The Immortal Duo Appears 1/2

Hayato suddenly sprang to his feet.

Kaito and Sharoro thought Naruto and the others were in grave danger.

Hayato said solemnly, "Xian, summon Ryūōmaru. We need reinforcements."

Sharoro looked at the serious Hayato, then at Hatake Kaito. She had no issue with Hayato's commanding tone, but Hatake Kaito was the captain. Orders should come from the captain—that was the rule.

Although Hatake Kaito did not know what had happened, it was his first time seeing Hayato like this. He nodded.

Sharoro said, "From this far away, Kakashi and the Hidden Mist Demon will notice." She was reminding her teammates that this meant their protection mission would no longer remain covert. The mission was on the verge of failure.

Hayato was already preparing for battle, and Hatake Kaito nodded again.

Sharoro no longer hesitated and summoned the ninja hound, Ryūōmaru.

Hayato said, "Black-level request for aid. Reverse Summoning Technique."

Even Hatake Kaito was moved this time. Black rank was higher than a red emergency request. It meant the support team had to be prepared for the entire rescue party to be wiped out.

Hatake Kaito could not help asking, "Hú, what exactly is going on?"

Hayato said, "There are new enemies." He pointed in the direction of the bridge.

There were two new enemies.

One of them had five independent chakra systems in his body, and every one of them was at jonin level.

The other had chakra reserves beyond jonin level, and his chakra was an eerie blackish red, full of bloodlust, chaos, and madness.

The immortal duo!

The moment Hayato, who was intimately familiar with Naruto, sensed them, two figures immediately surfaced in his mind.

—Kakuzu, who had thrown a shuriken at the First Naruto from eight hundred miles away, and Hidan, who loved courting death and eventually died because of it.

Hidan was manageable. His combat strength was extreme. Without knowledge of the Jashin Ritual, Hidan could potentially kill even a Kage. Otherwise, he was merely an elite jonin who relied on his immortality and taijutsu to charge recklessly into everything.

The troublesome one was Kakuzu. No matter how netizens from Hayato's previous life had mocked him, Kakuzu's five elemental hearts, Earth Grudge Fear, and decades of combat experience combined made him a genuine Kage-level opponent, though perhaps one of the weaker ones.

As long as someone was Kage level, strong or weak, they were not someone Hayato could take lightly right now.

Damn it!

Why had Akatsuki appeared here?

There had been no such development in the original Land of Waves mission. Was this the butterfly effect caused by his transmigration?

Were they targeting Gatō or Zabuza?

Kakuzu handled Akatsuki's money, while Gatō was one of the few wealthy tycoons around. It made perfect sense for Kakuzu to represent Akatsuki and "amicably" negotiate with Gatō, hoping he would invest in Akatsuki.

The previous wielder of the Executioner's Blade had been Biwa Jūzō. Akatsuki was short on manpower at this stage, so coming to recruit the blade's current owner was not strange either.

Zabuza had once wanted to join Akatsuki, but Itachi Uchiha had rejected him because of Haku. With Zabuza's temperament, he would never go back for seconds.

If the immortal duo reached the bridge and came into contact with both sides, would they help Kakashi or Zabuza?

Given their personalities, it would be more normal for them to cut everyone down.

Either he abandoned Naruto and the others and fled, or he stopped the two of them. Those were Hayato's only choices.

Leaving Naruto and the others behind was something neither Hatake Kaito nor Moonlight Sharoro would accept, and Hayato himself could not do it either. It was not because he feared becoming a Konoha rogue ninja after fleeing, but because it would betray his convictions. If he abandoned his convictions out of fear of death, what had all his efforts over the years been for?

A joke?

When a man had convictions worth fighting and dying for without regret, as well as brothers and a woman, then he was a real man. It had nothing to do with his wallet, house, car, height, or appearance.

Besides, this was only preparing for the worst. It was still uncertain who would die.

Hatake Kaito asked, "They're strong?"

Hayato answered with two words. "Terrifying."

Since Hayato had become his teammate, Hatake Kaito had witnessed his growth. Hayato had fought jonin more than once or twice. There had been bitter battles and injuries, but Hayato had never described anyone as "terrifying."

His evaluation of the current Zabuza was: very strong!

In other words, the new enemies were at least as strong as Zabuza—and there were two of them at once.

This was no longer merely headache-inducing. It was enough to make their skulls explode.

By then, Sharoro had already sent Ryūōmaru away through reverse summoning, consuming quite a bit of chakra.

Hatake Kaito said, "Xian, go help Senior Kakashi. Quickly deal with the Hidden Mist Demon, then join Senior Kakashi in supporting Hú and me."

This was the safest strategy at present.

Sharoro shook her head. "No!"

Hatake Kaito said angrily, "Defying the captain's orders, you..."

Sharoro still shook her head, tears already welling in her eyes.

Hayato said, "Captain, let's go together. It's not like we're guaranteed to lose."

A strategy was a strategy. If it were Hayato, he would not be willing to let his teammates face powerful enemies alone either.

"Let's go," Hayato said calmly.

The calm before the storm.

Sharoro looked at Hayato and said, "Is this your family heirloom mask? It's pretty nice."

That was right. Hayato had put on Ichigo's mask. Chakra +0%, recovery speed +10%.

Ding!

The system, which had been quiet for a long time, let out a crisp sound:

Host: Hyuga Hayato

Draw Mission: Repel Akatsuki's immortal duo.

Mission Reward: One A-rank draw.

Additional Reward: Destroying each of Kakuzu's hearts grants one rank draw. Killing one grants one S-rank draw.

Failure Penalty: None.

Accept mission?

"Yes!"

Hayato did not hesitate in the slightest. The mission only required him to repel them rather than kill them. It seemed the system did not think highly of his chances of killing the two either. As for there being no failure penalty?

Heh. Failure meant death. What harsher punishment could there be?

The three of them no longer concealed their presence.

Sharoro's Summoning Technique and Reverse Summoning Technique in particular had been practically a blatant announcement.

Although Hatake Kakashi did not know what was happening, he had an ominous feeling.

Momochi Zabuza sneered. "So there was a backup plan. Typical Konoha style. But why have they left? Did they get hungry after squatting there so long and go eat some snacks?"

Unfortunately, Hayato was not there. Otherwise, hearing Momochi Zabuza say that would have given him enough material to mock him for an entire year.

When he saw Konoha ANBU appear, although he did not know why they had not acted and had instead left, Momochi Zabuza sounded relaxed but knew that the longer this dragged on, the worse it would be for him.

He shouted in a low voice, "Haku!"

Haku's sensory ability was even better than Zabuza's, and she had discovered Hayato and the others earlier. Naturally, she understood what Zabuza's shout meant.

The battle had to end quickly, for Zabuza's sake!

Hiss...

Haku flew out from the surface of an ice mirror, targeting Naruto, who had exhausted too much stamina and was lying on the ground as though dead. She no longer deliberately avoided vital points.

Even though Sasuke, who had activated his Sharingan during the fight, knew it was a trap, he still rushed forward without hesitation and stood in front of Naruto.

"What remarkable perception, remarkable movement speed, and remarkable judgment." Haku, who had been struck by Sasuke, lay on the ground and praised him. "But... the plan succeeded."

At the same time Sasuke hit Haku, several of Haku's senbon pierced Sasuke's body.

Haku's target had been Sasuke from the very beginning. Naruto was merely the "east" in her feint to attack the west.

"Truly remarkable," Haku praised again. "Even in that instant, he avoided every vital point. If this child were given time to grow, he would soon surpass me."

Having failed to kill Sasuke in one blow, Haku instead felt relieved inside.

Thinking Sasuke was dead, Naruto's intense emotions stimulated the Nine-Tails' seal.

Within the sealing space, the Nine-Tails bared its gleaming white fangs. "Brat, I'm not doing this for you. The more chakra leaks out, the faster the seal loosens, and the closer I come to regaining my freedom. Hmph. Once the seal is broken, you'll be the first one I tear apart."

After saying that, the Nine-Tails closed its eyes and ignored everything outside.

Naruto transformed under the Nine-Tails' chakra. His scarlet vertical pupils, sharp canine teeth, more pronounced whisker marks, and lengthened nails appeared—but he had no tail.

"Unforgivable! I'll kill you!"

On the bridge.

The battle reached its climax.