Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 413 The Undying Duo

Chapter 413 The Immortal Duo

What finally convinced Jiraiya to launch the surprise attack was a cloud-like pattern that flashed by in the occasional glimpse of moonlight. He had been tracking Akatsuki's movements for a long time and was extremely familiar with that cloud pattern, so he immediately identified the two people.

They are members of Akatsuki, but they haven't left any decent intelligence so far. This suggests that... the other party is either swift and decisive in their actions, leaving little trace, or ruthless and rarely leaves any survivors. Judging from that conversation alone, one of these two is neither the former nor the latter.

Regardless of who the other side was after, intercepting and killing them here was the best option! So, he acted without hesitation, without even saying hello to Naruto.

"This is..." The man who had dodged the attack remained completely unfazed by his companion's gruesome death, even having the leisure to study the origins of the technique. As he formed hand seals mid-retreat, two semicircles suddenly rose from the ground beneath his feet, threatening to trap him between them. A normal person wouldn't be able to react to this, but he wasn't. His outer robe instantly shattered, and countless black tentacles burst forth from his body, forcefully withstanding the attack. The cluster of tentacles that had risen high on his back suddenly turned around, revealing two bizarre masks.

"Fire Release: Head Carving! Wind Release: Pressure Damage!" These two techniques were aimed directly at the tree from which the attack was launched. Just by looking at the initial range of the ninjutsu, one could guess that the combined ninjutsu was extremely powerful, and its range was enough to engulf that area.

This guy really fits the stereotype of "Akatsuki," even disposing of his comrades' corpses.

Faced with this attack, Jiraiya quickly withdrew his Wild Lion's Dance, gathering all his hair around his body. Naruto didn't need to worry; his Flying Thunder God Technique would definitely allow him to escape. If he could withstand this wave of damage, the enemy would think there was only one person launching the attack.

But Naruto didn't act as he expected. A water tornado suddenly rose from the ground, its power no less than that of a combined ninjutsu! The sea of ​​fire was split in two after colliding with the tornado, howling past on both sides. The scorching wind seemed to be able to burn the skin.

It seems even the enhanced Needle Jizo couldn't withstand this attack. That must be the one with Kage-level chakra, right? A ninja who can use combined ninjutsu single-handedly... could it be...?

A new ninjutsu was brewing, but before Jiraiya could even spread his defenses, a red light suddenly flashed in his peripheral vision. He was shocked and immediately tried to support Naruto, but the strange blade had already struck Naruto's location. With a swift movement, the thick branch of the tree fell to the ground with a loud thud.

"Ha, it ran so fast? Then all my pain was for nothing?" The blood-soaked "corpse" on the ground actually got up! It complained as if nothing had happened, despite being covered in holes.

Even the well-traveled Jiraiya was astonished; he had never seen an enemy who could still move after taking a needle from Jizo. That guy even seemed incredibly energetic, wielding his blade and cutting down the tree he was standing on!

"Hey! Do you know how painful it is to be covered in needles!"

"Still alive?"

"It seems to be an ability of immortality."

Jiraiya was startled again, and when he turned around, he found that Naruto's clone was already standing next to him, hiding with him in the enlarged version of the Needle Jizo.

"Can you please stop appearing and disappearing so mysteriously!"

Naruto spread his hands, looking completely innocent. "You're the only one around here with a mark on you."

Seeing that the seemingly immortal enemy was about to charge again, Jiraiya's hair flew off, but this time he failed to catch the guy. A hand emerged from the ground, grabbed the man by the collar, and pulled him away from the attack range.

"Hey! What are you doing, Kakuzu!"

"The enemy is one of the Legendary Sannin. Don't be careless, or you'll die." The monster known as Kakuzu paid no attention to his companion's menacing baring of teeth and claws, but instead stared intently ahead.

"Seriously, am I not worth caring about?" Naruto said, somewhat unconvinced. "Your target is clearly me, isn't it?"

At this moment, the immortal guy finally came to his senses and roared even more loudly, "That's the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki? The guy who stole our spoils twice?"

"Huh?" Jiraiya and Naruto both looked confused.

"The spoils they're talking about...could they be other Jinchūriki?"

"I think so." Jiraiya jumped down from the tree, exuding the overwhelming aura of the Sannin. "Hey, did you guys kidnap the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki?"

"We were almost ready to become..." Big Mouth Hidan really couldn't hide it, and almost admitted it. Luckily, he had a reliable teammate.

"Shut up, Hidan." Kakuzu practically sewed Hidan's mouth shut with his tentacles, then asked an even stranger question, "Don't you know where the Seven-Tails is?"

"Wasn't the Seven-Tails captured by Akatsuki? How would we know?" This time it was Naruto who answered, and he did so without batting an eye.

The scene froze for a moment, but Kakuzu seemed to quickly understand something and said, "Fine, it's the same whether I catch you and ask you questions."

"That depends on whether I agree or not!" Jiraiya's technique was already prepared. He slammed his hand on the ground, and a huge plume of white smoke immediately obscured the view.

Kakuzu immediately hardened his body, not forgetting to bind Hidan as they dodged. The smoke was indeed cleaved in two massive beams of cold light, and the spot where they had just stood was instantly torn to pieces. Hidan, caught off guard by the dodge, saw the shadow of a giant toad, but surprisingly, he remained completely calm and decisively swung his scythe in that direction. However, just as it was about to touch the toad's skin, his scythe was deflected by another sword.

The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki hovered in mid-air in an inhuman manner. Not content with merely repelling his sword, he pressed his advantage and even attempted to cut the rope binding the scythe!

"Kakuzu! Let me go!" Seeing that his weapon was about to be taken away, Hidan lost his composure. That was a relic of an evil god, and losing it like this would be unbecoming of a devout believer!

"Shut up!" Kakuzu knew perfectly well that Naruto was a ranged ninja, Hidan's ultimate nemesis; letting go would mean certain death for the guy. Yet this idiot was still arguing with him over a weapon—he was practically asking for it!

Just as the toad was about to strike a second time, Kakuzu's technique was completed once more, and blinding lightning burst forth from the mouth of another masked monster covered in black. Lightning Release is incredibly powerful and fast, making it impossible to dodge; the only way to counter it is with a technique that is either countered by or of the same element.

This time, he wanted to see how the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki would respond.