A few more seconds passed.
The badly wounded but now nearly healed Two-Tails' jinchūriki, Yugito Nii, slowly opened her eyes…
In front of her stood a handsome young man.
Yugito was nearly thirty years old, and as a perfect jinchūriki, she had no shortage of suitors from Kumogakure.
But none of those men had ever stirred her heart the way this boy did today…
Those bright, deep eyes made her lose herself for a brief moment the instant she awoke!
For a second, she thought she had already died and arrived in heaven…
"You are…"
After a long pause, Yugito spoke in a daze.
But before she could finish her words, a voice suddenly came from behind Shinju—Naruto's urgent warning!
"Shinju, look out!"
Shinju reacted instantly. In a flash, he wrapped his arms around Yugito, and with the Flying Thunder God Technique, teleported directly to Naruto's side!
"Fwoosh!!"
At the exact spot he had been crouching a moment earlier, the resurrected Kakuzu spewed out a wave of flames!!
Seeing that Kakuzu was still alive, Shinju's face twisted in disbelief.
"Seriously? He's not dead yet?!"
He was sure that his piercing strike earlier had already run straight through Kakuzu's heart.
Under those circumstances, no normal shinobi should have had even the slightest chance of survival!
But before Kakuzu could speak, the lone surviving head of Hidan piped up first:
"Ah, I just love that shocked expression on you godless types!"
"Kakuzu, hurry and do something! Sew my head back on!"
Hidan begged desperately.
Kakuzu completely ignored him and stared at Shinju instead.
"With Flying Thunder God and Wood Release, you really are quite an impressive shinobi. But killing me won't be that simple."
"You should know, I once crossed blades with the previous wielder of Wood Release—your First Hokage of Konoha…"
By the end, Hidan's eyes even held a look of pride.
"Oh, is that so?"
Shinju replied casually.
Then, lifting his left hand, he gathered chakra into his palm, shaping it into a massive shuriken form!
Yugito, still half-held in his arms, looked on in shock.
(⊙o⊙)
Just now, Kakuzu had said this kid possessed both Flying Thunder God and Wood Release?!
And now, he was using the Rasenshuriken as well!
That solved it—this had to be Shinju! That prodigy from Konoha!!
She had long heard rumors that Shinju wasn't just overwhelmingly powerful, but also possessed a face that made countless girls swoon.
Seeing him today, she had to admit… it was true.
But what was he doing here?
Before Yugito could voice her doubts, Shinju hurled the Wind Release shuriken!
"Whoosh—"
Knowing full well the devastating range of the Rasenshuriken, Shinju wrapped one arm around Yugito and grabbed Naruto with the other, instantly teleporting them to the Flying Thunder God kunai he had placed outside the cave earlier!
In the next moment, the three figures reappeared outside.
Then—
"Rumble—!!"
A deafening explosion roared from inside the cave!
With the sound of "BOOM!! BOOM!!", the entire cavern collapsed.
Yugito: ∑(✘Д✘๑)
Just as the rumors said… his power was terrifyingly strong!
"Mission accomplished! Man, doing missions with Shinju is the best. ୧⍢⃝୨"
Naruto grinned as the cave caved in.
But when he turned to Shinju, he was surprised to find the latter still frowning.
"What's wrong? Don't tell me those two aren't dead yet? (꒪⌓꒪)"
Shinju nodded. "Yeah."
Naruto: ???
To think anyone could survive Shinju's Rasenshuriken—wasn't their life force way too absurd?!
At Shinju's side, his expression tightened slightly.
Because… the chakra signatures of those two were still there!
Even for the Akatsuki, their vitality couldn't possibly be this monstrous, could it?!
Shinju couldn't figure it out.
"Boom—"
Suddenly, a loud crash erupted from the rubble of the collapsed cavern!
Then, a pitch-black hand shoved aside the debris and thrust upward from the ruins.
"Fwoosh!"
A bizarre creature, jet black and wearing a strange mask, crawled out of the ground!
The moment it appeared, it opened its maw, spewing out a stream of terrifying flames!!
Shinju quickly teleported Naruto and Yugito out of the way.
The next instant, the ground beneath them began to tremble and loosen!
"Fwoosh!"
Kakuzu's hand, connected by black threads, shot up from below!
Even as he retreated, Shinju evaded Kakuzu's hand and swiftly weaved hand signs!
"Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!"
Slamming both palms to the ground, he roared—
"Boom!"
A massive wall of hardened earth surged up from beneath the ruins!
The wall heaved Kakuzu and Hidan's bodies up into the open!
As their bodies were lifted out, Kakuzu's black threads were already working, stitching Hidan's severed neck back together…
In that instant, Kakuzu instinctively shielded Hidan's head.
The ever-chatty Hidan snickered:
"I knew it—you actually care about me as your partner. ꉂ(ˊᗜˋ*)"
Kakuzu snapped back coldly: "Is this really the time for that nonsense?"
"We've already been cornered by this kid. Ծ‸ Ծ"
Kakuzu's secret jutsu, Earth Grudge Fear, allowed him to replace his own heart with those of others, granting him longevity.
At any one time, he could store up to five hearts.
But in just the last two exchanges with Shinju, three of them had already been destroyed…
Now, only two hearts remained!!
In all his many years alive, he had rarely been driven into such a desperate situation.
That 250 million ryo bounty… truly wasn't easy money…
Across from them, as soon as Kakuzu and Hidan were forced out into the open, Shinju flicked his wrist and launched a shuriken.
"Ninja Art: Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
"Swishhh—"
In an instant, the single shuriken multiplied into tens of thousands, pouring down like a rainstorm toward Kakuzu and Hidan suspended mid-air!
"Physical attacks are useless against me."
Kakuzu said with confidence, his skin turning jet black. With a series of crisp "clang clang clang" sounds, he actually deflected all the shuriken!
At the same time, Hidan hurled his scythe.
"Whoosh—"
With its triple blades attached to a long rope, the moment he swung it out, the attack range became massive!
This time, his target was Naruto beside Shinju.
Seeing this, Yugito's face went pale. "Careful! Don't let that scythe graze you!"
"As soon as he gets your blood, he can use that strange curse jutsu of his to share damage with you…"
"Thanks for the warning." Naruto nodded.
The next moment, he drew a kunai, the Yin Seal pattern flashing on his face!
"Clang!"
He swung his kunai, intercepting Hidan's triple-bladed scythe!
Hidan was stunned!
Since when were even Konoha's little shinobi this strong?!
Naruto seized the chance—he grabbed the tip of the scythe with his left hand and yanked it back with all his strength!
Caught off guard, Hidan was pulled forward hard!
Kakuzu, realizing things were going south, fired out his left hand, his black threads snaring Hidan's body.
At that exact moment, behind them, Shinju's fingers flashed through signs. He shouted:
"Shadow Imitation Jutsu!"
"Fwoosh!"
His shadow split and spread across the ground, linking with Hidan's shadow in an instant!
And since Kakuzu's hand was pulling Hidan, the jutsu bound Kakuzu as well!
The moment they lost control of their bodies, Kakuzu's heart sank.
It was over. This was the end for them.
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
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