90: Chapter 90 Shikamaru's Smoke and the Funeral in the ForestThe Nara clan's dense forest is cold and damp.
The trees here grow wildly, each branch looking as if it's about to tear a piece of flesh off a passerby.
"Run?Keep running!"
Hidan dragged his scarlet crimson scythe, his feet crunching on the rotting leaves.
His face was flushed with a sickly pallor, and his tongue would occasionally lick the corner of his mouth, making him look like a drug addict who had just escaped from a mental hospital.
"Seriously, now that the bearded man is dead, all you kids are good for is running away?"
Not far ahead.
Shikamaru stopped in his tracks.
He had his back to Hidan, his shoulders rising and falling slightly with his breathing.
The surrounding tree trunks were covered with explosive tags with strange runes, which fluttered in the wind.
"Is this the burial plot you chose for yourself?"
Hidan stopped, tilted his head, and his eyes were full of mockery.
"It's very quiet here."
Shikamaru turned around.
There was no fear, not even anger, in those dead fish eyes; only the stillness of a stagnant pool.
"As your final resting place, this is too good for you."
"Huh?A place to die?"
Hidan laughed so hard he almost fell over, tears streaming down his face, as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world.
"Hey, hey, hey, have you lost your mind?I'm immortal!The evil god granted me eternal life!"
The laughter stopped abruptly.
A flash of red light.
The sickle, accompanied by a whistling sound, hurtled straight towards Shikamaru's neck.
when!
Shikamaru blocked the scythe handle with his chakra blade.
The immense force made his hands go numb, and his feet carved two deep furrows in the mud.
"Shadow Imitation Technique!"
The dark shadows on the ground darted out like snakes.
Hidan was already very familiar with this, and his body made a strange twist in the air, easily avoiding the shadow's grasp.
"Too slow!Too slow!"
It flew to the ground, the scythe sweeping across.
Pfft.
The blade sliced across Shikamaru's cheek.
A thin, long wound appeared, and blood seeped out.
"We've caught them."
Hidan stared at the crimson bloodstain on the tip of his scythe, his pupils trembling with excitement.
He stuck out his frighteningly long tongue and licked the bloodstain as if savoring the finest caviar.
Slurp.
"tasty..."
As the blood entered his throat, his skin instantly began to change color.
Black and white skull patterns appeared, and the aura of death instantly enveloped the entire forest.
Hidan pulled out the black spear from his pocket and drew a despairing circle on the ground with his toe.
"The ceremony begins."
Shikamaru stood there, his face deathly pale.
He covered the wound on his face, trying to move, but seemed to be nailed to the spot.
"What?Are you too scared to move?"
Hidan stood in the center of the circle, raising his spear high and aiming it at his heart.
The thrill of having control over life and death sent shivers down his spine.
"Feel the pain!This is the gift of the evil god!"
puff!
The spear pierced down without hesitation.
It runs through the heart.
Blood gushed out, staining the black robe with red clouds on it.
"Well--!"
Shikamaru, who was not far away, suddenly widened his eyes.
He clutched his chest, his throat making hoarse gasps, and he fell straight backward.
Bang.
The body crashed into the mud, splashing up a puddle of black water.
It stopped moving.
"Hahahaha!This is what happens when you rebel against an evil god!"
Hidan pulled out his spear, enjoying the excruciating pain and pleasure of having his heart pierced.
He glanced at Shikamaru lying on the ground, his eyes full of disdain.
"How boring.I thought I could play a little longer."
He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, stepped out of the crimson circle, and prepared to go and support Kakuzu.
However.
The moment he stepped out of the circle.
Bang!
A soft sound.
The "Shikamaru" lying in the mud suddenly exploded into a cloud of white smoke.
The smoke dissipated.
There were no bodies.
There was only a section of a chopped-down log with a graffiti-covered face on it.
Hidan's smile froze on his face.
"ha?"
He rubbed his eyes, thinking he was seeing things.
"What.what is this thing?"
"Shadow Clone Technique?No.that's a Substitution Technique?No, that's not right either."
Just as his mind was in a daze.
A lazy voice came from the shadows deep in the woods.
"So, an idiot like you who just yells and screams is the easiest to deal with."
Hidan suddenly turned around.
The real Shikamaru was leaning against a large tree, tossing a small bottle in his hand.
Standing next to Shikamaru was a blond boy.
Naruto, hands in his pockets, looked at the bewildered Hidan and a wicked smile curled at the corner of his mouth.
"Hey, you immortal old man, did that stab feel good?"
Hidan glanced at Naruto, then at the spot where the "corpse" had disappeared.
"That's.your shadow clone?"
"You got it right, but there's no prize." Naruto shrugged."Transformation Jutsu plus Shadow Clone Jutsu is easier than eating ramen to fool a simple-minded person like you."
Hidan's face instantly turned a deep liver color.
"You bastard!You dare to play me?"
"Playing you for a fool?" Shikamaru sneered, his eyes sharp as knives."That's called tactics."
"But…" Hidan pointed to the bloodstains on the ground, which he had just licked into his mouth, "I definitely tasted blood!The curse should have taken effect!"
As long as the blood is licked, the original body will be damaged, regardless of whether the other party is a clone or not.
This is the ironclad rule of the cult of evil gods.
Why is this kid alright?
Shikamaru shook the small bottle in his hand.
"What you licked was indeed blood."
"However, it's not mine."
At the same time.
Another battlefield a few kilometers away.
Kakuzu, who was pressing Kakashi's attack, suddenly stopped moving.
"Hmm!"
He suddenly clutched his chest and let out a painful groan.
That ZhangFor the first time, a look of astonishment appeared on his usually expressionless face.
Click.
A crisp sound came from inside the body.
That was the sound of a mask shattering.
A heart stopped beating without warning.
"What.happened?"
Kakuzu knelt on the ground, his green pupils contracting violently.
It was not attacked.
There was no poisoning.
His heart just.didn't go away?
The scene shifts back to the dense forest.
"That's your partner's blood."
Shikamaru looked at Hidan, who had a blank expression, and spoke in a calm tone, as if he were explaining a game of shogi.
"When Kakashi attacked Kakuzu, he casually collected a vial of blood.Naruto then smeared this blood on the face of his shadow clone."
"You idiot, can't you even tell how much health your own teammates have?"
Dead silence.
The wind blew through the treetops, making a mournful, whistling sound.
Hidan was stunned for a full three seconds.
Then, he flew into a rage.
"I'm going to kill you all!I'm going to chop you into mincemeat and offer you to the evil god!"
He frantically swung his scythe, trying to charge forward.
"it's over."
Shikamaru did not move.
He simply moved his fingers slightly.
The shadow beneath his feet instantly swelled, transforming into countless large black hands that gripped Hidan's ankles tightly.
But that's not enough.
"Explosive tag trap, activate."
Splash!
The talismans on the surrounding tree trunks seemed to come alive.
The previously slack steel wire instantly tightened.
Hidan suddenly felt his feet sink into the ground.
Boom!
The ground collapsed.
A bottomless pit appeared beneath his feet.
"Varied..."
Before Hidan could react, countless steel wires wrapped with explosive tags bound him tightly, making him hang above the deep pit like a wrapped rice dumpling.
He struggled desperately, but the steel wires dug into his flesh and he couldn't budge them.
"Let me go!I'm immortal!You can't kill me!"
Hidan was still roaring, spittle flying everywhere.
Shikamaru slowly walked to the edge of the pit.
He looked at the madman dangling in mid-air, his eyes completely unmoved.
He took the silver lighter out of his pocket.
Those were Asma's belongings.
The metallic casing still carried the lingering scent of blood from the rainy night.
Click.
Press down with your thumb.
A small cluster of orange flames shot up.
In the dark forest, this light seemed exceptionally warm, yet incredibly blinding.
"Asuma-sensei died because he didn't know about you."
Shikamaru looked at the ball of fire, his voice a little hoarse.
"And you died because you were too stupid."
"That's fair."
Hidan looked at the lighter and finally sensed that something was wrong.
For the first time, the emotion called "fear" appeared in those purplish-red eyes.
"Hey.wait!We can talk!Jiao Du is very rich!I can give you money!"
"money?"
Naruto stood aside, watching this scene, his eyes flashing red.
"Some things money can't buy."
For example, that uncle who always has a cigarette in his mouth.
For example, the word "jade" that wasn't finished.
Shikamaru took a deep breath.
It's as if I can still smell that familiar tobacco scent.
Farewell.
A slight tremor of the wrist.
The lighter, still burning, traced a graceful parabola in the air.
Rotate.
come down.
It landed precisely on the dense cluster of explosive tags covering Hidan's body.
Time seemed to freeze for a moment.
Immediately afterwards.
boom----!
The deafening explosion resounded through the sky.
Flames shot into the sky, illuminating the dark forest as bright as day.
The massive shockwave whipped up mud and rocks, snapping the surrounding trees in half.
Hidan's scream lasted only half a second before being swallowed up by the raging flames.
The so-called "immortal body" was instantly shattered by the close-range bombardment of hundreds of explosive tags.
Severed limbs and mangled flesh, along with charred bits of flesh, fell into the deep pit like raindrops.
Smoke and dust billowed.
Shikamaru stood at the edge of the pit, letting the heatwave hit his face.
He did not close his eyes.
He wanted to watch that bastard go to hell with his own eyes.
a long time.
The explosions stopped.
Only embers remained burning at the bottom of the pit.
Shikamaru poked his head out.
At the bottom of the deep pit, amidst a pile of rubble.
A charred head was stuck in a crevice in the rocks.
Only a head was left.
Even so, that mouth was still opening and closing.
"It hurts.it hurts so much."
Hidan's eyes were still darting around, staring intently at Shikamaru above him, his gaze venomous like that of a demon.
"Kid.do you think this is the end of it?"
"The evil god will punish you.One day.I will bite your throat."
Even if he's reduced to pieces, even if only his head remains, this guy is still alive.
He's a complete monster.
"You can stay down here and slowly unleash your curses."
Shikamaru formed hand seals.
Rumble.
The earthen walls above the pit began to collapse.
Tons of soil and boulders poured down.
"Stop!Stop!"
Hidan's curses turned into terror.
"It's so dark here!I'm afraid of the dark!Kakuzu!Help me!"
No one will come to save him.
The soil buried everything.
That noisy head, along with those vicious curses, vanished completely beneath the thick layer of earth.
The forest returned to its deathly stillness.
Only the newly filled mound of earth resembled an ugly scar.
Several startled wild deer peeked out from the bushes, curiously observing the scene.
The forest of the Nara clan.
This is the deer's territory, and also the graveyard of invaders.
"it's over."
Shikamaru looked at the mound of earth, his body swaying slightly as if all his strength had been drained.
A hand rested on his shoulder.
"Well done."
Naruto handed him a bottle of water.
Shikamaru took the water, but didn't drink it.
He looked up at the sky above, which was fragmented by the leaves.
Rain, I don't know whenIt stopped.
Sunlight streamed through the gaps and shone directly on his face.
It's warm and cozy.
"Naruto."
"Um?"
"Do you think.the teacher can see this now?"
Naruto did not answer immediately.
He raised his head and looked at the sky after the rain, his azure eyes reflecting the clouds, as if he had truly seen something.
"Of course." Naruto turned his head, his face bearing that signature, heartwarming smile.
"Because the flame has already been passed down.As long as the 'jade' continues to shine, he will always be able to see it."
Shikamaru was taken aback.
Then, a bittersweet smile appeared on his lips.
"That bearded man is probably up there right now, smoking a cigarette and laughing at you for crying."
Shikamaru was taken aback.
Then, a bittersweet smile appeared on his lips.
"This is so troublesome."
He wiped his eyes and clutched the lighter tightly in his hand.
The knuckles are turning white.
It was as if what they were holding was not an inanimate object, but a weighty promise.
"Let's go."
Shikamaru turned around, his back to the grave, his steps heavy but much more determined than when he came.
"There are two more hearts waiting for us to harvest."
The flames of revenge have been ignited.
Since it's already on fire, let's burn it all the way through.
Until all the evil is burned to ashes.
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