256. Team 7 vs Hidan & Kakuzu -1

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Naruto raised his voice, addressing one of their enemies. "Hey, you with the green eyes you're Kakuzu, right?"

Hidan, standing beside him, snickered. "Oi, Kakuzu, looks like you're famous now."

Kakuzu ignored Hidan's teasing and eyed Naruto with curiosity. "You know me?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, I've heard that as long as you get paid, you'll do anything."

"And what of it?" Kakuzu said, his gaze dark with greed. "Money is the only thing that never betrays you. Are you here to lecture me? If so, you're wasting your breath. Besides—" his eyes gleamed, "you're worth quite a lot yourself."

Naruto waved a hand dismissively. "Nah, I'm not the preachy type. Actually, I wanted to propose a deal."

Kakuzu raised a brow. "Oh? Now that's interesting. What kind of deal?"

Naruto pointed directly at Hidan and declared, "I'll pay you 30 million ryo for his head. Deal?"

Kakuzu hesitated. It wasn't that the idea was unacceptable he could absolutely sell off his annoying partner.

But this jinchūriki had to be insane.

Naruto clearly knew who they were and what they wanted. What kind of prey does business offer to its hunters?

Was this some kind of mockery?

Before Kakuzu could answer, Hidan slammed the base of his scythe into the ground. "Oi, you little shit! You trying to die?!" He scowled. "If I get pissed off, my blood pressure spikes, and when that happens—"

"Shut up, Hidan," Kakuzu cut him off, clearly fed up.

"Fine, fine! But," Hidan continued dramatically, "when my blood pressure spikes, I lose all sense of purpose and just wanna wreck shit!"

Kakuzu rubbed his temples. "Keep running your mouth and I really will sell you for cash."

Hidan turned to glare at him. "The hell did you just say? You wanna meet Lord Jashin yourself?!"

Before the argument could escalate, Naruto interrupted again. "Sorry to butt in but hey, you with the scythe. Hidan, right?"

"Hah?" Hidan gave him a cocky look.

Naruto stroked his chin thoughtfully. "I was wondering… If I converted to this Jashinism of yours, would you kill your partner for me?"

"You think Jashin-sama just lets anyone in, dumbass?!" Hidan raged. "You think this is some kind of game?! That's it, I'm cutting your ass down!"

He lunged forward, scythe swinging.

"Oi, Kakuzu! You can have all the money, just help me kill them!"

Kakuzu sighed but followed suit.

After all, there was a billion ryo standing in front of him. Letting that slip away would haunt him forever.

Of course, the Nine-Tails jinchūriki had to be kept alive, but who said you couldn't extract a Tailed Beast later?

Kakashi sighed, taking a defensive stance. "So much for stalling for time. You just had to piss them off, huh?"

Naruto grinned sheepishly. "Uh… Making the enemy mad is a good thing, right?"

Chiriku stepped forward, his stance firm.

"They seek my life as well. Allow me to take the first strike."

Bringing his hands together, he chanted,

"Lai Gō: Senju Satsu! (Come, O Thousand Hands of Judgment!)"

Naruto had already warned Chiriku about Hidan and Kakuzu's abilities.

With that in mind, Chiriku chose a mid-to-long-range fighting style to minimize the risk of bleeding which would trigger Hidan's ritual jutsu.

Neither Kakuzu nor Hidan had ever faced this technique before, and for the moment, they were forced to take the brunt of it.

A flurry of golden fists rained down, and amidst a series of rapid impacts, both Akatsuki members were knocked off their feet, sent crashing into the ground.

"Ow, you bastard!" Hidan growled as he stood back up, rubbing his head.

The pain wasn't something he enjoyed outside of sacrifices.

Kakuzu, however, remained calm.

"So this is the Senzoku no Sai… No wonder it's a problem."

Unlike Hidan, Kakuzu hadn't taken any real damage. At the first sign of danger, he had reinforced his body using Earth Release: Earth Spear a technique that hardened his skin to an incredible degree.

Chiriku lowered his stance slightly, observing. "So they really are immortal?"

He had heard the rumours, but seeing it was another matter entirely.

Hidan grinned, wiping his face. "That just means we're even more worthy as offerings to Lord Jashin!"

With a sudden burst of speed, Hidan dashed forward, twirling his scythe before flinging it horizontally toward them.

The bladed chain cut through the air, aimed to slice through everyone's waists in one go.

In an instant, Sasuke reacted.

He drew his Lightning Blades, slashing upward with a metallic clang, deflecting the scythe mid-flight.

"Tch! Kakuzu!" Hidan jerked the chain, pulling his weapon back while continuing his charge forward.

At the same time, Kakuzu's hands flashed through the seals.

"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"

Without warning, Kakuzu's back bulged, fabric tearing as two white-masked creatures emerged from his shoulders.

One of them opened its mouth and an immense tornado-like wind blast erupted.

The attack was massive over thirty meters wide and high, filled with razor-sharp wind blades that tore through everything in its path.

Even Hidan was caught in the blast.

The temple courtyard was obliterated; stone pathways shattered, trees ripped apart, and debris flying everywhere.

A storm of dust, rock, and tree fragments surged forward with Hidan tangled inside it.

"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"

"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!"

Naruto and Kakashi reacted simultaneously, erecting a reinforced water barrier and a thick earth wall.

(…Naruto briefly wondered if their defences could be combined to make a concrete wall but now wasn't the time for experiments.)

Sasuke scoffed. "Using your teammate as a meat shield? Reckless."

It reminded him of Naruto's training tactics, where shadow clones were sometimes sacrificed for strategic gains.

But this…?

This was on another level.

The wind jutsu hit Naruto's water wall first, sending waves rippling as debris embedded itself into the liquid surface.

Hidan, unable to stop himself, slammed face-first into the water barrier.

The wind continued to tear through, splitting the water defence apart and striking Kakashi's earth wall next.

Deep cracks formed in the stone and the engraved dog head on the wall was damaged beyond recognition.

But the best part?

Hidan, completely caught in the blast, smashed headfirst into the dog's open mouth, his entire body dangling from the wall like a poorly hung tapestry.

His cloak was shredded, his scythe stuck in the stone, and his body swayed like a flag in the wind.

Unfortunately for everyone else, only Kakuzu had the best view of this utterly ridiculous sight.

When the storm finally died down, Naruto's group emerged unscathed but the temple gates were not as lucky.

Hidan groaned, finally regaining control of his limbs.

Bracing his hands against the wall, he pulled himself free only to come face-to-face with the destroyed dog carving.

For a moment, they locked eyes.

Hidan's rage meter skyrocketed.

"YOU LITTLE SHITS ARE UNFORGIVABLE!"

Furiously, he smashed the wall, breaking the dog's head completely.

He then turned on Kakuzu. "AND YOU! I SWEAR I'M GONNA KILL YOU SOMEDAY!"

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