"Human Bullet Tank!"
Before Kakuzu could say anything further, a large spherical object appeared beside him and rammed into him. Kakuzu's reaction was incredibly fast, hardening his body in the blink of an eye to avoid being crushed into a meat patty by Choji.
"Shikamaru, Choji, be careful, his body can harden!" Ino saw clearly from behind. After understanding Kakuzu's ability, she began to form hand seals.
"Ninjutsu, Mind Transfer Jutsu!"
Immediately after, Kakuzu seemed to transform into someone else. That's right, Kakuzu had fallen victim to Ino's Mind Transfer Jutsu. Just as Ino's sneak attack succeeded, Kakashi suddenly appeared behind Kakuzu.
"Chidori!"
A flash of lightning streaked across. Kakashi's right hand pierced through Kakuzu's heart. Because Kakashi already knew Kakuzu's ability, he immediately pulled his Chidori horizontally, destroying Kakuzu's second heart.
Ino dispelled the Mind Transfer Jutsu the moment Kakashi appeared. Kakuzu turned his head and saw a white-haired man wearing a mask: "You! You could see my hand seals and have such a powerful Lightning Release ninjutsu. You are Konoha's Copy Ninja, Hatake Kakashi, aren't you!"
"He can harden his body, his Sharingan can see hand seals, so it's Earth Release. And Lightning Release counters Earth Release. This way, two hearts have been destroyed. As expected of Teacher Kakashi!" Shikamaru couldn't help but praise Kakashi in his heart.
"Kakuzu, look at you. You haven't even started fighting, and your heart's been pierced. You're such an idiot." Hidan, seeing the commotion, couldn't help but mock his teammate.
Kakashi didn't want to give them time to converse. He raised his hand and continued to stab Kakuzu with Chidori. Judging by the sensation earlier, all five hearts were in different locations. This time, Kakashi aimed for Kakuzu's abdomen.
"I hate being mocked by a fool like you the most!" Kakuzu completely ignored Kakashi's Chidori and turned to look at Shikamaru. Shikamaru was immediately alarmed and quickly retreated.
Immediately after, a hand emerged from the spot where Shikamaru had been standing, reaching directly for Shikamaru's neck. However, Shikamaru had sensed the danger in advance and narrowly dodged the attack, but his successfully cast Shadow Imitation Jutsu was broken by this movement.
After his body returned to normal, Kakuzu casually sidestepped and kicked Kakashi away: "Copy Ninja, is this all you've got?"
Feeling that his body could move again, Hidan stretched his arms, picked up his scythe, licked his lips, and glared fiercely at Shikamaru.
"I can finally move, brat. Are you ready to face the judgment of Lord Jashin?"
"Lord Jashin! Please watch closely! I'm going to get serious now! I'll tear out their intestines later!"
After kicking Kakashi away, Kakuzu directly tore off his cloak, revealing four masks on his back. However, one of them was already shattered.
Then, all the masks, along with flesh and blood, crawled out of Kakuzu's body. Kakuzu's own heart had been destroyed by Kakashi, so he had no choice but to take out a spare heart and insert it into his body, sewing himself up in front of everyone.
"This guy! He has spare hearts. We might have to kill him more than five times!" Shikamaru's expression was solemn. He had clearly underestimated Kakuzu's strength. If Kakuzu had enough spare hearts, he could wear them down to death.
Seeing that Kakuzu was getting serious, Hidan gave a sinister smile, ready to attack with Kakuzu.
However, of the four masked monsters that had just emerged, the one with the shattered mask, a shadowy figure, directly collapsed on the ground, earning a look of disdain from Hidan. "This is it? We were just about to unleash hell, and one is gone before the fight even begins."
"Kakuzu! Let's go!"
Receiving Kakuzu's command, Hidan immediately brandished his scythe and charged at Kakashi, raising his scythe to strike. Before Shikamaru and Choji could even see the movement, one of the masked monsters acted on its own.
"Wind Release: Barrage!"
The masked monster spat out a powerful gust of wind from its mouth, flipping over the entire ground behind it. This attack, including Hidan, was also caught in the blast. It was precisely Hidan's immortality that allowed Kakuzu and Hidan, who enjoyed friendly fire, to become teammates.
But it wasn't over yet. Another masked monster was already attacking Shikamaru and Choji.
"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"
A powerful Lightning Release ninjutsu flew towards Shikamaru and Choji. Choji was about to use Partial Expansion Jutsu to block the attack for Shikamaru, but Kakashi suddenly appeared in front of them, using his Chidori with both hands to forcibly withstand Kakuzu's attack.
After the lightning dissipated, everyone could clearly see that Kakashi's hands were charred and blurred by the electricity.
"The scale of the ninjutsu is immense, and each ninjutsu has a different element. My chakra is running low, I can't keep this up," Kakashi warned everyone that this couldn't be a prolonged battle.
As soon as Kakashi finished speaking, the last masked monster moved. Its mouth gathered a large amount of chakra, and it unleashed a torrent of powerful flames.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
"Water Release: Water Wall!"
Kakashi had also guessed that the last masked monster was using Fire Release, so he immediately formed hand seals and used Water Release to counter the attack.
However, Kakuzu's Fire Release had too wide a range, already burning all the surrounding trees. In this place devoid of water, Kakashi's Water Release could not completely block it.
At this critical moment, Ino suddenly leaped out, using her Medical Ninjutsu to protect herself and shielded the three of them.
"Ino!" x3
When the Fire Release ended, everyone assumed Ino had been severely burned. However, Ino's unharmed figure suddenly appeared before them.
In fact, Ino was also very surprised that she hadn't sustained any injuries. After carefully recalling, she suddenly realized: "It was that kiss! When Xingxing kissed my forehead before leaving that day, thank you, Xingxing."
"Ino, are you alright? What's going on?" Kakashi approached Ino, pulled her behind him. As captain, it would be derelict of his duty if he couldn't protect his comrades.
"Now is not the time to talk about this, their attack is coming!" Ino reminded Kakashi. Hidan was already running towards them with his scythe.
Kakashi pulled out a kunai and engaged Hidan in close combat. Kakuzu was not idle either. He extended all the black threads on his body and attacked the other three.
"Partial Expansion Jutsu!"
"Mind Transfer Jutsu!"
Kakuzu, having already fallen victim, was naturally unable to be tricked again. He dodged Ino's Mind Transfer Jutsu with a swift movement, but faced a slight opening against Choji's Partial Expansion Jutsu.
Choji grabbed a handful of black threads with his hands, anchored his stance, and pulled hard, flinging Kakuzu's body away.
At this moment, Kakashi was accidentally struck by Hidan's scythe. Hidan smiled triumphantly and immediately leaped to a safe distance.
"Kakuzu! I got him!"