Naruto moved with incredible speed, and the fiery red Rasengan smashed into the ground, creating a deep crater. The destructive power alone was extremely amazing, but it was a pity that Hidan was lucky enough to dodge it, otherwise, he would have been beheaded.
If Naruto had managed to take his head off, Hidan would have been unable to move at all.
At this moment, Hidan quickly retreated, escaping far away.
"Kakuzu, help me!" He shouted in a panic.
Right now, Kakuzu was not much better off. After losing one of his hearts, he slowly emerged from the smoke, followed by three faceless monsters.
He ignored Hidan's plea, his eerie green eyes sweeping past Asuma and landing on the blonde boy. Aside from his age, all of Naruto's features matched a certain figure in Kakuzu's mind.
"Are you the Yellow Flash of Konoha? Who exactly are you?" Kakuzu asked, his voice far from calm, "No, the Yellow Flash of Konoha died a long time ago."
Asuma tightened his grip on his Chakra Blades. Having just witnessed Naruto's unparalleled explosive power, he suddenly understood how wise Tsunade's decision had been.
'The future of the village truly lay in the hands of these new-generation children.'
Facing the three faceless Earth Grudge Fear monsters by Kakuzu's side, Asuma didn't dare make any rash moves. Meanwhile, Shikamaru and the other two nervously formed hand seals, ready to act at any moment.
Just now, Naruto, Asuma, and Chiriku's joint attack had gained them some ground, and it seemed they were firmly in control.
However, their enemies, who should have been dead or severely injured, were still up and moving, making the situation feel eerie.
Naruto's only regret was that he hadn't been able to take off Hidan's head. If Hidan's head and body were separated, he would be unable to move. Although he had broken one of Hidan's arms, it wasn't enough to make a significant impact.
"This has nothing to do with you, old man." Naruto said, pulling out another Flying Thunder God Kunai. The ones he just threw out were disposable, and the only ones that could be reused were the one given by the system.
Hearing this, Kakuzu's face instantly twisted into a terrifying expression. Naruto's sharp words nearly broke this century-year-old old man's composure, almost making him curse out loud.
As the saying goes, evil people have their matches. The others present didn't know the specifics of Hidan and Kakuzu's abilities, but Naruto did.
"Brat, when you start begging for mercy, I hope you'll keep that attitude." Hidan snarled, he twisted his injured arm back into place, and his bones snapped back into position as if the injury hadn't happened.
"You are even more useless." Naruto replied curtly. He was even unwilling to use more words to evaluate Hidan, but his eyes remained fixed on him.
'I can't feel at ease unless I kill that guy.'
"You've got guts, brat!" Hidan raised his scythe and pointed it toward the Konoha's team.
Naruto was pleased that Hidan wasn't showing his true strength yet. In battle, information and timing were everything. And underestimating an opponent could lead to disaster.
Behind Naruto, a blood-red, Chakra-formed Nine-Tailed Fox stood tall, its presence so solid it seemed real. Its face was indistinct, but its eyes glowed with a blood-red light.
Slowly, it took form, like a demon crawling out from the underworld, exuding a terrifying aura.
Chiriku formed a hand seal, and behind him appeared a thousand-handed Buddha statue, illuminating a corner of the dark night with dazzling golden light. His resolute face showed his determination to fight to the death.
The Fire Temple was the result of his hard work for half his life. The damned abbot had wandered off, leaving Chiriku to take care of the temple alone. After over a decade of effort, he had finally become the top monk of the Fire Temple.
But then, when he returned from his trip, the Fire Temple was destroyed and his once-promising young monks were slaughtered. Normally, his pride would never have allowed him to ask Konoha for help.
But then he remembered his encounter with Naruto and recalled his warnings. Chiriku wanted revenge, to kill those Akatsuki's members who had defiled his temple. So, he gritted his teeth and spent money to hire help from Konoha.
Tonight, faced with his enemies, his hatred flared even brighter. At this moment, he only had one thought in his mind, 'Amitabha! Just die you villains!'
Asuma was not too nervous when he saw Hidan's immortality for the first time. He turned his head slightly and looked at Hidan, thinking to himself, 'Is it enough to just be careful from being my blood taken by this guy?'
Out of the corner of his eye, Asuma glanced at Chiriku and Naruto, noticing one glowing red and the other golden. He suddenly felt the urge to add some color to himself as well, but finding none, he awkwardly lit a cigarette instead.
"Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, support from the distance, don't get close." He ordered, fearing that his three little students might get caught in the crossfire, after all...
"Tsk." Hidan scoffed disdainfully, dismissive as ever. His words said one thing, but his body quickly shifted into his black ritual form.
The battle resumed.
This time, Naruto took the lead, tossing seven or eight Flying Thunder God Kunai all around. They embedded themselves around Hidan and Kakuzu, surrounding them from every direction with the widest possible range.
"Get away! Don't get into the range of that brat's kunai." Kakuzu commanded Hidan, "I'll deal with that brat, you distract the others!"
As he said that, two Earth Grudges Fear monsters immediately attacked Asuma and Chiriku, while Kakuzu, along with one more monster, charged at Naruto. This left Hidan with only Team 10 to deal with, and a sinister grin spread across his face.
Almost instantly, Hidan understood Kakuzu's tactic. To attack from the rear, they need to kill the three Genin, forcing the three people at the front to make a mistake out of desperation.
In this way, as long as they succeed, they will definitely gain an advantage. And even if they fail, with their immortality, they will not suffer any great loss. That's what they think.
Naruto had already dashed forward, too focused to worry about the others. Covering a hundred meters in almost an instant, one of the Earth Grudge Fear monsters flew at him like a ghost. The monster's mouth opened as if to fire a Bijudama, releasing a Lightning Release Ninjutsu toward him.
Even so, Naruto did not retreat. He swiftly threw another kunai and twisted his body in mid-air, rapidly forming hand seals. Seeing this, Kakuzu's body emitted countless black threads, reaching out to capture Naruto.
"How stupid! You're still forming hand seals at a time like this." Kakuzu sneered, confident of his victory.
Based on Naruto's earlier fighting style, Kakuzu assumed Naruto planned to confront him head-on, which suited him just fine! If it was a head-on fight of Ninjutsu, Kakuzu is confident that he would not lose to anyone.
However, after Naruto's rapid series of hand seals, nothing happened.
"What!" Kakuzu realized something was wrong, but it was too late. He saw Naruto's mouth corners raised, revealing a sarcastic smile.
The hand seals were just a feint. In the next moment, Naruto reappeared behind one of the Earth Grudge Fear monsters. He used a Lava Release Ninjutsu powered by the Kyubi's Chakra and pierced through the monster.
At the same time, Naruto's voice echoed through the night sky, "Who even uses hand seals seriously anymore?"
A fake Shinobi can form seven hand seals in one second. A real Shinobi can make anything he wants come true with a clap of his hands, leaving their opponents utterly confused.
"Die, you old geezer!" Naruto shouted with renewed energy, fully embracing the thrill of battle. Real Shinobi don't save their trump cards for the end, they go for the kill from the start!
A massive roar erupted as the terrifying Kyubi's Chakra projection rose menacingly into the sky. Using Flying Thunder God Technique to instantly switch positions, Naruto evaded just as the Earth Grudge Fear monster tilted its head back to unleash a breath attack.
Boom!
A massive Rasengan, mere moments apart, tore through both Earth Grudge Fear monsters' bodies one after the other.