wind-type chakra. These razor-sharp attacks tore through space as they shot straight toward Haseo.

If hit directly by this bell-shaped slicing technique, Haseo's flesh-and-blood body would have no way to resist it.

Fortunately, Haseo hadn't charged in completely unprepared. After all, since he already confirmed the enemy's identity, how could he possibly ignore that strange Earth Grudge Fear?

Heat waves gathered before Haseo as three flames danced like red silk ribbons fluttering in the wind. Rotating simultaneously in a trinity formation, they rapidly expanded outward:

[Fire Release: Garuda]!

The two practically cast their techniques at the same time. Kakuzu's Wind Release clashed head-on with Haseo's Fire Release. Intensifying each other, those soft crimson ribbons instantly transformed into raging dragon-like flames, erupting violently between them.

At that moment, the two fighters stood so close their faces were nearly touching. And at such proximity, both released large-scale ninja techniques—techniques that actually enhanced one another. The resulting explosion was like cramming half a dozen grenades right into their chests.

"Tch!"

To avoid being struck by the opponent's technique or caught in his own jutsu's backlash, Kakuzu had no choice but to release Haseo and retreat backward at full speed. Yet even while desperately dodging, only one question kept echoing through Kakuzu's mind—When did this guy form the hand seals?

Then came an even more troubling follow-up question… Kakuzu had clearly seen Haseo using Lightning Release before, so he specifically chose Wind Release for its advantageous matchup. So how was Haseo able to use Fire Release the entire time without dispelling his Lightning Release?

If Haseo could somehow hear Kakuzu's inner confusion, then regarding the first question, he probably wouldn't have minded answering casually—"Before charging in, my Fire Release hand seals were already completed." As for the second? Sorry, that's Haseo's little secret—nothing personal, just can't say.

Haseo is the kind of ninja who can wield multiple elemental techniques at the same time. Interestingly, Kakuzu also has that ability. But there's an important difference—Kakuzu can use multiple elemental chakra affinities simply because he has five hearts inside his body, each acting as a separate chakra core producing distinct elemental chakra.

His Multi-elemental Ninjutsu is basically like having five ninjas cast techniques at once—no magic, just math. He still hasn't overcome the fundamental limitation preventing a single ninja from simultaneously wielding multiple elemental chakra affinities that cannot coexist, which makes him completely different from Haseo.

Moreover, although Kakuzu technically qualifies as a five-element ninja, his mastery relies purely on trickery. From technical depth to overall ability, from practical application to flexible combinations, even in sheer number of techniques—Kakuzu simply can't measure up to someone like the Third Hokage, who truly masters five elemental chakra affinities through personal prowess.

It's the combination of Earth Grudge Fear and heart-capturing abilities that made Kakuzu into a five-element ninja. Without these two, he never could have achieved that status.

Although Kakuzu's strength paled in comparison to the First Hokage far more than it did against the Third Hokage, his current move to intercept still felt like a lone nut trying to challenge a whole jar of them.

After breaking free from the bindings, Haseo retreated much more decisively and swiftly than Kakuzu. Even so, a slash mark left by Wind Release still appeared on his face.

He wiped away the blood trickling down his cheek with his thumb, murmuring softly, "This is the damage caused by Wind Release? Truly remarkable."

Wind Release wounds were brutally sharp—like being stabbed deep and then having salt ground straight into the cut. It stung with a bone-deep chill, like it had sliced right into your soul.

Ever since awakening his chakra and Water Release due to the [Jutsu] of the Second Hokage, Haseo had found himself somewhat similar to a sensory-type ninja. It wasn't until he actually got hit by one that he really understood what a given release felt like. Only then would he think, "Oh, so *this* is Wind Release."

However, now wasn't the time for such introspection regarding Wind Release.

"Haseo!"

Nagisa Nara's voice came from beside him. By the time Haseo finished engaging and retreating, his squad members had finally regrouped around him again.

"Keep pushing forward!" Without hesitation, Haseo shouted out the command.

Nara nodded. He pressed his index and middle fingers together, then bent them inward sharply, locking the seal in place. Immediately afterward, dark shadows beneath his feet surged forward like slithering snakes toward Kakuzu's position.

PS:

Just got back home today and didn't have time to write. This is all for now; I'll make it up tomorrow.

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