I am the most popular character in Naruto!

"Asuma, how could we possibly leave you alone!"

Shikamaru, seemingly moved, said to Asuma, "You're our teacher! Even though you almost killed us, you're still our teacher!"

Asuma felt uneasy listening to Shikamaru's words.

He was the one who made a mistake and caused his students to suffer, yet Shikamaru still respected him so much. It was truly...

"Okay, stop talking!"

Asuma held Feiyan tightly, her eyes red, and said, "It's my fault for not being able to bring you back safely."

"So you guys should leave quickly! I can definitely hold them off!"

Not bad.

Shikamaru nodded in satisfaction. It seemed that Asuma had indeed come to his senses. He was about to say something when Naruto interrupted him.

"What are you saying, Asuma-sensei!"

Naruto said angrily, "How can you say you lost without even fighting?"

"They're just two Kage-level fighters! It's not like they haven't fought anyone before!"

"Don't worry! We will definitely win!"

"?"

Shikamaru tilted his head and looked at Naruto, very curious about how a Jonin could say something so illogical.

Brother, I know you're a Jinchūriki, but that doesn't mean you can directly take on two Kage-level shikigami, especially those with immortality!

Kakuzu, who had just been watching Asuma and Shikamaru pour out their hearts to each other and exchange their last words as if watching a good show, suddenly paused when Naruto jumped out, and then his eyes lit up.

"The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki!"

"You are... Naruto Uzumaki!"

Kakuzu became excited, his eyes almost squinting into the shape of coins.

Unexpectedly, there was an unexpected surprise!

"you know me?"

Naruto felt a chill run down his spine for no apparent reason and looked at Kakuzu warily.

He sensed the greed in Kakuzu's eyes, as if he were some delicious dish that Kakuzu desperately wanted to devour.

If that look came from a young lady, Naruto could somewhat accept it, but Kakuzu…

vomit.

Upon hearing Naruto's name, Hidan gasped, silently took a step back, and whispered to Kakuzu, "Kakuzu, I can't do this. The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is too powerful for us to handle. Let the organization send someone else!"

"Ok?"

Kakuzu glared at Hidan with displeasure, not understanding why Hidan felt such fear. "The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is worth a hundred million! I have to get my hands on him!"

Naruto's bounty wasn't just the price from the mercenary guild; it also included the reward offered to Kakuzu by the Akatsuki organization. With such a large sum of money, how could Kakuzu possibly let it go?

Moreover, Naruto is only a Jonin at the moment, and Kakuzu believes that with his peak Kage-level strength, he can easily deal with Naruto.

With Hidan's help, taking down Naruto would be a piece of cake.

Who knew Hidan would chicken out!

"No...maybe we should just forget about it and let's go."

Hidan had a bad feeling; he felt that if the fight continued, they would both perish here.

what?

You want to ask why?

The answer is basically that everyone knows Naruto is the adopted son of the goddess of life, Senju Chiaki!

This is why, despite the bounty on Naruto's name being posted in the Mercenary Guild, not many people dared to take on the mission.

You should know that if you accept this mission, it's like making an enemy of Senju Chiaki!

This risk is too great. If the backing behind him is not strong enough, then it wouldn't be too easy for Thousand Hands Thousand Autumn to destroy anything he wants.

Kakuzu only dared to act so recklessly because Naruto was valuable and he knew that the Akatsuki had powerful backers.

Hidan's words...

He was afraid.

"Hmph, if you don't want to deal with Naruto Uzumaki, then deal with the others!"

Kakuzu snorted coldly, "Even though they are all ants, it would be quite troublesome if they bothered me."

"If you still won't accept this, then when we get back, I'll just tell the boss to fire you!"

"Don't...don't..."

Hidan sighed in distress. The only person he ever feared was Chiaki, and the only other person he feared was the unfathomable "boss" in the Akatsuki organization.

Furthermore, since Kakuzu had provided him with considerable assistance when they teamed up, Hidan gritted his teeth and ultimately chose to help Kakuzu.

"It's settled then, I absolutely will not lay a hand on Naruto Uzumaki, I can take care of the others for you."

Hidan spoke earnestly; he was genuinely afraid.

"Oh, trash."

Kakuzu sneered, staring directly at Asuma, who had already assumed a death stance. He spread his arms, and a large number of black lines burst forth from his body.

"That's settled then!"

"I'll deal with Naruto Uzumaki!"

The black lines shot straight towards Asuma, who gritted his teeth as he looked at the sky filled with them.

"They're coming!"

"You guys leave quickly!"

"Shikamaru! Grab Naruto and go—!!!"

He roared as he charged toward the black line, taking a deep breath and exhaling a thick cloud of black smoke.

The black smoke completely enveloped the black lines and the horn, and a strong smell of tobacco wafted over.

"Fire escape! Ash accumulation burns!"

Asuma gritted his teeth, and the large plume of black smoke instantly burst into flames and exploded, engulfing Kakuzu.

"Hmph, you ants!"

Amidst the flames and explosions, Kakuzu coldly snorted, "Get out of my way, all of you!"

"Water Release! Water Curtain!"

A powerful water cannon blasted away the flames and explosions, and Kakuzu emerged unscathed, manipulating the black lines to launch his attack.

"Go to hell!"

Asuma wielded his chakra blade fiercely, forcefully cleaving through the black lines of the Earth Grudge Fear, and then approached Kakuzu.

Kakuzu frowned. He was a ninja who used turret-type ninjutsu, and this kind of close combat style was not very comfortable for him.

Hidan! What are you waiting for?!

Chapter 720 Dealing with it alone

"……I see!"

Hidan cursed under his breath for causing trouble, grabbed his scythe, and charged forward.

He is arrogant and brainless, but that doesn't mean he can't think.

Even under these circumstances, Hidan remained perfectly lucid.

This guy, Chiaki is already a nightmare for him, okay? Whenever he encounters anything related to Chiaki, Hidan will be extremely vigilant and cautious.

"Take this! Bloodstained March Scythe!"

Hidan swung his scythe and launched an attack on Asuma. Asuma's expression froze, and he quickly swayed his body.

Asuma's fighting style leans more towards free fighting. He holds his pair of chakra blades like brass knuckles. After deftly parrying Hidan's scythe, Asuma ducks a few times to avoid Hidan's attack and kicks him away.

"So weak?"

Asuma paused for a moment, then focused his attention back on Kakuzu.

Due to Hidan's interference, Kakuzu had already completed the first stage of his transformation.

Two humanoid heads made of black lines appeared on his shoulders, each with a strange mask on it, looking very creepy.

"Wind Escape! Suppress!"

As Kakuzu performed hand seals, a mask on his shoulder opened its mouth, and a high-pressure whirlwind shot out directly from it.

"Not good!"

Asuma sensed a deadly threat from the whirlwind and cursed inwardly, "What kind of monster is this? Another B-rank ninjutsu with an S-rank threat!"

"Retreat! Retreat! Retreat!"

Asma waved his hands frantically, and everyone retreated again, but before they could get too far, the high-pressure wind ball hit the ground and exploded into a huge vortex storm.

The vortex storm shattered the ground, overturned trees, and also hurled Asma away.

"Chouji!"

Shikamaru shielded Choji with his hands, and shouted at him.

"The art of super doubling!"

Without hesitation, Choji clapped his hands together, and his body swelled up like an inflating balloon.

The massive body blocked the hurricane while simultaneously grabbing Asma, who was being thrown backward.

When everyone saw that Choji had blocked the hurricane, they quickly gathered behind him.

"Naruto! Come and take over Kakuzu's duties!"