Sasuke's hand is already on the trigger of Lightning Release-Type Bolter, and Neji's Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm is also ready to go. The two people were instructed to "interrupt him". The most direct and effective way is to blast the madman standing in the strange magic circle into smithereens.
However, just when the attack was about to leave the string, Naruto's ice pick-like sound sounded again, more urgent than ever before.
"No! Stop!"
Sasuke and Neji are both top ninjas, their bodies react faster than they think.
Neji abruptly stopped the ninjutsu that was about to explode, and forced a "sudden stop" that caused uncoordinated fluctuations in his chakra. His face turned pale, but he was more concerned about Naruto's next instruction.
"Don't attack him personally!" Naruto's voice was very clear in the tactical headset, "Force him out of the magic circle! Use range attacks to destroy the ground under his feet!"
This order sounds weird.
Why should we sacrifice the near and seek the far away when we can attack the target directly?
Naruto's brain was running rapidly. He had seen too many similar Chaos spells in the world of Warhammer, a ritual that used his own blood as the medium and was launched in specific patterns. Their purpose was not simply self-harm, but to establish a vicious "link". Attacking the caster was equivalent to attacking the victim Cursed One. Hidan's morbid ecstasy was not at all due to confidence in being able to withstand the attack, but in anticipation of the attack coming!
The only breaking point is to destroy the conditions for establishing the ceremony - the magic circle drawn with blood!
Sasuke and Neji did not hesitate at all. They had almost instinctive trust in Naruto's judgment.
Neji's palms suddenly pushed out, and the target was no longer Hidan, but the blood-stained stone ground under his feet!
"Bagua·Empty Palm!"
The invisible shock wave instantly hit the edge of the magic circle. The hard stone slab was like a biscuit hit by a giant hammer. It shattered like a spider web in an instant, and countless gravels shot out in all directions.
Faced with this sudden change, Hidan, who was standing in the center of the circle, did not dodge. Instead, his black and white face showed a more morbid and ecstatic expression, as if he was welcoming a grand ceremony.
"Hahahaha! It's too late! It's already too late!"
He ignored the ground that was about to collapse under his feet, and also ignored Sasuke's fire attack from the other side, aiming to block his retreat. Instead, he raised the thick black spike in his hand high and aimed it at his left thigh!
"Pfft!"
He stabbed the long nail into his own flesh without hesitation!
"Ah--!"
A scream that was so shrill and completely changed that it came not from the mouth of Hidan, but from the student Kenta in the shadow of the alley!
Everyone turned around in shock.
The young student suddenly fell to his knees and covered his left leg with both hands. His trouser leg was stained red by the blood that quickly poured out. A blood hole that was exactly the same position, shape, and depth as Hidan's leg actually appeared on his thigh out of thin air! The blood gurgled out like an out-of-control fountain.
"Do you feel it? Kid!" Hidan laughed maniacally. He twisted the spike inserted in his leg and enjoyed the painful wail coming from the distance. "This is the painful connection given by Lord Jashin! Now, we are one! Your pain is my pleasure! Your death is my sacrifice!"
He pulled out the long nail and raised it high again. This time, the sharp nail head was aimed at his heart.
"Come on! Let us together offer the most wonderful and sacred death to the great Lord Jashin!"
Kenta's pupils were dilated to the extreme due to extreme fear and pain. He watched helplessly as the demon was about to pierce his heart, but he couldn't even move a finger.
At the critical moment!
A dark shadow, like a dormant poisonous snake, shot out from the shadow behind the fire team silently. It extended rapidly against the ground at an incredible speed, and instantly climbed up to the shadow of Hidan.
Hidan's wild smile froze.
He found that his body seemed to be filled with lead, and no matter how much force he exerted, he could not move his arm any further. The long nail, which was only a few centimeters away from his heart, just stopped in mid-air.
"Shadow Imitation Technique... success."
A ninja wearing a white mask and Root uniform slowly walked out of the shadows of the alley. His hands held a strange handprint, which was the secret technique of the Nara Clan. His voice came through the mask, with a trace of uncontrollable trembling and fear.
"The target is under control, Master Commissar."
"Asshole! What the hell is this! Let me go!" Hidan's body was tightly bound by the shadow, unable to move. He cursed crazily, his muscles all over his body tense, trying to break free.
Nara Shikage, whose shadow was wrestling with him, groaned, and beads of sweat broke out on his forehead. "Master Commissar, his power is too great! I... I may not be able to restrain him for too long!"
Naruto stepped forward and put a hand on Nara Shikage's shoulder. A gentle and huge scarlet chakra instantly entered Deer Shadow's body, and the shaky shadow restraint immediately became as stable as a mountain.
"Well done." Naruto praised calmly, and then turned his eyes to Hidan who couldn't move. His eyes didn't look like he was looking at an enemy, but more like he was observing a rare experimental specimen.
"A physical linking ritual based on a curse... harming the enemy by harming oneself. The premise is to obtain the opponent's blood as a medium and activate it within a specific magic circle... It is a bit interesting and has high research value."
His cold voice once again issued new instructions without any emotion.
"Abolish his limbs, break his spine, and then capture him alive. I will take him back to First Arsenal's laboratory and let Ancient Iron and the others dissect him to find out what his 'immortality' is."
"Yes!"
Two Root Jonin flashed out of the queue in an instant, with the daggers in their hands flashing with cold light, and struck directly at the joints of Hidan's limbs.
However, just as the order was issued, something unexpected happened!
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!"
Under the walls of the dilapidated buildings around the square and from the cracked stone floors, hundreds of extremely tough black threads shot out without warning!
These threads are like a giant net extending from hell, with a sharp sound of breaking through the air, pointing directly at Nara Shikage, which is maintaining Shadow Imitation Technique.
"Ugh!"
Nara Shikage suffered a heavy blow, spurted out a mouthful of blood, and staggered back. Shadow Imitation Technique, was forcibly interrupted!
"It's really embarrassing, Hidan."
A hoarse, low sound, like two pieces of old leather rubbing against each other, sounded over the dead square.
Along with this voice, a tall figure wearing Akatsuki's iconic red cloud and black robe slowly walked out of the shadow of a building. He carried a huge package wrapped with bandages on his back, and wore Forehead Protector and a mask on his face, revealing only a pair of eyes that were shining with strange green light.
The Takigakure traitor mark on Forehead Protector is faintly visible under Kakkō.
"Who are you?" Hidan, who had regained his freedom, roared. He seemed to be very dissatisfied with the appearance of Kakuzu, "Don't stop me from spreading the teachings of Lord Jashin!"
Kakuzu glanced at Hidan, who was still shouting. Those green eyes were full of impatience and unabashed greed.
"Shut up, idiot. If it weren't for the organization's emergency order, do you think I want to come to such a poor place?" There was a strong smell of copper in his tone, "Is this the new guy Masked Man said he wanted to recruit urgently? He doesn't look very smart... It doesn't matter, just recruit him and I can get a large bonus."
Organization, emergency recruitment, bonus, Masked Man...
These keywords instantly connected into a clear chain of information in Naruto's mind.
It seems that he defeated Masked Man at Land of Water, which made him feel threatened, thus advancing Akatsuki's plan to recruit new members.
Kakuzu's eyes moved away from Hidan and fell on the firepower team lined up neatly on Naruto's side, especially the strange-looking Bolter in their hands.
The greed in his twinkling green eyes became even stronger.
"Oh? These weapons... are quite unique." He smiled hoarsely, sticking out his tongue and licking his lips, "It looks like... they should fetch a good price."