Devil Fruit Seal in Naruto

A sea of flames roared forward like a tidal wave.

Even from a distance, Uchiha Raizen could feel the scorching heat in the air.

"This is a high-level Fire Style technique. The power is incredible," Kurenai Yuhi said in shock. Her red eyes trembled slightly as she shouted, "Asuma, get out of the way!"

Asuma had already sensed the danger.

He never expected that another enemy hiding in the forest would unleash such a massive Fire Style jutsu without any regard for his comrade's safety.

The bearded man fighting Asuma was just as stunned. He turned his head, confused and panicked, eyes filled with fear, shock, and rage. He cursed loudly:

"Kakuzu, you bastard! Are you trying to kill me too?!"

Kakuzu responded coldly, "If you die, that just means you're too weak. The Akatsuki has no use for weaklings."

"Damn it!"

The bearded man let out an unwilling roar, but it was useless. The sea of fire swallowed him whole, turning his entire body into a blazing human torch.

Asuma wasn't skilled in Water Style techniques. He had no choice but to retreat, barely escaping from the firestorm. 

His whole body was steaming, and a large portion of his skin was charred black—it was clear he had been seriously injured.

He had just managed to catch his breath when a strong gust came from the side—a kick aimed right at him.

Asuma's body was instantly sent flying by a powerful kick, crashing and rolling across the ground.

The next moment, a sharp knee strike landed directly on his spine.

Asuma cried out in pain, blood spraying from his mouth.

"Asuma!"

Although Kurenai Yuhi had never accepted Asuma's romantic advances, the two had been close friends since childhood.

She rushed forward and activated her genjutsu to help:

"Demonic Illusion: Death Tree Binding!"

Suddenly, a large tree sprouted behind Kakuzu, with several thick branches stretching out to bind him tightly.

Kurenai's body began to fade, dissolving into the wind.

In the next instant, she reappeared from within the trunk of the tree, a kunai in her hand, aiming to strike Kakuzu with a fatal blow.

But just then, the illusionary tree vanished without warning.

"What?!"

Kurenai's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Mere illusions like that are useless against me, woman," Kakuzu said coldly, reaching toward her with deadly intent.

"Kurenai!" Asuma, still on the ground, struggled to get up, forcing his injured body to move.

"This is bad! Miss Kurenai and Asuma are both in danger!"

Inori quickly activated the Yamanaka Clan's secret technique from a distance:

"Ninja Art: Mind Body Disturbance Jutsu."

Her spiritual energy shot forward and struck Kakuzu's body.

In that instant, Inori sensed something strange—inside the enemy's body, there seemed to be several distinct chakra sources. Each one had its own awareness, as if they could act independently.

No wonder Miss Kurenai's genjutsu was instantly broken... So that's why.

But how could this be possible? How could one person have multiple consciousnesses? Did he have... multiple hearts?

Inori was completely confused.

Fortunately, she hadn't used the Mind Transfer Jutsu, but instead the Mind Body Disturbance Jutsu. 

No matter how many consciousnesses the enemy had, this technique would still throw their mind into temporary chaos.

And just as expected—

Kakuzu's movements suddenly froze.

Uchiha Raizen seized the chance and quickly rescued Kurenai and Asuma from danger.

"Sorry," Asuma said with a hint of guilt on his face. "As the team captain, I should've protected everyone better."

"This isn't your fault," Uchiha Raizen replied, pulling out a sealing scroll. "That guy's a member of the Akatsuki. His strength is far beyond that of an average shinobi."

"Akatsuki?"

Asuma frowned. He had never heard of such an organization.

"They were born in endless war and suffering," Raizen said with a meaningful look. "They're not famous yet… but one day, they might just change the entire world."

As he spoke, the scroll in his hands transformed into a massive spiked iron club.

Asuma was startled, but deep down, he was beginning to believe him.

From the ninjutsu and taijutsu the man just used, it was clear he was unbelievably strong.

Any organization that could recruit someone like that must be terrifying in its own right.

At that moment—

Kakuzu snapped out of the confusion caused by the Mind-Body Disturbance Technique. He looked at Uchiha Raizen.

"So, you seem to know quite a bit about the Akatsuki. Have you been secretly investigating us? Hmph. Sounds like you're worth killing."

Uchiha Raizen swung his spiked club and stretched his shoulders.

"Then your value depends on how much money you're carrying."

"Oh? You like money too?" Kakuzu raised an eyebrow. "Seems we've got something in common. Once I kill you, I guess my savings will grow again."

As the Akatsuki's treasurer, Kakuzu had only one pursuit in life—money.

Having survived since the era of the First Hokage, he had been accumulating wealth for decades, building a literal mountain of cash.

All of it was stored in the Akatsuki's warehouse in the Land of Rain, managed by the leader's partner, Konan.

After every mission, he would bring back hundreds of thousands—sometimes even millions—of ryo, and watching the pile grow was the greatest joy for someone immortal like Kakuzu.

When Raizen heard that, he suddenly pictured Konan unleashing six hundred billion explosive tags, and couldn't help but speak with a strange expression:

"Your savings? Forget it. Rather than letting others get their hands on it, you might as well give it to me."

With that—

He leapt high into the air, swinging his spiked club down toward Kakuzu.

Thanks to the power and stamina granted by the Azure Dragon, that light jump carried him over seventeen meters into the air. His downward smash came with such force, it was truly fearsome.

Asuma and Kurenai were both stunned at the sight.

Asuma took a sharp breath. "Raizen... to have such physical strength—he must have gone through some brutal taijutsu training."

Then he steadied himself, picked up his chakra blades, and infused them with wind nature chakra, sharpening them until they could cut through iron like paper.

"Kurenai, Inori—look for an opportunity to restrain the enemy. Raizen and I will go on the offensive."

"Asuma, your wound—" Kurenai said with concern.

"It's nothing. I'm a Konoha ninja who carries the Will of Fire."

Ignoring his injuries, Asuma rushed toward Kakuzu from the ground.

Kakuzu was caught in a pincer attack.

But he remained calm.

His black cloak flapped wildly in the wind, red clouds dancing.

Just as Uchiha Raizen and Asuma closed in, Kakuzu activated his jutsu. "Earth Style: Earth Spear!"

Buzz~

His skin instantly turned jet black, as if coated in the Haki of the One Piece world.

Whether it was Uchiha Raizen's spiked club or Asuma's wind-infused chakra blades, they only left faint marks on his skin—they couldn't cut through at all.

"Physical attacks are useless against me," Kakuzu said arrogantly.

"Oh, really?" Uchiha Raizen replied flatly.

The Azure Dragon Curse Seal on his chest surged with energy, and in an instant, his spiked club was wrapped in a layer of dark purple lightning.

Crackle—

Lightning pierced through earth.

The power of the spiked club surged, tearing through Kakuzu's Akatsuki uniform and bending his entire arm. Then, it slammed into his chest, sending Kakuzu flying.

Boom!

The force was so huge that Kakuzu was blasted into the dense forest, breaking over a dozen large trees before finally stopping.

Asuma, standing nearby, was stunned and swallowed hard.

This kind of strength is terrifying!

And was that lightning chakra? Raizen can really do this? Many jonin can't even pull this off.

Asuma finally realized he had underestimated Raizen before. 

Maybe Raizen was a Uchiha genius like Itachi, just much more low-key.

Behind them, Kurenai's bright red lips parted in shock.

Inori was surprised too, but not as much as Asuma or Kurenai because she never doubted Raizen's strength. 

Especially since Raizen had already shown her the mysterious seal that held the power of the Azure Dragon.

Inori thought, that thunder on the spiked club probably isn't from lightning-style chakra. It's likely from Raizen's own development of the Azure Dragon seal's power.

Who else in the ninja world can control thunder without using lightning-style jutsu?

Only her Raizen can.

Inori felt truly proud and admired Raizen more and more every day!

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