Hakuji infiltrated deep into Kumogakure.
The Hidden Cloud Village was in utter chaos. Hidan was continuously harvesting lives with the Blood-Slicked Triple-Bladed Scythe in his hands, while large numbers of Cloud ninja stationed in the village rushed toward his location.
Hakuji arrived at the central district of Kumogakure and formed hand seals.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Three solid shadow clones appeared beside him.
Hakuji nodded to the three clones. Instantly understanding his intent, they scattered in different directions, forming a four-corner formation together with the original body.
The four of them struck a stance at the same time.
"Technique Formation—deploy!"
A formation spread out.
Snowflake-like patterns appeared beneath their feet, gradually extending outward and converging into a gigantic twelve-pointed snowflake formation.
"Suuryū Technique · Final Form · Azure-Silver Chaotic Shattered Light!"
Countless projectiles erupted from the snowflake formation at the center, shooting outward in all directions.
Buildings struck by the projectiles collapsed instantly. In a flash, smoke and dust filled the air, and cries of anguish rang out everywhere.
Inside the Raikage Building, the Fourth Raikage's secretary, Mabui, was directing the overall response.
"What are the identities of the two ninja attacking Kumogakure?!" Mabui demanded, questioning the ninja below her.
The ninja replied, "One of them is wearing a Takigakure forehead protector with a slash across it—he's a rogue ninja from Takigakure. The other one isn't wearing anything that can identify his origin."
"One rogue ninja and one of unknown identity…" Mabui let out a breath of relief.
With Kirigakure having joined the war, hostilities were on the brink of erupting. The Fourth Raikage had already departed for the border of the Land of Fire to personally oversee the front lines. At first, Mabui had feared that Konoha had dispatched a ninja unit to launch a surprise attack on Kumogakure, which had given her quite a scare.
She asked again, "Then have they been dealt with?"
The ninja's expression darkened. "No. No matter how we attack, we can't kill them."
Mabui questioned in disbelief, "How is that possible? We've already dispatched a large number of ninja, including many jōnin. How can you not deal with just two people?!"
"We suspect they're immortal. Even when their vital points are hit, it has no effect on them at all."
Mabui's face tightened. After a moment of thought, she said, "Kumogakure must remain stable right now. We can't add pressure on Lord Raikage at the front lines. Go to the Cloud–Lightning Gorge and request Bee-sama's assistance!"
Hidan and Hakuji continued their large-scale destruction within Kumogakure, while Zetsu and "Tobi" searched for the whereabouts of the tailed beasts.
"Obito—" Zetsu began.
Before he could finish, a chilling glare shot out from behind Tobi's mask. "Zetsu, I've told you already—call me A-Fei."
Zetsu gave an awkward chuckle. "Got it. You're really cautious."
Disguised as A-Fei, Obito said coldly, "My identity cannot be exposed right now. Nagato has already started to suspect me. I must keep up appearances. Without concrete evidence, there's nothing he can do to me."
Zetsu nodded and continued, "I've already scouted the tailed beast's location, but I didn't find the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki. Only the Two-Tails' jinchūriki is present."
Obito frowned. "Did the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki also go to the battlefield? …Forget it. This is Akatsuki's first time targeting a ninja village to capture a tailed beast. We'll start with the Two-Tails. Zetsu, notify the others—assemble and capture the Two-Tails' jinchūriki!"
Zetsu relayed the message through his spores to Hidan and Hakuji ,who were still fighting, as well as Kakuzu and Sasori, who were on standby.
Before long, Kakuzu and Sasori arrived first. After shaking off the pursuing ninja, Hidan and Hakuji also regrouped with everyone.
Seeing Hakuji again, Hidan asked provocatively, "So? I killed nearly sixty people. How many did you kill?!"
Hakuji had no intention of competing with Hidan—he had only humored him earlier. He replied casually, "Not as many as you."
Hidan burst into manic laughter. "As expected! As the most devout follower of Jashin-sama, I'm the strongest!"
Disguised as A-Fei, Obito spoke in an exaggeratedly light tone, "Eh? Are you two seniors having a competition? You've really got some enthusiasm."
Zetsu cut in at the right moment. "Enough chatter. Only the Two-Tails' jinchūriki is in Kumogakure right now. There's no sign of the Eight-Tails. We'll capture the Two-Tails first, then retreat once it's done."
Kakuzu said impatiently, "It's just one Two-Tails' jinchūriki. Do we really need six people?"
Sasori echoed coldly, "I hate waiting."
Zetsu warned them, "Don't let your guard down. The Raikage and the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki could return to defend at any moment. Everyone attack together—finish this quickly!"
The six of them arrived at a house on the outskirts of Kumogakure. A strikingly beautiful woman stepped out from inside.
She was one of Akatsuki's targets—the Two-Tails' jinchūriki, Yugito Nii.
Yugito sneered at the six members of Akatsuki. "So you're the ones who invaded Kumogakure? Your luck is terrible. Before I even came looking for you, you delivered yourselves right to my doorstep."
Hidan impatiently picked at his ear. "You sure talk a lot. Offering you up to Lord Jashin is going to be really satisfying!"
He swung his Blood-Slicked Triple-Bladed Scythe and charged at Yugito.
A-Fei said in mock surprise, "Eh? Hidan-senpai actually calling someone else long-winded? That's really strange to hear."
With agile movements, Yugito evaded Hidan's attacks while rapidly forming hand seals.
"Fire Rat Jade!"
She fired a blue, rat-shaped flame from her mouth, shooting straight toward Hidan.
Hidan twisted to the side and dodged, his speed unabated as he continued to close the distance.
But the blue flame suddenly split apart into a swarm of blue tracking fireballs, slamming into Hidan's back.
The impact sent Hidan crashing to the ground.
He climbed back to his feet, glaring at Yugito in irritation. "That hurt! I'm definitely going to offer you up to Jashin-sama!"
Yugito's expression grew grave. She hadn't expected Hidan to tank her jutsu head-on and act as if nothing had happened.
A-Fei looked at the others standing still. "Eh? Aren't we going to help? Hidan-san looks like he's getting bullied."
Kakuzu snorted. "Hidan's just playing with that Yugito."
Sasori moved his puppet body forward. "Too slow. I hate waiting. Let's end this fight quickly."
Using the tail stinger on his back, Sasori released the face mask and opened the mouth of his puppet body.
"Chikuryūko · Needle Eight Waves!"
From the mouth of his human puppet, Sasori fired ultra-dense poisonous needles and spikes at a speed nearly impossible to see with the naked eye, piercing toward Yugito.
The countless needles indiscriminately shot toward both Hidan and Yugito.
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