Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

More thin, black tendrils wriggled out from the severed hands, interweaving and remerging into two fully restored palms.

Uchiha Haruki had previously believed that those black tendrils were only capable of stitching limbs together. But now, he realized they could even reattach completely bisected hands.

That led him to a terrifying conclusion: even if Kakuzu were dismembered entirely, he could likely recover.

What could he even say about that? No wonder Kakuzu was infamous as one of the "Undying Duo" in the future. With regenerative power like this, he could hardly be considered human anymore.

Haruki speculated that Kakuzu had fully fused with that bizarre and sinister secret jutsu creation—Earth Grudge Fear. On the outside, he still appeared human, but in truth, he was likely something else entirely.

"No wonder his chakra felt so strange before… this explains everything," Haruki murmured inwardly.

At that moment, the restored hands shot toward him again.

Haruki didn't dodge this time. He drew his blade—his level 7 (0/0) perfected Swordsmanship flaring to life.

In an instant, the two hands were cleanly sliced into multiple pieces. Black tendrils tried to pierce his body again, but he parried them with flawless sword technique.

Seeing this tactic fail, Kakuzu finally emerged from underground. With one motion, he tore off his black cloak.

What Haruki saw was horrifying.

Kakuzu's entire body was covered in black stitches, as if he'd been sliced into dozens of parts and sewn back together. But worse were the four strange masks fused into his back.

Haruki instantly recognized them—these were the chakra attribute masks created through the secret jutsu Heart Extraction, each representing a stolen heart and a corresponding chakra nature.

Each one equaled a separate life. Unless all four masks were destroyed along with Kakuzu's own heart, he could not be truly killed.

As Haruki considered how to achieve that, Kakuzu turned around, his eerie green eyes locking onto him.

"You don't seem surprised by my transformation," he said. "Why?"

Haruki only smiled in response.

"Not talking?" Kakuzu muttered. "No matter. Once I kill you, I'll find out everything."

"Haaah!"

With a low shout, the mask-flesh fusion points on his back ruptured. Countless black tendrils burst out, twisting and fusing into four large black humanoid monsters.

Each had one of the masks for a face—clearly representing their element.

Haruki could feel the dense chakra radiating from them.

"Wind, Fire, Lightning, Water… that means his original body's Earth."

Kakuzu then broke off the tendril connection between himself and the mask monsters, giving them more freedom of movement.

Now, Haruki was effectively facing five coordinated enemies, each with complementary chakra attributes.

"I can't let them strike first!"

In a flash, Haruki made a hand seal and unleashed Wind Release: Wind Blade!

Whoosh!

A transparent wind blade shot directly toward the Lightning-mask monster.

Though all this seemed lengthy, it happened in a mere moment—Haruki was gambling on attacking before they were fully mobilized, exploiting chakra weaknesses to destroy one heart.

Unfortunately, Kakuzu's vast combat experience came into play. After witnessing Haruki use this jutsu earlier, he had prepared. The Lightning-mask monster evaded instantly.

Haruki's attack missed. His face darkened slightly.

Kakuzu's expression mirrored his frustration.

"You really do know a lot about me," he said coldly.

Clearly, he had deduced something based on Haruki's decision to target the mask monsters rather than Kakuzu himself.

Most enemies unfamiliar with his technique assumed the masks were mere summons. They'd aim for his main body, hoping for a fatal blow.

But Haruki had gone straight for the Lightning-mask, and not randomly—he chose Wind to counter Lightning. That kind of precision meant one thing: he knew Kakuzu's abilities inside and out.

Kakuzu felt a vague sense of unease but quickly buried it. A veteran like him knew this was no time for second-guessing—hesitation meant death.

Without hesitation, he commanded all four mask monsters to surround Haruki.

Since they could fly, they quickly encircled him.

Bzzzzt—!

A crackling surge of electricity filled the air. The Lightning-mask opened its mouth and fired a massive Lightning Lance.

CRACK!

The thunderous bolt shot straight toward Haruki.

But he had already anticipated it. Using Body Flicker Technique, he vanished from the attack's path.

No sooner had his feet touched the ground than the Water-mask monster spewed a barrage of water orbs—like cannonballs—hurtling toward him.

Relying on his Sharingan's powerful perception, Haruki narrowly dodged them one by one.

At that moment, the Wind-mask monster flew to Haruki's side and unleashed a B-rank jutsu: Wind Release: Pressure Damage!

A violent gust roared through the forest. Haruki's Sharingan whirled at high speed, analyzing wind flow and chakra density.

He twisted his body into the lowest-pressure zone—just barely escaping the direct hit.

Using the wind's force, he propelled himself back to the ground.

But the Wind Release's destructive force wasn't over. Even though Haruki had dodged the main attack, the pressure waves slammed into the earth, tearing it apart.

Chunks of dirt and rock flew up and rained down on Haruki, who had to keep dodging until he finally escaped the jutsu's area of effect.

By the time it ended, the forest—which had already been cleared once by Haruki's Wind Release: Great Breakthrough—was once again reduced to rubble.

From afar, Kakuzu's deep voice rang out, "Impressive. You're the first ninja to escape my synchronized combo assault."

Haruki nearly rolled his eyes. "Isn't that what you told Kakashi in the future? Now you're saying it to me?"

Still, he had to admit: Kakuzu's assault formation was terrifying.

Haruki had made it look easy, but only thanks to his Sharingan and solid combat physique.

Anyone else would've been eliminated long before the Wind-mask monster even attacked.

Each jutsu from those monsters had been no less than B-rank in difficulty—powerful, costly, and devastating when combined.

And yet… Haruki had survived.

That alone was worthy of Kakuzu's rare praise.

But Haruki wasn't interested in praise.

All he wanted now was to defeat Kakuzu—and return to the battlefield as soon as possible.