The ninjas from Kumogakure received their orders and scattered to search for Yugito.
A three-man squad paused to rest, keeping watch on the surrounding area.
"Hey..." a dark-skinned, white-haired man said. "These people could've taken Yugito. How is the Raikage certain she's still around here? We haven't found even a single clue."
"Calm down, Darui," a young blond guy replied. "If she's anywhere within Kumogakure's vicinity, I'll find her."
Darui sighed.
"I know, Ahebi. But what if she isn't—"
Suddenly, a series of towering fire pillars erupted into the sky, then converged into a single colossal stream of flame.
"What in the world was that?"
Ahebi immediately stood up, his face turning serious.
"I'm not sure, but I can track that chakra flare."
Darui rose to his feet, staring at the unnatural flame structure.
"Could that be Yugito?"
Ahebi grinned.
"You know anyone else who dumps this much chakra into their jutsu?" He signaled for them to move out. "Jay, quickly scribbled a message onto the scroll before handing it to a small lizard."
Jay hurriedly wrote a message onto a scroll before handing it to a small lizard.
"Take this to the Raikage and tell him our location."
******
"What if Yugito got taken by some cult group who worships the Two-Tails and wants to release it?" Omoi mumbled around his lollipop.
"Omoi, shut up and stop making things up!"
Omoi looked slightly dejected.
"You didn't have to snap at me like that, Karui..."
Samui turned toward her teammates.
"The two of you need to focus. So far, we haven't found even a single clue about her location."
Suddenly, an explosion boomed across the distance, followed by fire pillars rising up.
Omoi raised a limp arm toward the horizon.
"Looks like we've got our first clue..."
Karui stared at the growing columns of flame.
"God... What is that?"
Samui had already begun moving toward the fire, with Karui and Omoi quickly following behind her.
******
Naruto & Yugito
Yugito's fire-style jutsu merged with Naruto's wind-elemental techniques, forming a massive flaming vortex—a towering fire tornado that turned the already lifeless desert into a charred wasteland.
[Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!]
Naruto dispersed the surrounding smoke.
"I think we were too close," he said, wiping the blackened soot from his face.
Coated in ash, coughing lightly, Yugito replied:
"You think? *coughs* Did we hit them?"
Naruto shook his head.
"Nope. Last time we fought them, I sliced one guy's head clean off—and he still didn't die. If beating them was that easy, you'd have wiped them out already."
Silently, they trudged across the smoldering battlefield.
Naruto Uzumaki and Yugito moved through the smoke as she directed Two-Tails' chakra into her eyes. Without a word, she pointed ahead, leading them to Hidan, slumped against a wall, panting heavily and drenched in blood.
The upper part of his hooded cloak had burned away, its fabric now fused to his skin. Judging from the way he staggered, Yugito suspected he was slipping into shock from his wounds.
"He's still alive."
Naruto raised a kunai.
"Where's his partner?"
"You bastards!" Hidan roared, hurling his scythe toward Yugito.
Naruto grabbed her arm and yanked her aside.
[Lightning Release: Phantom Shadow!]
Naruto and Yugito scattered just as a bolt of lightning struck the ground where they'd stood. But sparks splattered outward too.
Making hand seals while crossing his arms in front of him, Naruto spoke as he moved:
[Wind Release: Spiral Cyclone!]
A sudden gust surrounded Naruto, deflecting the fast-moving lightning attack.
Hidan burst forward, slashing at Naruto with his scythe.
Naruto barely blocked with his kunai.
Yugito did a quick backflip, changing direction and weaving through the battlefield's smoke toward the source of the lightning.
She found the origin—another masked creature made of black threads, this time under Kakuzu's control.
[Fire Release: Inferno Ray!]
Yugito fired a straight red beam from her mouth, instantly striking the creature's mask.
Kakuzu's masked puppet collapsed into a pile of black threads, cracking apart.
"Damn nuisance." Yugito turned at the sound of Kakuzu's voice.
"You little pests destroyed two of my hearts."
No longer wearing his cloak, Kakuzu now revealed his muscular frame clad in a black sleeveless shirt, revealing rippling muscles and thick stitches crisscrossing his body.
"Finish it quickly, Kakuzu!" Hidan growled, resuming his assault on Naruto.
Naruto gave a cold smirk, skillfully dodging Hidan's attacks.
As Hidan focused on Naruto, he failed to notice Yugito approaching from his blind spot.
He barely dodged her kick but took a right hook from Naruto that sent him flying.
Landing beside Naruto, Yugito grinned widely at him.
"Solid shot!"
Looking at the fist that had struck Hidan, Naruto felt a sting—there was a small cut on his knuckles.
However, Yugito stared at his knuckles, her expression turning fearful.
"What's wrong, Yugito-chan?"
She watched as Hidan slowly rose.
"He cut you, didn't he?"
Naruto looked at his fist.
"Yeah... Maybe I grazed his teeth."
"No..." Yugito said despairingly.
"It is... [Cursed Technique: Death Pinioning Method]..." Hidan stood up, his skin now marked with white-outlined black patterns, making him look like a skeleton.
"You're finished, brat."
Naruto rolled his eyes.
"This idiot's babbling again. I'm gonna rip you apart—piece by piece."
Forming a series of hand seals, Naruto slammed his palm onto the ground.
[Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Cage!]
Electricity surged from Naruto's hands along the ground toward Hidan.
Hidan didn't move at all—he simply laughed.
His laughter became maniacal as the lightning struck him.
Naruto suddenly understood. He felt as if he himself had been struck by lightning—his muscles locked up, his vision blurred, and the air reeked of burnt flesh.
"Naruto-kun!"
Yugito watched Naruto collapse to the ground, his body now smoking.
She tried to help him up, but got a mild electric shock for her trouble. Naruto's body was still charged with electricity.
She tried again and successfully lifted him, letting him lean against her.
"What the hell just happened?" Naruto asked groggily.
Yugito shook her head.
"This is exactly how I was defeated."
Hidan licked his lips and pulled out a spear from beneath his tattered hooded cloak. Then he stabbed it into his left foot, causing Naruto to cry out in pain.
Blood poured from the wound on Naruto's foot.
When Hidan drove the spear into his other foot, Naruto screamed again and collapsed to the ground.
Hidan twisted the spear embedded in his foot, clearly reveling in Naruto's pain.
"Come on, kid. Don't tell me you're already done? We've only just begun!"
Ignoring the wounds on his feet, Naruto ignored the wounds on his feet and staggered upright.
"That all you've got, you piece of trash?"
Naruto charged toward Hidan, who was surprised that he could still move.
Hidan stabbed the spear into his own thigh, forcing Naruto to stop short in agony.
Yugito gritted her teeth.
Kakuzu shrugged.
"We're taking both of you." Kakuzu cracked his hands together. "Come on, you little kitten."
Yugito glared at him furiously.
Suddenly, Naruto shouted,
"Yugito-chan, remember what I told you, damn it!"
Yugito turned toward Naruto, watching him struggle to stand.
Naruto hurled a flurry of kunai in all directions, some nearly striking Yugito.
"What the hell was that? Have you gotten too weak to even aim right?"
[Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Sphere!]
Kakuzu found himself trapped inside a dome of crackling yellow lightning chakra.
[So that's what he did with those kunai—]
Still holding the hand seal, Naruto turned to Yugito.
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