"What's this?"
Kisame and Kakuzu suddenly turned their heads.
Roshi's target wasn't Hidan at all—it was Yugito Nii.
Just as he was about to reach her, Roshi stretched out his hand.
"At least… at least Yugito Nii has to live."
Puchi—!
Roshi's outstretched hand froze in midair. He looked down in disbelief to see Hidan's bloody scythe buried in his chest.
"You've gotta be kidding…!"
With a trace of fear still in his eyes, the Four-Tails' jinchūriki, Roshi, collapsed to the ground.
"Hahahaha! Lord Jashin will be very pleased with this offering!"
Hidan yanked his scythe free, laughing madly.
The Hidden Stone shinobi, seeing their "dragon" lose his head, instantly fell into chaos and scattered.
After all, both of their jinchūriki had been captured, and Konoha's forces were right across from them.
If they kept fighting here, they might never leave this battlefield alive.
"What a terrifying ability, Hidan. If you'll allow it, I'd like to study your body in the future."
As a researcher, Orochimaru loved nothing more than strange phenomena like this.
An immortal body… and the so-called evil god he kept shouting about…
Did such a thing truly exist?
He would need proof.
Kisame walked over, grabbed Roshi with one hand and Yugito Nii with the other, then glanced back at Kakuzu.
"Let's go. Looks like Konoha has no intention of stopping us. We should head back and finish the job."
"Another thirty minutes," Kakuzu muttered.
As he spoke, Kakuzu pointed disgustedly at Hidan, who was still laughing arrogantly inside the ritual circle.
"In order to finish that stupid Jashin ritual, that idiot has to stand in that circle for thirty whole minutes."
"Hey! Kakuzu, who are you calling an idiot!? I'll curse you, you hear me!?"
"Shut up, you moron!"
Seeing the battle had reached its conclusion, Orochimaru patted Jiraiya's shoulder lightly, signaling that he had completed his task, then turned his gaze toward the three Akatsuki members.
"Everyone, I'm sure we'll meet again someday. When that time comes, I hope you'll let me study your bodies properly. Until then… goodbye."
With that, he left the battlefield along with Konoha's shinobi.
Kisame watched Konoha's retreating backs, unease coiling in his chest.
Nagato had already joined Konoha.
So why hadn't he shown up on the battlefield?
Nagato knew everything about the tailed beast capture plan.
And yet… he hadn't tried to stop them?
No matter how Kisame turned it over in his mind, it was too suspicious. But after thinking about it, he also couldn't deny—
Wasn't it convenient if no one got in the way of their mission?
Near the Land of Rice Fields, in a dense forest, the forces of the Hidden Cloud had already advanced this far.
The Uchiha clan, under Uchiha Fugaku's command, had also arrived and set up camp here.
Inside Tent C—
Uchiha Fugaku and his son, Uchiha Itachi, were in the middle of a quiet conversation.
"Itachi, we just received word—the plan on the Hidden Stone's side was a success."
"The disgrace of our Uchiha clan, Obito, didn't escape the leader's plan."
"That's right. We need to pick up the pace on our side as well," Fugaku added. "Otherwise, all the credit will end up going to Lord Orochimaru and the others."
Uchiha Itachi nodded solemnly.
"Patriarch, report! The Cloud troops have already begun to move. They'll reach our position soon!"
Hearing the scout's words, father and son stood up at the same time.
"Everyone, prepare for battle!"
"Yes, sir!"
On the Hidden Cloud's side, Samui and Killer Bee were leading the forces, accompanied by Han from the Hidden Stone.
Between the Hidden Cloud Village and Hidden Stone Village this time, two important jinchūriki were to be exchanged.
It was a show of good faith to maintain a close alliance.
Otherwise, if one side made peace with Konoha, the other would immediately be placed at a disadvantage.
So Yugito Nii and Han, the two jinchūriki, were to be stationed directly in each other's camps.
If they wanted an alliance, it needed real sincerity behind it.
"Lady Samui, news from the village. Yugito Nii and Rōshi have both failed—the Akatsuki appeared and captured them. It seems Deidara betrayed us."
The Five-Tails' jinchūriki, Han, spoke with a hint of shame.
Deidara had already betrayed his own village once. Who would've thought he'd betray them a second time and drag Rōshi down with him?
Samui's brows furrowed slightly at the report, but she quickly regained her composure.
"Lord Han, you and Lord Killer Bee are crucial combat power. This time, we can't only be wary of Konoha—we also have to be on guard for a surprise attack from Akatsuki."
"If the situation turns, please take Lord Killer Bee and retreat. Otherwise, he won't leave."
"I can't accept that," Han said sternly. "Our two villages are forming an alliance to declare war on Konoha. If both sides are defeated, then my life is worth nothing!"
"Lord Han, you must understand," Samui said seriously. "You're not just important to the Hidden Stone. You also carry a tailed beast inside you."
"That's a strategic weapon the two villages absolutely cannot afford to lose."
"If we both lose our jinchūriki, even if we agree to continue this war… we'll already have lost."
"But…"
"Commander, report! The Uchiha clan from the Hidden Leaf have appeared ahead!"
Just as Han was about to argue further, a scout's urgent voice cut him off.
Hearing that, Samui tightened her grip around the short sword in her hand and strode out of the tent.
"…All units, prepare for battle!"
In the forest ahead—
The Hidden Cloud forces could already make out scarlet eyes gleaming from within the shadows of the trees.
The fan crest of the Uchiha clan.
There was an old saying in the ninja world:
If you encounter a member of the Uchiha clan, avoid one-on-one combat.
Otherwise, a single misstep and you'd be pulled into their Sharingan genjutsu—and on the battlefield, falling into an illusion usually meant death.
At that moment, a shout suddenly rang out from within the trees.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
A torrent of scorching flame erupted, swelling in an instant into a massive fireball that roared forward, devouring everything in its path.
"They're trying to burn down the forest! All ninjutsu users, prepare Water Style!"
Facing the Uchiha's surprise attack, Samui reacted immediately, commanding her troops to counter.
"Water Style: Waterfall Technique!"
There were many Hidden Cloud shinobi present.
They spat out surging waterfalls from their mouths, crashing against the raging flames and forcing them back.
Even so, with so many trees around, several ninjas were still caught in the blaze and injured.
"Damn Uchiha…!"
As the forest burned and smoke cleared, the Uchiha clan finally stepped out into full view.
At their head, Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Itachi stared indifferently at the Hidden Cloud troops.
"Yo yo, so these guys are the Uchiha, huh, ya fool!"
The Eight-Tails' jinchūriki, Killer Bee, watched his comrades get hurt.
Even though he still acted unruly, the heat in his voice was unmistakable.
"Just like the intel said… two jinchūriki." Fugaku's eyes narrowed. "Itachi, if we want to wrap this up quickly, we'll have to fight side by side as father and son."
Uchiha Fugaku smiled faintly, showing no fear at the thought of facing jinchūriki.
Serving under Namikaze Kirito had its advantages—he'd been given ways to patch the weaknesses of his Kekkei Genkai.
And with Orochimaru's forbidden jutsu on top of that…
It would be strange not to grow stronger.
The Fugaku and Itachi standing here today were nothing like their counterparts from the original story.
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