Hidan trudged alone through the wilderness, seemingly rushing toward some destination.
Willingly acting as bait, Hidan planned to lure out Naruto and then ambush him.
Kabuto had already joined forces with Zetsu, receiving intelligence provided by the latter.
Kabuto relayed Hidan's location to Orochimaru, who then passed it on to Naruto.
Naturally, Naruto wasn't one to back down—he decided to play along and face it head-on.
"Tch, dragging me all the way to this godforsaken wasteland just to lure out Naruto? You've got to be kidding me. How would the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki even show up here?" Hidan muttered, recalling Zetsu's instructions.
"You just need to pick any deserted spot and wait for Naruto to come find you," Zetsu had advised.
"You've got to be joking. I just pick a random spot and the Jinchuriki will magically appear? Am I supposed to be some kind of jinchuriki magnet? You've gotta be out of your mind." Hidan thought Zetsu must have been insane.
"Just trust me and do it," Zetsu insisted, confident in his own abilities. Zetsu, hidden in the shadows, had eavesdropped on Naruto's plans.
He already knew that Naruto was after the Seven-Tailed next. But since the whereabouts of the Seven-Tails were unknown, Naruto could only get intel from Hidan.
"Sure, sure, sure..." Hidan grumbled impatiently, clearly doubting the plan. "If you wanna find the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki so badly, why not just go straight to Konoha?"
A cold bead of sweat rolled down Zetsu's forehead. *If I could do that,* he thought, *I wouldn't need your help, you idiot.*
Reluctantly, Hidan arrived at the desolate wasteland—a barren expanse, eerily silent and utterly lifeless.
"Not even a bird in sight. There's absolutely no way the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki would show up here…" Hidan mumbled, bored and scanning the area. Suddenly, something caught his eye. "Hmm? What's that?"
In the distance, a figure appeared.
Hidan squinted, trying to make out who it was.
The figure looked strangely familiar—wide grin, unmistakably dressed in orange.
"The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki! You actually showed up! That lunatic Zetsu was right!" Hidan was shocked.
From afar, Naruto dashed forward using ninja sprinting, quickly closing the gap.
"Hey hey hey, you've got way too many tailed beasts packed in you—I can't fight you head-on," Hidan muttered, turning tail immediately.
And so, the chase began.
Naruto gave chase as Hidan bolted ahead.
At times, Hidan intentionally slowed down to keep Naruto close behind.
Naruto quickly realized Hidan was using himself as bait—trying to lead him somewhere.
But Naruto wasn't about to fall for any tricks. He kept chasing, determined to see what sort of game Hidan was playing.
[Wind Release: Rasenshuriken!]
The colossal wind-chakra projectile roared through the air like a hurricane.
Hidan shot a glance back, his face turning pale with terror.
Kakuzu had been killed by that very attack. Even with his Immortal Body, being hit directly by a Wind Release: Rasenshuriken would leave Hidan crippled for ages—if not kill him outright.
There was no way Hidan wanted to get hit by that.
The power of this technique is too great—it can completely destroy the body, leaving it paralyzed and helpless.
Even Hidan, with his Immortal Body, felt fear in that moment.
Hidan hurled his scythe to intercept Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, then immediately leapt back to create distance.
As the scythe collided with the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, a violent whirlwind erupted instantly.
"Hey!" Deidara bellowed.
Naruto was stunned.
A blinding explosion erupted right beneath his feet.
BOOM! The deafening sound shook the heavens and earth.
Naruto was swallowed by the blast. The shockwave swept across hundreds of meters, sending a mushroom cloud soaring into the sky.
"Hah…" Deidara climbed out from underground, proudly admiring his masterpiece.
This was true supreme art.
On a distant hillside,
Hinata, using her Byakugan, observed the towering mushroom cloud reaching into the heavens.
"Naruto-kun, please be okay," Hinata pushed her Byakugan to its limits, searching desperately for Naruto's figure amidst the smoke and debris.
Behind Hinata, hidden figures watched silently—Itachi, Orochimaru, Zabuza, and others.
Almost all of Naruto's friends and allies were present.
As the dust slowly cleared, Naruto emerged completely unharmed, wrapped in Nine-Tails' chakra.
"It's not that simple, of course," Deidara said with clear annoyance. "The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki keeps getting stronger."
Instantly, Naruto released both the One-Tailed and Two-Tailed Beasts.
[Two-Tailed Beast Roar]—
The two Tailed Beasts roared together, shaking the heavens and earth.
Their powerful auras sent violent gusts of wind howling around, whipping against Deidara's cloud-patterned robe.
At the same time, Sasori and Hidan appeared together, attacking Naruto simultaneously.
Sasori manipulated several puppets, encircling Naruto from all sides.
Hidan stayed close beside Sasori the entire time.
Naruto immediately saw through their strategy.
Sasori had immense offensive capability. All he needed was to injure Naruto slightly and obtain a drop of his blood to activate Hidan's power.
Armed with nothing but a single kunai, Naruto stood alone, battling Sasori's entire puppet army.
Elsewhere,
Zetsu hid nearby, quietly observing.
"This is our final chance. If this fails, who knows how many more years we'll have to wait," Zetsu thought nervously as he watched the battle unfold.
Zetsu himself didn't possess much strength.
Therefore, he couldn't join the fight—he could only watch from the sidelines.
He silently cheered for Sasori and the others inside his heart.
Suddenly, Zetsu sensed killing intent.
A kunai shot toward him like lightning.
He barely managed to dodge sideways in time.
Not far away, Hinata stood with her Byakugan activated, locking eyes with Zetsu.
"Byakugan!" Zetsu suddenly realized the truth, his mind reeling in shock.
In this plan, Zetsu had laid a trap, intending to eliminate the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki.
Yet unexpectedly, Naruto had set a trap of his own, and Zetsu had fallen right into it.
"This can't be!" Zetsu refused to believe it.
He'd hidden in plain sight all along. Everyone regarded him as just an insignificant small fry in the Akatsuki Organization.
No one gave him a second thought.
And yet Naruto deliberately put himself in danger—just to set a trap aimed directly at him.
"If you found me… does that mean you came here specifically for me?" Zetsu muttered, still in disbelief.
In theory, every member of the Akatsuki Organization was extremely powerful. Each of them outranked Zetsu.
How had Naruto figured out that Zetsu was the true mastermind behind Akatsuki?
"This guy?" Zabuza said, stepping forward with his massive Cleaver Sword. "Naruto says he's the most important person in Akatsuki and insists we must capture him."
For the first time, Zetsu felt genuine fear toward Naruto.
Naruto was the most bizarre opponent he'd ever faced.
"Naruto says this guy isn't strong, but he's good at escaping," Haku added, stepping out from a nearby bush.
"Damn it!" Zetsu didn't dare to fight. He fled at full speed.
"Not so fast!" Zabuza swung his mighty blade with tremendous force, sending shockwaves through the earth.
Zabuza continued slashing rapidly, combining swift movements with deadly precision as his massive blade headed straight for Zetsu's head.
Clearly, he had no intention of taking Zetsu alive.
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