Chapter 78: Knight
After dawn, Kakashi called for a rest. The team settled in a circle, backs against thick trunks, the forest quiet except for distant rain.
"Shikamaru," Kakashi said, the visible eye focused. "Your plan."
Shikamaru nodded, glancing at Renji and then back at Kakashi. "With you two joining, I had to revise it."
His original plan — built for him and Ino alone — had been thorough but dangerously optimistic. Facing three S-rank criminals, it would've been a desperate gamble. Staying idle in Konoha was its own kind of torment. Grief was a knot they couldn't untie until Asuma was avenged. With Kakashi and Renji added, the holes in his strategy could finally be patched.
"Our enemies are a nightmare," Shikamaru continued, ticking them off. "Hidan is immortal and an idiot. Hasumi Maki is a wildcard — the problem is we do know him. He's unstoppable with even the best intel. Kakuzu… no reliable information. He's a cipher."
He paused, locking eyes with Renji. "I'll use Shadow Imitation Jutsu to control Hidan and the target limb of Kakuzu. Hasumi Maki—"
Renji sat composed among them, listening with mild interest as they planned how to take down his double. When Shikamaru finished, Renji inclined his head, cooperative and serious. "Leave Hasumi Maki to me."
'A main body fighting a clone,' Renji thought. 'Like advanced self-training.'
Shikamaru resumed. "Maki and Hidan are functionally immortal. Since we can't kill them, we'll deny them movement. Completely."
'Seal him?' Renji's ears pricked; he was genuinely curious what trick Shikamaru had in mind.
"We have no intel on Kakuzu. Ino and Kakashi-sensei, stay concealed for support. Renji and I will strike first."
It was clever on paper — high probability if everything went right.
'Currently, however,' Renji knew, 'the real success rate is zero.'
The Kakashi clone rose. "First, we confirm their location."
They moved fast, sweeping back to the exchange stall where the earlier clash had occurred. The rain had scrubbed the ground clean.
"If we can't find them, the whole plan is useless," Ino said, folding her arms. They pushed through a barren stand of trees; the soil was reddish-brown and cold underfoot.
"They might have taken another road," Shikamaru said, "but their objective is obvious: the Jinchūriki. Their end point is Konoha."
"So expand the search," Kakashi suggested. "How do you find them among every road to Konoha?"
Shikamaru and Ino exchanged an understanding look. They'd prepared for this. "Ino. Use your jutsu."
Ino smiled, closed her eyes. Renji watched as she activated the Yamanaka Mind Transfer — perfect for scouting. Her spirit leapt into a hawk soaring above.
The view widened into a map. There, in their black cloaks with red clouds, were three distinct figures.
"Found them!" Ino whispered through the hawk.
Through the bird's eyes, she fixed on the trio, relaxed and talking.
"Kakuzu," Hasumi Maki joked, patting the stitched man's shoulder, "how was the footwork on Hidan's head?" Apparently they'd joked about it like a game.
Kakuzu nodded, taciturn. "Not bad."
"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU TWO!" Hidan roared, his head visibly reattached, fury burning. "YOU TWO WHO DON'T CARE ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE'S PAIN!"
[Ding!]
[Human Malice Value detected: +1,000!]
[Cursed Energy converted to Chakra: +1,000!]
[Chakra (123,293,002 / 200,000,000)]
"If your head falls off again," Kakuzu said calmly, "I won't sew it back on."
That single sentence shut Hidan up. He glared at Maki, chest heaving, but sheathed his scythe reluctantly. 'What if Kakuzu means it…'
[Ding!]
[Human Malice Value detected: +3,000!]
[Cursed Energy converted to Chakra: +3,000!]
[Chakra (123,296,002 / 200,000,000)]
Suddenly Kakuzu stopped.
"What's wrong?" Maki feigned ignorance.
Kakuzu shot a hand out and launched a projectile at the hawk. The bird flapped, startled, and vanished from the sky.
"What was wrong with that hawk?" Hidan asked.
"Maybe I overthought it," Kakuzu said, staring ahead.
'No,' Maki thought. 'He noticed. His perception is sharp. No wonder he dared to assassinate Hashirama; he senses danger and runs.'
...
Ino's eyes snapped open. She stumbled, leaning on a tree, shaken. Kakuzu's cold gaze echoed in her mind.
"Are you okay, Ino?" Shikamaru asked immediately.
She breathed deep, trying to steady herself. "He saw me."
"Who?"
"Kakuzu. He sensed me." Ino's voice turned grave. "This one is worse than Hidan. He could find me inside an animal."
Shikamaru's face hardened.
"But I know where they are," Ino added. "Two o'clock direction. At their patrol speed, we catch them in ten minutes."
The trio was close. With that lead, they had time to set an ambush.
...
"Kakuzu, want to play soccer today?" Maki tossed casually as if sending a teammate a prank.
Kakuzu grunted, wary. "Maybe not."
"I think you're wrong," Maki grinned. "I think there's a very good chance."
"Hey, hey!" Hidan spun, outraged. "Hasumi Maki! Don't try to kick my head again!"
[Ding!]
[Human Malice Value detected: +3,000!]
[Cursed Energy converted to Chakra: +3,000!]
[Chakra (123,299,002 / 200,000,000)]
Maki shrugged. "No. I just think your head might fall off again today."
[Ding!]
[Human Malice Value detected: +1,000!]
[Cursed Energy converted to Chakra: +1,000!]
[Chakra (123,300,002 / 200,000,000)]
"Nonsense!" Hidan snapped. "Last time was an accident! Not today!" He burned with the memory of Asuma's defiance.
As the trio bickered, a black shadow slid across the ground behind them. It crept to their feet — but just before it could touch, Kakuzu vaulted into the air. Maki vanished and reappeared on a high branch.
Maki peered down and waved. "Hello! Kakashi-sensei? Hiding there? Planning an ambush?"
From cover, the Kakashi clone's eye darkened. 'As expected. A man like Maki can't be cornered by simple plans.'
Maki's gaze landed on Renji. "Interesting." He leapt down. "You came too."
Instantly, the two identical figures blurred and collided.
Shikamaru, watching his shadow diverted toward Kakuzu and Hidan, felt a flicker of relief. With Renji there, at least one variable was singular.
Bang.
A high-speed Rasengan detonated against Hasumi Maki's chest. The clone's clothes shredded; his sternum caved in, blood spewing.
'Holy shit,' Renji admitted inwardly. 'Killing my clone is oddly satisfying.'
Maki flew back, spitting blood, then his wound knit right before their eyes. He smiled — manic, thrilled. "Flying Thunder God… you learned it too?"
While the brothers fought, Kakuzu and Hidan dodged the black shadows Shikamaru had set as a trap; shuriken and explosive tags littered the battlefield.
"More explosive tags! Move!" Hidan roared, charging through a blast unharmed toward Shikamaru. Another tag interrupted him. He dodged, swung his scythe — and froze.
"What the—?" he snarled, unable to move. He looked down. The tag at his feet hadn't detonated. Beside him, Kakuzu was immobile too.
"We've been tricked," Kakuzu grunted, staring at Shikamaru perched in a treetop.
"Shadow Imitation — successful!" Shikamaru leapt down.
"Bastard!" Hidan screamed. "I dodged the shadow. Why am I still—?"
"The tag wasn't just an explosive," Shikamaru said, voice flat. "It was a Chakra Blade. Special metal that channels my chakra. When it hit, it triggered Shadow Imitation."
Asuma's words echoed in Shikamaru's head: 'If Konoha ninja are chess pieces, then Shikamaru is a knight — not the strongest, but moving by jumping over pieces, flexible and unpredictable.'
"So that was the trick," Kakuzu said, impressed in spite of himself. "The tags were bait. The blade was real. The shadows distracted you. Clever."
"Now to deal with you two," Shikamaru said, stepping forward.
"Hey! Even you got caught?!" Hidan panicked. "What do we do, Kakuzu?! This is bad! Think!"
Shikamaru's shadow extended, and under his control Hidan's body swung the scythe erratically at his partner.
"Hey! Hasumi Maki!" Hidan wailed. "Stop! We're in trouble! Stop being in your own world!"
[Ding!]
[Human Malice Value detected: +1,000!]
[Cursed Energy converted to Chakra: +1,000!]
[Chakra (123,301,002 / 200,000,000)]
Boom.
Air split as Renji and Maki lunged at each other again. Renji pressed his advantage, hammering the clone with a flurry that slammed Maki into a thick trunk, denting wood. 'The clone's getting sloppy,' Renji thought. He pulled Maki free and struck with an ice-coated fist.
The beating sparked something in Maki. A feral, focused killing intent ignited — he snarled, frenzy taking him. 'Forget Hidan; not even Nagato would stop him now.'
With Maki occupied, Hidan screamed at Kakuzu, "Dodge!"
A cold premonition ran through Shikamaru. 'It's too smooth.'
As Hidan's scythe descended, Kakuzu dodged — and an arm flew through the air. 'But it wasn't his.'
"How is that possible?" Shikamaru's eyes widened.
The answer revealed itself: Kakuzu's arm had shot out from the ground, plucked the Chakra Blade free from the shadow, and snapped back into place on his shoulder.
"How can a severed arm still move like that?!" Shikamaru thought, his plan unraveling.
"You're different from my usual partners," Kakuzu said, voice low. "You're clever. I hold back against clever people."
He had detached and hidden his limb during the first blast — a built-in countermeasure.
Hidan: "..."
Hasumi Maki: "..."
'What does he mean by "different from my companions?"' Renji wondered, amused.
Kakuzu continued, "When information is missing, even smart plans are fragile. Under absolute suppression, strategies fail."
Renji and Maki broke apart, gasping. The scene replayed in Shikamaru's mind: Renji had been barely containing Maki. Hidan and Kakuzu were free. It was three against Shikamaru, Ino, and the Kakashi clone. The gap in power was widening.
"Shikamaru!"
Renji's shout cut through the dread.
"Shikamaru, we'll win this!"
"Definitely."
'To be honest,' Renji thought, a new, delicious idea forming, 'it's time we really put on a show.'