A/N: And so we come to chapter 30!

I don't own Naruto.


Chapter XXX: Death Comes Calling

Kakuzu barely regained his bearings before Chōji charged again. Kakuzu cocked his own fist back, meeting Chōji's with a boom that sent a shockwave barreling outwards. The Akimichi pushed off, putting some distance between himself and Kakuzu. From the trees, a fireball screamed towards the rogue Taki nin, who narrowly avoided being cooked.

Chōji seized the opportunity, charging once more with both of his enlarged fists clenched and coated in earth chakra. The Akimichi swung wildly, forcing Kakuzu on the defensive. Whatever he couldn't dodge, he blocked. Chōji's massive fists were challenging enough to dodge, the fact that they were as hard as diamonds didn't help much.

Finally, the Konoha nin relented, stepping back and shrinking his fists to normal size. Kakuzu saw his chance and readied his own fist to impale his opponent. At least, he would have, if a blast of air didn't nearly knock him off his feet.

The rogue nin cursed as he got back up, searching for the origin of the wind jutsu. No sooner did a mass of water come hurtling towards him, forcing him to dodge once more. Just as he thought he was in the clear, more water projectiles zoomed in his direction, peppering the ground around him. Small craters were left where he once stood as he zig-zagged.

Kakuzu cursed himself for letting down his guard so easily. Suddenly, an explosive kunai planted itself in the ground next to him. His eyes widened as he jumped back, narrowly avoiding being caught in the blast. By now, he was beginning to wonder if any of this was worth the money. A fireball barreling towards him snapped him out of his financial ruminations. He dodged again, finally catching sight of his attackers, who had leapt down to the forest floor with him.

The Konoha team stood shoulder to shoulder, staring down the Akatsuki member. Ino and Kakashi drew their kunai, while Sakura produced two fistfuls of senbon. Chōji simply readied his fists.

Kakuzu appraised his opponents with a huff. "Well. I didn't expect a ragtag bunch of Konoha shinobi to catch me as off guard as you did, so I must give you some credit." He turned his attention to Kakashi. "I even have the pleasure of facing Kakashi of the Sharingan. In that case, I suppose it can't be helped."

With that, he tossed his cloak aside, revealing stitch-covered arms—the mark of the Jiongu. The rogue nin doubled over abruptly, his back bulging and writhing. A mass of black threads erupted from him, taking shape in mid-air into four strange beasts, each bearing a mask.

The Konoha team readied themselves as Kakuzu straightened. His red and green eyes held nothing but malice.


Hidan charged with a whoop, his scythe pulled back to deliver a devastating blow. Falling into a defensive stance, Sasuke blocked it easily. The crazed Akatsuki swung wildly, sending sparks flying with each impact against Sasuke's blade.

"Hold! Still! You little! Shit!" Hidan's words were punctuated by the clang of steel on steel. A vein on his forehead bulged as he kept pressing his attacks. Try as he might, he couldn't land a hit, which only further enraged him.

As large as the scythe was, Hidan could heft it with ease. Despite the fanatic's impressive speed, Sasuke could track his movements just as easily. Every blow was blocked or parried, and Hidan only narrowly avoided being cut by the Uchiha swordsman. Sasuke blocked another swing, pushing off and putting some distance between them.

Hidan ground his teeth, his eyes ablaze with fury. Tightening the grip on his scythe, he let out a roar as he charged, poised to deliver another devastating blow. Sasuke held his ground, his blade poised in front of him.

Steel met steel once again in a shower of sparks. Seizing an opportunity, Sasuke planted his foot squarely in Hidan's solar plexus, knocking the wind out of him and sending him backwards. As Hidan fought the urge to dry heave and regained his bearings, Sasuke pumped chakra into his legs, charging the Akatsuki.

With a shout, Hidan launched his scythe at the Uchiha. Sasuke swatted the weapon away with his sword, adjusting himself as he dashed towards the madman. Hidan grabbed the cable attached to the scythe, heaving it and adjusting its trajectory.

Sasuke whipped his head around as the scythe once again jetted towards him, cursing when he was forced to skid to a halt and block with a resounding clang. He had to act fast. Using the momentum of the scythe, Sasuke pushed off and brought a hand to his mouth. In the blink of an eye, a fireball was sent hurtling towards the fanatic.

Quickly retracting his scythe, Hidan dodged, the radiant heat of the fireball nearly singing his cloak. Having narrowly avoided being incinerated, Hidan readied his scythe. The Uchiha wasn't on the ground. That much was made obvious when he heard the roar of multiple fireballs bearing down on him.

Hidan sent the scythe flying towards Sasuke, dodging the flames and the blasts. Sasuke channeled lightning chakra into his sword before bringing it up to block the massive weapon. Just as they clashed, the lightning chakra traveled through the scythe and the attached cable into Hidan.

The crazed cultist let out a cry of agony as the electricity coursed through him. He fell to his knees, his scythe falling to the ground with an unceremonious thud. Sasuke kept his distance and held his blade at the ready, watching closely.

Hidan snapped his head up, eyes and voice full of rage. "Hey! That fucking hurt, asshole!"

With a hard yank, the scythe was sent flying back to its owner. Just as his fingers wrapped around the bandaged handle, Hidan felt a wall of heat at his back. He twisted himself around, barely dodging another fireball. He whipped his head around to glance at the Uchiha, who hadn't moved a muscle. Despite his confusion, Hidan charged. Just as he closed the distance, he heard what sounded like a flock of birds chirping. He looked skyward, watching as a swirling ball of lightning careened towards him.

Hidan skidded to a halt, backpedaling to avoid being hit. He smirked as the ball approached the ground in front of him. Suddenly, it exploded. Bolts of lightning arced towards him, sending another jolt into his body, and drawing out another agonized yell. Falling to one knee, he ground his teeth as he looked up, only to find that Sasuke disappeared. He clearly hadn't been the one to send either the fireball or the lightning ball, so who could have?

The madman was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of shuriken cutting through the air. He raised his scythe, swatting them away before turning to the Uchiha who was perched in a tree. With a roar, Hidan sent his weapon flying towards Sasuke. To his surprise, Sasuke leapt off the branch and flew towards the scythe, ninjato raised.

Another clang rang out as Sasuke blocked the scythe, steadfast in his charge. With a hard pull, the scythe reversed, flying towards Sasuke's back. The Uchiha twisted, blocking the wretched weapon once again. As Hidan watched his foe approach, he saw his eyes morph. The characteristic three tomoe had shifted into a crimson pinwheel.

Hidan's own eyes narrowed as he sidestepped the Uchiha. Before the Jashinist could react, Sasuke turned and swung his blade. Hidan winced as the blade sliced through his cloak and into his torso. The cut ran from his left shoulder down to his right hip. He let out a furious roar as he brought his scythe back and swung at the swordsman. Another clang, more sparks, and Sasuke created more distance between them.

Sheathing his sword, Sasuke produced a scroll. With a flick of his wrist, he unfurled it and channeled chakra into the storage seal. From a cloud of smoke, a fūma shuriken appeared. A devious smile crawled across Hidan's face as Sasuke opened the massive shuriken, the blades locking in place with a click.

A cackle escaped the mad sadist as Sasuke sent the weapon flying. Scythe at the ready, Hidan swatted the shuriken away, making a beeline for his opponent. Sasuke fell into a defensive stance, his own ninjato poised.

With a whoop, Hidan brought his scythe up, ready to swing. Until he felt something hard connect with his face and right side. With a sickening crack, he was sent flying into another tree. He groaned as he popped his jaw back into place, glaring at the cloaked blond who stood before him.

The grey-haired Akatsuki clicked his tongue as he got to his feet. "Another one, huh? Guess I'll just have to chop both of you up!" With that, his scythe was sent flying towards the blond, who didn't even flinch as the weapon hurtled toward him.

Another clang echoed through the small clearing. Hidan blinked as the scythe appeared to be suspended in mid-air. The rogue's eyes widened as he saw Naruto holding the scythe up by its largest blade. A smirk crossed the jinchūriki's spectacled face as he met his foe's incredulous gaze.

Naruto threw the scythe to the ground, charging Hidan with bladed fists raised. Hidan barely managed to bring his scythe back to block Naruto's own knuckle scythes. Before the Jashinist could react, a flash of silver crossed his vision. He pushed off, creating some distance between them. Only then did he notice the cable attached to his weapon had been cut. Hidan turned to the blond, seeing a long, broad, serrated blade snaking back into his cloak.

"What in the name of Jashin are you?"

"Part of your reckoning."


The clearing was a picture of chaos. Chōji kept hammering away at Kakuzu with his hardened fists, keeping the masked Akatsuki on the defensive while Kakashi, Sakura, and Ino held off the masked beasts. Finally, Chōji landed a solid hit, sending Kakuzu careening into a tree.

The Akimichi turned on his heel, his fiery eyes glaring daggers at the masked beasts. He zeroed in on the mask with light blue markings—water, naturally weak against earth. Channeling earth chakra throughout his body, his skin darkened, resembling stone. His body ballooned before he started rolling in place. Once he gained enough momentum, he pushed off, barreling toward the beast. With a thunderous crash, the beast was crushed beneath the human boulder.

Chōji finally stopped rolling thanks to the assistance of a few unfortunate trees. Once he returned to normal size, he turned and inspected his handiwork. The remnants of the mask were scattered across the ground, and the black threads that made up the body of the beast seemed to be dissolving.

The Konoha nin let a smirk cross his face, relishing his victory. The smell of ozone permeated the air. He leapt to the side, barely dodging a spear of lightning that surely would have skewered him. Kakuzu's hardened fist connected with his jaw. With a bony crack, Chōji was sent flying backwards. The Akimichi reeled for a moment as he popped his jaw back into place, thankful that he hadn't released his jutsu that hardened his skin.

With one of his masks gone, and subsequently one of his hearts as well, Kakuzu was less than pleased. He could only guess at how the Konoha brat knew to attack the water mask with an earth jutsu. Luckily, he seemed to be the only one that could manage that besides Kakashi. Even the Sharingan user was preoccupied with holding his own against one of the masks.

Kakuzu spared a glance at the lightning mask, which had made itself at home high in a tree. Its mouth opened, readying another lightning spear. Without warning, a hail of senbon whistled towards the former Taki nin, forcing him to dodge lest he be turned into a pincushion.

Sakura leapt from branch to branch, gathering her chakra. She made a beeline for the lightning mask, her fist cocked back. The air around her dropped to sub-zero temperatures, ice forming around her fist. Spikes materialized along the knuckles of the ice-coated fist as she charged.

With a roar, she slammed her fist into the mask, shattering it and destroying the heart it contained. The threads that made up the beast's body sizzled, dissolving into dark grey vapor. The ice surrounding Sakura's fist melted as she leapt away to another tree and made her way to Chōji.

Kakuzu cursed. Two of his masks and their hearts were gone, and he hadn't managed to regroup with Hidan or take care of these Konoha brats. This was worth at least his and Hidan's combined weight in gold, by this point. He at least still had two more spare hearts and the one in his chest, so he'd use what he had to get the upper hand.

He followed the pink hair to where the chubby one had regained his bearings. The rogue nin cocked his fist back, ready to send it flying by his threads and rip out the boy's heart. Just as he was about to strike, he heard chirping coming from behind him. Kakuzu whipped around, narrowly avoiding being skewered on Kakashi's arm.

Though he avoided Kakashi's Raikiri, he couldn't dodge the kunai that the jōnin planted in his side. The rogue winced as the weapon pierced him. Not a second later, a flurry of senbon pierced his back. A scowl marred Kakuzu's masked face as he instantly recalled the wind beast. The creature screamed towards its master, its thin, wiry wings barely flapping.

Kakashi stepped back, avoiding being tackled by the winged abomination as it positioned itself between him and Kakuzu. The mask unexpectedly opened its mouth, gathering wind chakra. Kakashi's crimson eye widened as he attempted to push off and dodge the inevitable attack.

Before the jōnin could create any distance, a wall of wind shot out of the beast's mouth, sending Kakashi crashing into a tree. The Sharingan user gasped as he fought to refill his lungs with precious air. He turned his gaze forward and beheld chaos.

A dome of swirling, super-compressed air surrounded Kakuzu and the masked beast, stripping leaves, smaller branches, and even bark from the surrounding trees. The Konoha team regrouped, putting plenty of distance between themselves and Kakuzu. Even so, they had to shield themselves from the stray debris that was strewn about.

When the dust settled, Kakuzu had disappeared. The team immediately scanned for their foe. Suddenly, they felt a scorching wall of heat approaching. Thinking quickly, Kakashi, Ino, and Sakura flew through hand seals, spitting out a wall of water.

The nearly supersonic fireball smashed into the water wall, reducing it to a cloud of steam. Kakuzu emerged, his face clearly set in a glare beneath his mask. Just behind him, a deformed amalgamation of the wind and fire beasts hovered, the masks now side by side.

Without hesitation, Sakura and Kakashi sent explosive kunai flying toward the fused creature. As Ino fired water bullets at the beast, Chōji and Sakura hardened their fists with earth and ice chakra, respectively. The duo charged, locking Kakuzu in a struggle to block or avoid their combined punches. Kakashi sent fireballs and kunai flying, alternating with Ino between water and fire.

The rogue nin cursed. He needed to get these brats away from him. The two masks were preoccupied, but Kakashi and the blonde couldn't keep using those annoying jutsu forever. Finally, the elemental onslaught ceased. Kakuzu recalled the creature, positioning it behind his close-range attackers.

With a click, the mouths of the masks opened and began gathering wind and fire chakra for another combined attack. Kakuzu let a smirk cross his masked face, relishing the opportunity to incinerate his foes. Sakura and Chōji flinched, feeling the massive amount of chakra gathering behind them.

Unbeknownst to the Akatsuki, Kakashi had repositioned himself upon a tree branch opposite the masked beast. His Sharingan morphed into its Mangekyō form as he concentrated on one of the masks. The air distorted and began swirling, sucking in the mask.

"Kamui!"

A pulse of energy reverberated through the clearing as the wind mask shattered. It and its heart were swallowed by Kakashi's jutsu. The threads that made up the wind beast writhed as they dissolved, leaving only the fire beast to fall to the ground unceremoniously. Kakashi shut his crimson eye as it returned to its normal state, steadying himself against the tree.

Kakuzu let out a roar, swinging wildly and extending his arms with his tentacle-like threads to snake around his attackers. Sakura and Chōji pushed off, regrouping once more with their team and helping Kakashi recover. They warily eyed their opponent as he recalled the last beast to his side.

Rage boiled over within the Akatsuki member. These so-called ninja had somehow managed to eliminate all but two of his hearts, and there was still no sign of Hidan, either. The money, at this point, wasn't worth this much trouble. Kakuzu had already suspected the leader had more than a couple of screws loose, and he'd be sure to air his grievances. He formulated his escape plan: distract his attackers with the fire beast, then go find Hidan and get the hell out of there.

Gathering his chakra, Kakuzu unleashed one last fire jutsu from the beast. Another water wall was reduced to steam. With that, Kakuzu turned and leapt into the forest, using the steam as a smokescreen. The fire beast followed closely behind him, ready to rejoin its master.

Sakura let a smirk cross her face. Finally in her element, she wove through hand seals.

"Kirigakure no jutsu," she uttered.

Immediately, the forest was consumed in a thick fog. Having recovered from using Kamui, Kakashi zeroed in on Kakuzu's chakra signature. Following his lead, the team pushed off and made a beeline for the escaping rogue.

Said rogue cursed as the mist obstructed his vision. He could barely see three feet in front of him, much less navigate this damnable forest. Kakuzu put his head on a swivel, searching for his attackers. He kicked himself for letting his guard down—he should've at the very least incapacitated them before he turned tail.

The rogue nin was snapped out of his thoughts by the feeling of another heart being snuffed out. He turned just in time to see a flash of pink and white smashing the fire mask and destroying the heart. With a furious roar, Kakuzu let his fist fly, aiming to replace the heart with hers. A devilish smirk crossed his masked face when he felt his fist connect.

Kakuzu's smirk disappeared when he felt wood splintering instead of bone. He caught a flash of platinum blonde out of the corner of his eye, and sent his other fist flying towards the girl. His fist embedded itself in yet another tree. He let out a growl as he freed his hands. Just as they reconnected to the rest of his arm, chirping birds invaded his ears.

Before Kakuzu could react, he felt a pinprick in his chest explode into a searing pain. He dared to look down, coughing as he beheld a gloved, lightning-coated hand speared through his chest. The rogue turned his head agonizingly slow and met Kakashi's crimson gaze.

Kakuzu let out one last cough. "Dammit," he croaked. With that, his body went limp.

Kakashi withdrew his arm, which was surprisingly clean of any blood. The rest of the team jogged to where the Akatsuki had fallen. Sakura quickly released her jutsu, making the mist dissolve. She, Chōji, and Ino leaned on each other, their arms around each other's shoulders.

"It's done," Ino stated breathlessly.

Chōji nodded, just as out of breath as his teammate. "Yeah. It's done."

Sakura and Kakashi gave their own silent nods. The latter covered his Sharingan eye, gesturing to the exhausted team.

"Come on, let's go find the others."


Naruto and Hidan were locked in a deadly dance of slashing blades and sparks. Though Naruto could hold his own, he wasn't Sasuke. The crazed Akatsuki finally let up for a split second, allowing Naruto to push off and launch a fireball at Hidan.

The jinchūriki's eyes widened beneath his sunglasses as he watched his foe bisect the fireball with a downward slash. The two halves blew past him, leaving the Jashinist unscathed.

"Nice try, fucker, but your friend already shot enough fire at me that it's more of a nuisance than anything." He pointed his scythe at the blond. "I dunno who or what the fuck you are, but you're gonna be a sacrifice to Jashin."

Naruto growled before creating five linked shadow clones, each donning their own knuckle scythes.

"See how you like this, you crazed son of a bitch!" With that, the blond and his clones charged.

A sadistic smile was plastered on Hidan's face as he let out a maniacal cackle. The madman deftly held back the assault, nimbly bobbing and weaving as he swung his scythe. Despite close combat being his forte, Naruto found himself struggling to land anything more than a glancing cut. Hidan twisted and spun like a deadly whirlwind, laughing the whole time.

Naruto cursed as his clones were dispelled one after another. He retracted his knuckle blades before he twisted his hand and pulled. He took aim as the last of his shadow clones were dispelled and fired.

The Jashinist turned to the whistling projectiles, his eyes widening. He grit his teeth as he dodged the micro missiles, explosions booming behind him. The force of the shockwaves pushed him forward, drawing out another maniacal cackle from him as he charged the blond.

Naruto stood his ground, not drawing any of his weapons. Hidan's cackling grew even louder as he approached. The jinchūriki raised a hand just before Hidan would have decapitated him.

"Shinra Tensei!"

The madman was sent careening into a tree. The impact knocked the wind out of him, making him drop his scythe as he took starved breaths.

Naruto wasted no time. He sped through hand seals, sending a fireball roaring towards the Akatsuki. Hidan regained his bearings just in time to leap out of harm's way. However, another fireball was screaming towards him as soon as he landed. The blond created five more linked shadow clones. With knuckle blades ready, they charged with a collective roar.

"This shit again?" Hidan mocked as he readied his scythe. "I thought you'd be more fun, especially with that party trick you just pulled!"

Once again, the Akatsuki member held off the onslaught. Sparks burst forth as clangs echoed through the forest. One by one, the clones were dispelled again. Naruto watched carefully, waiting for his opening.

Finally, a precious second. Naruto lunged and slammed his right fist into the madman's side. Hidan cried out as the blades sunk into his flesh, crumpling as Naruto plunged the other blades into his abdomen. Naruto clenched his jaw, sinking the blades even deeper.

For a moment, Hidan was motionless. The smell of iron permeated the air. Naruto felt something warm trickling over his knuckles. Suddenly, Hidan twitched. He snapped his head up, staring into Naruto's sunglasses with wild eyes.

Another maniacal laugh erupted from Hidan as Naruto withdrew his blades. The crazed sadist hefted his scythe, swinging wildly at the blond. Naruto blocked the best he could, but Hidan caught him off guard. Even with the enhanced perception his dōjutsu gave him, he found himself struggling to block the accursed weapon.

Hidan continued hammering away, sparks flying as his scythe impacted with Naruto's knuckle blades. He wore a deranged smile the whole time, cackling and hollering with bloodshot eyes. He could tell the brat was starting to lose focus. His torso screamed in pain, but he ignored it. One way or another, he'd chop this annoyance into little pieces.

After a glorified stalemate, Hidan saw an opening. His crazed eyes widened along with his devilish smile. An especially loud laugh escaped him as he swung his scythe. Naruto's own eyes widened as he watched the crimson blades descend, bracing himself for the inevitable.

Instead, a loud clang echoed through the forest. Hidan's expression distorted into one of utter shock, as did Naruto's. Shikamaru's breath hitched as he watched from the side. They beheld Sasuke, his ninjato raised, and what appeared to be a piece of translucent, glowing purple armor around his arm, keeping the wretched scythe at bay. Even Sasuke's crimson eyes were wide with surprise as he stared at his arm.

Hidan leapt back, eyeing the familiar combatant. He suspected that Sasuke was close by, but didn't expect him to intervene, let alone as quickly as he did. The Uchiha's upper body was now clad in what looked to be samurai armor, translucent and glowing purple like the pieces surrounding his arm.

The Akatsuki clicked his tongue before spitting a globule of blood onto the ground, readying his scythe.

"Man, you two cunts are getting to be a real pain in my ass. Come on, let's at least make this fun!"


A/N: Kakuzu is defeated! Naruto joins the fight against the madman Hidan! Sasuke awakens a new ability! Lots of action this chapter, but it was a fun challenge to write.

Translations:

Kirigakure no jutsu - Hiding in Mist Technique/Hidden Mist Jutsu

Jiongu - Earth Grudge Fear

Thanks so much for reading! Chapter 31 is in the works!