After leaving Sunagakure, Li Xing returned to Karin and Yugito. Seeing that they were still sealing the Tailed Beasts, Li Xing naturally took up the guard duty.
Two days later, the sealing of the Five-Tails was completed, and the Deva Path of Pain issued the next order.
"Good work. Next is the Six-Tails. Once Itachi and Kisame capture the Jinchuriki, we will seal the Six-Tails and Seven-Tails simultaneously. The Eight-Tails will be captured by Kakuzu and Hidan, and I will personally go for the Nine-Tails."
"Yugito, the secrets of the Akatsuki were not supposed to be revealed to you. However, since Li Xing trusts you and you have completed this task, you are now a member of the Akatsuki. I don't think Li Xing will let you leave, so you will continue to stay by Li Xing's side. The three of you will form a team. That is all. Any objections?"
"I have no objections!" Yugito no longer cared about these things. Whether they were rogue ninjas or the Akatsuki, as long as Li Xing and Karin were there, it was the same everywhere.
"Apologies! I have objections! Kakuzu and I are in the Land of Fire. Why do we have to specifically travel to the Land of Lightning to capture the Eight-Tails? The Nine-Tails of Konoha should be captured by us." Hidan extended his hand, expressing his dissatisfaction to the Deva Path of Pain.
The Deva Path of Pain thought for a moment. It was true. There was no need to waste time. Kakuzu and Hidan capturing the Nine-Tails would save a lot of time.
"Then the two of you will go to Konoha to capture the Nine-Tails! Deidara, Tobi, Karin, and Yugito, the four of you will immediately head to the Land of Fire. Konoha ninjas protect the Nine-Tails quite strictly. If Kakuzu and Hidan encounter trouble, you can quickly provide support."
Although Hidan was very unhappy with this arrangement by the Deva Path of Pain, he couldn't find any reason to refute it. After all, he had been beheaded by some Konoha ninjas before.
...
After dispelling the Super Beast Scroll Jutsu, Yugito explained the Deva Path of Pain's orders to Li Xing. Li Xing was also planning to go to Konoha, so this order was perfect.
"Since the Deva Path of Pain has recognized you, you can wear my Red Cloud robe. You don't need to wear the forehead protector. You can also wear the rings; I'm too lazy to seal Tailed Beasts."
Hearing Li Xing say this, Yugito didn't return the rings to Li Xing. Everything was based on Li Xing's wishes.
"Li Xing! Tobi and I are going to search for Uchiha Sasuke. The mission in the Land of Fire will be handed over to you, understood!" At this moment, Deidara suddenly contacted Li Xing, asking Li Xing to assist Kakuzu and Hidan.
"Searching for Uchiha Sasuke? That Deidara must have been deceived by Obito. However, the current Deidara is no longer afraid of lightning style, so it should be fine, right?" Li Xing thought about the subsequent plot. Sasuke should have just formed Team Snake at this point. Although Karin was missing, Sasuke was the protagonist, so he shouldn't die so easily.
Now, he should go to Konoha to dig up graves. He didn't care about anyone else, but he had to dig up Naruto's parents. Although it was a very immoral act, after experiencing the reunion of Gaara and Karura, Li Xing felt it was necessary to give Naruto a similar experience.
"Karin, Yugito, let's go. We're heading to Konoha."
...
Konoha.
After a few days of rest and holding Sarutobi Asuma's funeral, the Ino-Shika-Cho team prepared to set out to find Kakuzu and Hidan and avenge their teacher.
Just as they were about to leave Konoha, Tsunade suddenly appeared and stopped the three.
"Halt. Where do you think you're going? The enemy is from the Akatsuki, and their strength should not be underestimated. Even Asuma was defeated by them. The three of you are not enough."
"Even so, we have to go. Lady Tsunade, please let us go. We absolutely cannot let those two leave the Land of Fire," Shikamaru said with a grim expression.
Just as Tsunade was about to say something else, Kakashi suddenly appeared beside them.
"Hokage-sama, let me go. Let me lead them in place of Asuma. Naruto is being watched by Yamato, so there's no problem."
Tsunade thought for a moment and could only nod in agreement: "Alright. With you there, even if you can't kill the enemy, you should be able to ensure their safe return."
...
In a forest, Kakashi was discussing a plan with Shikamaru and the others. They had gathered enough information. Shikamaru gave Kakashi a test tube, hoping it would be useful in the battle.
"Wait, I have more information to share. Another member of the Akatsuki, the one wearing a mask, has five hearts. That means all five of his hearts must be destroyed to kill him. However, be careful, that person can detach his hearts and use ninjutsu."
Ino suddenly shared this information with everyone. She hadn't thought of how to explain it before, but it was too late to consider now.
"Ino, how do you know about that person's abilities?" Shikamaru was startled, clearly confused about how Ino knew this information.
Ino covered her eyes, hidden by her bangs, and said, "I'm sorry, I've been hiding some things from you. Actually, this eye of mine can see the structure and weaknesses of some things. The day I saw that person, I analyzed him. Because I didn't know how to explain it to you, I'm telling you now."
What Ino said was a mix of truth and lies. On that day, Ino was only concerned about Asuma and didn't even notice Kakuzu and Hidan, nor did she analyze them carefully. Naturally, she didn't understand Kakuzu and Hidan's abilities.
"I didn't expect Ino to have such an ability. It's a great help. It might be much easier to fight now," Kakashi exclaimed, finding it miraculous. He had never heard of such a special Dōjutsu before.
"That's good. Ino, I'm counting on you!" Shikamaru gestured, indicating that they could now begin searching for the enemy. Ino nodded.
"Ninja Art: Mind Transfer Jutsu!"
Ino directly infiltrated the body of an eagle in the sky, searching for Kakuzu and Hidan from high above. With the specificity of an eagle's eye, she could even see the stones on the ground.
Immediately after, Ino spotted Kakuzu and Hidan in a wilderness and then dispelled the Mind Transfer Jutsu.
"Found them. About one o'clock in the direction ahead. Based on their direction of travel, they will meet us soon. These two are probably heading to Konoha."
"Their objective is likely Konoha to find Naruto. In that case, let's ambush them first." Shikamaru, as the smartest person in Konoha, guessed what Kakuzu and Hidan were going to do with a mere thought.
...
As Kakuzu and Hidan were walking on the road, two dark figures quietly approached them. Both of them sensed something, exchanged glances, and suddenly jumped upwards.
However, above them, dozens of explosive tags suddenly appeared. The explosive tags detonated simultaneously. Hidan used his three-sectioned scythe to hook onto a tree and pulled hard, dodging the explosion.
Kakuzu also stretched out his arm, grabbed a tree, and escaped the explosion range. However, their directions were different, meaning the attack had directly split their battlefield.
At this moment, Shikamaru suddenly jumped out from a tree and threw two of Asuma's chakra blades, which were wrapped with explosive tags.
"Explosive tags again? A boring attack!"
Kakuzu sneered and easily dodged the attack. Hidan also easily dodged it, but the explosive tags that fell to the ground did not explode. Just as they were wondering, they suddenly felt their bodies were out of their control.
"Shadow Imitation Shuriken Jutsu, successful!"
Yes, the previous explosive tag attack was just a diversion. Shikamaru used the shadows cast by the chakra blades he threw to perform the Shadow Imitation Jutsu. And because they were focused on the explosive tags, they overlooked Shikamaru's Shadow Imitation Jutsu.
"It's you again, you cunning brat." Kakuzu saw that it was Shikamaru and felt that this brat was very troublesome. He should have prioritized killing Shikamaru earlier.