Hidan’s body was faring no better.
His Akatsuki uniform was torn to shreds, his once fair skin now completely blackened.
The lava-like patterns on his body pulsed with an alluring glow.
A stream of white, murky steam escaped Hidan’s mouth.
“Hah!”
With hoarse, guttural cries, Lin Nan began to charge towards Naruto and Sasuke, even managing to seemingly tread on air to fly.
“Roar!” As Lin Nan rose, the enormous, blood-red dragon head also lifted, though it lacked a body, appearing as a mere streak of crimson light.
Clearly, Hidan’s body was nowhere near Kai’s level, but it was more than enough to deal with Naruto and Sasuke.
This was the ultimate secret technique of the Eighth Gate, gathering all one’s chakra, even one’s blood and life, into a single, final strike.
Lin Nan recalled that in the original story, Kai, after opening the Eighth Gate, was completely charred, as if all his blood and chakra had been drained. He was saved only by Naruto’s Yang Release, which kept him alive.
However, when Kai kicked Lin Nan in the original, it was as if he had squeezed out every ounce of life from his body, even draining the chakra and vitality from every cell. After that final kick, he simply dissolved into dust, beyond any resurrection, except through Edo Tensei.
It was that very kick that had knocked Lin Nan unconscious. Otherwise, none of what followed would have happened.
Considering Lin Nan’s physical resilience at the time, knocking him out was a remarkable feat.
After all, Madara Uchiha, who had been kicked that badly in the original, remained remarkably spirited.
“This move…”
Sasuke’s face grew incredibly grim as he watched the gargantuan dragon head hurtle towards them with incredible speed.
“What is it?” Naruto, who had never seen this technique before, could still feel the chakra fluctuations that sent shivers down his spine.
Sasuke shook his head, “No time to explain, give me your hand!”
Evidently, Sasuke intended to use Amenotejikara to swap their positions, thus evading the attack.
Because Naruto was near death during Kai’s Eighth Gate technique in the original, he missed the spectacle. Sasuke, however, witnessed the entire event.
It could directly shatter a Sage Body, let alone anything else.
Therefore, they could only evade its power, a strategic retreat. At this moment, stubbornness was out of the question.
Though curious, Naruto knew this attack could not be withstood head-on; evasion was the only viable option.
In the span of those few sentences, the distance between the dragon head and Sasuke rapidly closed, now mere hundreds of meters.
“Roar!”
As the giant dragon roared, both Naruto and Sasuke held their breath. The sheer pressure from such chakra was overwhelming.
The next moment, Naruto realized they hadn’t swapped positions and looked towards Sasuke.
Sasuke’s expression was ashen.
“What’s wrong?” Naruto asked.
Sasuke gritted his teeth, “We can’t move, space feels… frozen!”
“Huh?” Naruto was stunned. Did this mean they had to face it directly?
Sasuke attempted other maneuvers, such as piloting Susanoo’s wings to fly away.
However, Susanoo’s wings remained immobile.
Cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and Sasuke grew increasingly anxious. He glanced at Lin Nan’s distant figure, then at Naruto and said, “Naruto, your Yang Release can heal anything. I’ll help you defend, or we’ll both die!”
Naruto nodded solemnly, then clenched his right fist, his chakra surging.
Sasuke quietly retreated behind Naruto.
Perhaps he was also harboring a plan to kill two birds with one stone.
In Sasuke’s current mindset, Naruto was an obstacle, and thus, Naruto had to die.
However, another perspective was that Naruto, possessing Yang Release, was essentially a weaker version of the Sage Body.
Using the Sage Body for defense was undoubtedly the best approach.
“Night Guy!”
With a furious roar, the colossal dragon head lunged, biting down on the head of the Tailed Beast Mode Kurama.
However, both Susanoo and the manifested Kurama chakra dissolved instantly upon contact with the dragon head, torn apart as if made of paper.
“Hah!”
Naruto clasped his hands together, and a vibrant chakra of life erupted, attempting to counter this Night Guy.
Sasuke also contributed his part, launching Amaterasu directly at Hidan’s body.
Yet, the black flames could only cling to the manifested dragon head, unable to penetrate it. They caused no damage to Hidan’s body and could not even impede his speed.
With the attack so close, it seemed they had no choice but to endure it.
Sasuke gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with complex emotions as he glanced at the back of Naruto’s head.
If Sasuke’s assumption was correct, the “Hidan” before them would enter a state of weakness after unleashing this technique. That would also be Lin Nan’s vulnerable period.
This would undoubtedly be the perfect moment to kill Lin Nan.
But Naruto, after taking this blow, would either die or be severely crippled.
Given Sasuke’s proud nature, Naruto dying at his own hands would be the ideal outcome.
However, under the current circumstances, this was the best course of action.
Both Lin Nan and Naruto were, in essence, obstacles to Sasuke. A mutual destruction would undoubtedly be the most advantageous result for him.
Yet, as Sasuke, though uneasy, resigned himself to this outcome; as the unstoppable, world-shattering kick of Hidan was about to descend upon Naruto’s prepared body.
Sasuke suddenly moved, shoving Naruto aside and facing Hidan’s kick alone.
“Sasuke!”
Naruto’s cry of alarm rang in Sasuke’s ears, but immediately after, Sasuke was struck in the chest.
“Gak!”
A mouthful of blood erupted, and Sasuke’s body rocketed backward like a projectile.
At the same time, Hidan, as if drained of all chakra, plummeted to the ground like a kite with a broken string.
Naruto rushed towards Sasuke’s direction, but what he saw was Sasuke, his chest completely caved in, a truly gruesome sight.
Sasuke lacked a Sage Body, possessing only an ordinary one. Even with a robust chakra foundation, that fact remained unchanged. His mortal flesh, upon impact, was practically blown apart.
Thus, Sasuke was now on the verge of death, his breathing and chakra fluctuations critically weak, like a candle in the wind, ready to extinguish at any moment.
“Sasuke!” Naruto cried out in grief. Without hesitation, he placed his Yang Release-imbued palm on Sasuke’s body.
Yang Release could heal all things. While it couldn’t resurrect the dead or regenerate bone, as long as there was a breath of life, it could save them.
However, the moment his palm touched Sasuke’s body, Sasuke’s eyes froze, and his breath vanished into the wind.