Meanwhile, at the underground bounty office...
Hidan slung the heavy bag of bounty money over his shoulder, grinning from ear to ear.
"Old man Kakuzu, we made a killing this time, huh? We can have a good drink when we get back."
Kakuzu counted his share without expression, nothing but numbers flickering in his green eyes.
"Mm."
The two headed back along the forest path toward Amegakure.
They had traveled this road countless times. They could have found their way back with their eyes closed.
But today was different.
Hidan suddenly stopped, his pupils contracting.
He lowered the money bag from his shoulder and tilted his head, as though listening to something far, far away.
"Old man Kakuzu, do you feel that... some seriously powerful chakra coming closer?"
Kakuzu stopped too.
His senses were sharper than Hidan's, and a trace of concern flashed through his green eyes.
Not one or two. Many.
These were no ordinary ninja. Their presence carried the oppressive weight that only those at the pinnacle of the battlefield could radiate, making people instinctively want to retreat.
The two exchanged a glance and leaped into the treetops together.
In the distance, Kumogakure's main force was advancing rapidly.
Lightning flickered throughout the column, which stretched too far to see its end. At its head was A, the Fourth Raikage, blue lightning coiling around his body as every step left a scorched footprint in the ground.
Behind him came Darui, C, and Kumogakure's elite jonin, followed by a dense mass of Kumogakure chunin, their ranks orderly and their strides synchronized like a well-trained army.
Crouching on a branch, Hidan stared wide-eyed at the long column flickering with lightning.
"Old man Kakuzu, which village are they going to war with?"
Kakuzu did not answer.
His gaze swept past Kumogakure's column