The mist hung low.
Thick. Still. Suffocating.
Not the natural kind.
This was chakra-born—unnatural, damp with malice.
Ryuki stepped lightly onto the cracked stone bridge, his sandals brushing against scattered kunai. Broken weapons littered the ground like remnants of a forgotten war.
Ahead, two figures stood.
One with a red scythe.
The other… still as death.
Hidan.Kakuzu.
Akatsuki.
Ryuki's broken eye throbbed beneath its bandage. That cursed thing hadn't activated since the incident at the Sealed Valley. Not even once. Not even during the ambush on Yugakure's outskirts. Not when he needed it most.
But now? It twitched.
No chakra.No pattern.Just… pain.
"You're the brat Zetsu mentioned," Hidan said, swinging his scythe around like a toy. "The weird-eyed one."
Ryuki didn't reply. His gaze swept the area instead. Every mist-shrouded corner. Every shadow.
Kakuzu's sewn lips parted. "You've got a bounty. And a unique kekkei genkai. We'll be taking both."
He stepped forward.
Fast.
A black tendril shot from his sleeve.
Ryuki twisted, ducked, chakra flooding his legs as he vanished in a blur—Body Flicker.
The tendril slammed into the stone behind him, shattering it.
Ryuki reappeared midair, kunai spinning in both hands, tags already primed. He threw them without hesitation.
Boom.
A flash of fire lit up the mist. Briefly.
But no scream.
Kakuzu walked through the flame. Unscathed.
"Fire?" Kakuzu growled. "I've eaten Fire-nature hearts."
Then he blurred.
Too fast.
Ryuki crossed his arms. Earth Wall!
But it cracked the moment Kakuzu struck. Ryuki was thrown backward, slammed into a bridge pillar. Bones screamed. Blood trickled down his chin.
The mist closed in again.
And through it came laughter.
"I get him next!" Hidan howled, dragging his scythe along the ground. Sparks flew. "He's got the look of a sacrifice."
Ryuki coughed, staggered up.
And smiled.
"You talk too much."
He bit his thumb.
Summoning Jutsu!
Poof.
A shadow emerged—half-snake, half-hawk. White feathers soaked in dark chakra. Its single eye glowed faintly.
Kirinmaru.
Ryuki leapt onto its back.
"Fly," he whispered.
They soared above the mist.
Below, Hidan cursed. Kakuzu stared with cold detachment.
But Ryuki wasn't escaping.
No.
He needed height.
He needed range.
He closed his eyes. Felt the wind.
His broken eye pulsed again. Stronger.
Flickering images flashed.
Kakuzu's hearts. All five.
Their locations.
"Finally…" Ryuki breathed.
He performed the seals quickly.
Wind Style: Crimson Tornado Fang.
Kirinmaru shrieked.
A cyclone of red wind descended like a god's wrath—sharp, precise, chakra-infused.
It struck Kakuzu first.
Two masks exploded.
A shriek followed.
Hidan screamed too—part rage, part awe.
Ryuki landed again. Sweat poured from his brow. His vision blurred.
Still not enough.
Not yet.
He had to finish this.
Before the eye backfired.
Before it activated again.
Kakuzu was on one knee, two masks gone. Three left. Tendrils flailing.
"You… little pest…"
Hidan launched himself at Ryuki.
Fast. Wild. Laughing.
Bloodlust in his eyes.
Too close.
Too late to dodge.
Ryuki whispered, "Activate."
The bandage on his eye snapped off, torn by a sudden burst of chakra.
And then the world turned—
Black.
Everything… slowed.
Hidan's movements.
Kakuzu's groans.
Even the mist hung frozen.
Ryuki stepped forward.
Each motion smooth. Silent. Ghost-like.
He touched Hidan's chest.
Reversal.
The Dojutsu obeyed.
Time snapped forward.
Hidan's chest burst open with his own scythe wound—though he'd never been hit.
He screamed. Dropped.
"W-What—?!"
Kakuzu's remaining masks scattered.
Ryuki collapsed.
The eye shut on its own.
Veins around it burned.
He couldn't move anymore.
But he smiled.
Because behind him, the sound of wind whistled again.
And from the cliffs above the bridge… chakra signatures flared.
Allies.
Reinforcements.
Team Kurenai. Team Yamato. Kiba. Sai. Naruto.
They had followed the trail of carnage Ryuki left behind. And now they descended like hawks.
Hidan roared, dragging himself up—
Only for Naruto's Rasengan to smash him back down.
Kakuzu turned. Ran.
But Sai's ink lions tackled him mid-air.
Ryuki didn't see the rest.
His world faded to black.
But as he fell… he whispered.
"…Still broken… but still fighting."
End of Chapter 117.