"And the power of that ninjutsu is incredible..."
Although he was slightly surprised, he did not panic. With a sudden burst of strength, he launched himself into the air, twisting his body to avoid the raging winds and scorching flames.
However, Kakuzu had no intention of pursuing him.
His true objective was much simpler.
The moment Hidan's severed head landed nearby, Kakuzu's main body rushed forward without hesitation. He picked up the head, placed it back onto Hidan's neck, and immediately released countless black threads from his body.
The threads stitched flesh, muscle, and skin together at an astonishing speed.
"Ah! Ah! Ah! Kakuzu! Be gentle!"
Hidan screamed as the threads pierced through his neck.
Kakuzu snorted.
"Shut up. Do you want your head attached or not?"
Hidan instantly changed his attitude.
"Of course I do! Please continue, Kakuzu!"
The scene left everyone staring in disbelief.
Within moments, Hidan's head had been completely reattached.
He rolled his neck from side to side, producing several loud cracking sounds. Aside from the ugly stitches around his neck, he appeared completely unharmed.
"Ahh... that's much better."
A savage grin spread across his face.
"I'm finally back."
His eyes filled with murderous intent.
"I swear I'll personally kill those little brats!"
Kakuzu glanced at him coldly.
"What a disgrace. Getting your head cut off by children."
"Shut up!"
Hidan immediately exploded.
"I was careless, that's all!"
His confidence returned almost instantly.
"This time I'll definitely kill them!"
As soon as his body was restored, his usual arrogance resurfaced.
Watching the entire process, Hinata's face turned pale.
"He... he had his head cut off..."
Her voice trembled.
"But he didn't die. He can even reattach it..."
"What kind of monster is he?"
The Takigakure shinobi were equally horrified.
Even Naruto was stunned.
The concept of surviving decapitation was simply beyond common sense.
Only Sasuke remained calm.
"Naruto. Hinata. Calm down."
The two immediately looked at him.
Sasuke continued analyzing the situation.
"His immortality isn't absolute."
"When his head was separated from his body, he couldn't move at all."
His Sharingan locked onto Hidan.
"That means if we cut off his head again—or completely dismember him—he'll lose his ability to fight."
"At least until someone puts him back together."
Naruto's eyes widened.
"You're right!"
A grin appeared on his face.
"Immortality doesn't mean invincibility!"
"Then we'll just cut his head off again!"
Hidan's face instantly darkened.
"You little bastards!"
"You really think it'll happen a second time?"
His expression became fanatical.
"Lord Jashin will punish all of you!"
"I'll tear you apart piece by piece!"
At that moment, Kakuzu suddenly spoke.
"The others don't matter."
His gaze shifted toward Naruto.
"But that brat can't be killed."
Hidan blinked.
"What?"
"The girl can't be killed, and now this kid can't be killed either?"
Kakuzu answered calmly.
"He's a Jinchūriki."
Understanding immediately appeared on Hidan's face.
"Oh?"
His eyes narrowed.
"The Nine-Tails?"
Kakuzu nodded.
"The strongest of all the tailed beasts."
Hidan clicked his tongue.
"The organization only ordered us to capture the Seven-Tails."
He glanced at Naruto.
"I never expected the Nine-Tails to deliver himself right to our doorstep."
After a brief pause, he shrugged.
"Fine."
"We'll keep him alive."
A cruel smile slowly spread across his face.
"But the other two can die."
Kakuzu shrugged indifferently.
"Do whatever you want."
Hidan's eyes immediately filled with excitement.
He licked his lips and pointed his massive three-bladed scythe toward Sasuke and Hinata.
"Then I'll sacrifice both of you to Lord Jashin first!"
Sasuke merely snorted.
Hinata tightened her stance.
Naruto grinned fearlessly.
"I'd like to see you try."
However, Hinata's expression remained serious.
"Naruto-kun. Sasuke."
She lowered her voice.
"If he dies, the curse and sealing technique disappear."
"That means controlling him again will become much harder."
She glanced toward Fū.
"And more importantly..."
"We still don't know exactly how his curse works."
"If we attack recklessly, Fū could suffer the consequences."
Sasuke nodded.
"I've already noticed something."
Naruto immediately turned toward him.
"You figured something out?"
Sasuke's eyes narrowed.
"The blood circle."
Naruto froze for a moment.
"The symbol he drew on the ground?"
Sasuke nodded.
"Exactly."
"Think about it."
"When we left the circle to avoid being surrounded, Fū stopped receiving reflected damage."
Hinata's eyes brightened.
"That's true."
"After leaving the ritual area, the curse seemed to lose its effect."
Sasuke continued.
"That circle is probably one of the requirements for activating the ritual."
Naruto clenched his fist.
"So that's it!"
A confident smile appeared on his face.
"Then all we have to do is stop him from entering it again!"
Kakuzu observed the discussion and couldn't help speaking sarcastically.
"Unlike my partner, you children are surprisingly intelligent."
A vein immediately bulged on Hidan's forehead.
"Hey!"
He spun around furiously.
"What exactly are you implying?"
Kakuzu looked away.
"You answered your own question."
"You bastard!"
Hidan roared.
"Just watch how I deal with these brats!"
Without another word, he swung his blood-stained scythe violently.
The weapon cut through the air with terrifying force as he charged directly at Team Seven.
Despite his terrifying curse technique, Hidan possessed almost no talent for ninjutsu.
His true specialty was taijutsu.
Even against elite opponents, his close-combat skills were exceptional.
When fighting Kakashi Hatake, he had never been completely overwhelmed.
Combined with his immortal body, he became an extremely troublesome enemy.
After all, most shinobi fought while avoiding fatal injuries.
Hidan did the opposite.
He welcomed them.
A wound that would kill anyone else meant nothing to him.
This allowed him to launch reckless attacks that normal shinobi would never dare attempt.
"Be careful!"
Naruto shouted.
Facing Hidan's assault, Hinata immediately stepped forward.
"Eight Trigrams: Protecting Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"
A powerful burst of chakra erupted from her body.
Boom!
The rotating chakra blades intercepted the incoming scythe and knocked it away.
Hidan frowned.
With a sharp tug, he pulled on the chain connected to the weapon.
The scythe instantly changed direction.
This time, it shot directly toward Sasuke.
Sasuke remained perfectly calm.
A kunai appeared in his hand.
His Sharingan tracked every movement of the spinning blade.
Clang!
Sparks erupted as metal collided.
The scythe was knocked aside.
Hidan clicked his tongue.
"Damn brats."
"They're much stronger than those idiots from Takigakure."
The Takigakure shinobi felt their faces burn with embarrassment.
Yet none of them could refute his statement.
Because it was true.
Despite being children, Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata far surpassed them in nearly every aspect.
Strength.
Battle awareness.
Combat experience.
Determination.
The gap was obvious.
The realization left the Takigakure delegation both shocked and ashamed.
Fū, however, cared little about pride.
Suddenly, something clicked in her mind.
Ignoring the pain throughout her body, she shouted as loudly as she could.
"Naruto!"
"Don't let him cut you!"
Everyone immediately looked toward her.
Fū continued urgently.
"I remember now!"
"Before activating the curse, he wounded me first!"
"And then he licked the blood from his scythe!"
Her eyes widened.
"I think obtaining his target's blood is another requirement for the ritual!"
Naruto's eyes lit up.
"So that's how it works!"
He finally understood why Hidan's weapon was designed the way it was.
"That giant scythe isn't just for fighting."
"It's for collecting blood!"
Naruto immediately turned toward his teammates.
"Hinata! Sasuke!"
"Don't let him scratch you!"
Meanwhile, Kakuzu was observing the battle from afar.
Even he couldn't help admitting something.
"Each of these children possesses remarkable talent."
Unfortunately for him, he was dealing with a troublesome opponent himself.
Might Guy.
Fighting the taijutsu master was no easy task.
In a direct close-range battle, Kakuzu might actually be at a disadvantage.
Because of this, he deliberately avoided melee combat.
Instead, he relied on his elemental masks and long-range attacks.
Wind.
Lightning.
Fire.
Water.
Earth.
One devastating ninjutsu after another bombarded the battlefield.
Explosions echoed endlessly as the terrain was torn apart.
The coordinated attacks of Kakuzu and his mask creatures made approaching him extremely difficult.
Might Guy wiped sweat from his forehead.
"This guy's ninjutsu is impressive."
His expression grew serious.
"The cooperation between his main body and those mask monsters is nearly flawless."
A strange comparison appeared in his mind.
"It feels like fighting several Kakashis at once."
Normally, Guy measured opponents using Kakashi as a benchmark.
And at this point in time, Kakuzu was unquestionably a monster-level opponent.
Even Kakashi would struggle tremendously against him.
The current version of Kakashi was still years away from the strength he would display later in the series.
As for Guy...
If he opened the Eighth Gate of Death, he could certainly kill Kakuzu instantly.
In fact, he could kill almost anyone.
The problem was obvious.
He would die as well.
Furthermore, the power of the Eight Gates depended heavily on the user's own growth.
Years ago, Might Duy opened the Gate of Death and nearly wiped out the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
Four died.
Three survived.
But if the current Might Guy performed the same feat, the outcome would likely be far more devastating.
His strength had increased enormously.
Even so, the present Guy had not yet reached his future peak.
Defeating Kakuzu without relying on the highest gates would be difficult.
At that moment, one of Kakuzu's wind masks opened its mouth.
"Wind Style: Pressure Damage!"
A massive sphere of compressed chakra erupted forward.
The attack swept across the battlefield like a natural disaster.
Boom!!!
The ground exploded.
Trees shattered.
Huge craters appeared everywhere.
Guy instantly leaped aside.
The destructive wind barely missed him.
Yet even while dodging, he searched for an opening.
Suddenly, his eyes flashed.
"There!"
The moment an opportunity appeared, Guy vanished.
The next instant, his battle cry echoed across the battlefield.
"Dynamic Entry!"
Boom!
The air itself seemed to explode as Guy launched himself toward Kakuzu with terrifying speed.
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)