Of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, Retreat Is Best

Although Kakuzu seems to have reached a dead end, he is, after all, a ninja from the same era as the First Hokage, and might even possess more powerful secret techniques.

Hinata dared not be careless.

Kakuzu's eerie green eyes turned to Hinata, and he said coldly, "Having used such powerful techniques in succession, your Chakra must be running low, right?"

Hinata sneered, "You can try, though."

Kakuzu said in a sinister voice, "There will be an opportunity..."

As soon as he finished speaking, countless black lines emerged from the ground beneath Kakuzu's feet, pulling a figure with only half a body out of the ground.

It's Hidan!

"Kakuzu- san, I never expected you to be in such a sorry state..."

Hidan was completely oblivious to his surroundings. Even with only half his body remaining and his hands and feet missing, he still loudly and arrogantly mocked Kakuzu.

"Shut up!"

Kakuzu a cold rebuke, glanced at Hinata one last time, and then quickly disappeared underground with Hidan.

Hinata: "..."

Hinata thought Kakuzu unleash his full power when Kakuzu's aura was so astonishing.

Hinata was even prepared to unleash another powerful attack the moment Kakuzu's Chakra showed the slightest abnormality.

But who could have imagined that Kakuzu was just feinting, his real purpose being to escape with Hidan.

"So... was the heart that Kakuzu just stole an earth-elemental one?"

Hinata even suspected that Kakuzu had planned to run away from the very beginning.

All he did was to seize the earth-elemental heart so he could easily escape.

The Wind God and the Thunder God stood obediently behind Hinata, bowed respectfully, and said, "Big Sister, you've worked hard!"

Hinata turned around, patted the two fat men on the shoulder, and said with great satisfaction, "You two did a great job! I'll treat you to a big meal when I get back!"

The two simpletons scratched their heads and grinned foolishly upon hearing this, their eyes revealing a hint of smugness.

Hinata called out, "Let's go! Let's go support the others!"

The situation on the field is now very clear.

Kakashi was able to maintain a stalemate with Deidara thanks to his Lightning Release Ninjutsu. If Deidara hadn't had the advantage of air superiority and Kakashi hadn't lacked ranged Ninjutsu, Deidara might have been defeated by Kakashi.

After all, Deidara is only sixteen years old this year.

On the other hand, on the Sand Village side... just a moment ago, another Jonin from the Sand Village died.

Jonin are the elite fighting force of a ninja village. The Sand Village suffered heavy losses, losing two Jonin and having another Jonin.

Baki, Kankuro, Temari are in dire straits under the Yura attack of Sasori of the Red Sands and Yura.

Seeing Hinata charging towards him, Sasori of the Red Sands immediately abandoned the three Sand Village members, and his Iron Sand dispersed into countless round beads, sweeping towards Hinata like a tidal wave.

"Magnet Release - Iron Sand Drizzle!"

Hinata roared, "You two stand behind me!"

"Heavenly Spin!"

The Chakra ball, ten meters in diameter, shielded the Wind God and Thunder God behind them, deflecting all the incoming Iron Sand.

Sasori of the Red Sands glanced up at Deidara and said calmly, "Deidara! Mission failed, time to retreat!"

Deidara said with a hint of resentment, "Hey! It seems we haven't failed yet, so why are you in such a hurry to retreat?"

"My art hasn't yet unleashed its most magnificent brilliance, let me show you... Hmm!"

Sasori of the Red Sands coldly said, "Shut up! Retreat immediately... Deidara!"

"Cut!"

Deidara reluctantly put the clay back into the clay bag, glanced at Kakashi, and then flew towards Sasori of the Red Sands.

Sasori of the Red Sands manipulated the Third Kazekage's Human Puppet to jump onto the clay bird, with Yura following closely behind. The clay bird instantly rose into the air, and Deidara glanced down at Hinata before flying away into the distance.

Hinata didn't dare to give chase, or even stop Deidara and Sasori of the Red Sands from leaving.

In fact, Deidara's last words did frighten Hinata.

If Deidara were to recklessly use Ninjutsu of the level of 'C3·18' or 'C4· Garuda', Hinata wouldn't be able to guarantee her survival.

Practice is indeed the sole criterion for testing truth.

Hinata used to think she was already very strong. Based on her knowledge of the Akatsuki, she thought that even if she faced Akatsuki, she wouldn't be without a fighting chance.

However, the truth is extremely cruel.

Aside from weaklings like Hidan, Hinata has absolutely no other means of dealing with other opponents besides unleashing her ultimate attack.

"Ninjutsu is still a bit too monotonous..."

Hinata analyzed her own shortcomings.

Besides lacking combat experience, Hinata's overly monotonous moves are also a major weakness.

Hinata's moves are all straightforward and direct. While ordinary Jonin might find it difficult to withstand, Kakuzu, at his level, can easily dodge Hinata's special moves.

Although the 'Pegasus Meteor Fist' has not yet been countered due to its large coverage area, Hinata cannot rely on this move all the time.

Furthermore, continuously throwing punches the size of sandbags consumes too much Chakra. If Hinata fails to kill her opponent before running out of Chakra, she is likely to be killed by her opponent in return.

Hinata was a little frustrated. After returning to the village this time, she would definitely have to develop some Ninjutsu techniques.

Kakashi staggered over, completely exhausted.

Of the sixteen people from Sunagakure, only Baki, Kankuro, Temari are still alive; the rest perished in the attack.

This loss was simply unacceptable to Sunagakure.

The loss of three Jonin during peacetime is enough to shake the Shinobi World.

Baki was severely injured and sat on the ground, saying weakly, "We are no longer able to fight... How could they retreat so easily?"

Kakashi glanced at Hinata and said calmly, "He probably doesn't have the confidence to counter Hinata's moves!"

Deidara is actually alright, since he can fly.

However, Sasori of the Red Sands would surely die if Hinata's attack.

Baki asked in a deep voice, "Who are they?"

Kakashi said calmly, "They're from Akatsuki... Don't you in Sunagakure have any information about them?"

"Is that so?"

Baki said something indifferently, then lowered his head and remained silent.

The Sand Village suffered heavy losses this time, and the attack came out of nowhere. The enemy didn't even confirm the intelligence before launching the attack.

If the enemy were to put in a little effort to verify the intelligence, neither Konoha nor Sand Village would suffer any losses.

Although the Akatsuki members chose to retreat temporarily out of fear of Hinata's techniques.

However, ninjas do not easily abandon their missions; a temporary retreat does not mean a true retreat.

Once those people have rested and recuperated, the next attack might be even more ferocious.

Kakashi looked at Baki and asked, "Can you still walk?"

Baki glanced at Temari and Kankuro, then shook his head slightly and said, "I'm afraid it won't work!"

Temari's injuries were severe, and Kankuro was even poisoned and fell into a coma.

Kakashi said calmly, "You can continue your journey to Konoha."

"We... part ways here!"