She grasped Hidan's arm as if it were caught in a vice, preventing him from moving it further.
"What are you doing?" Hidan shouted angrily, "Don't interfere with me, I..."
"Me?" Kaguya's clear eyes coldly glanced at Hidan, making him feel as if he was frozen from head to toe. "It seems I was too lenient with you before."
"No, no..." Hidan stammered, shivering at the memory of something.
"This isn't appropriate," Kakuzu said in a deep voice from afar, "We're on a mission, and we don't want you interfering."
"Kakuzu, did I give you permission to speak?" Kaguya's beautiful eyes glared, and Kakuzu's body felt an invisible force slam into him, sending him flying and crashing heavily to the ground.
"You..." Kakuzu stood up, uncertain and wary, clenching his fists but refraining from attacking.
Kaguya sneered and shot Kakuzu a disdainful glance. Seeing that he had no intention of attacking, she turned away.
She had hoped to provoke Kakuzu into attacking so she could give him a good beating. When Kaguya first joined Akatsuki, there had been tensions between them. Kakuzu had always eyed Kaguya's head for the bounty of 100 million ryo, and Kaguya had never liked him.
They fought frequently; in the beginning, Kaguya had not yet awakened her full power and was evenly matched with Kakuzu. But after several years of growth, Kaguya's strength had increased significantly, and Kakuzu was no longer her equal. However, Kaguya was very vengeful and often found excuses to beat Kakuzu up. If it weren't for them being in the same organization, she might have killed him already.
As for Hidan, he deserved what he got. After joining Akatsuki, he had been roped in by Kakuzu and foolishly tried to ambush Kaguya. As a result, Kaguya had given him a severe beating, using gravity to crush him into pulp and burying him in the back mountain. If not for Nagato rescuing him, he would have rotted away by now.
Though Hidan was immortal, it was conditional. He needed to consume nutrients; without them, he would die. Hidan could never forget the sensation of his body slowly rotting underground, a memory that still sent chills down his spine.
Kaguya yanked Hidan out of his ritual circle and kicked him in the stomach. Hidan flew like a cannonball and crashed into a wall, causing it to crack and shatter.
"Why did you save Asuma?"
By this time, Shikamaru, Ino, and the others had arrived and were lifting Asuma from the ground. Ino was using healing jutsu on him. Although Asuma's abdomen had been pierced, it had not hit any vital organs, and he had managed to survive.
"Well, let me think," Kaguya crossed her arms and pinched her chin, "Maybe because I'm also on the bounty list, and I think I'm the top one."
"Top one?"
Shikamaru suddenly remembered that Kaguya was the highest bounty on the list, worth 100 million ryo, and now it seemed it had increased to over 300 million. For capturing her alive, the bounty was 1 billion ryo, an amount that could fund a small ninja village for years.
Ino, who was treating Asuma, was staring at Kaguya with a dazed look, as if seeing her for the first time. She had always believed that Kaguya was a heinous traitor, a target that needed to be hunted down. But now, Kaguya's actions surprised her. If it weren't for her intervention, Asuma-sensei might...
Maybe she wasn't that bad after all.
"Why are you protecting Konoha's ninja?" Kakuzu walked over, his voice deep. "Are you planning to betray the organization?"
"Betray the organization?" Kaguya smiled slightly. "Who do you think you are, to meddle in my affairs? I just don't like you, that's all."
Kakuzu was choked by Kaguya's words, his face showing anger, eyes almost spitting fire. He clenched his fists, ready to explode at any moment.
Kaguya stood there quietly, arms crossed, looking at him with a cold smile. She thought that if he dared to make a move, she'd beat him up again.
Finally, Kakuzu snorted coldly, didn't say a word, and turned to leave. Hidan followed behind him, no longer as arrogant as before. He was truly scared of Kaguya.
"No matter what," Shikamaru walked up to Kaguya, wiping his eyes, bowed deeply, and shouted, "Thank you, really, thank you so much."
His teacher and friend, Asuma, had almost died. That feeling of despair was something Shikamaru would never forget. He also wouldn't forget the glimpse of hope that appeared when he was in despair. He was now filled with gratitude, the feeling of surviving a disaster made him want to cry.
Ino's eyes were also welling up with tears at this moment. She sniffled and murmured, "That's great, it's really great."
"Alright, alright, there's no need to thank me," Kaguya huffed. "I only did it to spite Kakuzu. Don't get the wrong idea. You'd better get Asuma to a hospital quickly. He's seriously injured and won't last long, or else Kurenai will become a widow."
Kaguya turned and waved her hand, leaving behind the image of a silver-haired girl in their eyes.
Asuma was one of her favorite characters in the anime. He was a very warm and considerate teacher, very generous and caring towards his students, easygoing, and more like a friend than a teacher.
"I didn't expect Kaguya to be a good person," Ino said in surprise. "But what did she mean by Asuma-sensei and Kurenai-sensei having a relationship?"
"Aren't Asuma-sensei and Kurenai-sensei siblings? How could they get married?" Shikamaru scratched his head. "That Kaguya is really hard to understand."