Little Bouncy Ball

"Ora!" Sakura punched the Earth Wall, shattering it with a thunderous crash and sending chunks of earth flying.

"Die!" Hidan leaped ahead of time, gripping his scythe with both hands as he slashed at Sakura's back.

But a Golden chain entered his view. Though he had no idea what it was, Hidan instinctively swung his scythe and knocked the chain aside.

Kakuzu ran forward while forming hand seals, shouting, "Idiot, behind you!"

It was too late. Hidan turned around in midair, only to see two identical Golden chains. "What item is this?"

One chain coiled around Hidan's legs from below like a venomous snake, winding upward bit by bit.

The other tightly bound both of Hidan's arms against his sides.

Sasuke had already grabbed Sakura by the arm and pulled her away. Hidan hit the ground with a thud, bound up like a silkworm cocoon.

Just as he was about to start cursing, Kakashi's Raikiri flashed past and severed his neck. His head rolled two meters away.

"Ptooey, ptooey!" Hidan spat out two mouthfuls of dirt. "That hurts! You bastards! I'll *****!"

Even losing his head did not stop Hidan from cursing, though he still remembered what mattered. "Hey, Kakuzu, hurry up and save me!"

Maybe it was an illusion, but Naruto thought there was a hint of coquettishness in his tone.

Kakuzu naturally wanted to save him, but Chiriku's Fierce-Eyed Guardian had smashed him in the face with two punches, interrupting his hand seals and making him miss the best chance to rescue Hidan.

"His head got cut off and he's still alive?" Sakura curiously held up Hidan's head for a look. This did not fit medical common sense.

Naruto had already created two Shadow Clones. He pointed at Hidan's body and head. "Package them up and send them to Konoha."

Naruko took Hidan's still-cursing head from Sakura and suddenly had a bold idea.

The clone had always been quick to act. The moment she thought of it, she did it. She lightly tossed Hidan's head into the air, then kicked it again and again like a shuttlecock, chanting a rhyme as she did.

"Little bouncy ball, kick it off your foot, lotus flowers bloom at twenty-one, two-eight-two-five-six, two-eight-two-five-seven..."

Hidan's head bounced up and down with Naruko's rhythm, and even his cursing came out in stuttering fragments.

"That hurts, you bas—tard! You kicked my no—se! You brat, my ey—es! I'm going to Kill You!"

Chiriku, who was pursuing Kakuzu: ...

Kakuzu, who was dodging attacks: ...

Naruto and the rest of Team 7: ...

Only No. 001, who had just picked up Hidan's body, looked thrilled. "As expected of you, Naruko! Count me in!"

Naruko was happy to share anything fun. She kicked Hidan's head flying with one foot. "Catch!"

"It's coming!???" No. 001's excited expression froze on his face, gradually shifting into agony before he collapsed onto the ground with a scream. "Awoo~"

Naruko slapped her forehead. "This idiot."

Hidan's mouth had clamped tightly onto No. 001's toe. He said through clenched teeth, "You dare mess with me? Die!"

Hidan bit down hard and tore off No. 001's toe. No. 001 gloomily turned into a puff of smoke and vanished.

"Hahahahaha!" Nine Tails rolled around laughing in the Sealing Space. This brat's clones could come up with new ways to die anytime, anywhere. This boring mission had not been for nothing—it was killing him!

Naruto was on the verge of breaking down. The sensation of having his toe bitten off, transmitted from the clone, was one thing, but this way of dying was far too embarrassing. "Stop fooling around, sis. I'm begging you, hurry back to Konoha, okay?"

Naruko stuck out her tongue and stopped causing trouble. She grabbed Hidan's head and body and ran off.

"Kakuzu, why are you still dawdling—"

Before Kakuzu's astonished eyes, Hidan and Naruko vanished from where they stood.

Seeing Chiriku temporarily stop attacking, Naruto pulled out more than a dozen Flying Thunder God Kunai and threw them into the sky.

Once the kunai reached their highest point, they began turning and falling toward the ground, flying toward the area around Kakuzu.

Watching Naruto's movements, Kakuzu recalled the intelligence about him. "Those kunai, and that technique that made Hidan disappear... that was the Flying Thunder God Technique, wasn't it? How could I possibly let you have your way!"

Kakuzu spun in a circle. The masks on his shoulders spat out more than a dozen gusts of wind, striking the kunai with precision and blasting every one of them away in different directions. Conservatively speaking, they flew over eight hundred meters away.

Naruto cooperatively put on his unique performance of looking like he had been exposed, but...

Simply widening your eyes and opening your mouth doesn't count as acting!

His teammates could not even be bothered to mock him anymore. He was clearly the original body, yet his acting was somehow far worse than those Shadow Clones.

Kakuzu did not care about Naruto's performance. He was very pleased with himself for cracking the Flying Thunder God Technique in advance. "Perhaps your ninjutsu is strong, but compared to me, your combat experience is far too lacking."

Kakuzu's gaze swept over everyone opposite him, especially the four members of Team 7, and he said in a deep voice,

"Seeing your forehead protectors reminds me of the first Konoha Ninja I ever fought—the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju."

But to his disappointment, none of those Konoha Ninja showed shocked expressions. Were young people these days all so composed?

Naruto said unconcernedly, "What's so impressive about that? I've fought the Fourth Hokage too. Back then, one Water Style move left him with nowhere to run and forced him to take a bath. Did I brag about it?"

Sasuke, Sakura, and Chiriku did not fully understand, but they were impressed. Had Naruto's Water Style really reached that level? But didn't the Fourth Hokage have the Flying Thunder God Technique? Even that could not let him escape?

Kakuzu looked at him disdainfully. This brat is even more shameless than I am. The intelligence clearly says the Fourth Hokage was your father, doesn't it? What's so impressive about your father playing along and getting hit by your Water Style?

Other than Naruto, Kakashi was the only one who knew the truth. He rolled his Dead Fish Eye. He had seen that scene with his own eyes. The problem was that the "Water Style" had been released while Naruto was sitting on Minato-sensei's shoulders.

And it should have been said that he had been forced to go take a bath, not that he had been drenched all over by normal Water Style as they understood it.

Could that sort of thing be used for bragging? Kakashi glanced at Naruto, then ultimately decided not to expose him. After all, the kid could really hold a grudge.

After failing to show off, Kakuzu realized he had not managed to frighten them and decided to make one last attempt. No matter what, that was One Hundred Million!

It was like placing a hedgehog before a starving old wolf. Even knowing it would prick its mouth, the wolf would still be unwilling not to take a bite and try.

Kakuzu made up his mind. He would give it a try. If he truly could not get it, he would retreat immediately. Only by staying alive could he make money.

As for Hidan, Kakuzu did not even need Earth Grudge Fear to know that he had definitely been sent to Konoha. He might even be lying on an operating table right now, being studied.

Kakuzu was not arrogant enough to go to Konoha alone to save someone. It was just a pity that he had finally found a partner he could not kill, only for him to be gone like this.

"Wind Release: Pressure Damage! Fire Release: Searing Migraine!"

The two masks on Kakuzu's shoulders opened their mouths at the same time. One spewed a violent gale, the other blazing fire. Wind and fire combined, surging toward the group with the force of burning the heavens and boiling the seas.