Kakuzu and Hidan emerged from Takigakure Village, stepping out from behind the waterfall. The villagers did not chase after them—they had already lost the courage to pursue.
While the Tailed Beasts were seen as valuable strategic assets to their village, in the end, they were just weapons—nothing more. The people here had grown accustomed to a life of seclusion, and when faced with such a situation, they had long since forgotten how to fight back.
As a hidden ninja village that had never been touched by war, many of its people lacked real combat experience—or any experience at all.
Yet during its founding days, the village had once enjoyed a brief era of glory, serving as mercenaries for other shinobi villages and gaining popularity across the ninja world for a time.
Now, however, they had long since lost their ambition and had not appeared on the shinobi stage in years.
...
The Seven-Tails Jinchuriki was slung under Hidan's arm like an accessory, offering no burden at all.
With a proud, defiant grin, Hidan strutted forward, looking every bit like a little tyrant.
Fu, the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki, was still young and inexperienced. Moreover, the Seven-Tails itself wasn't particularly strong in battle. In the end, she was completely defeated by the "Immortal Duo."
"Let's find a place to rest first!" Kakuzu said, glancing at Hidan while briefly looking back toward the waterfall behind them—the village he once called home.
He had long given up on this village; it was always cowardly and irresponsible.
Although both seemed unharmed, fighting a Jinchuriki had taken a lot out of them, and now they needed some time to recover.
"Yeah, I can also take the time to pray to Lord Jashin again!"
Hidan nodded. Even though he had an immortal body, he could still feel fatigue and exhaustion.
Whoosh! As the two were talking, another squad moved through the forest, heading straight toward their location—it was Team Kakashi.
Kakuzu seemed to sense something and frowned in that direction. Meanwhile, Hidan carelessly tightened his grip on Fu, then hoisted her over his shoulder with one hand while gripping his scythe in the other.
Kakashi crouched low to the ground. Moments ago, his Hyūga teammate had warned him—there were powerful chakra fluctuations ahead, as if someone had been fighting. Yet now, as they drew closer, they couldn't detect any movement at all.
"Captain, there's something going on!" the Hyūga ninja called out to Kakashi, his Byakugan fully activated, ugly veins bulging around his eyes.
At that moment, he stood beside Kakashi. Within their field of vision, not far ahead, there were three human-shaped chakra signatures.
One of these chakra presences felt extremely powerful yet flickered weakly—like a candle fighting the wind, its flame barely clinging to life, held together by some invisible force.
"What exactly is happening up ahead?" Kakashi narrowed his eyes slightly, adjusting his forehead protector with his right hand before running a hand through his unruly silver hair, taming it just slightly into place.
"This chakra fluctuation is immense, and it doesn't feel familiar at all!"
One of them was strange—the chakra fluctuation within his body seemed to consist of multiple overlapping energies, chaotic and disorganized. The other two were less threatening—one's chakra was barely detectable, while the third seemed to be at jonin level!
The Hyūga ninja turned his head toward Kakashi, his face showing signs of seriousness.
"Where are they?"
Kakashi looked at the Hyūga ninja, his eyes calm. As the team leader and a crucial figure, he had to maintain composure and steadiness at all times.
"Near the exit of Takigakure Village. What do we do now?"
The Hyūga ninja replied while closely monitoring those chakra signals.
"They're here!" It was the Aburame ninja speaking next. Wearing dark glasses and barely noticeable, his words instantly stiffened the group's bodies.
Even though they still didn't know who these individuals were, that powerful yet unfamiliar chakra sent a wave of unease through them.
Whoosh! Kakuzu stood atop a tree branch with his arms crossed in front of him, looking down arrogantly at the group gathered below.
Beside him, Hidan carried Fu on his shoulder and stood on another branch, wearing an expression of disdain.
Kakashi and the others tensed their bodies immediately and quickly formed a defensive stance, staring up at the two figures in the trees.
Kakashi's eyes swept over the black cloaks adorned with red clouds worn by Kakuzu and Hidan, then shifted to their forehead protectors bearing the mark of rogue ninja. A heavy feeling settled into his chest.
The Hyūga ninja looked at the two men, his gaze settling on Fu, who was slung over Hidan's shoulder. A flicker of confusion crossed his eyes.
"That... seems to be the Jinchuriki of the Seven-Tails mentioned in the Fourth's report."
The Aburame ninja softly muttered this behind his dark glasses, pushing his glasses up slightly along the bridge of his nose.
Upon hearing those words, Kakashi's eyes became even more intense, and every muscle in his body began trembling as he braced himself for any possible conflict.
Judging from the situation, it appeared these enemies had forcibly abducted the Jinchuriki directly from Takigakure Village without sustaining much damage themselves. Their strength was definitely beyond what this small group could handle.
At this point, the mission could already be considered a failure—they had ultimately arrived too late.
Remaining cool and calm, Kakashi did not speak first, tightly gripping the soles of his shoes with all ten toes.
"You guys are Konoha ninjas, right? What exactly do you plan to do here..."
Kakuzu's emerald eyes gleamed with amusement as he gazed at the four wary ninja below. A strange sense of satisfaction welled up inside him.
Being in Akatsuki for so long had made it feel like ages since he last stood above others as a superior force. Usually in Akatsuki, everyone either equaled or surpassed him in power, often making him feel like just a minor character.
Now, standing before these Konoha ninjas who faced him with caution, his heart felt unexpectedly pleasant.
"Tch! Should we eliminate them? They look like a nuisance!"
Hidan spat out some saliva, speaking in a conceited tone. Seeing Kakashi's hair color—similar to his own—caused inexplicable irritation to rise within him.
"Forget it. I don't want unnecessary trouble right now. Let's leave first. If they're no threat, we'll spare them. We can talk next time. Focus on our main task for now!"
Kakuzu's gaze was cold as he looked at Fu, the Jinchuriki of the Seven-Tails. He knew exactly what to do next — unlike Hidan, who acted on impulse without thinking.
"Whatever... Let's just leave then. I don't want to be the last one finishing this mission — it'll make people think I'm the weakest!"
Hidan grinned widely, as if suddenly recalling something amusing.
They nodded to each other before vaulting over Kakashi and the others, continuing forward by bounding from tree branch to tree branch.
To them, Kakashi and his team were no different from empty air — not even worth a passing glance.
Kakashi remained rooted to the spot, watching Kakuzu and Hidan vanish into the distance.
His martial strength had not yet reached its peak during this phase of his life. Without the Sharingan he once possessed in a past life, his path as a ninja this time around had taken a different direction. When facing ordinary ninja, he might now be stronger than how Saitama remembered him being at that same stage before, but against someone like Kakuzu, he clearly lacked decisive killing moves.
Kakashi didn't act recklessly. Perhaps he himself could survive against such enemies, but his teammates might not have that ability.
The four of them simply watched as Kakuzu and Hidan disappeared from sight, taking Fu with them.
"Should we keep chasing them... Captain?"
One teammate asked, the suffocating pressure gone now that the enemy had left. He didn't bother wiping the sweat from his brow as he turned to Kakashi.
"You will investigate Takigakure Village. I'll head back to Konoha as soon as possible with this intelligence. Remember, don't engage the enemy! Their strength is far beyond what you can handle!"
Kakashi stared in the direction where Kakuzu had vanished, his eyes shadowed with caution. His hands balled into fists at his sides.
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