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"Ah!!!" Naruto, unable to bear it any longer, let out a loud cry and charged headfirst into the woods. Following a deafening crash, all the trees blocking his path were smashed into splinters, and then, with another boom, he fell down!
Naruto had no idea what he was doing; he only felt the anger in his heart growing stronger.
Everyone in the village seemed to be deceiving him. He didn't want to think about anything now; he just wanted to run with all his might until he was completely exhausted.
But.
Bang!!!!
A red streak of light suddenly appeared in Naruto's path!
Hidan, wielding his Triple-Bladed Blood Scythe, slashed horizontally. The scythe viciously struck Naruto's abdomen!
The immense force sent him flying backward. Then, thump, thump, thump, he crashed through several arm-span-thick trees before finally coming to a stop amidst the dense, shattered branches, the branches scratching his face painfully.
"What was that?" Hidan rested his scythe on his shoulder, then looked towards Naruto in the distance and asked Kakuzu, "Kakuzu, that thing wouldn't happen to be the Jinchuriki the organization asked us to capture with all our might, would it?"
Kakuzu took out his ledger and carefully observed Naruto, who had struggled free from the tree trunk. He then nodded and said, "It seems to be the brat with that evil chakra, and looking at this little demon, he appears to be Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."
"It's actually the Nine-Tails, hahaha, what great luck today! I didn't expect to just hear a sound and come check things out, only to directly encounter the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki!"
Hidan was so happy he burst out laughing. But when he looked towards the short street not far away, his expression turned grim.
Thick smoke billowed there, flames shot into the sky, and the deafening sound of explosions occasionally echoed, clearly indicating an extremely fierce battle was taking place.
Then he said, "This is truly vexing. The one fighting over there couldn't possibly be that war vortex, could it? Hey, Kakuzu, tell us, are we going to stick to the plan and hunt down the bounty for the vortex, or capture this Nine-Tails Jinchuriki first?"
This was a difficult question. Kakuzu said calmly, "It's a simple matter. We can beat the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki half to death first, then go hunt down the bounty for the vortex. The organization's request is to capture the Jinchuriki alive as much as possible. Especially before the Tailed Beast is extracted, we absolutely cannot kill them. If the Tailed Beast disappears along with the Jinchuriki, things will become troublesome."
Hidan looked at Naruto in front of him, then a corner of his mouth curled up. "This point, it seems we don't need to worry about it."
After Naruto struggled free from the tree trunk, he used all his strength to kick his legs. He looked down at his abdomen and saw that the place attacked by the scythe was completely unharmed.
The Nine-Tails' chakra was the strongest among all Tailed Beasts. Even if only one tail's worth was exposed, even if the chakra cloak was still just transparent, it wasn't something Hidan could break with a casual blow!
"Who are you people!" Naruto immediately shouted warily at the two figures hiding in the shadows.
Kakuzu stepped forward and said in a calm voice, "We have no interest in explaining our origins to our prey. If you can surrender obediently, perhaps we can go a little easier on you."
After Hidan and Kakuzu stepped out of the shadows, Naruto's pupils instantly constricted. "This clothing! You are that Akatsuki and your Uchiha Madara companion! Are you also after the Nine-Tails within me!?"
Kakuzu looked at Naruto with some surprise, then muttered to himself, "I've already met Kisame Hoshigaki and Uchiha Madara. Did something unexpected happen? The Jinchuriki ran away? No, that shouldn't be difficult for them. Could it be that because Kisame lost his muscle, he became weak?"
Kakuzu was still pondering why this would be the case when Hidan already grew impatient. "Kakuzu, stop thinking about it. If we just capture him and take him back, won't we know everything?"
As his voice fell, Hidan, his mouth curled, seemed to fly as he skimmed across the ground, instantly arriving in front of Naruto. At the same time, his red scythe slashed towards Naruto's calf!
Naruto had never fought an expert of Hidan's level before, so even in his Tailed Beast state, he still didn't react to Hidan's attack.
Bang!!!
Hidan's slash still didn't break through the Nine-Tails' chakra cloak, but this attack was like a blunt strike, directly sending Naruto tumbling, making him fly sideways.
Hidan showed no mercy. He then gripped the Triple-Bladed Blood Scythe with both hands, raised it high above his head, and then, with all his strength, viciously slammed it down on Naruto!
The massive scythe blade struck Naruto's body like a heavy hammer, viciously smashing him into the ground!
Crash!!!!!
A large crater instantly appeared in the ground. Naruto lay in the crater, but such a powerful attack had only managed to pierce the chakra cloak by a mere centimeter. And it was only for a short while; the chakra cloak then repelled the scythe!
Seeing this, Hidan immediately complained, "This is too hard, isn't it? Kakuzu, stop watching the show and hurry up and help me."
Kakuzu chuckled lightly and then said, "The Nine-Tails is, after all, the Tailed Beast with the strongest chakra among all Tailed Beasts. If it could be defeated so easily, it wouldn't be worthy of the organization issuing a top-priority order for us. But what you said is right. Let's quickly deal with him, lest those two war vortexes are snatched away by others."
In Kakuzu's perception, Mugen and Karin were not targeted for their strength, but because they had committed unforgivable crimes and were wanted by Konoha for such a high price.
So, in his view, the so-called war vortexes were like two pieces of walking gold. If they weren't quick, they would be snatched away by others.
At this moment, Naruto, lying in the crater, looked up at the night sky in a daze. He then realized that, aside from the fatal injury, and perhaps a slight tightness in his chest, he was completely unaffected!
Coming to his senses, Naruto suddenly sprang up, but he jumped too high, directly soaring tens of meters into the air!
Looking down at the earth from the air, Naruto suddenly realized how narrow his previous vision had been.
The Nine-Tails' chakra filled his entire body. Power surged continuously from every part of his body. He felt that with one leap, he could cross mountains hundreds of meters high, and with one punch, he could shatter thousand-year-old giant trees. This feeling made him ecstatic.
This, this is strength!?
The current Naruto, who hadn't even learned the Rasengan, would naturally feel incomparably joyful with this kind of feeling.
The Nine-Tails keenly sensed the change in Naruto's emotions and continued to bewitch him, "How about it? Little demon, now you know what this old man wants to do, right? Because by obtaining me, you've essentially obtained this, the world!!!"
The Nine-Tails was clearly a bit smug. Decades of imprisoned life had made it forget the experience of being pinned to the ground and beaten randomly back then.
However, Naruto was currently in a daze. Hidan and Kakuzu weren't just standing by and watching.
Kakuzu stood on the ground and threw a punch at Naruto. His fist and arm instantly separated. A large number of black thread-like tentacles propelled Kakuzu's fist, flying towards Naruto like lightning!
The Nine-Tails' chakra had comprehensively enhanced all of Naruto's qualities, including his perception, speed, nerve reflexes, and dynamic vision. So, after Naruto came back to his senses, he immediately noticed Kakuzu's attack.
He instinctively whipped his tail in the air, and with a flick of his body, he dodged Kakuzu's lightning-fast attack.
Easily, as if crossing a clear road.
Everything in Naruto's eyes seemed to be moving more than ten times slower than before. He could clearly see Kakuzu's fist flying past, and the countless black threads connected to it. He then subconsciously reached out and grabbed these black threads.
Then...
Swoosh... These black threads instantly transformed into countless tentacles, instantly binding Naruto tightly. They then fiercely slammed him from tens of meters high in the air onto the ground!
Crash!!!!!!!
It was as if a red meteor had crashed into the earth. A large crater instantly appeared in the ground. Naruto, impacted by the crash, felt an extreme tightness in his chest. However, the Nine-Tails' chakra circulated within his body, washing away this oppressive feeling!
Naruto gritted his teeth, controlled his power, and with a flip, he jumped up. Even after being attacked repeatedly, the anger in his heart rose to another level.
Naruto grabbed the black tentacles wrapped around him and fiercely pulled, about to drag Kakuzu over.
But at this moment...
"Earth Release: Earth Spear!" Kakuzu let out a soft cry. Earth-attribute chakra instantly spread throughout his body. This jutsu hardened his skin, turning both his hands black, bringing him incomparably strong power and extraordinary defensive strength!
So, Naruto's actions not only failed to pull Kakuzu over, but instead, Kakuzu swiftly pulled him over!
Even though the Nine-Tails had given Naruto great physical prowess, he was still far inferior to those powerhouses who had fought on battlefields for years, even decades, in terms of combat awareness and experience!
The chakra cloak gave Naruto extraordinary defensive power. Whether it was stabbing or cutting, it was difficult to penetrate this outer layer and injure him.
But Kakuzu was almost 100 years old. What hadn't he seen on the battlefield?
It was just like the Earth Spear he had just used. Such things with extremely high defense were, in most cases, difficult to withstand the damage from blunt weapons.
So Kakuzu's fist, stained with the black of Earth Spear, tensed up. He then unleashed a full-power strike at the rapidly flying Naruto!
Bang!!!!!!
A dull, heavy sound instantly echoed in everyone's ears. The immense impact force directly pierced through the chakra cloak and ruthlessly struck Naruto's body, instantly causing him to spit out a large mouthful of blood!
However, as this fresh blood left his body, it was completely burned away by the Tailed Beast cloak.
At the same time, Naruto was also sent flying into the distance like a cannonball!
But this wasn't over yet!
A white mask connected to dozens of tentacles suddenly flew out from behind Kakuzu's back. At the same time, he let out another soft cry, "Lightning Release: False Darkness!"
A sharp lightning spear shot out from the mouth of the white mask, instantly catching up to the flying Naruto. At the same time, it accurately struck the place where Kakuzu had previously attacked!
Boom!!!
The lightning, with all its piercing power concentrated at one point, instantly pierced through the Tailed Beast cloak on Naruto's body,
Tearing it apart!