“Good afternoon, Tony.
Good afternoon, Natasha.
Good afternoon, Steve. What’s… what happened?”
Hawking had just been summoned, and as usual, he greeted everyone. However, he noticed Steve lying on the ground, looking barely conscious and was momentarily stunned.
“Isn’t Steve supposed to be training with Tony? How did he get hurt this badly?”
“Hawking, watch out!”
At that moment, Tony and Natasha hurriedly shouted a warning.
A strange, crimson three-bladed scythe was slashing towards the back of Hawking’s neck.
“Smack!”
Hawking casually raised his hand and easily caught the handle of the three-bladed scythe.
Such an attack, with that kind of speed and strength, seemed no faster than a snail to him. Naturally, he could catch it with ease.
“It seems your summon has some strength, but it’s useless. Come here!”
Seeing his scythe being caught by the human-like summon of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Hidan immediately exerted force, attempting to pull Hawking towards him and then kill him.
However, Hawking stood firm, and the scythe in his hand did not budge.
“How is this possible? I’ll pull harder!”
Hidan blinked, seemingly unable to believe that Hawking was so strong, and exerted all his strength again.
Hawking remained unmoved, and the scythe in his hand stayed firmly in place.
Turning to look at Hidan ahead, and then at Kakashi and Sai, who were struggling against Kakuzu, Hawking immediately understood the situation.
This was clearly the aftermath of the Temple of Fire being destroyed, and Team 7 was now fighting the immortal duo.
It seemed Tsunade had sent Kakashi’s team based on his prophecy, replacing Asuma.
However, the current situation didn’t seem much better.
Indeed, the immortal duo’s strength wasn’t among the strongest in the Akatsuki, but without prior knowledge of their abilities, they could be extremely dangerous.
Moreover, Naruto hadn’t yet learned the Rasenshuriken, wasn’t proficient in Sage Mode, and had a contentious relationship with the Nine-Tails. Kakashi’s Mangekyō Sharingan wasn’t fully mastered either, so it wasn’t surprising that they were struggling.
“Hawking, can you hold him off for a while? The support squad will arrive soon.”
Seeing Hawking block the scythe, Naruto sighed in relief and began to explain the situation to Hawking.
However, he stopped mid-sentence, eyes wide, gasping in shock.
What did he see? He saw Hawking casually pull, and Hidan, who was at the other end of the scythe, was yanked towards Hawking like a powerless chicken.
Then Hawking delivered a nearly imperceptible whip kick to Hidan’s stomach.
Hidan’s eyes bulged as if they were going to pop out. He flew like a cannonball towards Kakuzu, who was chasing Kakashi and Sai.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
Kakuzu couldn’t dodge in time and was hit by Hidan, crashing through a dozen large trees before stopping.
One of Kakuzu’s Earth Grudge Fear masks shattered on the spot.
“He’s… so strong!”
Standing nearby, Naruto and Sakura, who was maintaining healing, stuttered as they watched Hawking slowly retract his foot.
Naruto knew Hawking was strong, but he didn’t expect him to be this strong. Just one kick sent Hidan flying and killed one of Kakuzu’s lives.
Sakura was even more surprised than Naruto. She had never seen Hawking in action, only knew him to be polite to everyone, loved giving gifts, and often treated people to meals. She had subconsciously thought he wasn’t very strong.
Only now did she realize that this gentle and kind man from another world was so powerful.
“Naruto, what were you saying?”
After retracting his foot, Hawking turned and smiled at Naruto.
At this time, Kakashi and Sai also returned, panting heavily, obviously low on chakra and struggling to hold on.
“Hawking, we need your help. Lady Tsunade will reward you generously afterward.”
Kakashi spoke directly.
Tsunade had told him about Hawking the previous night, so he knew how to communicate most effectively with him.
Hawking’s eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he laughed heartily:
“Kakashi, we’re friends. Naruto is my best friend. Of course, I’ll help.
It’s those two, right? Don’t worry, you rest here. I’ll capture them for you.”
He appreciated people who understood how to ask for help. Though he hadn’t intended to stand by idly.
After all, whether the others lived or died didn’t matter much, but Naruto couldn’t die. If Naruto died, it would be difficult for him to leave Myoboku Mountain.
Despite Jiraiya’s presence, Jiraiya wasn’t as easy to fool as Naruto and was mostly out gathering intel, rarely staying in Konoha.
“Who are you? Are you also a ninja of Konoha?”
At this moment, Kakuzu and Hidan finally emerged from the forest.
That previous attack had destroyed one of Kakuzu’s masks, but he still had three. As for Hidan, his immortal body had already recovered from the shattered bones.
“He’s the summon of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.”
Hidan, stretching his newly healed body, explained.
“Summon? Are you out of your mind?”
Kakuzu’s mouth twitched.
Summons were naturally beasts, though some could take human form, they would retain some beast features. He had never heard of a summon fully transforming into a human.
“Kakuzu, don’t insult me. We’re comrades. I saw with my own eyes that he was summoned by the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.”
Hidan immediately protested.
Kakuzu didn’t bother arguing. Being summoned didn’t necessarily mean being a summon.
This guy’s Taijutsu was so strong, he couldn’t be an ordinary ninja. If he had a bounty at the exchange office, killing him would be profitable.
He didn’t believe they would lose the fight.
He still had three lives, and Hidan’s immortal body meant his combat power hadn’t decreased. Except for the newly summoned helper, the others were almost out of strength.
As for the mask he lost, it was due to an unexpected attack.
“Hawking, be careful. These two, one is called Kakuzu, and the other Hidan. They…”
Taking advantage of the argument between Hidan and Kakuzu, Kakashi quickly briefed Hawking on their information while recovering his chakra.
“The strategy is still to separate them. Naruto, Sai, and I will hold off Kakuzu. Hawking, your strong Taijutsu can deal with Hidan. Just hold them off, the support team will arrive soon.”
“No need for that. I told you, just rest here.”
Hawking disappeared in a flash.
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