Driving Back the Immortal Duo 1/2

"Great Lord Jashin..." Hidan raised both hands, his expression growing increasingly fervent.

Suddenly~~~

His arm bent inward.

Splat!

Hidan's arm plunged into his own chest. With a yank, he pulled out a bright red heart and held it in his hand. Fresh blood dripped from between his fingers onto the ground as Hidan drew a circle with his foot.

Hayato remembered the formation for the Jashin Ritual and hurriedly threw out a kunai with an explosive tag attached.

Clang!

Two kunai collided in midair, and the explosive tags detonated.

Hayato and Kakuzu exchanged looks.

Hayato: Didn't you say you wouldn't make a move?

Kakuzu: So what if I did?

There was indeed nothing Hayato could do about it. After all, pounding his own chest with every punch was an ultimate forbidden technique he would never use, even if it killed him.

After drawing the large circle, Hidan added a concentric circle inside it, then placed the heart on top.

"Grant me power, Forbidden Cursed Body!" Hidan shouted, his voice dripping with the over-the-top flair of a cringey anime.

Hidan's skin turned silver-white, covered in black bone-like markings. It resembled the transformation from the Jashin Ritual, except the black and white had been reversed.

"Hehehe, hahahaha..." Hidan laughed hysterically as he looked at Hayato and Sarara. "Repent before the eternal Jashin in the abyss of blood and darkness. Suffer."

With that, Hidan charged forward with a pitch-black spear in hand. He was riddled with openings, attacking without any thought for defense.

"Southern Dipper Water Bird Fist: Flying Swallow Dance!"

Chakra wrapped around Hayato's hands as he brushed past Hidan, slicing through Hidan's limbs and neck.

Southern Dipper Water Bird Fist was a martial art capable of carving a person into a limbless stump—gorgeous and vicious. Yet it only left wounds one or two centimeters deep on Hidan's body—wounds that would have been fatal on anyone else.

Hidan turned to stab Hayato, but Sarara struck him with several heavy slashes, smashing him to the ground. The blade wounds she left were not deep either.

"Haha!" Hidan climbed back to his feet, the wounds on his body healing at a visible rate before he charged again.

During the exchange, Hayato noticed that Hidan's skin was growing tougher and tougher. The wounds they left were becoming shallower, his healing was accelerating, and his strength and speed were gradually increasing.

As one side waned while the other waxed, prolonged defense would inevitably lead to defeat. Hayato and Sarara were beginning to struggle to hold their ground.

Could this guy be converting damage into chakra?

Hayato examined him carefully with his Byakugan.

Sure enough!

Hidan's chakra was increasing rather than decreasing.

"I'll keep this lunatic busy," Hayato said to Sarara. "You destroy the formation."

Sarara broke free of Hidan's entanglement and swung her blade at the formation.

Kakuzu raised an arm horizontally and used his hardening technique to block Sarara's slash head-on.

Sparks flew everywhere.

The recoil numbed Sarara's palm.

"Lightning Release: False Darkness!" Kakuzu opened with a B-rank Lightning Release. Several sharp lightning spears shot from his mouth.

Lightning Release had always been renowned for its speed. At such close range, Sarara had no way to evade them completely.

One lightning spear grazed Sarara's left foot, drawing blood at once and paralyzing her body.

"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"

Kakuzu continued forming hand seals. Injured and paralyzed, Sarara had no time to dodge.

"Sarara!"

Hayato's eyes nearly split with rage as he tried to rescue Sarara, but Hidan clung to him like a strip of stubborn plaster. He simply could not shake him off.

Splat!

Halfway through his hand seals, Kakuzu looked down and saw a blade tip protruding from his chest, having pierced through from his back.

"What do you think you're doing to my adorable subordinate?" Hatake Kaito's suppressed, furious voice came from behind Kakuzu.

Boom!

At the same time, an explosive tag blew Hidan's formation and the heart to pieces.

The black-and-white markings on Hidan's body rapidly faded.

"Damn it!"

Having returned to normal, Hidan attacked even more frantically. Unfortunately, his mindless, powerless, sluggish attacks could not even touch the corner of Hayato's clothes.

Hatake Kaito pulled out his blade. Kakuzu collapsed to the ground as though dead.

Kaito supported Sarara and retreated. He remembered Hayato saying that the green-eyed man had five independent chakra systems. Combined with the immortal lunatic's condition, Kaito did not believe Kakuzu would die so easily.

Sure enough, seeing that Kaito had not lowered his guard, Kakuzu slowly climbed to his feet. He tore off his black coat, revealing four masks on his back.

Hidan said with glee, "Hey, hey, Kakuzu, one of your hearts is broken. Are you going to die here today? The weather's pretty nice."

Kakuzu pointed ominously at everyone present. "You dared destroy my precious heart. That price... all of you will die."

Hidan laughed without a care. "Eh, Kakuzu, why are you pointing at me? Are you including me too? Hahaha, I'm a man without a heart. Mine just got blown up."

"Shut your mouth."

Kakuzu dearly wished he could use Earth Grudge Fear to stitch Hidan's mouth shut immediately. A low, beast-like growl came from his throat as four black tentacled mask monsters separated from his body. One had been pierced through by Kaito; after landing, it twitched a few times and went still.

Kakuzu continued, "Now that I think about it, your taijutsu and swordsmanship look very familiar. If I'm not mistaken, you're Konoha ninja, aren't you? Although the leader instructed us not to provoke Konoha ninja for the time being... Heh. I never expected you to come knocking and deliver yourselves to death. It brings back memories. The first Konoha ninja to fight me was the First Naruto, Hashirama Senju."

Hayato snorted with laughter.

Kakuzu snapped, "Brat, you don't believe me?!"

"No, no, I believe you." Hayato waved a hand, laughing. "I was just wondering—did Lord Hashirama Senju rub your face into the ground, or hang you from a tree and beat you? Oh, right. How did you escape? Did you burrow into the dirt like a bug?"

This made even Sarara and Kaito laugh, but Hidan laughed the hardest. He clutched his stomach and doubled over, nearly rolling on the ground.

Kakuzu gritted his teeth. "You little bastard, die!"

"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique."

"Lightning Release: Earth Current."

The two tentacled mask monsters each released a ninjutsu.

The electric current from Earth Current wound across the surface of the Great Waterfall Technique. Its range was more than several times greater than before. That was the power of combination ninjutsu—when used well, it was no weaker than certain bloodline limits.

Hayato hurriedly leaped into a tree.

The water below crackled with electric light, a terrifying sight.

"Haha, now you've got nowhere to run!" Hidan screeched as he attacked Hayato.

Sarara and Kaito wanted to support Hayato, but Kakuzu and the two mask monsters stopped them.

"Watch out!"

Sarara suddenly cried out.

A mask monster abruptly emerged behind Hidan.

"Fire Release: Flame Bullet!"

The enormous-area ninjutsu engulfed Hidan along with everything else.

"Hayato!!!" Sarara screamed in despair.

Kakuzu sneered. "Brat, you're still too inexperienced."

The flames gradually receded.

Hayato's figure emerged from the fading blaze. His ANBU uniform had transformed into a fiery red fur robe.

Fire Rat Robe—Fire Release Ninjutsu Defense +80%.

The Fire Rat Robe's effect was truly incredible. Soaking in Fire Release felt nice and warm.

"Overheat!"

Smack!

Direct hit!

The monster's mask shattered into hundreds of pieces. Not even superglue could stick it back together.

Kakuzu's expression changed drastically. His fire-element heart had been destroyed. As he faced off against Hatake Kaito, he glowered at Hayato, who strolled casually through the lingering glow of the flames.

"Hey, Sarara, why are you crying? That's way too ugly."

Sarara slapped Hayato on the chest. "You bastard, you scared me to death."

Hatake Kaito let out a breath of relief. "You could have used Rotation to defend yourself, but you chose to take it head-on. As expected, it wasn't that simple. You destroyed another mask. Well done."

Rubbing his chest, Hayato said, "Mr. Kakuzu, are we still fighting? Do we really have to fight to the death? It doesn't seem like we have that much of a grudge."

Hayato sniffed and caught the smell of roasted meat.

Hidan climbed to his feet and cursed, "Bastard, you were obviously the one who attacked me first."

"Oh, was that how it happened?" Hayato showed no embarrassment whatsoever. "Then I'll apologize, all right?"

Kakuzu narrowed his eyes. "Your chakra is exhausted, isn't it? Your lover is about the same, and she's injured too."

Sarara spat, "Who are you calling his lover?"

"Mr. Kakuzu truly sees everything," Hayato said. "You figured all that out. Hehe. But our captain is still almost at full strength. If we keep fighting, we can at least take out one or two more hearts. And if this drags on until Konoha reinforcements arrive, you may truly be finished here."

Hidan shouted, "Kakuzu, you're not actually going to listen to this bastard, are you? I'm furious! If we don't sacrifice them, Lord Jashin will be angry!"

"Shut up!" Kakuzu gritted his teeth and looked at Hayato. "Brat, what's your name?"

Hayato chuckled. "ANBU wear masks to conceal their identities, so it wouldn't be convenient to reveal my name. But you can call me 'Yasha.'"

"Yasha..." Kakuzu murmured it twice, then said loudly, "Brat, don't die so easily. Your life will be mine to collect."

"Water Release: Great Water Shockwave."

"Lightning Release: Lightning Cloud Roar."

After unleashing the two ninjutsu, the mask monsters slipped back into Kakuzu's body through gaps in his skin. Kakuzu left, carrying the still-shouting Hidan under his arm.

A parting gift!

"Eight Trigrams Palm: Rotation."

A semicircular chakra barrier enveloped the three of them, knocking away the approaching water and lightning one after another.

Whew~~~

With that, the battle came to a temporary end.

[PS: Thanks to readers 018090515504686, 1A90, My Name Is Xia Bingbao, and ai1'98765 for 1 recommendation vote each; reader 017004945 Five Colors Blind the Eye and Imprisoned Wind of Freedom for their recommendation votes; Yang Nian and Hua Jiu Laobing for their recommendation votes; Feng, Smiling Peacefully into Sleep, and Wind's Contractor for 4 recommendation votes; A Good Man for 5 recommendation votes; Lemon Dango Sauce for 6 recommendation votes; and Star Cliff Without Traces for 8 recommendation votes. You guys are awesome.]

[PS: A quick update: during the trial recommendation, I ranked tenth in the middle section with zero placements on both Sunday and Monday. As a new author, I'm already satisfied. See you tonight for the next chapter.]