Darui vs Kakuzu (Explanation)

[Rayder]

You must be registered for see images

Kakuzu dodges it right here lololol.

Kakuzu didn't actually dodge it. He was behind the mass of Zetsus so it didn't hurt him. If you look on the page before you don't even see Kakuzu at the front just a horde of Zetsus.

You must be registered for see images

Darui's Lack of knowledge on Kakuzu's abilities could mean he could feign his defeat and counter swiftly after Darui's lowers his guard to kill him instantly much like how he snuck up on Kakashi

Spoiler

You must be registered for see images

You must be registered for see links

would prove to be an ineffective method against a foe like Kakuzu, splitting his four masks from himself and allowing them to act independently changes the odds from a 1 vs 1 to a 5 vs 1. Laser Circus is a kamikaze like ninjutsu which the user must guide towards the intended target by keeping their hands together, individuals blasts from Kakuzu's masks means he's forced to dodge rather completing the entire jutsu, essentially rendering it nothing but a chakra taxing mechanism.

Whilst admitting Kakuzu's Doton Domu has a inherent weakness to lightning, Kakuzu acknowledges and once realizes he's facing a lightning-based ninja he could use it tactically or not even at all as its main use stems from Taijutsu battles but his own close combat superiority relinquishes the need for the jutsu's use. Even then Kakuzu possesses the four elements of Wind, Fire, Lightning and Earth in his arsenal, with this he holds the perfect counter to Darui's Lightning release. The Wind Element is a natural insulator and inherently overpowers Lightning through its elemental advantage, Kakuzu's Wind Release volleys and to an extent

You must be registered for see links

would prove more than enough for a suitable counter to Darui's Lightning affinity which makes up a large component of his arsenal.

The sheer scale of one of Kakuzu's Wind Release Techniques

You must be registered for see images

Kakuzu's Fire and Wind Masks have also shown an ability to infuse with one another to create a devastating combination, capable of mass destruction to the terrain in as little as one blast. Darui's fairly average use of Water Release would pale in comparison to this, with Water Release: Water Encampment Wall only softening the intensity of the blast at most. The combination proved to be so troublesome that Kakashi, Chouji and Ino couldn't hope to counter it. It was shown to evaporate but also be canceled out by Naruto's Wind Rasengan fused with Yamato's Water Vortex Typhoon. Darui doesn't posses the wind affinity, can't perform any water technique on that scale and essentially lacks a viable counter for as little as 2 of Kakuzu's masks.

Kakuzu's proficiency in Taijutsu along with his immense physical strength (enough to stop a punch from Chouji with ease) means he either equals if not far surpasses Darui's capabilities in Kenjutsu. The tipping factor which also gives Kakuzu the edge in this field of combat is unique body structure of composition which is held together by thousands of black threads. He's shown the ability to freely manipulate these for several purposes be it sewing up wounds but mainly as a combat offensive. Through the use of his black threads, his Taijutsu reaches a whole another level granting him the ability to attack from multiple directions, create sneak attack methods, restrain and choke his opponents once they're caught and even enter his Earth Grudge Fear Transformation.

Kakuzu shown sewing up his wound on his back after being hit by Raikiri

Spoiler

You must be registered for see images

You must be registered for see links

caused him to expel thousands of threads from his body which he could alter for either short or long range and merge his masks onto his body (Fire and Wind Masks perched on his shoulders) where they can also act individually from there to create an entire battalion of possible attack methods. Whilst in this state Kakuzu can engage Darui in a Taijutsu battle overwhelming with the sheer multitude of dark thread offensives and his already highly regarded Taijutsu skills. Kakuzu's masks also acting independently on his shoulders mean he can use them as simultaneous offensive to catch him off guard whilst preoccupied with escaping the dark threads, the blast radius of his Fire and Wind offensive is so large, only Space Time user extremely fast ninja could avoid. Darui is neither.

Kakuzu using his merged masks independently

Spoiler

You must be registered for see images

Kakuzu restraining several opponents at once with ease using his Dark Threads

Spoiler

You must be registered for see images

Kakuzu's Final Trump Card, Earth Grudge Fear Transformation v2

You must be registered for see images

But Kakuzu only managed to sneak up on Kakashi because he was concentrating on attacking Hidan.
Yes Darui has to keep his hands together to guide Laser Circus but he could even aim the lasers against Kakuzu's masks attacks (Especially False Darkness). Laser Circus is also really fast so Darui won't even have to hold his hands together for long. Darui has shown really quick reflexes and if he is faced with an attack he can't stop while using Laser Circus then he could just cancel the jutsu. Kinkaku had his sword slicing down at Darui and Darui still managed to chop his arm off.

You must be registered for see images

You must be registered for see images

Yes Kakuzu could stop using Iron Skin but he would have already lost a heart by the time he knows Darui is lightning style. The sheer scale of Kakuzu's attacks could overwhelm Darui but he could use the Sages weapons to cancel out Kakuzu's large attacks. If Kakuzu uses Fire Style Darui coulld counter it with the Sage Weapons by calling a Water Style. Kakuzu would be extremely limited in Taijutsu because he won't be able to use Iron Skin which help him.

Edit: Also if Kakuzu tries to fight hand-to-hand then Darui could touch him with the Sage's rope which would leave Kakuzu doubled over and spitting out his spirit. This would be the perfect chance for a counter-attack or to record his most used word. It doesn't matter how many hearts he has it won't save him from getting sealed.

If Kakuzu went into his Earth Grudge Fear transformation Version 2 it would actually help Darui as he would be too large too dodge a Black Lightning and the weakness of going into that form is that a strong enough attack can destroy more that one mask. (Rasenshuriken destroyed two masks and left Kakuzu on the brink of death). So if he goes into the form and has lots of Black threads flailing around then he is obviously going to get hit by Black Lightning.

 

[Vex]

Darui takes this med diff IMO, he has the laser circus for Kakazu's hearts. He also has wave of inspiration for Iron skin. Water wall for defence, his sword and black lightning for offence. Darui is just a bad match up I think, Kakazu just doesen't cut it in this match up. U_U

 

[BlkMagk]

#NiCeNeSs

 

[Zato]

You must be registered for see images

Kakuzu dodges it right here lololol.

Lol no he didn't, you can't dodge lightning bolts, according to Zetsu at least. Zetsu pretty much states that the speed of lightning is faster then sound going at about 1000th of a second. Kakuzu wasn't even near that when it stuck. He was near Shikimaru's group. If you look on the next page you would know that.

 

[Brother Numpsay]

Kakuzu didn't actually dodge it. He was behind the mass of Zetsus so it didn't hurt him. If you look on the page before you don't even see Kakuzu at the front just a horde of Zetsus.

You must be registered for see images

But Kakuzu only managed to sneak up on Kakashi because he was concentrating on attacking Hidan.
Yes Darui has to keep his hands together to guide Laser Circus but he could even aim the lasers against Kakuzu's masks attacks (Especially False Darkness). Laser Circus is also really fast so Darui won't even have to hold his hands together for long. Darui has shown really quick reflexes and if he is faced with an attack he can't stop while using Laser Circus then he could just cancel the jutsu. Kinkaku had his sword slicing down at Darui and Darui still managed to chop his arm off.

You must be registered for see images

You must be registered for see images

Yes Kakuzu could stop using Iron Skin but he would have already lost a heart by the time he knows Darui is lightning style (How exactly?). The sheer scale of Kakuzu's attacks could overwhelm Darui but he could use the Sages weapons to cancel out Kakuzu's large attacks (Kakuzu can fuse his elements so they won't counter. Example: Kakuzu use fire and wind so the Sage weapon water won't work. Unless you can provide evidence that the Sage weapons can do the same, fusing elements, then ill agree with this statement.) If Kakuzu uses Fire Style Darui coulld counter it with the Sage Weapons by calling a Water Style. Kakuzu would be extremely limited in Taijutsu because he won't be able to use Iron Skin which help him (He was keeping up with Kakashi in Taijutsu, I don't see no problem here.)

Edit: Also if Kakuzu tries to fight hand-to-hand then Darui could touch him with the Sage's rope which would leave Kakuzu doubled over and spitting out his spirit. This would be the perfect chance for a counter-attack or to record his most used word. It doesn't matter how many hearts he has it won't save him from getting sealed. (Good one, but Kakuzu has knowledge on the Kin his brother. So he has knowledge on that weapon. He will mostly likely know how t counter it) (Side Notes: By Manga, what phrase/word does Kakuzu abuse?)

If Kakuzu went into his Earth Grudge Fear transformation Version 2 it would actually help Darui as he would be too large too dodge a Black Lightning and the weakness of going into that form is that a strong enough attack can destroy more that one mask (You forgot v2 has WIND and fire... That is enough to overpower that tech or ATLEAST both canceling each other). (Rasenshuriken destroyed two masks and left Kakuzu on the brink of death). So if he goes into the form and has lots of Black threads flailing around then he is obviously going to get hit by Black Lightning.

BTW sorry all for the dodging troll post.

 

[Sovereign]

Great thread, and I generally agree with your argument as a whole. Kakuzu is strong, but raw strength isn't everything. Darui has the right skill-set to pressure and potentially defeat Kakuzu because his Raiton can get through Kakuzu's defenses, and Ranton: Reizā Sākasu (Laser Circus) can pick off Kakuzu's masks.

I found one small error though in your opening though: you claimed that Doton: Domu (Iron Skin) doesn't require hand-seals, but as we see in these scans: [

You must be registered for see links

] [

You must be registered for see links

] that's incorrect. But to be fair, Kakuzu's hand-seals were noted to be quite fast, so it's almost like he doesn't use them.

 

[GiantShuriken]

Darui was specifically chosen by Shukaku to take on Kakuzu because his techs matchup really well against him, but even then I think Kakuzu wins high diff. Kakuzu is Kage level, he even beat Kakashi + Team 10. He was beast. It took many people to beat him the second time, tenten to beat two of the masks while izumo, kotetsu, darui, and choji were attacking his actual body and the other 2 masks.