Rolling heat waves churned through the black smoke.
Then, a series of screams suddenly rang out from within the smoke.
Asuma let out a long breath.
In truth, all of this had been part of his plan.
After all, from the beginning until now, he had noticed that after Kakuzu unleashed the Earth Grudge Fear clone, he had made no other moves at all.
So he boldly concluded that this might be a clone.
And if it was a clone, then the real body had to be hiding in the shadows.
Since he was hiding in the shadows, he would surely be looking for a chance to strike at him.
To avoid being passively threatened by such danger at every moment, Asuma wanted to lure the snake from its hole before that could happen.
As long as he showed even an instant of being unable to focus on anything else, it would be the opponent's best chance to make a move.
Though it was truly dangerous. If his timing was off, even by a second too early, the opponent could prepare in advance.
And if he was a second too late, there was no question about it—he would be completely finished.
But now, it seemed luck was still on his side.
As the thick smoke slowly dispersed, the four Shadow Clones beside him vanished at the same time.
But just then, not far away, after breaking free from the entanglement of the Fire Style ninjutsu,
the Earth Grudge Fear clone suddenly accelerated and, without the slightest hesitation, plunged straight into the mist that had yet to fully dissipate.
For some reason, Hidan actually set his scythe down on the ground.
He seemed to be planning to watch a good show.
Asuma frowned. What did that mean?
Then, in the next