Kisame lifted Kakuzu, who was unconscious on the ground, while Hidan's entire body was covered with hot lava. The burnt flesh and blood were so gruesome that even the murderous Kisame found it somewhat disgusting.
Kisame said calmly, "What's wrong with you two? I didn't expect the members of this organization to be so weak."
Hidan roared angrily, "This guy restrains me too much! He's thick-skinned, and my Bloody March Scythe can't penetrate at all!"
Kisame ignored Hidan's ranting and thought to himself, "The fighting here is too loud. The Iwagakure ninjas will come to support them soon."
At this time, Hidan's legs had been burned to the point where only the skeletons were left, and he was unable to stand. Kisame had no choice but to carry all three of them to a temporary stronghold more than ten kilometers away to seal the Four-Tailed Jinchuuriki.
After walking for a while, Hidan yelled, "Kisame! Can't you be gentler? The thorns of your Samehada hurt me so much!"
Kisame snorted coldly and said perfunctorily, "You can't die anyway. Don't you like pain? Heh heh heh."
Hidan said angrily, "Please! There is no one to sacrifice now. I'm so annoyed!"
At this moment, Kakuzu slowly opened his eyes, then jumped down from Kisame's shoulder. Kakuzu looked at the miserable state of himself and Hidan and angrily turned to Kisame, roaring, "It's because of you! If you didn't come too late, we wouldn't be in this mess!"
Hidan joked, "Hey! Why is an old man over a hundred years old like you so flexible?"
Kisame responded indifferently, "I just followed the instructions."
Kakuzu glared at Hidan and Kisame. Just as they were arguing, the sound of rapid footsteps approached. Kisame immediately became alert and raised Samehada in preparation for battle. The Four-Tailed Jinchuuriki, Kokuō, fell hard from the sword Samehada.
However, the intruders turned out to be ninjas from Amegakure. They had discovered Kisame and the others' whereabouts and came to hunt them down. A fierce battle was about to begin. Kisame's eyes flashed, and he whispered, "It seems we have to solve this problem quickly." He then waved Samehada and started fighting with the Amegakure ninjas.
Kakuzu and Hidan, although seriously injured, joined the fight. Their rich combat experience allowed them to still display their strength. The ninjas of Amegakure gradually fell into a disadvantage but continued to resist tenaciously.
With the tacit cooperation of Kisame and the others, all the Amegakure ninjas were finally defeated. Kisame breathed heavily, looking at the corpses on the ground, feeling a twinge of exhaustion. "It's not safe to stay here. Let's take the jinchūriki and leave quickly." He picked up the Four-Tailed Jinchuuriki, leading Kakuzu and Hidan away swiftly.
The three of them ran all the way and finally arrived at the temporary stronghold. Kisame put down the Four-Tailed Jinchuuriki and began arranging the sealing technique. Kakuzu and Hidan rested aside to recover their strength.
"This mission was really thrilling..." Hidan said with lingering fear.
"It's all because of you two losers!" Kisame glared at them.
"Huh, you were obviously late!" Kakuzu retorted.
At this moment, a loud noise came from outside.
"No, are those the pursuers from Iwagakure?" Kisame's expression changed as he took Samehada and rushed out, with Kakuzu and Hidan closely behind.
A group of Iwagakure ninjas was rushing towards them. "Damn it, we were found," Kisame said through gritted teeth.
Kakuzu stepped forward, glanced at them disdainfully, and said, "Just a few dozen low-ranking ninjas, heh." He then summoned a black monster using his Earth Grudge Fear technique and attacked with "Lightning Release: False Darkness!"
A powerful lightning bolt instantly knocked out the Iwagakure ninjas, defeating the entire army.
The leading Iwagakure ninja, seeing this, fired a chakra signal flare into the sky, causing a strong explosion.
Hidan said, "Wow! What beautiful fireworks. Wait, aren't fireworks best seen at night?"
Kakuzu punched Hidan hard and said angrily, "You idiot! That was a signal flare!"
Kisame, used to their bickering, rushed in and killed the remaining Iwagakure ninjas. After finishing off the enemies, he said, "Stop arguing and prepare to retreat."
Another group of Iwagakure ninjas rushed over from a distance.
"It seems we have to find another way to escape," Kakuzu said.
"Well, that's all we can do," Kisame nodded, then carried the Four-Tailed Jinchuuriki on his back, taking Kakuzu and Hidan in the other direction.
They shuttled through the mountains and forests, trying to avoid the Iwagakure ninjas.
"This is not the way to go. Sooner or later we will be overtaken. How about I sacrifice them all to Lord Jashin, hahaha!" Hidan said.
Kisame replied, "You can't even stand up straight, yet you're still thinking about sacrifices. What a joke!"
"I have an idea," Kakuzu said cunningly. "We can split up to distract them and escape."
"What a great idea!" Kisame and Hidan agreed.
So they ran in two different directions. Kisame, carrying the jinchūriki, and Kakuzu, carrying Hidan, moved left and right respectively.
Seeing them split up, the Iwagakure ninjas hesitated.
"Hurry up! Don't let them get away!" the leading ninja ordered.
Some ninjas ran after Kakuzu and Hidan, while others continued to chase Kisame.
Kisame, running with the jinchūriki on his back, felt his physical strength waning but kept going. "Damn it, I can't shake them off!" Kisame cursed as he noticed the hundreds of ninjas chasing him.
Just then, he saw a river ahead. "Yes!" he thought and sped up, running to the river and jumping in. The water submerged him, allowing him to escape from the Iwagakure ninjas.
Most of the Iwagakure ninjas couldn't swim, so they could only watch as Kisame disappeared into the water.
"Damn it! We couldn't protect Master Kokuō!"
"Looking at how they're dressed, we must inform Iwagakure!"
Kisame swam downstream. After surfacing for air, he confirmed there were no pursuers and breathed a sigh of relief. He swam to the shore and placed the Four-Tailed Jinchuuriki on the ground. The jinchūriki woke up, looking at Kisame with fear in his eyes.
Kisame wiped the water from his face and said coldly, "You'd better be honest. Otherwise, don't blame me for being rude."
The Four-Tailed Jinchuuriki, Kokuō, was unable to save himself, constantly having his chakra absorbed by Samehada, rendering him immobile.
In a dark jungle, Kakuzu ran desperately with Hidan on his back. Blood oozed from Hidan's wounds, staining Kakuzu's back red. Kakuzu's face was filled with solemnity and anxiety. He knew that there were hundreds of Iwagakure ninjas behind them. If they weren't careful, they would fall into an inescapable situation.
Kakuzu's breathing became more rapid. He only had a lightning-attribute heart and an earth-attribute heart left, beating tenaciously. His physical strength was rapidly depleting, but his eyes remained determined. He secretly swore in his heart to lead Hidan out of the siege.
"Kakuzu-sama, leave me and go alone!" Hidan said weakly.
"Shut up! I won't leave you!" Kakuzu roared.
He knew that escaping was no longer an option and he had to fight back. He gently placed Hidan under a big tree. "Hidan, wait for me here!" Kakuzu said, turning to face the pursuers.
Hundreds of Iwagakure ninjas rushed over, brandishing their weapons. Kakuzu quickly formed seals with his hands, using his ninjutsu. Black threads flew from his body, attacking the Iwagakure ninjas. Many were hit and instantly fell to the ground, dead.
However, the Iwagakure ninjas were not intimidated by Kakuzu's attack and continued to swarm him. Kakuzu dashed left and right in the crowd, each attack deadly. Despite this, the sheer number of Iwagakure ninjas gradually overwhelmed him. An Iwagakure ninja took advantage of his moment of unpreparedness and slashed Kakuzu's back with a sword. Kakuzu, in severe pain, shot the ninja dead.
The battle intensified, and many wounds were added to Kakuzu's body. But his eyes became more determined, driven by the belief to defeat the pursuers.
Suddenly, Kakuzu spotted the leader of the Iwagakure ninjas. He decided to eliminate the leader first. Using all his strength, he rushed towards the leader, breaking through the obstruction and reaching the leader.
Kakuzu's hands turned into sharp claws, piercing directly into the leader's chest. He tore out the leader's heart and absorbed it, replenishing the missing one. The Iwagakure ninjas, now leaderless, fell into chaos, allowing Kakuzu to launch a more violent attack. Screams filled the air as the Iwagakure ninjas fell one after another.
After a fierce battle, Kakuzu finally defeated all the pursuers. He returned to Hidan, carried him on his back, and continued towards the temporary base.
When they finally arrived, Kisame was already waiting.
"Kakuzu, you finally made it back!" Kisame said.
Kakuzu put Hidan down and collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily. "Prepare to seal the Four-Tailed Jinchuuriki. We can't delay any longer!" Kakuzu said.
Kisame nodded and began to prepare for the sealing ceremony.
Several members used the Magic Lantern Body technique, and the shadows of the three appeared on the fingers of the gigantic Gedo Statue.
Deidara was the first to taunt, "Hey, why do our immortal duo look so miserable? Hahaha!"
Hidan, sitting on his finger, retorted with dissatisfaction, "We were restrained! Everyone in our organization knows your useless bombs are afraid of thunder!"
Deidara glared at Hidan fiercely, "You're looking for death!"
Hidan laughed, "Kill me! I want nothing more than that! You kill me, and I'll eat! I'll eat a ton!"
At this moment, Kisame said, "Oh, do you dare to eat?"
Pain's Deva Path appeared and said, "Be quiet, everyone. The Four-Tailed Jinchuuriki was indeed too tricky and too much for them. I didn't plan well, so I sent Kisame to support them."
Everyone fell silent at Deva Path's words.
They began the sealing ceremony. Mysterious runes shone in the air, and powerful chakra fluctuations impacted the surroundings. The Four-Tailed Jinchuuriki struggled crazily, bursting with strength, trying to break free from the seal. The Akatsuki members gave their all to maintain the sealing technique, not daring to slack off.
Time passed, and the sun gradually set, but the seal was not yet completed. Hidan, at the forefront during the battle, endured many of the Four-Tailed Jinchuuriki's violent attacks. His body was badly damaged, wounds deep to the bone.
Deva Path Pain frowned at Hidan's condition. He knew that Hidan's injuries were so severe that even his abilities might not suffice. The Akatsuki could not afford to lose Hidan. After careful consideration, Pain made a decision: they would go to Ryūchi Cave to find a legendary miracle doctor.
Night fell, and the stars shone brightly. The seal lasted all day, and the Four-Tailed Jinchuuriki's power was finally suppressed, the seal nearly completed. But Hidan had fallen into a deep coma, near death.
After completing the seal, the Akatsuki members did not stop. They quickly set off for Ryūchi Cave with Hidan. Along the way, the atmosphere was heavy. Kakuzu was silent, regretting not protecting Hidan better; Kisame kept urging them to hurry, hoping to find the miracle doctor soon; Deidara and Sasori were unusually serious.
Kisame constantly monitored Hidan's condition. Kakuzu led the way, his eyes firm with only one belief in his heart: Hidan must survive.
Hidan said weakly, "Don't worry, I won't die! Don't worry about me, Kakuzu-chan."
Kakuzu responded gruffly, "Who... who cares about you! I just think there should be someone who can't be killed. You can form a team with me!"
After two days of travel, they finally arrived near Ryūchi Cave.
Kisame said calmly, "Kakuzu, you know this place best. Lead the way."
Kakuzu nodded, his deep green eyes staring at the waterfall and cave in front of him.
They followed Kakuzu through the waterfall and some distance further, finally seeing simple buildings and some ninjas. They approached the gate of Ryūchi Cave.
An old ninja recognized Kakuzu at a glance and hesitated, "What brings you here?"