Just after leaving the Sand Village and preparing to fly back to Konoha, Shikamaru was intercepted by two figures. Both wore black cloaks embroidered with red clouds.
"The immortal duo of the Akatsuki?" Shikamaru muttered, slightly startled. He studied the two men wearing Akatsuki robes, one was a young man with golden hair, while the other wore a mask that obscured his face, though his overall demeanor suggested he was quite old.
"Who are you?" Shikamaru asked cautiously, feigning ignorance of Hidan and Kakuzu. His mind raced with questions. Why would the immortal duo target him?
"Heh, you're the Shadow of Konoha, Shikamaru, aren't you?" Hidan asked with a sinister grin.
"That's me. What do you want? If it's nothing important, I'll be on my way." Shikamaru replied coolly.
"Let's skip the small talk! You've heard of the Akatsuki, right? We're members of that organization!" Hidan declared, his interest piqued as he looked Shikamaru over, the youngest Kage-level ninja in the shinobi world.
"Oh? The Akatsuki, you say? What business do you have with me?" Shikamaru's sharp eyes glinted. It seemed the Akatsuki had truly come looking for him.
"Our organization would like to invite you to join us. What do you say?" Hidan said bluntly, wondering why the higher-ups valued this kid so highly. He didn't look like much, after all. For someone as arrogant as Hidan, the rumors of Shikamaru's prowess seemed laughable.
"Not interested." Shikamaru rejected flatly, unimpressed by Hidan's commanding tone.
"Hmph! It seems you won't understand your place until you've tasted pain!" Hidan growled, pulling out his massive three-bladed scythe.
Seeing Hidan ready to fight, Kakuzu stepped back. Members of the Akatsuki were notorious for their arrogance and rarely worked together, a significant flaw of their organization.
"I'll oblige you!" Shikamaru declared after analyzing the situation. He had scanned the area with his mental energy and confirmed there were no other enemies nearby. This was a chance to gauge the Akatsuki's capabilities. Knowing their abilities inside and out, he was confident he could escape if needed.
With that, Shikamaru dashed toward Hidan, the light of his Shadow Energy flashing in his hand. "Shadow Ninja Art: Shadow Chidori!"
The crackling sound of energy filled the air as Hidan dodged the attack. The Shadow Chidori exploded where Hidan had just stood.
"What kind of jutsu is this?" Kakuzu muttered from the sidelines. It resembled Kakashi's Chidori but was clearly of a different nature. A sinister smile formed on Kakuzu's lips. If Shikamaru refused to join the Akatsuki, he could claim his heart.
Booms echoed through the battlefield as Shikamaru's relentless attacks forced Hidan to dodge repeatedly. Even with his supposed immortality, Hidan couldn't recklessly take the brunt of Shikamaru's jutsu.
"Damn it!" Hidan roared in frustration, humiliated by being forced into such a position by someone so young. As Shikamaru launched another Shadow Rasengan, Hidan ignored it and swung his scythe, determined to draw blood.
With a resounding crash, Shikamaru's attack sent Hidan flying, but not before Hidan's scythe nicked his arm, drawing a thin line of blood.
"Haha!" Hidan laughed maniacally, struggling to his feet. He began inscribing a ritual circle using his blood and the blood on his scythe.
"Curse Technique: Blood Ritual!"
A bizarre pattern formed under Hidan's feet. Shikamaru smirked slightly, an expression Hidan misinterpreted as derision.
"Heh, laugh while you can! Soon, you'll know what it's like to wish for death!" Hidan sneered as he plunged his scythe into his abdomen.
The sound of flesh being pierced echoed, and blood splattered. Hidan activated his curse technique, eagerly awaiting Shikamaru's collapse.
"What are you doing?" Shikamaru's voice rang mockingly in Hidan's ears.
Hidan turned to see Shikamaru standing unscathed, his smirk deepening. "Shadow Ninja Art: Shadow Imitation Technique!"
"What?! That's impossible!" Hidan exclaimed, struggling against the shadow binding him. He couldn't understand why his curse hadn't worked, he'd collected Shikamaru's blood!
"Nothing is impossible." Shikamaru said coldly. In truth, he had anticipated Hidan's abilities and used a simple genjutsu to deceive him. The blood Hidan thought he had collected was his own.
Without hesitation, Shikamaru activated another technique. "Shadow Ninja Art: Shadow Extraction!"
He began pulling Hidan's shadow toward him. From a distance, Kakuzu watched with narrowed eyes but made no move to intervene. Hidan's arrogance had long been a source of irritation for him, and he saw no reason to help.
"Let go of me, brat!" Hidan yelled, his voice tinged with panic. Although he didn't feel pain, an ominous sense of dread consumed him.
"You claim to have an immortal body, so what's there to fear?" Shikamaru taunted, continuing to extract Hidan's shadow.
As the last fragment of Hidan's shadow merged into Shikamaru, the effects were immediate. The supposed immortality Hidan had relied on began to fail. Consumed by sunlight, his body started to burn.
Kakuzu's eyes widened in shock as Shikamaru's shadow technique rendered Hidan powerless. Recognizing the danger, he launched a combined wind and fire attack toward Shikamaru.
Shikamaru evaded the attack effortlessly, spreading his shadow wings and taking to the skies. Kakuzu's attack incinerated Hidan's remains, accelerating his demise.
With Hidan gone, Shikamaru turned his attention to Kakuzu, who now faced him alone. The battle raged on, with both combatants displaying their immense skills. Finally, Shikamaru overwhelmed Kakuzu with a devastating Shadow Rasengan, leaving nothing of his opponent behind.
Exhausted but victorious, Shikamaru hovered in the air, his shadow wings flickering. He muttered to himself, "So, Akatsuki... it seems our paths are destined to clash."
With that, he returned to Konoha to consolidate his newfound abilities, knowing full well this was only the beginning of a larger conflict.
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