Hatake Satoru wasn't even trying to hide it. He was carrying a head in one hand, and holding a little red-haired kid in the other.
A kid? Why would there be a kid here?
The way Hatake Satoru was carrying a head and holding a kid was so out of place, it made things feel a little weird for a moment.
Except for Shikamaru, the other three all looked at the kid Hatake Satoru was holding. Red hair, yellow eyes - he was the only one not wearing a mask.
The kid's face looked a bit lost, like he didn't understand what was going on. A kid that age wouldn't be a ninja, so it wasn't strange that he didn't have a headband.
But invaders probably wouldn't bring a kid along, right?
"Were there any kids here before?".
So the only likely possibility was that he brought the kid from the forest.
"That doesn't matter right now! Where are you taking that head!".
"Judging by your clothes, you're not from the Akatsuki either!!".
"How did you know there were people here!".
Shikamaru glanced anxiously at the others. It wasn't that he didn't care about the kid, but if Hidan 14 came back to life, the village would be in danger.
Compared to that, the kid wasn't as important.
Besides, that kid might be someone special too. When he ran over from a distance, Hozuki Mangetsu's quick movements didn't look like a normal ninja.
And the guy who suddenly appeared was strange too, hard to figure out.
Shikamaru remembered Hidan's threat before he died clearly.
He didn't know how he would fix his body, but if someone saved him, he could turn things around.
After going to so much trouble to rescue Hidan, it would be a waste if he just died.
Hozuki Mangetsu opened his mouth as if to say something, but Hatake Satoru yawned.
Hozuki Mangetsu was taken aback and turned to look at Hatake Satoru.
Hatake Satoru said lazily.
"Explaining this is too much trouble, and you don't like trouble either, right~?".
"It's not a bad thing anyway. Well, I'm off~".
"After all, I'm carrying so much stuff, you take some too--!".
Hatake Satoru tossed the head in his hand to Hozuki Mangetsu like a ball.
Hidan stayed silent, not saying anything about being tossed like a ball, acting like he was really dead.
With that guy's simple, bug-like religious mind, if he wasn't yelling right now, he was probably really out of energy and dead.
He probably didn't have the strength to talk.
"Huh?! Ah!?".
Hatake Satoru's throw caught Hozuki Mangetsu off guard, breaking his silent character for a moment.
He scrambled to block it. Hatake Satoru threw it too easily!
It was like the thing wasn't a head at all, but just a normal ball.
"Such a young voice...?!".
"He's young?".
The three ninja were stunned, clearly shocked by Hozuki Mangetsu's voice.
The voice sounded too young. His actions were childish too, like something a kid would do.
But he had a lot of battle experience, even handling the three of them with ease.
And from Hozuki Mangetsu's actions, he seemed to know a lot about the Nara clan's secret techniques.
They had thought the voice behind the mask would be a more mature man's voice.
They never expected it to be a young man's voice.
How could someone like that know so much about what was happening in Konoha lately?
Could it be that Konoha was hiding someone with that kind of power!?
Shikamaru felt like he couldn't count on the others. They didn't realize what kind of opponent they might be facing.
Someone who dared to rescue members of the Akatsuki couldn't be good news.
An opportunity...!
Shikamaru kept watching the two of them while staring at Hidan's head.
He aimed the kunai straight at Hidan's head, which Hozuki Mangetsu had instinctively blocked.
Then he immediately made hand signs, and two black shadows shot out from under his feet, heading straight for Hatake Satoru and Hozuki Mangetsu.
He had to stop them first...! Then he could get that head!
Hozuki Mangetsu scrambled to grab the head. Hatake Satoru paused, then grabbed Hozuki Mangetsu's clothes without hesitation.
Hozuki Mangetsu stumbled, holding Hidan's head tightly. The kunai flew past his cheek.
Hozuki Mangetsu was wearing a hooded coat, and so was Hatake Satoru. They were dressed differently, but they were both hiding their obvious hair.
Shikamaru's kunai knocked off Hozuki Mangetsu's hood. At the same time, Hatake Satoru grabbed Hozuki Mangetsu's clothes and disappeared in front of them.
But Shikamaru couldn't help but see the pure white, smooth silver short hair under Hozuki Mangetsu's knocked-off hood.
But it was only for a moment. They disappeared in front of them instantly.
"A body flicker technique!?".
"Search the area".
Shikamaru was stunned for a moment, then ordered the others without delay.
This area was Konoha territory. If they'd used a body flicker technique to leave, they might still be able to track them.
These people were all strangers, definitely not from Konoha. That gave them the advantage of knowing the terrain.
They had just left the forest, so they wouldn't go back. The others went after them in three different directions.
Shikamaru ran quickly on the ground. This area around Konoha was all forest. If they wanted to leave, they would have left marks.
But at the same time, he felt a bad feeling for no reason.
It was a strange feeling.
Even though ninja who used body flicker techniques would hide their presence, leaving traps or misleading tracks would waste time.
Shikamaru hadn't chased very far, but he knew.
There were no tracks on the path he was taking. It was like that person hadn't gone this way at all.
The distance of a body flicker technique wouldn't be too far, just a temporary move from the original spot.
What's going on with that person....
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