Chapter 126
The charred tentacles sizzled under the intense flames. Zixu vaguely glimpsed a twisted, shadowy figure of a heart in the burning mass, but it quickly turned to ashes.
"Good thing we were cautious. Otherwise, that bastard might've actually revived again." Zixu stored away the scroll, only leaving after ensuring Kakuzu's remains were reduced to nothing but ash.
Helping the clones separate could wait—right now, securing the Two-Tails was the priority.
"Speaking of which... where the hell is the Two-Tails?" Only now did Zixu remember her. She had been captured by Kakuzu earlier, but surely he hadn't accidentally finished her off along with him... right?
Closing his eyes, Zixu expanded his sensory perception. With Kakuzu gone, his lingering chakra no longer interfered as much, but traces of it still lingered in the air, causing slight disturbances.
"Found you. Trying to run, huh?" He locked onto the Two-Tails' chakra signature. The fleeing jinchūriki wasn't moving at an impressive speed—probably still disoriented from her earlier battle. What was more interesting was that she wasn't running toward Kumogakure but in the opposite direction.
That left Zixu in a dilemma. He could still chase down Hidan, who had already fled far away, but doing so would mean losing track of the Two-Tails. Given her condition, she wouldn't last long if she ran into trouble.
"Tch. Guess I'll let you live another day." With a swift leap, Zixu disappeared into the dense forest, moving toward the fleeing jinchūriki.
—Some Time Earlier—
Nii Yugito had woken up just as the battle between Zixu and Kakuzu was reaching its climax. Strangely, the first thing she noticed upon regaining consciousness was a large footprint imprinted on her back. Her chest felt tight, her breathing labored, and for a moment, she couldn't figure out what had happened.
She remembered Kakuzu and Hidan—two Akatsuki members who attacked her together. They were a formidable duo; Kakuzu was a nightmare to deal with, while Hidan was simply unkillable. She had severed his limbs multiple times, but Kakuzu just stitched him back together like some twisted old tailor.