Chapter 157: A Timely Intervention
Just as Ren had anticipated, Konoha's pursuit team arrived at the exchange shortly after Kakuzu and Hidan's departure. The composition was exactly as he remembered: the Tenth Squad, led by Asuma Sarutobi, accompanied by the four Special Jounin—Izumo Kamizuki, Kotetsu Hagane, Aoba Yamashiro, and the tracker, Pakkun.
Their mission was to hunt down or capture the Akatsuki members. Intelligence had pinpointed the duo's location to this very exchange, but by the time the Konoha team arrived, their targets were already gone. Splitting into two groups to cover more ground, it was Asuma's team—comprising Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji—along with Izumo and Kotetsu, who correctly guessed the escape route and managed to intercept the immortal pair.
The initial skirmish unfolded with a grim familiarity. Lured by Hidan's fanatical desire for a solo kill, Asuma's team engaged him. Shikamaru's brilliant tactical mind eventually deciphered Hidan's ritual, allowing Asuma to sever the cultist's head. But the victory was short-lived. Hidan's immortality, combined with Kakuzu's ability to reattach limbs with his strange black threads, turned the tide brutally. Kakuzu entered the fray, his overwhelming power quickly incapacitating Izumo and Kotetsu. A devastating blow from his hardened fist left Asma with a mortal wound, his life bleeding out onto the forest floor.
Just as Kakuzu and Hidan moved in for the final kill, the backup team—Ino, Choji, and Aoba—arrived. Aoba's murder of crows provided a momentary distraction, allowing the young genin to retrieve their fallen comrades. But the reprieve was brief. Kakuzu easily dispersed the crows, his multiple eyes locking onto the retreating forms of the Tenth Squad.
"He is my bounty. I will not let you take the body," Kakuzu stated, his voice a low, gravelly threat devoid of emotion.
"Dammit..." Shikamaru cursed, his mind racing through a thousand scenarios, each one ending in their annihilation. Their sensei was dying, their chakra was depleted, and they were facing a monster.
"Shikamaru, take Asuma-sensei and go! I'll hold him off!" Aoba yelled, charging forward with desperate courage. But he was swiftly outmatched and thrown back, injured and gasping.
In the original timeline, Kakuzu and Hidan would have been recalled by Pain to seal the Two-Tails. But with the Two-Tails already in Ren's possession, that summons never came. For Kakuzu, driven solely by profit, the bounty on Asuma's head was too valuable to abandon. He pursued the fleeing genin with relentless purpose.
"We can't outrun him!" Choji panted, looking back at the closing distance. He made a decision, his face set with a heartbreaking resolve. "Shikamaru, Ino, you go on ahead! I'll stop him!"
"Idiot! You're no match for him! That's suicide!" Shikamaru retorted, frustration and fear warring within him.
"But if no one stops him, he'll catch up! And Asuma-sensei will... I still have my clan's secret pill..." Choji's voice was firm.
"Shut up!" Shikamaru yelled, knowing full well the horrific price of the Akimichi Three Colored Pills. He watched in horror as Choji stopped, turned, and pulled a small box from his pocket. Inside was a bright red pill.
"Shikamaru... get Asuma-sensei to safety!" Choji said, his voice trembling but determined. He opened the box and brought the pill to his lips.
It was a sacrifice Shikamaru was powerless to prevent. But just as Choji was about to swallow the pill, a whistling sound cut through the air. A massive, executioner's blade spun through the trees, aimed directly at Kakuzu's neck.
The Akatsuki member was forced to halt his advance, bending backwards at an impossible angle to avoid the decapitation. The sword slammed into a tree trunk behind him, embedding itself deep into the wood. A figure landed lightly on the sword's hilt, looking down at the scene with an air of casual arrogance.
"Yo! Looks like I caught up."
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