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Neji flicked the discarded Akatsuki cloak aside, muttering inwardly, Take off your uniform in battle? That's practically a death sentence.
Kakuzu didn't bother responding. His body writhed with [Earth Grudge Fear], black threads sewing his frame back into something resembling human form.
Meanwhile, Shikamaru's shadow finally snapped. His [Shadow Possession Jutsu] had hit its limit.
Hidan stretched his neck with a triumphant grin. "Finally free! Time to start the slaughter, Kakuzu—"
"Wait," Kakuzu cut him off.
"Hah?" Hidan's voice cracked, halfway between a battle cry and a cough.
Kakuzu's gaze stayed fixed on Neji. "Don't forget last time. You couldn't even scratch him."
That reminder soured Hidan's smirk instantly. His mind replayed that humiliation the battle where his scythe had sliced nothing but air, and he'd been mocked, dragged under water, and stripped of his sacrifice's chakra.
"Fine. So what's the plan then?" he snapped, frustrated but not stupid.
"Same as always," Kakuzu said simply.
A feral smile split Hidan's face. "About time!"
He charged with his scythe, shrieking curses as he came straight for Shikamaru's team.
They knew his ritual: one scratch and he could turn their blood into a death sentence.
"Careful!" Shikamaru barked. "Don't let him touch you!"
Ino and Choji nodded without hesitation. They trusted him.
But Hidan's reckless swing never landed.
A pale figure blurred into his path—
[Instant Step – Rising Kick]!
Neji spun mid-air, heel slamming square into Hidan's chest. The force caved his ribs inward, blasting the air out of him in a wheeze before launching him across the clearing.
He hit the ground hard, rolled twice, and crashed spine-first into a dead tree. Bark cracked, the trunk shuddering.
Coughing, he clutched his chest. "Damn it Kakuzu! Why'd you let him through?!"
"He's too fast," Kakuzu answered flatly, threads twitching as his wind mask ignited.
[Wind Style: Pressure Damage]!
This time the jutsu roared like a cannon. The gale ripped through the forest, shredding deadwood and tearing earth, blasting toward the four Leaf shinobi like a hurricane.
Choji swelled, ready to shield his friends, but Shikamaru stopped him with a hand on his arm. He signaled behind him. Wait. Watch Neji.
The storm crashed down—
—and shattered against a dome of orange light.
Neji's [Ki Barrier] shimmered, unyielding. Within its calm eye, Shikamaru's team barely felt a breeze.
Choji exhaled in awe. "Unbelievable… even barrier techniques, mastered like it's nothing."
Ino folded her arms, eyes glinting as she studied Neji's back. "That's Neji for you. Even when he's unbearable as a trainer, he's… well, kind of amazing."
The gale passed. The forest lay in ruins.
Neji's foot snapped down, propelling him forward like a bolt of lightning. Electricity arced down his arm, forming a gleaming spear of chakra.
Kakuzu's instincts screamed. He leapt back, threads flaring desperately. He could feel that killing intent locked onto his heart.
Too close. Too fast. He wouldn't escape.
So he didn't try.
Instead, a black arm lashed out, yanking Hidan into place as a living shield.
"Wha—?!"
Neji's strike punched through both of them in a straight line, heart to heart. Lightning detonated, engulfing Hidan in a storm of white-blue arcs.
Kakuzu twisted away, leaving space in his own chest, dodging the fatal hit.
Hidan's mouth frothed, eyes rolling. His body spasmed violently, pinned on Neji's arm like meat on a skewer.
His thoughts blurred: Damn it! I may be immortal, but that doesn't mean I signed up to be a pincushion! Kakuzu, you bastard!
Electricity raged. His eyes turned white, lips bubbling.
Grand Lord Jashin, forgive me. This body was supposed to be yours, not a lightning rod.
Neji withdrew his arm calmly, holding a freshly seized heart, still beating in his hand. He watched with clinical interest as Hidan, alive, conscious, but ruined, kept twitching.
"No pain reaction," Neji noted. "Remarkable. Truly a perfect test subject."
Sliding the heart into his pouch, Neji's fingers flicked into a blur of strikes.
[Gentle Fist: Hyūga Secret Art – Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm Seals]!
Each jab sealed a tenketsu point, flooding it with precise chakra. Within seconds, a lattice of internal barriers wrapped through Hidan's body.
The immortal priest stiffened and collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut. His scythe clattered to the dirt.
Neji straightened, expression cool. "That should hold him."
Kakuzu cursed inwardly. He had gambled on Hidan's body, buying him time to counterattack, but now his partner was nothing more than dead weight.
Pathetic.
And worse, Neji's hand still crackled with lightning.
For the first time, Kakuzu thought: Maybe it's time to retreat.
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~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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