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"Asuma-sensei!"
Shikamaru roared as he ran toward Asuma, who had collapsed on the ground.
The Fire Temple in the Land of Fire had been wiped out by two members of the Akatsuki organization—including Chiriku, the current Head Monk and a former member of the Guardian Shinobi Twelve.
According to intelligence, the two Akatsuki members had taken Chiriku's body to a bounty exchange station, intending to cash in on the thirty-million-ryō reward.
Consequently, the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, had dispatched a team led by his teacher, Asuma, to the exchange station to apprehend the two Akatsuki members.
Since they didn't know which specific exchange station the pair had gone to, they had been forced to split into three squads to search for them.
It was during this search that Asuma and his four-man squad happened to encounter the two Akatsuki members.
However, the strength of these two Akatsuki members far exceeded their expectations.
The Akatsuki member before them—known as Hidan—had nearly wiped them out single-handedly, relying on his immortality and a dark ritual dedicated to the god Jashin.
Although Shikamaru had eventually deduced Hidan's weakness and nearly ended the fight, there was also Kakuzu, whose power was even more terrifying.
With just a brief display of force, Kakuzu had subdued Izumo and Kotetsu—a duo with excellent teamwork and skills rivaling those of a Special Jōnin—thereby giving Hidan the chance to perform his ritual again and kill his teacher, Asuma.
Now, with his chakra completely depleted, Shikamaru could only watch helplessly as his teacher was brutally slaughtered by the Akatsuki bastard.
"It's happening again... it's happening again. In the end... in the end, I still couldn't protect my comrades."
Thwack!
Kakuzu, who was currently restraining Izumo and Kotetsu, kicked a pebble; it struck Shikamaru precisely on the knee, causing him to crash to the ground while running.
He wasn't being given a single chance.
Shikamaru's raw combat strength wasn't impressive, but the intellect he had just displayed had made Kakuzu wary enough to take no chances.
"It's over. Thirty-five million ryō in the bag."
A rare smile appeared on Kakuzu's face; he knew the outcome was already sealed. Sarutobi Asuma's bounty was five million ryō higher than Chiriku's.
As the son of the Third Hokage and a former member of the Guardian Shinobi Twelve, Asuma's bounty at the black market exchange was second only to the Kages of the various villages.
To think that killing Chiriku would also net him Sarutobi Asuma—his luck today was truly incredible.
"How about that? It hurts, doesn't it?"
Hidan sawed the massive scythe embedded in his own body back and forth; Asuma, lying on the ground, felt the exact same agony, his face contorting as he spat out a mouthful of blood.
The ritual his opponent had initiated allowed them to share damage; however, while his opponent possessed an immortal body, he did not.
"Hahaha! Finally... finally I can savor that pain—the pain of killing you!"
Pulling out a sharp, slender iron rod, Hidan let out a maniacal laugh and drove the rod straight into his own heart.
If the strike landed, Hidan would be fine, but Asuma would certainly die.
Asuma, lying on the ground, watched helplessly as the iron rod thrust toward the heart—there was nothing he could do.
His injuries were too severe; even without this final blow, he was already on the verge of death—an injury so grave that perhaps even Lady Tsunade couldn't heal it.
Let alone rising to stop his opponent.
"I'm sorry, Kurenai... I'm sorry, my unborn child..."
He had only just learned that his lover, Yuhi Kurenai, was pregnant before embarking on this mission, and he had planned to return and marry her once it was over.
Little did he know, this would be a final farewell.
"Asuma-sensei!"
Shikamaru, who had yet to pick himself up, witnessed the scene and slammed his fist hard against the ground, his voice filled with despair.
Yet, at that very moment, a young boy suddenly appeared before Hidan, raising his hand to firmly grasp the wrist Hidan was using to hold the iron rod.
"Hey, you're going a bit too far, aren't you?"
The boy was none other than Goku, who happened to be passing by on his way to Konoha. He had originally stopped because he saw some ninja sparring below; he intended to watch for a moment, ask for directions, and make sure he wasn't flying the wrong way.
But then he saw this guy named Hidan—after winning the bout, the man proceeded to brutally slaughter his opponent.
Had it merely been a sparring match, he wouldn't have interfered in the outcome.
At most, seeing the winner's impressive skill, he might have considered asking for a friendly spar himself.
But this wasn't a spar; it was a massacre.
That was something he couldn't simply stand by and watch.
So, just as Hidan was about to inflict the final blow on Asuma through self-mutilation, he stepped in to stop it.
"Who dares stop me from completing the ritual?"
Just as he was about to finish the final step—to savor the fruits of victory and receive a reward from Lord Jashin—he had been thwarted by a mere boy.
A look of furious rage crossed Hidan's face; he drew the scythe from his abdomen with his free hand and slashed viciously at the boy standing before him.
He felt exactly like a man who had done all the foreplay, set the perfect mood, and was ready to go all the way—only for his partner to suddenly say, "I've got my period," bringing everything to an abrupt halt.
In his blind rage, he didn't even stop to consider how this mere boy had managed to get right next to him without him noticing...
...or how the boy had managed to stop the final strike of his ritual.
"Expelliarmus!"
Goku paid no heed to the scythe swinging toward him; he simply pointed a finger lightly at Hidan. Instantly, the scythe and the iron rod slipped from Hidan's grasp against his will.
"Come out."
Only then did Goku give a sharp tug, hauling Hidan bodily out of the ritual pattern marked on the ground.
He had been watching the fight from the sky, of course, and knew that if Hidan remained within that ritual pattern, attacking him would be tantamount to attacking the bearded man behind him.
Seeing his weapon knocked from his hand by some inexplicable jutsu and finding himself forcibly dragged out of the ritual circle, Hidan was absolutely fuming.
He raised his right leg and drove a full-force knee strike toward Goku. But before he could even extend his leg, Goku sent him flying with a powerful toss, slamming him hard against the wall of the nearby bounty exchange station and leaving him dazed and reeling.
Although he possessed an immortal body, he could still feel physical sensations.
"There's another expert here!"
Seeing this, Kakuzu furrowed his brows; he immediately tossed Izumo and Kotetsu aside and flashed toward the critically wounded Asuma to finish him off.
The two Special Jōnin—Izumo and Kotetsu—were worth next to nothing, whereas Asuma carried a bounty of thirty-five million ryō.
With Hidan knocked away by an expert—presumably a reinforcement from Konoha—Kakuzu naturally prioritized the high-value target, Asuma, over the low-value Special Jōnin.
However, the very next moment, he saw a leg whipping toward his face—moving so fast that he barely had time to react.
He hurriedly raised his hands to shield his face, feeling an incredibly massive force slam into his arms.
He was sent flying like a cannonball, crashing violently into Hidan, who was just trying to pick himself up from the wall.
Together, the two of them smashed through multiple walls, blasting straight out of the exchange station and hurtling into the forest.