Starting as the mastermind behind Naruto

Chapter 235 Uchiha Itachi, this is the last time you appeared in the Land of Fire before you died (Seventh update!)

"Hey, what brings you here at this hour!"

Hidan glanced displeasedly at Kisame and the others, grabbed his scythe, turned to Asuma and the others, and said coldly, "Hmph, I was just about to kill them as a sacrifice to the Jashin!"

"Please go ahead."

Kisame Hoshigaki politely extended his palm, chuckled, and said, "We won't interfere with your battle. We just need to ensure that Kakuzu-senpai's 35 million bounty doesn't escape."

They were having a great time chatting, while the Konoha ninjas were sweating profusely, especially Nara Shikamaru, who had just started a mission and had already encountered a group of Akatsuki members!

Even in this most dangerous situation, Nara Shikamaru did not forget to carefully examine everyone present: "Uchiha Itachi, the culprit who wiped out the Uchiha clan, an S-rank rogue ninja of Konoha; Hoshigaki Kisame, Hozuki Mangetsu, Ringo Ameyuri, that woman also betrayed the village, three former members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist..."

To be honest, I'm a bit of a coward.

Sarutobi Asuma's expression was also extremely ugly, because he had fought against Uchiha Itachi and Kisame Hoshigaki before, and it was only with the support of Hatake Kakashi, Yuhi Kurenai, and Might Guy that he barely managed to force Uchiha Itachi and Kisame Hoshigaki to retreat.

Even so, Kakashi Hatake paid the price of serious injury at that time.

Looking around, Sarutobi Asuma's face showed a hint of despair, and he even felt like he couldn't breathe. His three Jonin friends were gone; now he only had three Chunin teammates by his side...

What about the other side?

Kisame Hoshigaki, Itachi Uchiha, Ameyuri Ringo, Mangetsu Hozuki, Hidan, and Kakuzu, who just came out of the exchange shop carrying a money box.

The six members of the Akatsuki organization.

This squad is capable of attacking a major ninja village! And the only ninja village in the Land of Fire is Konoha. Is the purpose of this squad to attack Konoha?

Sarutobi Asuma surveyed his surroundings, glanced at his disciple Nara Shikamaru, and gritted his teeth: "No, we must get the information out there and alert the villagers. There are six Akatsuki members active in the Land of Fire!"

The biggest problem now is how to get the intelligence out. Six members of Akatsuki, they won't even give an intelligence bird a chance to fly!

Kakuzu sized up his companions, pointed a finger at Konoha captain Sarutobi Asuma, and said, "Who's going to make a move? Hurry up and take care of these guys. I can use that guy's corpse to exchange for money!"

"Of course it's me!"

Hidan grumbled in dissatisfaction, drawing a strange symbol on his own while holding his church instruments in his hands. He shouted, "Can't you see I'm performing a church ritual? This is a sacrifice to the Jashin-sama, it can't be taken lightly!"

A group of people just stood there watching Hidan draw circles and prepare to curse someone. The Akatsuki members were too lazy to move, and the Konoha ninjas dared not move.

This creates a strange balance.

However, Sarutobi Asuma saw this opportunity and said in a deep voice, "Shikamaru, Izumo, Kotetsu, I'll cover your escape from here. Make sure you get the information to the village; Konoha might be facing an attack from Akatsuki!"

"No, Asuma-sensei!"

Nara Shikamaru quickly shook his head and analyzed softly, "The probability of me escaping is extremely low. You are the strongest; we'll cover you!"

"That's right."

The other two Konoha Chunin are named Izumo Kamui and Tetsuo Koko.

The two of them were already prepared to sacrifice themselves. They had always been Chunin in the village, and basically, apart from guarding the village gate, they couldn't play much of a role.

Both Sarutobi Asuma and Nara Shikamaru will be able to play a greater role for Konoha in the future. It is lucky that either of them was able to escape. Sarutobi Asuma is undoubtedly the one with the best chance of escaping.

"Your strength is insufficient; you simply cannot hold out for long!"

Sarutobi Asuma shook his head and said in a deep voice, "They want my corpse now, so they definitely won't let me go!"

"But…"

"There aren't that many 'buts'!"

Sarutobi Asuma whispered to Nara Shikamaru, "Shikamaru, I already have a child. My journey has come to this point. Your future is still very promising!"

"This…"

Nara Shikamaru's face showed a look of surprise. How come he had never heard of this? How come he had never seen Asuma's child?

The next moment, Nara Shikamaru immediately realized what was going on and whispered, "Looks like we've never noticed! Is Kurenai-sensei pregnant?"

That's fast!

And the level of confidentiality they maintained was just too good!

As disciples of Sarutobi Asuma, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio had never heard of this news.

A look of relief appeared in Sarutobi Asuma's eyes. He nodded calmly. After entrusting his unborn child to his disciple, he had no more worries and could fight with all his might!

Sarutobi Asuma gripped his chakra blade tightly, and two chakra blades appeared on the blade as he fiercely attacked Kisame Hoshigaki, who was closest to him!

His goal was simply to create an opening for Nara Shikamaru!

"Walk!"

Sarutobi Asuma shouted sharply!

Nara Shikamaru, Kamitsuki Izumo, and Kotetsu gritted their teeth and fled through the gap Asuma had opened!

Strangely, the Akatsuki members did not choose to pursue him; instead, they leisurely watched Sarutobi Asuma's desperate actions.

As for the member who fought Sarutobi Asuma, it just so happens to be Kisame Hoshigaki, Sarutobi Asuma's former rival!

After escaping, Nara Shikamaru glanced back and saw that the Akatsuki members were not pursuing him. A glimmer of hope flashed in his eyes, clearly indicating that he also hoped that his teacher could escape alive!

indeed.

Sarutobi Asuma also had a glimmer of hope. His girlfriend, Kurenai Yuhi, was pregnant, and he naturally wanted to break through the encirclement and return to the village.

Unfortunately, Kisame Hoshigaki's words dispelled Asuma Sarutobi's impulse.

A wicked smile spread across Kisame Hoshigaki's fierce face. He calmly swung his Samehada sword and said with a laugh, "If you dare to run away, we'll bring back those who escaped and kill them right in front of you!"

At this moment, Kisame Hoshigaki was like a demon!

This is probably a consequence of Kisame Hoshigaki becoming Naraku Uehara's subordinate; he always likes to use this emotion to force ninjas to submit willingly or die.

However, this threat is very effective.

At least until Nara Shikamaru and the others are sure they have escaped to a safe area, Sarutobi Asuma will definitely not dare to run away. This will take at least five minutes.

If the other Akatsuki members also stand still and don't make a move, Sarutobi Asuma only needs to make sure he can last for five minutes and that he doesn't get too badly injured, which doesn't seem to be a problem for him.

Unfortunately, things don't always go as planned.

After Hidan finished drawing the circle and performing the ritual, he saw Kisame Hoshigaki and Asuma Sarutobi locked in combat. He instantly became enraged: "Hey, Kisame Hoshigaki, didn't you say you were going to leave this guy for me? Stop it, or I'll kill you too!"

"Hehe... Don't worry, I won't let your ceremony go to waste."

Kisame Hoshigaki suddenly swung his Samehada sword at Asuma Sarutobi's shoulder. The sharp spikes on the Samehada sword instantly expanded, and the spikes pierced Asuma Sarutobi's shoulder!

Kisame Hoshigaki flicked the blood from his Samehada sword onto Hidan, chuckling as he said, "Well then, it's up to you now!"

After doing all this, Kisame Hoshigaki looked at Asuma Sarutobi and laughed, "Alright, now you can run away. We won't chase you. Please trust Akatsuki's reputation..."

"What's going on?"

Sarutobi Asuma's face grew increasingly serious.

He still didn't understand what was going on, but to be on the safe side, he decided to observe for a while, since five minutes wasn't a particularly long time...

Moreover, his current position presents an opportunity for escape at any time.

"Run away, run away as much as you want!"

Hidan stroked Sarutobi Asuma's blood, a terrifying smile spreading across his face. Strands of white bone seemed to float from his face and body. He looked at the somewhat bewildered Asuma and said, "The ritual is ready. Are you ready?"

"This is…"

Sarutobi Asuma stared at Hidan with a mixture of surprise and uncertainty.

To be honest, aside from his somewhat terrifying physical condition, Hidan doesn't seem to have anything particularly remarkable about him. Is he really a member of the Akatsuki?

I don't quite understand what's going on.

However, Sarutobi Asuma quickly understood!

Hidan suddenly pulled out a long thorn and stabbed it into his own shoulder. At the same time, blood spurted out of Sarutobi Asuma's shoulder!

"When he gets injured, my body will also get injured..."

Sarutobi Asuma's expression changed drastically. He stared in disbelief at the wound on his shoulder, then glanced at Hidan, who had a wicked grin on his face, as if wanting to confirm.

as predicted.

Hidan stabbed himself in the thigh the next moment!

Sarutobi Asuma's legs were also covered in blood!

This is the terrifying aspect of the evil god's ritual: once the enemy's blood is extracted, it can harm the enemy in a way that harms oneself, all from a fixed location.

Coincidentally, Hidan is a cultist of Jashin who can survive no matter how severe his injuries; others do not possess his terrifying physique.

Asuma Sarutobi clutched his wound in pain, watching Hidan chuckle as he pulled out the long spike: "No wonder Kisame wasn't worried about me running away, turns out he couldn't escape... That guy, isn't he afraid of pain?"

"Hehehehe...Of course I'm not afraid of pain!"

Just as Hidan was performing the Jashin ritual while a group of people were watching, Ringo Ameyuri, who had the most volatile temper, became impatient and drew her ninja sword, plunging it into Hidan's chest: "Stop dawdling, you're not acting like a man at all..."

Hidan collapsed to the ground, still cursing at Ringo Ameyuri: "You damned woman, your ninja sword hurts!"

Even though Hidan suffered a fatal injury, he was still mostly unharmed. Sarutobi Asuma, on the other hand, slowly clutched his chest and fell backward.

Kakuzu nodded in satisfaction, carried Sarutobi Asuma's corpse inside, and received a bounty of 35 million.

Kisame Hoshigaki glanced at the exchange shop in front of him and whispered, "Go and steal the corpses of Chirai and Asuma Sarutobi..."

This was said to Obito Uchiha.

No one knew that there was someone hiding underground all along.

Hidden underground, Obito Uchiha's face showed a hint of resentment, but his body still obediently entered the exchange shop, found the bodies of Asuma Sarutobi and Jiraiya, and quietly put them away.

the other side.

Uehara Naraku, who had just entered the Land of Fire, was asked by the Konoha border guards to wait at the border for a while. They would send someone to escort Uehara Naraku to Konoha Village.

Uehara Naraku couldn't help but shake his head as he looked at the border guards. He had just received news of Sarutobi Asuma's sacrifice from Uchiha Obito's consciousness.

"These guys acted way too fast!"

Uehara Naraku shook his head and sighed, subtly controlling Uchiha Obito and relaying his orders: "Have Kisame Hoshigaki tell Uchiha Itachi that this is the last time he will appear in the Land of Fire before his duel with Uchiha Sasuke. Make sure he sees Uzumaki Naruto. You must monitor Uchiha Itachi's every move!"

Only in this way can we draw out Itachi Uchiha's hidden Kotoamatsukami Mangekyou Sharingan, thereby completely eliminating the threat posed by Itachi Uchiha!

This is an extra chapter thanks to the crowdfunding donations from readers!

I can't take it anymore, I need to sleep.

I'll write the thank-you list tomorrow. Thank you all for your support!

(End of this chapter)