Just as Hidan prepared to deal a fatal blow to the man who had ambushed him again and again, a hand suddenly seized his shoulder and dragged him out of the Rock Ninjas' encirclement. The Rock Ninja who had thought he was doomed discovered, to his astonishment, that he was still alive. When he looked back at where Hidan had stood, Hidan was already gone.
The Rock Ninja collapsed onto the ground and said in relief, "Thank goodness! I thought I was dead, but I survived! Thank goodness, thank goodness!" In the end, he broke into incoherent sobs.
Meanwhile, Hidan was on the verge of going berserk after being dragged away. He struggled furiously. "Let go of me, Kakuzu! Let go right now, or you'll regret it! I have to kill that bastard! I have to kill him! I'll sacrifice that bastard to the great Lord Jashin so he'll never find peace for all eternity! Let go of me, Kakuzu!"
Kakuzu pressed a hand to his forehead helplessly. "Can't you settle down for a moment? The mission's already complete, and there are over twenty Jonin back there watching us like hawks. We're not afraid of them, but fighting them would be more trouble than it's worth. Most importantly, there's no money in it. What a waste of time."
Hidan continued struggling wildly and cursing. "I don't care! I have to slaughter that guy! I have to kill him!"
Kakuzu had nothing left to say to the idiot. Ignoring Hidan, he tied him up, slung him over his shoulder, and headed back to the base.
After everyone had rested briefly, Naruto and Hinata went up to the roof of the stone house to quietly await Sasuke and his group.
Seeing Naruto gazing silently at the lake ahead, Hinata asked, "Naruto-kun, what's