"Shadow Imitation Technique… success!"

Shikamaru stood under the sunlight, his shadow perfectly linked to Hidan's feet.

After Shino's insect ambush tactic had failed earlier, their second plan had begun: Sasuke and the others drew Hidan's attention while Shikamaru hid to find the right timing to use his shadow jutsu.

Thankfully, Kakuzu wasn't around. Otherwise, it would have been far harder to succeed.

Now that they had him restrained, there was no need for words.

The three immediately attacked. Sasuke sliced off the hand holding the triple-bladed scythe, Neji cut off his other arm with a kunai, Shino decapitated him with his kunai, and Asuma severed both his legs with his chakra blades.

It was completed in an instant. Hidan was dismembered.

Shikamaru exhaled in relief. This was the first time he had designed such a plan under so much pressure. Now that they had taken down their first target, the strategy could be deemed a success.

Hidan's head rolled on the ground, but he was still cursing furiously.

"You damn rats! Ganging up on me alone, what kind of heroes are you?! You dare attack a faithful servant of Jashin-sama?! Jashin-sama will never forgive you!"

Everyone stared curiously at the still-talking head.

So it was true – he really was immortal, even after being cut to pieces!

Asuma immediately said,

"Quick, bury all his body parts separately, and stick a bunch of explosive tags on each. Blast them into minced meat. Let's see if he can still survive then!"

To prevent this guy from coming back, this was necessary. Better to end this threat once and for all.

The five moved quickly. After a series of explosions, they regrouped and rushed toward the toilet area, where Natsuki and Kakashi were keeping watch to prevent Kakuzu from escaping.

Natsuki hadn't been too confident about leaving Hidan to them, but since he wasn't team leader, he had to follow orders. Thankfully, everyone knew Hidan's intel well, so they should have managed fine.

At that moment—

At the toilet area, Kakuzu came out holding a chest of cash. Seeing no sign of Hidan, he frowned, sensing something wrong.

He locked onto a direction immediately.

"Come out. Your hiding isn't very good."

Hearing this, Natsuki and Kakashi didn't bother hiding anymore. They appeared in a flash, staring at Kakuzu with vigilance.

Kakuzu remained calm.

"So, Konoha shinobi. Where did you take Hidan?"

Natsuki replied casually,

"I heard you once threw a shuriken from eight hundred meters away to ambush Hashirama Senju, only to scurry away after failing, and then you went around telling people you fought Hashirama and it was a draw. Is that true?"

Kakashi glanced at Natsuki in surprise.

Was this really the time to provoke him with rumors? Weren't they trying to buy time, not anger the enemy?

Kakuzu glared at Natsuki.

"You brat… believing such nonsense. I did indeed try to assassinate Hashirama, but I failed. He was powerful, worthy of being called the God of Shinobi. However… he's dead, and I'm still alive. That's what matters most."

Natsuki tilted his head.

"You've lived too long. After seeing so much betrayal and sorrow, you think only money is trustworthy, huh?"

Kakuzu was surprised.

"You understand quite well, brat. That's right. Only money never betrays you. So I will earn as much as I can. You should be grateful you have no bounty on your head. I can spare you. But… your companion here is Hatake Kakashi, right? He does have a bounty."

As he spoke, he put down the chest of money and pulled out a bingo book, flipping quickly to Kakashi's page.

"Oh? That amount isn't bad. Worth the effort."

How much is it, though? Kakashi wondered, but judging from Kakuzu's posture, he was about to attack. Asuma and the others weren't here yet. He would have to stall.

Kakuzu stored the money chest into a scroll, then suddenly charged at Kakashi.

Kakashi didn't dare be careless. Forming hand seals rapidly, he released a massive fireball.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique)!"

But Kakuzu simply leapt high into the air to dodge. As he descended to strike Kakashi, he suddenly jerked his head to the side just in time to avoid a dark crackling blade slicing past his neck.

Yet before he could relax, his head flew off.

Natsuki's cursed blade Senren had extended unexpectedly. Though Kakuzu thought he dodged, he hadn't – Natsuki had cleanly decapitated him.

But neither Natsuki nor Kakashi lowered their guard.

From Kakuzu's neck, black threads extended, grabbing his flying head and pulling it back to reattach seamlessly.

Even though they had seen this in the anime, watching it in real life made them gulp.

Damn, the sight was horrifying.

Landing lightly, Kakuzu no longer underestimated Natsuki.

"So you're the Konoha Demon Blade Natsuki… Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame spoke of you. No wonder they were wary."

Natsuki wasn't surprised.

His name was indeed quite famous now. Most major villages probably knew of him.

After all, he had repelled Uchiha Itachi and Kisame twice. It would be strange if Akatsuki hadn't remembered him.

"You flatter me, old man," Natsuki replied calmly. "Actually, I really want to kill you. After all, you once escaped from fighting Hashirama Senju. If I kill you, it will prove I'm even stronger!"

"Hmph… sharp-tongued brat."

Kakuzu stopped talking and launched into a fierce assault.

He charged at Kakashi first, fists and feet flying. Kakashi struggled to block and dodge, pushed back repeatedly. He knew Kakuzu's taijutsu was powerful, but facing it directly was overwhelming.

Seeing this, Natsuki immediately lunged forward with his blade. Kakuzu suddenly stretched his arm, which detached at the elbow, extending rapidly with black threads to grab Natsuki.

The speed was astonishing, too fast for most to react.

But Natsuki wasn't like most people. He swung his blade in reverse and sliced the threads cleanly.

Yet those threads writhed like living creatures, reattaching to the severed arm in an instant and striking again. Natsuki cut them again, but Kakuzu pulled his arm back swiftly.

At the same time, Kakuzu was single-handedly fending off Kakashi.

Using Doton: Domu (Earth Style: Hardening Technique) to harden his fists, his punches grew heavier, clashing with Kakashi's kunai and sending sparks flying.

But what Kakashi feared most were those threads. They seemed alive, moving with deadly precision. One nearly stabbed into his chest moments ago, almost ripping out his heart.

Thankfully, Kakashi's reflexes saved him at the last second.

"As expected of an old monster who once fought the First Hokage… his taijutsu is insane."

Kakashi took a deep breath, mentally calculating how long until reinforcements arrived.

He and Natsuki could probably defeat Kakuzu together, but having the others here would make it much safer.

(End of Chapter)

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