He saw Chiriku clap his hands together, and a massive Senju Kannon statue emerged behind him!
"Nani?!" Hidan was visibly startled. "What the hell is that?!"
"The ninja monks from the Fire Temple are quite well-known," Kakuzu explained grimly. "It's said they can utilize a special power called the Gift of the Hermit Clan! Don't underestimate them. You could die!"
"I've told you already!" Hidan yelled, brandishing his triple-bladed scythe. "You shouldn't talk to me like that!"
Suddenly, the Senju Kannon behind Chiriku transformed into a towering, wrathful Asura statue.
The Asura opened its eyes in a sudden flash, and a massive ethereal fist materialized out of thin air, sending Hidan flying!
Immediately, countless spiritual fists filled the air like a flurry of Senju Asura strikes, pummeling Hidan from every angle with brutal force.
Kakuzu rushed in to assist—but was met with the same treatment and flung away like a rag doll.
All the ninja monks behind Chiriku erupted in cheers. Chiriku's furious expression slowly calmed as the Asura returned to its Kannon form and finally dissipated into shimmering chakra.
"It seems Lord Naruto was wrong," Chiriku murmured, lowering his hands slowly. He looked at the fallen undead duo and said coldly, "There was no need to use that weapon at all. I'll prepare a funeral for you…"
"You bastard," Hidan groaned, dragging himself up, blood dripping from his mouth. "Who the hell would accept a funeral from some damn pagan monk?! You'll be punished by Lord Jashin!"
Hidan then turned to Kakuzu. "This guy ain't a Jinchūriki, so I can kill him according to the Creed!"
"Do what you want," Kakuzu replied, lying on his back, irritated. "But his corpse is worth a lot of money. Be careful—the body might be traced."
"Always talking about bounties and cash…" Hidan snarled, picking up his scythe. "You disgust me. This ain't what real people do, you greedy bastard! And Kakuzu, don't interfere! I'm offering him as a sacrifice to Lord Jashin!"
"Hmph! Chiriku of the Fire Temple!" Chiriku suddenly declared, eyes burning with resolve. "I will never lose to heretics like you!"
He shouted: "Iron Man — Transformation!!"
Undead Duo: "???"
A large iron box next to Chiriku opened with mechanical hissing, dispersing into multiple hovering metal components. Flames engulfed him as the pieces magnetically locked onto his body, forming a complete armor set.
"I will form the head…"
Click!
Within moments, the armor was fully formed. Crimson and silver plating gleamed under the sun, and on his chest, a large scorpion insignia pulsed with light—Mark 5 Suitcase Armor! The fifth-generation portable armor!
It had remained sealed away for years due to the lack of an intelligent control system and a chakra power source—until Sasori, the puppet master, reengineered it...
"What the hell is this?!" Hidan stopped in his tracks. "Is this some kind of puppet?"
Chiriku slowly raised his hand. A pulse of chakra fired from his palm—a repulsor blast!
BOOM!
Hidan screamed in agony as he was launched backward again, smoke trailing from his charred robes.
"Damn it?!" Kakuzu gritted his teeth. "Fire Style: Head Hard!"
A monstrous Earth Grudge Fear mask opened its mouth behind him, releasing a wave of scorching flames like a tidal wave of fire.
Chiriku's armor flared blue as chakra jets burst from the soles of his feet. He launched into the air, dodging the inferno below.
Extending his arms, miniature chakra-guided missiles fired from concealed compartments, screaming toward Kakuzu.
Kakuzu leapt aside—but too late. The missiles twisted mid-air, redirected by hidden guidance seals, and slammed into his Fire Mask.
BOOM!
Kakuzu coughed up blood as the mask was obliterated.
"What the hell is that armor?!" Kakuzu's voice trembled with disbelief.
Hidan came charging again, bloodlust in his eyes. Chiriku drew a long chakra blade from his back, its edge shimmering.
The two weapons clashed—steel and scythe ringing across the battlefield. With a sudden hiss of compressed chakra, the blade's speed tripled. Chiriku's right arm surged with jet power—and in a blinding motion, sliced through Hidan's neck!
"ARRRGGHH! DAMN IT!" Hidan's severed head shrieked, "IT HURTS SO MUCH!!"
Inside the helmet, Chiriku winced as the integrated AI—coded from Sasori's puppet control tech—blared at full volume.
"Hahaha! Naruto didn't lie! ETERNITY IS ART!!"
" Sasori," Chiriku groaned, pressing the audio control, "could you please lower the volume? I'm going deaf in here…"
Chiriku formed another hand seal. The Iron Man armor moved into formation as the massive Asura statue reappeared, now equipped with chakra-enhanced artillery!
Sasori AI linked with the control system and began launching chakra shells from the back-mounted cannons toward the enemy.
Kakuzu turned pale, scooped up Hidan's decapitated body, and sprinted down the mountain trail.
"Damn it all! If I find out which idiot put a 30 million ryo bounty on this guy, I'll kill them! Even if it was 300 million—IT'S NOT WORTH IT!"
"Put me down!" Hidan's head screamed. "I haven't even gone three hundred rounds with that guy yet!"
Chiriku slowly descended from the sky. As he touched the ground, the armor components disengaged and reassembled themselves into the iron box.
Chiriku respectfully placed his hands together and bowed to the box. "Thank you, Sasori ."
He turned to a fellow Fire Temple ninja monk. "Take this Iron Man armor to Konoha. Inform Lady Hokage that Akatsuki has made their move."
"Yes, sir!" the monk replied and departed with the box.
Elsewhere...
Kakuzu stitched Hidan's head back onto his body at the base of the mountain.
Hidan rolled his neck. "Damn... That freak wasn't even a Jinchūriki! Let's get moving."
"No," Kakuzu replied, staring bitterly at the cratered earth. "I need to replenish a heart first. I won't repeat the same mistakes as when we tried to capture the Nine-Tails three years ago..."
With that, Kakuzu walked toward the nearest bounty exchange station in the Land of Fire.
"Asshole," Hidan muttered, annoyed. "I swear I'll sacrifice you to Lord Jashin one day…"
"Shut up and help me get a new bounty assignment," Kakuzu snapped.
Konoha Village — Hokage Building
"Hai!" The ninja monk delivered the iron box. "Lord Chiriku has successfully repelled two Akatsuki members. This is the furniture… I mean, the war armor gifted by Naruto the Mokuton user."
"Understood," Tsunade said, nodding. "Place it over there."
The monk complied and added, "Lord Chiriku also asked me to inform you—one enemy wielded a triple-bladed scythe and survived decapitation. The other used strange masks and could cast elemental ninjutsu independently."
"I see," Tsunade nodded grimly. "Thank you. You may return to the temple and report back."
"Hai!" the monk replied and exited.
"It's as we feared," Shizune said solemnly. "The Akatsuki are actively searching the Land of Fire for potential Jinchūriki locations."
"We can't allow them to escape!" Tsunade growled, slamming her desk. "Dispatch the newly established Team 20 immediately!"
"Hai!" Shizune replied, leaving to execute the order.
Later, atop the Hokage Building...
"Ughhh, why am I attending this gathering?!" Naruto groaned, sprawled on the rooftop. "Everyone here's a Chūnin except me! This is straight-up child labor!"
Thud!
He flopped to the ground in defeat.
Tsunade looked at the twenty assembled shinobi teams. "Any questions?"
Everyone shook their heads vigorously.
"Good!" Tsunade raised her hand. "Move out!"
"Hai!"
With a flicker of chakra, the shinobi teams scattered in all directions.
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