"Go!" Asuma roared, taking the lead without hesitation.
He gripped the Chakra Blades in his hands and charged straight at Hidan!
"Ninja Art: Shadow Strangle Jutsu!" Shikamaru called out, his shadow splitting into countless branches that darted toward Hidan.
Hidan leapt into the air, narrowly evading the creeping shadows, and with a flick of his wrist, he hurled his Triple-Bladed Scythe.
"Asuma!" Ino, Shikamaru, and Chōji shouted in unison, horrified.
But Asuma twisted his body mid-run, narrowly dodging the deadly weapon as it spun past him, still heading straight for Hidan.
Hidan stretched out his arm, catching the chain of the scythe mid-air, just as the shadows surged toward him again.
"Dammit! That better land!" Shikamaru growled.
Hidan glanced behind at the pursuing shadows. "It'll be fun if it hits ya!"
Then, without hesitation, he pulled out a short ninjatō from his cloak and rushed toward Asuma.
"That weapon..." Asuma murmured, activating his Chakra Flow through the Flying Swallow Blades. "I'll cut you down with one strike!"
Clang! The blades clashed violently. Sparks flew as the two broke apart again.
"You annoying bastards! I'll take care of you first!" Hidan spat, eyes burning with madness.
With that, he hurled the Triple-Bladed Scythe toward Shikamaru and the others.
Asuma's eyes widened. "Bastard! I'm your opponent!"
He charged after Hidan from behind, but the deranged Jashinist only laughed. "Gotcha! You fell for it, haha!"
"No!" Asuma cursed.
The scythe, trailing its chain, suddenly curved mid-air and grazed Asuma's cheek—drawing blood.
"Shit!" Shikamaru's team paled. "Prepare the second plan!" he ordered quickly.
The group ceased their attacks instantly.
Hidan licked the blood from the scythe with a wide grin, then stepped into the center of the Jashin Ritual Symbol. "Wahaha! Come and hit me if you dare!"
Team Asuma froze.
Hidan—now covered in black markings with skeletal patterns spreading across his body—stood arrogantly within the ritual circle.
But no one moved.
Silence fell over the battlefield.
"Oi! You bastards!" Hidan shrieked. "Come on and hit me already!"
Asuma and the others murmured among themselves.
"Look, it's black," Chōji said, eyebrows raised.
"Yeah… just like Naruto described," Ino added. "Exactly the same."
"Yep," Shikamaru nodded.
Hidan twitched.
"Bastards! How dare you mock Lord Jashin!" he screamed, stabbing a black spike into his leg.
"Eh?!" Hidan suddenly froze mid-motion.
Shikamaru's shadow had connected to him once more.
"Hmph! You think you can control me again?" Hidan sneered. "Go ahead and kill me, assholes! Haha! Eh—? What the hell?! Don't pull me out of the ritual circle! You'll regret it!"
With Shikamaru's jutsu restraining him, Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki rushed forward and began erasing the blood formation under Hidan's feet.
Once the ritual circle was distorted beyond recognition, Kotetsu slapped Hidan across the face.
"OW! You bastard!" Asuma winced from the sidelines. "You could've hit him a little lighter for testing!"
"Ah, sorry~ sorry," Kotetsu scratched his head sheepishly.
"KAKUZU!" Hidan bellowed.
Shikamaru quickly pulled Hidan farther from the damaged circle, only for Izumo to land another solid slap on Hidan's face.
Watching it, Asuma's mouth twitched. "Even I feel that pain."
Snap! Something clicked in Asuma's head. "YES! It doesn't hurt anymore!"
"Oi! Kakuzu! Come help me!" Hidan screamed. "Get over here!"
Just then, Kotetsu and Izumo lunged forward—and sliced off Hidan's head!
But before they could breathe, Kakuzu arrived.
BOOM! A fist pounded into the ground. Kakuzu grabbed Hidan's head and body effortlessly.
"Shit!" Shikamaru cursed. "We didn't finish it in time…"
"Izumo!" Kotetsu asked gravely, "How long since we sent the reinforcements signal?"
"About ten minutes," Izumo replied. "Should be another 20 if they're moving at standard shinobi pace."
"Damn! This is worse than expected," Kotetsu muttered.
"You idiots never listen," Kakuzu sneered, holding Hidan's pieces. "This is what happens when you underestimate an S-rank shinobi."
"You bastard! This is your fault, Kakuzu!" Hidan shouted from his severed head. "You left me on purpose!"
Team Asuma: "…"
Even after everything Naruto said… this was beyond terrifying.
"You told me not to interfere," Kakuzu replied flatly. "So you've got no right to complain now."
"Uh—well, yeah, I did say that," Hidan stammered. "But that doesn't mean I was underestimating you! Now sew me back together already!"
Kakuzu stared at him without emotion.
"Kakuzu-san~" Hidan pleaded in a fake sweet voice. "Come on, Kakuzu~ Please? Pretty please?"
"…"
Black threads emerged from Kakuzu's body and began stitching Hidan's head and body together.
Suddenly, Hidan twitched—his hands reaching toward the back of his head.
"…Hey! Kakuzu, you bastard! You sewed my head on backwards!!"
"Hm?" Kakuzu glanced over. "Sorry. Put it on upside down."
SWISH! Kakuzu swung his blade without hesitation, severing Hidan's head again before calmly picking it up.
"Aaah! Kakuzu, you f**king asshole! I'm gonna kill you!"
As the others watched in horror, the two Akatsuki members simply… stood back up.
"Finally back together," Hidan muttered.
"Don't move too much, or it'll fall off again," Kakuzu replied coldly.
"This is insane…" Shikamaru panted. The Shadow Possession Jutsu had drained almost all his chakra.
"Captain Asuma!" he called.
Asuma nodded grimly. "We're retreating."
"Too late," Kakuzu growled.
In a blur, he vanished—and reappeared in front of Asuma.
"No way! That speed—!" Asuma reacted, swinging his blade, but Kakuzu's brutal combo struck first, sending Asuma crashing into the ground.
"Asuma!" the team screamed.
"Hey!" Hidan growled, annoyed. "Don't steal my kill, bastard!"
"Shut up, Hidan." Kakuzu snapped. "I'll leave the downed one to you. He's worth money at the bounty station."
Kakuzu turned his attention to the remaining trio.
Kotetsu and Izumo exchanged glances, then pulled out Sealing Scrolls from their vests.
POOF! A massive, strange weapon materialized—though even they didn't seem to know exactly what it was.
They rushed forward without hesitation.
"Water Style: Mizuarahara!" Izumo shouted, spewing chakra-infused water across the battlefield.
Kotetsu followed up, leaping across the slick surface with chakra-enhanced feet and hurling the weapon at Kakuzu.
Kakuzu calmly peeled back the stitches on his arms.
Suddenly, his hands launched forward like missiles—followed by a flurry of black tendrils that shot out from within.
"What the hell?!" Izumo shouted.
In seconds, the tentacles had wrapped around them both, restraining them tightly.
"Dammit!" Shikamaru grit his teeth and tried to stand—but his legs gave out. "Too much chakra…!"
With Kakuzu handling the rest, Hidan turned back to Asuma.
"Well, seems they're all done. Time to get started."
He stepped into the ritual circle once more, drew a black spear, and pointed it directly at his heart.
"NO!" Shikamaru screamed. "Asuma!!"
Asuma, standing weakly, looked at the spear—then turned his gaze to Shikamaru and opened his mouth—
BOOM!
Asuma collapsed, blood spurting from his mouth.
"Yo!" A voice echoed as Naruto dropped from the sky, landing squarely on Hidan's shoulders.
"…What the hell are you doing?" Hidan asked, stunned.
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