"Haha, got him."
A boastful laugh echoed through the entire underground space. After landing a successful strike, Hidan wasted no time and immediately turned to flee, his movements bobbing up and down with the giddy glee of a thief who had stolen a banana.
Isshiki, seeing this, flew into a rage and moved to strike Hidan down.
"Almighty Pull." At the critical moment, Nagato's true body acted, unleashing the full power of his Rinnegan to actively divert Isshiki's attack.
"I'll leave it to you all to hold this guy off." Seizing the opportunity, Hidan retreated behind the others and began rapidly drawing a strange pattern on the ground.
"We'll do our best." Sasori said gravely. Countless chakra threads shot from his chest, summoning hundreds of combat puppets before him. "We'll buy you as much time as we can."
"Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets!"
"It seems we'll have to risk our lives for this opponent." Kakuzu said as his body writhed, and tentacled monsters wearing strange masks appeared around him.
"Hey everyone, why aren't we running away like the other half of Zetsu?" Deidara asked curiously, though his hands never stopped kneading explosive clay.
"Run to where? Everywhere is full of deception anyway." Kisame gave a dark chuckle as Samehada slowly fused into his body, transforming him into a terrifying half-man, half-shark monster. "Rather than fleeing to a world full of lies, I'd prefer a good fight right here."
He grinned at Deidara. "At least I'll have company on the way to hell. We won't be lonely in hell."
"Hahaha, you've got a point." Deidara laughed too. "Always thought you were a bit of a fool, but you're surprisingly decent."
Kisame stared blankly.
I'll take that as a compliment.
"I think I'm starting to like you."
"Don't worry, I'll drag this guy down to hell with us. I've got a secret weapon saved up."
Konan remained silent, but countless sheets of white paper descended from above, expertly forming a massive paper dragon.
"Let this guy witness the might of the Akatsuki." Nagato's true body stepped forward, channeling his chakra to its absolute limit. His Rinnegan eyes held an imposing weight.
"Honestly, this is the first time I've seen the leader's real body." Hidan, busy with his ritual, forcefully interjected.
Deidara roared with laughter. "Didn't expect him to be a redhead!"
"By the way, Uncle Sasori is a redhead too!"
Sasori's voice was thoroughly sinister. "Deidara, do you want to become one of my puppets?"
"Whoa, Sasori-danna, just kidding!" Deidara hurriedly replied.
In just that short time, he'd used three different forms of address for Sasori.
"What a noisy bunch." Sasuke muttered, having already activated his Mangekyo Sharingan and summoned Susanoo. Then, he muttered, "But it's not bad."
"Haha." Neji chuckled softly and shook his head, seeming to enjoy the current atmosphere.
The lasting bonds between men are often forged through shared experiences: studying together, fighting side-by-side, and splitting spoils.
Thanks to Naruto's steady presence, the members of Akatsuki had interacted far more during their recent missions than in the original timeline, especially now, standing together in life and death.
"Ants remain ants, even when they gather." Isshiki merely pointed forward, and countless massive black seals rained down from above, smashing Sasori's puppets to pieces.
Before Sasori could lament the painful loss, Isshiki appeared right in front of him and pointed at Sasori's true body.
Sasori quickly manipulated the Third Kazekage puppet to block the attack. Even using Magnet Release at full power, he couldn't harm Isshiki, and his treasured Third Kazekage puppet shattered into fragments instantly.
"Stop!"
Kakuzu, who was closest to Sasori, rushed to his aid. These two hadn't just fought together, they'd shared their profitable spoils as well.
"Earth Grudge Fear: Tentacle Punch!"
Countless black tentacles shot toward Isshiki.
Facing this assault, Isshiki didn't dodge or evade. He simply stretched out his hand and clenched it forcefully toward Kakuzu.
*Argh!* With a scream from Kakuzu, he was sent violently flying backward.
One of Kakuzu's five hearts burst instantly. If Nagato hadn't timely used Almighty Push to rescue him, more hearts would likely have been permanently lost.
"Paper Dragon Jutsu!"
"Explosive Clay: Twin-Headed Snake!"
Konan and Deidara's coordinated attacks followed immediately after. A black vortex appeared again in Isshiki's palm, swallowing the explosions entirely.
"Dammit! Looks like only my strongest C4 will work against this guy."
But Isshiki wouldn't give Deidara that chance. He was already right in front of Deidara.
"Hey, if you want to hurt them, you'll have to get through me first." Kisame, fused with Samehada into his shark form, blocked the path in front of Deidara. Simultaneously, swift attacks from Sasuke and Neji arrived.
"This guy is particularly infuriating!" Upon touching Kisame, Isshiki felt another portion of his chakra being drained away. A power that absorbed chakra on contact was particularly troublesome for Isshiki.
Just as he prepared to go all out, a sudden jolt struck his heart.
He whipped his head around to look toward a specific location, the altar.
"Someone broke my technique!"
Then he felt continuous vibrations coming from the ground and heard faint, intermittent screams echoing in his ears.
"Ten-Tails!"
Realizing Ten-Tails abnormality, Isshiki decided not to prolong the fight with the Akatsuki members. Ten-Tails was crucial to restoring his body, he couldn't afford any mistakes.
"Trying to leave? You think we would let you?"
If Isshiki wanted to flee, the Akatsuki wouldn't let him go so easily, especially since Hidan had already finished drawing his pattern.
Hidan's body looked as if painted with colored lacquer, his skin turning monochrome, with skeleton-like patterns appearing prominently on his body.
Then Hidan slowly drew a black spear, raised it high, and burst into maniacal laughter, looking every bit like a fanatical cult leader. "Hahaha! You are the sacrifice I offer to Lord Jashin."
"I'm sure Lord Jashin will be very pleased."
After saying this, he thrust the spear downward, piercing his own heart.
"Curse Technique: Death Controlling Possessed Blood!"
Isshiki suddenly felt a sharp, agonizing pain in his chest. He staggered and dropped to one knee, then a surge of blood rushed up his throat and gushed out.
"Is this my blood?!" Isshiki clutched his chest, then released his hand, it was already covered in blood.
A large, fatal hole had inexplicably appeared in his chest.
Certain death, Death Controlling Possessed Blood!
"Hahaha!" Hidan laughed wildly again. "How does it feel to have your heart pierced?"
"A mere curse technique!"
Isshiki looked at Hidan with hatred. Even with his heart pierced, Isshiki's unnatural vitality allowed him to move for a while. He intended to kill Hidan before Hidan could follow up with another attack. But before he could act, a wave of intense dizziness assaulted his mind.
"Feeling your limbs go numb, your hands and feet not obeying you? Feeling your head getting heavier and heavier?"
"Hahaha, it's poison. I coated the spear with Sasori's special toxin."
Being able to mysteriously transfer damage was already outrageous, but poison too?
"This is a specially crafted poison made just for dealing with guys like you."
"Enjoy it to the fullest!"
===============
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