Not far ahead of Kimimaro and the others, Haku supported Sasuke with one hand, the other pressed firmly against the black cursed seal on Sasuke's back. His delicate face wore a smile—one that could make someone blush, or one that was pure wicked amusement.
"Hehe~"
"Sasuke-kun, why do you always get beaten up every time we meet? It's not good to be so careless in battle~"
Sasuke stared back, deadpan. "Damn it, it's you again! Is Menma's Four Star Village totally empty, or is Menma the only one who's actually strong?!"
Seeing his old acquaintance, Sasuke looked utterly dejected, yet inwardly, he breathed a sigh of relief, feeling his tense muscles relax. Including this time, Haku had saved him three times already.
Despite the undisguised mockery—which, thanks to his handsome appearance, was actually somewhat palatable—Sasuke still thought Menma's face was just as despicable.
"Of course not," Haku replied smoothly. "I'm just in charge of your affairs, so I've been keeping an eye on you. You'll soon meet other ninjas stronger than me..."
As he spoke, golden-red chakra emanated from Haku's body. It flowed through his palm, instantly dispelling the dark cursed seals covering Sasuke's back. However, the first-stage Heaven Curse Seal spreading across Sasuke's neck showed no sign of fading. Because the Nine-Tails chakra no longer leaked or dissipated, Haku managed to suppress the tadpole-like black seals that had spread across most of Sasuke's body, preventing them from completely taking over and allowing him to enter the second stage.
"Don't retract the Tailed Beast chakra yet," Haku warned. "This thing eroding your body is only temporarily suppressed; it can't be removed yet. You'll have to ask your master for help after this is over and we return to the village."
Sasuke, who had just felt a little better and was preparing to retract the remaining tail chakra to conserve energy, stopped immediately at Haku's words. Although losing half of his Tailed Beast chakra was heartbreaking, his life was more important.
Meanwhile, Kimimaro and the other two saw that Haku completely ignored them. Instead, he fearlessly helped Sasuke remove the cursed seals while carrying on a cheerful conversation, as if they didn't even exist.
Kimimaro's expression grew even colder. He stripped off his upper garment. "Lord Orochimaru said you are dangerous and instructed us to avoid your actions and not confront you directly..."
As he spoke, six thick, terrifying bone spurs emerged from his back! Each vertebra sprouted sharp bone spurs that pierced his skin, extending all the way to his tailbone. Finally, a thick, long, powerful tail—covered in bone spurs—sprouted from it. From a distance, it looked ferocious and terrifying.
"Then let's test whether you, who dare to come alone to kidnap someone, are really that dangerous!"
Sensing that Kimimaro was about to attack, Sakon and Jirobo also assumed fighting stances, one on each side, preparing for a group brawl. Sakon, now with a fanged demon face and sharp horns growing from his forehead, whispered to Jirobo.
"Jirobo, use Earth Release to retrieve Sasuke and take him away. That Four Star ninja is mine and Kimimaro's..."
Sakon's words were cut short when he felt a heavy weight on his shoulder. Kimimaro, standing beside him, felt the same. But before their eyes appeared an arm wielding a Triple-Bladed Scythe. At the same time, a flippant, flamboyant male voice rang in Sakon's right ear and Kimimaro's left ear.
"My two demons, I apologize for interrupting you and taking up some of your time."
Their eyes followed the direction of the voice. There stood Hidan, his slicked-back hair glistening, a slightly sinister smile plastered on his face. His eyes held a devout reverence as he spoke earnestly.
"I wish to tell you about my Heavenly Father and Savior, the great Hidden Void God..."
Kimimaro and Sakon instantly sensed the sinister, chilling aura radiating from Hidan—comparable to their own cursed seals. They quickly searched their memories for relevant information.
"This evil and dangerous chakra!"
"It's that hot spring serial killer who joined the Four Star Village!"
Confirming it was the enemy, Kimimaro instantly swung the bone spike from his palm. With a piercing whistling sound, it sliced through the air toward Hidan's arm. Sakon, who was being held, reacted with shock and anger. He followed suit, quickly swinging his sharp nails toward Hidan's neck.
"Hey, hey, hey, not again! Can't you two have any manners? Let someone finish speaking!"
Hidan had previously put his arm around Gaara's shoulder like that, and then had his arm severed. So this time, he was more cautious. Seeing the two attack, Hidan leaped backward, aiming his right-hand scythe—the Triple-Bladed Scythe—at Kimimaro's right arm.
Kimimaro didn't dodge the scythe, instead, a layer of bone membrane grew beneath his skin, blocking the slash. Simultaneously, he swiftly turned, aiming his ten fingers at Hidan, who hadn't yet landed after his backward jump.
"Shikotsumyaku, Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets!"
Round knuckles rapidly grew from beneath his fingertips, then shot out with a vengeance.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Ten bone bullets, comparable to regular bullets, created transparent shockwaves in mid-air, striking Hidan squarely in the chest, as he had landed but hadn't dodged. Blood splattered from ten wounds.
"It's over?" Kimimaro was completely taken aback. His attack had hit Hidan's heart so easily!
Sakon, witnessing this, smiled contemptuously. "So it was just a bunch of trash bluffing. I thought... How could that be?!"
"Kimimaro clearly hit his heart!!!"
Sakon's contemptuous expression froze, his face filling with disbelief. Hidan, struck in the heart, showed no sign of dying from the injury. In fact, he raised his head, his voice strong. He pointed his Triple-Bladed Scythe at the two of them, his face contorted with rage.
"Damn it, this hurts my heart! Do you even know that?! I've decided, today I'll sacrifice you all to the Hidden Void God!"
With that, Hidan swiftly drew a ritual circle on the ground with his feet. Simultaneously, he raised his hand, bringing the Triple-Bladed Scythe to his mouth, licking the small amount of blood from the cuts on his skin. His body was instantly covered in black and white lines, resembling a skeleton.
Having done all this, Hidan pulled out the iron spikes from his waist and said viciously to Kimimaro, "The ritual begins. Prepare to accept the judgment of the gods!"
Kimimaro immediately sensed something was wrong when he saw Hidan's actions. Without hesitation, he reached behind him and pulled out his spine, transforming it into a flexible whip of spinal cord, combining hardness and suppleness, and charged toward Hidan!
Sakon and Jirobo, standing nearby, also prepared to rush forward to support Kimimaro, but they were stopped by a fox claw formed from chakra!
A scumbag fox with Madara's appearance stood with its arms crossed, blocking his way.
"You two ugly things had better play with this old man. I learned quite a few interesting things today!"