I am the most popular character in Naruto!

For the Root ninjas, completing the mission is the top priority; as for everything else...

It doesn't matter.

If you can't beat them, you can't beat them. There's nothing shameful about it. Just find someone you can beat.

If no one can defeat them, then it should be reported to higher authorities so they can decide whether to abandon the mission.

They all did it this way within the Root organization, and Sai didn't see anything wrong with it.

"That's not a question of failure or failure, Sai."

Naruto patted Sai on the shoulder, nodded to Shikamaru, and said, "Shikamaru, just focus on finding a solution. This mission is indispensable for you guys."

Naruto knew the situation; Ino and Choji had already explained it very clearly.

Naruto could accept the reason that he was fighting to avenge his friend.

If Sasuke were to die, Naruto would definitely want to personally kill the guy who killed Sasuke.

This is the power of bond.

"I understand. Since Lord Chiaki said we can defeat Kakuzu, then there must be something I haven't realized."

Shikamaru nodded and said seriously, "Let's hurry..."

However, before he could finish speaking, a large patch of black lines emerged from the ground.

Chapter 718 The Awareness of Death

"I really don't know where you got your intelligence from, how you know who we are."

A large number of black lines surged out from the ground, and then Kakuzu appeared behind Shikamaru.

Asuma was shocked by what he saw and rushed forward, shoving Shikamaru aside.

"careful!"

The black line pierced through the air, and Kakuzu raised an eyebrow, looking at Asuma and Shikamaru who had rolled to the side.

"The speed is decent. An elite Jonin?"

Kakuto is a rather cautious person; he generally doesn't go all out from the start.

Because of his near-immortal life and the Earth Grudge Fear, Kakuzu can use his unique abilities to test the waters first, and then use his extensive experience to steadily defeat his opponent based on their situation.

After all, in this ninja world, Kakuzu has already stood at the top of the pyramid. Not many people can kill him instantly. He can easily achieve victory by using this method.

"Damn it! How dare they plot against me!"

Hidan, also covered in charred soot, charged forward, wielding his large scythe. His charred skin peeled off continuously, revealing pink new skin, which looked particularly horrifying.

"So fast?!"

Shikamaru, who had been rescued by Asuma, looked at Hidan in shock. Hidan had been blown to pieces by Asuma just moments before, but he hadn't expected him to recover so quickly.

"...There is a tremendous life force within him repairing his body!"

Sakura squinted her eyes and said, "As the only medical ninja in the team, she has the deepest sense of life."

"This vitality is strange; it seems to have appeared out of thin air..."

She murmured, and Hidan seemed to hear Sakura's words, laughing loudly, "This is the gift of the Jashin! How could you mortals possibly understand?"

"A gift from an evil god..."

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes, his gaze quickly sweeping over Kakuzu, whose body was writhing with black lines, and Hidan, whose charred skin was constantly peeling off. He then looked at the strength of his own side and sighed inwardly.

It's a situation that's impossible to win no matter how you look at it...

One is at the peak of the Shadow level, and the other is also a Shadow level, both possessing the trait of immortality, making them both extremely difficult to kill.

What about your own side?

The strongest combat force is the elite Jonin. The three Jonin of Ino-Shika-Cho can be considered an elite Jonin together.

On Naruto's side, Team 7 was left with only three Jonin: Naruto, Sakura, and Sai, because Yamato had to go back to report. How were they supposed to fight?

Two elite Jonin, three Jonin, going up against a peak Kage-level and a Kage-level? No one could possibly win!

Shikamaru's head started to ache again; he really wanted to kick Asuma to death.

I really don't know what possessed me to entrust such a crucial moment to him.

If Hidan is defeated because of his own trap, then they only need to deal with Kakuzu.

These seven people can still put up a fight against one person.

But now things are different. Because of Asuma's impulsive actions, it's now seven against two, which is a sure way to wipe them out.

In this situation, Shikamaru didn't have any good solutions and could only rely on his strength.

The main problem was that the preparation time was too short. I didn't expect Kakuzu to be so eager for the mission, and with the help of a watch worth 1 billion, he arrived at Shikamaru's ambush location in no time.

If it weren't for Naruto having enough shadow clones and working so efficiently, they might not have even had time to finish setting up the traps.

This left Shikamaru with almost no backup plans, which was terrible.

"I ask you, how did Konoha learn about our situation?"

Kakuzu asked Asuma, who was the only one among the group of children who seemed to be the leader.

"A ninja from Konoha?"

Hidan scratched his peeling cheek, seemingly thinking of something, and hesitated slightly.

Shikamaru noticed Hidan's hesitation and was puzzled.

Is Hidan afraid?

What is he afraid of?

Shikamaru's mind raced. According to previous information, the evil god was a rule-based deity who could not directly interfere in the affairs of the ninja world, so it needed a representative, a person who walked in the ninja world.

That is Hidan, who possesses the power of an evil god and is an immortal being.

How could such a being possibly feel fear or hesitation?

Imagine if you couldn't die, and you could recover from injuries on your own, wouldn't you be able to do whatever you wanted?

Shikamaru put himself in Shikamaru's shoes. If he were the representative of the evil god, he shouldn't have any fear or hesitation.

unless……

"Unless someone involved in the rules instilled fear in Hidan and the evil god behind him..."

Shikamaru murmured to himself, then a smile crept onto his lips.

"I see."

"Lord Chiaki didn't misjudge; he simply knew Hidan too well, which is why he said that Hidan was more difficult to deal with than Kakuzu."

"Damn it, the more I learn about her, the more ridiculously strong she seems!"

According to Shikamaru's assessment, the only Konoha ninja who could frighten Hidan was probably Chiaki.

Hidan is very strong and immortal. If you don't find the right way to fight him, it will become a very grueling battle.

In comparison, Kakuzu is much better. According to the information on Jigan-yu, Jigan-yu possesses a secret technique for stealing hearts, which allows him to steal other people's hearts for his own use.

At the same time, apart from being hit in the heart, the Earth Grudge Fear will not suffer any damage. In other words, to deal with Kakuzu, you only need to destroy his five hearts.

One is immortal and indestructible, the other is immune to damage, but can be defeated by piercing the heart five times.

It's obvious that the former is more troublesome.

Fortunately, Hidan is wary of Chiaki. In other words, if Shikamaru uses the right strategy, he can limit Hidan and prevent him from playing any role!

Very good, in that case, the only opponent we need to deal with is Kakuzu.

The situation has returned to the original seven-against-one, and the odds of victory are in my favor!

If you really don't want to, just call Qianqiu for help. It's no big deal.

Shikamaru understood this, and he calmed down. He glanced at Asuma, who was filled with remorse, and decided to teach him a lesson.

"Asuma, I'm afraid there's no way to save us this time."

Shikamaru said regretfully to Asuma, "I have no regrets about being your student."

"...Shikamaru..."

Asuma had never seen Shikamaru so dejected, and a wave of heartache and self-reproach washed over him.

How can I let something like this happen to myself, because of the people who have already died, and it has affected the students and children who are still alive?

Asma clutched his head in pain, then made up his mind.

"You all better run away, leave this to me!"

"Even if it means death, I will hold them off for you!"

Asuma silently drew his weapons, two chakra blades called "Flying Swallow," and assumed a fighting stance.

Clearly, he has already come to terms with death!

Chapter 719 Hidan's Terror

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes as he looked at Asuma, quite satisfied with his performance.

Ino and Choji, who knew Shikamaru's habits well, exchanged a glance and winked at each other, seeing that Shikamaru showed no signs of nervousness.

This guy is playing pranks on people again.

Whenever Shikamaru wants to play a prank, he pretends that he can't handle it.

Ino and Choji have encountered this many times before, mainly because Shikamaru's intelligence is terrifying; there's almost nothing he can't solve.

If there were truly difficult and complex problems, Shikamaru wouldn't be behaving the way he is now.

Don't let Shikamaru's seemingly averse-to-trouble appearance fool you; when it really comes down to it, he's always the first to step up.

At that time, Shikamaru would definitely squat down, strike his signature pose, and start frantically simulating ways to break the deadlock until he finds a solution.

He's never been one to give up easily.