Kakuzu and Hidan clashing head-on with Kumogakure was something Yagyū Souma had absolutely not expected.
But that didn't stop him in the slightest from playing the role of a lurking vulture and cashing in on the chaos.
Down below, the Fourth Raikage and Kakuzu were already beating the hell out of each other.
As for Hidan?
He charged in fast—but unfortunately for him, the Raikage was simply too quick. With Lightning Release Armor reinforcing both speed and defense, Hidan never got a single chance to draw blood.
Left with no choice, Hidan redirected his abilities toward the other shinobi.
Black curse patterns crawled across his body. Beneath his feet, blood traced out a glaring ritual circle.
"Hahahahaha! Slaughter! Wail in the abyss of blood and darkness!"
The next moment—
Blades stabbed straight into him.
Seeing this, Kakuzu—mid–exchange with the Raikage—felt something was off.
That idiot… why wasn't he dodging?
Before Kakuzu could think further, the Raikage smashed another punch into him, forcing him back.
Elsewhere.
Yagyū Souma calmly observed the battlefield from above.
He now understood Hidan's structure pretty well.
When Hidan's head and body were separated, his consciousness and spirit also split into two parts—one staying in the head, the other maintaining bodily activity so it wouldn't immediately die.
In other words, this wasn't immortality.
It was an extremely twisted, pseudo-scientific existence.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Down below, Hidan burst into manic laughter.
"Why aren't you killing me?! Aren't you going to avenge your comrades?!"
The surrounding Cloud ninja instinctively retreated, terror written all over their faces.
That thing—
What kind of monster was this?!
Kakuzu, however, was already retreating.
He was a veteran. A survivor.
The moment things smelled wrong, he released all five of his heart masks at once—essentially throwing away every extra life he had—then immediately fled underground using Earth Release.
Classic Kakuzu.
As for Hidan?
Kakuzu glanced back once, irritation flashing across his eyes.
"Stop playing around, Hidan! We're leaving!"
"That's no fun! The ritual isn't finished yet! Jashin-sama hasn't had enough!"
Hidan complained loudly.
But in the next instant—
A flash of cold light.
Hidan's vision spun violently.
Then—
His head hit the ground.
"What…?"
He still had consciousness.
But he could no longer feel his body.
"What the hell?! My body! Give me my body back!"
Hidan screamed hysterically.
Before he could say more, a hand grabbed him by the hair and lifted his head off the ground.
It was Yagyū Souma.
"Interesting," Yagyū Souma said calmly.
"So this is how it works."
Hidan's eyes went wide.
"You—who the hell are you?!"
Yagyū Souma didn't answer.
Instead, he turned and left.
At the same time, his chakra surged.
A translucent chakra armor formed around him, layered with a tailed-beast–like outer coat.
Fire.
Lightning.
Wind.
The combined ninjutsu of Kakuzu's heart masks crashed down—
And did absolutely nothing.
Yagyū Souma walked straight through it.
The Cloud ninja froze in disbelief.
Three large-scale elemental techniques—completely ineffective?!
What kind of monster was this?!
The heart masks howled and attacked again.
But before they could get far—
Sealing tags flew out.
One by one, the masks were immobilized, their movements stiffening instantly.
In mere moments—
All five heart masks were sealed.
Yagyū Souma glanced at them, feeling a bit regretful.
If he'd gone all out from the beginning, he might've captured Kakuzu too.
But—
This was already a massive gain.
He looked down at Hidan's still-screaming head.
"You're worth studying."
Hidan roared.
"Let go of me! Let me kill you! Jashin-sama—!"
Yagyū Souma ignored him completely.
With a sudden burst of speed, he vanished from the battlefield.
Not long after.
In a hidden cave.
Kakuzu emerged from underground, panting heavily.
His expression was dark.
Five heart masks.
All gone.
Years—decades—of preparation, wiped out in moments.
He clenched his fists.
"Damn it… damn it!"
A figure slowly surfaced from the shadows.
Black and white.
Zetsu.
"Something went wrong?" Zetsu asked calmly.
Kakuzu laughed bitterly.
"Wrong? Everything went wrong."
Then his voice turned icy.
"Tell me—how exactly did you people gather intelligence?"
Zetsu fell silent.
Kakuzu continued, fury barely contained.
"The intel said that kid feared ninjutsu. That he was weak against elemental techniques."
He sneered.
"Five high-level elemental attacks didn't even scratch him."
"How do you explain that?"
Zetsu didn't answer immediately.
After a pause, it said,
"It's confirmed. That was Yagyū Souma."
Kakuzu ground his teeth.
"Then explain this too."
"He can suppress a perfect jinchūriki.
He has monstrous taijutsu.
Master-tier swordsmanship.
Sealing techniques.
Mental attacks."
"And he's still evolving."
Kakuzu's voice dropped.
"Our organization—"
"Is there a traitor?"
Zetsu remained silent.
After a long while, it finally said,
"I'll report this to Pain."
Meanwhile.
Elsewhere.
Yagyū Souma slowed to a stop.
The Nine-Tails glanced at the head dangling from his hand, then at the sealed masks.
"…You made a killing."
"Not bad," Yagyū Souma replied honestly.
Hidan was priceless as a research subject.
As for Kakuzu's masks—
They were rare materials.
Very rare.
The Nine-Tails snorted.
"Akatsuki's going to lose their minds."
Yagyū Souma smiled faintly.
"That's fine."
"If they don't panic…"
"…this won't be fun."
Far away, in Akatsuki's hideout, Pain received the report.
He was silent for a long time.
Then—
"Call a meeting."
"And," he added calmly,
"Reevaluate all intelligence related to Yagyū Souma."
"Immediately."
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