A question regarding the potential utility of the mask entities that Kakuzu works with . . .
Besides their elemental attacks, can they use physical attacks and carry equipment/weapons?
They have physical form, are susceptible to physical attacks which implies they have physical presence which in turn should allow them to operate in physicality at the scale that their bodies should allow. For scaling, we have seen them move in tandem with full speed Kakashi. Based on appearance, their bodues are made up of the same material that Kakuzu himself is made up of.
On the other hand, they do not look very formidable and do not have much in terms of durability showings that we can directly scale. The Chidori is a powerful enough attack that they could still be formidable despite losing to it, but we do not have anything to tell us their minimum level. We also have a direct lack of utilisation by a Kakuzu who has been implied as tactically astute. While that could simply testify to the power of their elemental attacks or be explained by a lack of incentive to utilise them thusly - such as the opponents from Konoha being easy to deal with using the more passive elemental blasts - that still means we have a lack of evidence.
The above points leave both sides with something to argue. On top of that, there may be other points not presented here. Feel free to add any if you can.
Nonetheless, as far as can be considered, which side do you lean towards and to what extent? Could they carry standard shinobi tools such as kunai, shuriken, paper bombs, string and so on? What about armour? Could Kakuzu carry armour for them to wear once released or integrate it into their seals so that they are already wearing it upon release? What of special weapons? Supposing that Kakuzu had taken the time to acquire them, could they not wield the likes of the Tools of the Sage, Kusanagi, Totsuka, Yata Mirror and other great weapons? (Does the fact that a culturally aware Kakuzu did not acquire them support the side that says they are incapable of wielding them or could it simply be a matter of preference?)
And if they could use any of the aforementioned, at what level could they use them? Would their kunai throws, for example, be faster/stronger than comparable shinobi or weaker? How many blasts with the Banana Fan could each individual mask do, if any at all? If they did kamikaze attacks with paper bombs, would they take any damage if the explosion does not reach their masks but only blows up the lower half of their bodies? Would those lower halfs be permanently destroyed or would they regenerate as Kakuzu himself did when cut by Izumo and Kotetsu? Could they wield Kusanagi in the same manner that Orochimaru does, with telepathic control and blade extension? Would their skill level, even with the basic sword, be lower or higher than that of Orochimaru? What options or limitations do you think their physical structure would present to them in this context? Would they have more or less limbs than normal people? Would said limbs be weaker or stronger than standard shinobi? Could they stretch out their bodies to make them bigger or compress to make them smaller? And so on
Initially and after accounting for such, what say you?
Besides their elemental attacks, can they use physical attacks and carry equipment/weapons?
They have physical form, are susceptible to physical attacks which implies they have physical presence which in turn should allow them to operate in physicality at the scale that their bodies should allow. For scaling, we have seen them move in tandem with full speed Kakashi. Based on appearance, their bodues are made up of the same material that Kakuzu himself is made up of.
On the other hand, they do not look very formidable and do not have much in terms of durability showings that we can directly scale. The Chidori is a powerful enough attack that they could still be formidable despite losing to it, but we do not have anything to tell us their minimum level. We also have a direct lack of utilisation by a Kakuzu who has been implied as tactically astute. While that could simply testify to the power of their elemental attacks or be explained by a lack of incentive to utilise them thusly - such as the opponents from Konoha being easy to deal with using the more passive elemental blasts - that still means we have a lack of evidence.
The above points leave both sides with something to argue. On top of that, there may be other points not presented here. Feel free to add any if you can.
Nonetheless, as far as can be considered, which side do you lean towards and to what extent? Could they carry standard shinobi tools such as kunai, shuriken, paper bombs, string and so on? What about armour? Could Kakuzu carry armour for them to wear once released or integrate it into their seals so that they are already wearing it upon release? What of special weapons? Supposing that Kakuzu had taken the time to acquire them, could they not wield the likes of the Tools of the Sage, Kusanagi, Totsuka, Yata Mirror and other great weapons? (Does the fact that a culturally aware Kakuzu did not acquire them support the side that says they are incapable of wielding them or could it simply be a matter of preference?)
And if they could use any of the aforementioned, at what level could they use them? Would their kunai throws, for example, be faster/stronger than comparable shinobi or weaker? How many blasts with the Banana Fan could each individual mask do, if any at all? If they did kamikaze attacks with paper bombs, would they take any damage if the explosion does not reach their masks but only blows up the lower half of their bodies? Would those lower halfs be permanently destroyed or would they regenerate as Kakuzu himself did when cut by Izumo and Kotetsu? Could they wield Kusanagi in the same manner that Orochimaru does, with telepathic control and blade extension? Would their skill level, even with the basic sword, be lower or higher than that of Orochimaru? What options or limitations do you think their physical structure would present to them in this context? Would they have more or less limbs than normal people? Would said limbs be weaker or stronger than standard shinobi? Could they stretch out their bodies to make them bigger or compress to make them smaller? And so on
Initially and after accounting for such, what say you?