Nagato saw his chance. Controlling the Deva Path, he unleashed a flurry of black chakra rods.
Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!
Each rod pierced cleanly through her glowing cloak—driving into her arms, thighs, and calves, pinning her to the muddy ground like a broken doll.
"It's over," Nagato muttered, exhaling in relief. "We've got her."
But before anyone could move, his eyes widened.
The ground beneath Hinata cracked—splitting open into a gaping, swirling void of darkness.
Her body sank into it and vanished completely.
"What?! Space-time ninjutsu?!" Konan exclaimed, eyes widening. She turned sharply toward Pain, whose expression hardened.
Obito's lone eye narrowed. "She can't escape," he said flatly—but there was tension in his voice.
…
Pfft!
Hinata spat blood as she fell out of the dark portal, collapsing into soft grass. Her Byakugan flickered, the white glow fading.
Her body was riddled with holes. Blood pooled beneath her. Though the Ten-Tails' chakra worked to heal her, the cursed injuries continued to reappear. Each time a wound closed, another opened.
"What… is happening?" she whispered hoarsely.
It made no sense. If Akatsuki truly had the power to wound her this easily, they would've done it from the very start. There had to be something else—a hidden connection, a link.
She replayed the last moments in her mind:
Obito's sudden attack… the blood he took… the strange symbol drawn by Hidan…
Her breath caught. "That's it. His forbidden technique... Death Possession Blood."
Realization struck, but too late. Her body trembled violently; even moving sent agony shooting through every joint.
Still—Hinata forced herself up, supporting her weight with both hands. She yanked one of the chakra rods from her leg with a gasp, then activated her Byakugan.
Her gaze stretched far—ten kilometers, scanning for chakra signatures. When she confirmed the area was clear, she focused her remaining strength.
"Yomotsu Hirasaka."
A pitch-black rift opened before her.
She stepped forward—
Crack!
Her left leg gave way. Then her right. Her spine twisted with a sickening snap. Both arms buckled beneath her.
Her entire body convulsed from the unseen backlash. Still, with blood pouring from her mouth, Hinata crawled—dragging herself through the void, crossing more than ten kilometers through sheer willpower.
…
Back in Amegakure, chaos erupted.
Hidan screamed as Kakuzu, Kisame, Itachi, Sasori, and Deidara descended on him.
"Don't hit his heart!" Kakuzu barked as he kicked Hidan square in the chest. "The damage reflects on her!"
"Then we'll just aim for the rest!" Kisame growled, driving his fist into Hidan's ribs.
Hidan's body flew backward, blood spraying from his mouth. He howled, half in pain, half in twisted laughter. "Fools! Every blow you land—hah—she feels it too!"
Deidara smirked. "Then we'll just break everything but the vital parts. Art is explosion—and teamwork!"
Konan sighed, watching from the side. She seemed tempted to join in but frowned when she saw the brawl devolving into chaos. "Idiots…" she murmured, shaking her head.
Only Obito and Nagato, far from the others, kept their focus.
The portal that Hinata vanished into still hung faintly in the air, like a shadow that refused to fade.
"She's wounded," Nagato said quietly, his voice grim. "But she's not dead."
"Found her yet?" Obito's voice was low and edged with tension.
From beneath the drenched earth, Zetsu surfaced, his pale and black halves splitting as he spread his hands.
"That space–time ninjutsu of hers jumped too far," he said with a faint grin. "Give it a moment... Ah! Found it!"
Guided by Zetsu, Obito and Pain moved swiftly through the rain-slick streets. Before long, they saw her—
Hinata, crawling weakly through the mud, her Byakugan dim and her body soaked in rain and blood. Once the proud Hyuga heiress, she now looked fragile and battered beneath the relentless downpour.
"That's enough," Pain said coldly as he stepped forward, raising his hand. "Your death will bring peace."
The chakra rods materialized midair and shot downward, pinning Hinata's legs before she could move. But in the same instant, her body burst into smoke.
Obito and Pain froze.
Zetsu blinked. "A… shadow clone?"
…
Elsewhere in Amegakure, the real Hinata hid within the ruins of a half-collapsed building. Her breath came slow and shallow as her Byakugan focused through the walls.
Through her vision, she saw Hidan still standing inside his ritual formation—surrounded by his so-called comrades.
They were attacking him, but with restraint. Their blows were heavy yet calculated, just strong enough to hurt—but never enough to knock him out of the formation.
"They're controlling their strength," Hinata murmured. "If he steps out of that circle, his technique fails…"
The memories from her shadow clone returned to her all at once. There was no time left to wait.
"Now," she whispered.
She activated Yomotsu Hirasaka. A dark void opened beneath Hidan's feet.
Before he could react, he fell straight through—and into Hinata's grasp on the other side.
In one swift motion, Hinata drew a kunai and slashed his arm.
No reaction. No link.
That confirmed it.
"So the curse only works while you're standing inside that formation," she muttered, narrowing her eyes.
A shout came from outside. "She's here!"
The next second, the entire building exploded into flames.
"You're back again? You've got some nerve!" Kakuzu growled, turning toward the smoke as his fire technique died down.
Through the rising blaze, Hinata emerged—her clothes torn, her hair matted with ash and blood.
But the moment Hidan's curse was broken, the Ten-Tails' chakra began healing her wounds rapidly, restoring her strength at a visible pace.
"No matter how far I run," Hinata said steadily, her eyes sharp, "it's useless unless I end the cause of it."
Her right hand ignited with chakra, the lion-shaped aura roaring to life. The sheer pressure distorted the air.
She slammed her palm down on Hidan.
BOOM!
The ground beneath her collapsed, the entire building imploding under the impact. Hinata flipped backward, landing atop another structure as debris rained down around her.
Below, Hidan's mutilated body lay motionless. His chest was hollow—heart, lungs, and liver obliterated.
"That should do it," she whispered.
But before she could catch her breath—
"Gaaah! That hurts, you damn brat! I'll make you pay for that!" Hidan's voice bellowed from the crater.
Hinata's eyes widened. "What…?"
His body twitched, his severed limbs writhing unnaturally. Despite the fatal wounds, he was still alive.
"Impossible," she muttered. "His organs are gone. How—?"
Then it struck her. "An immortal body... so that's why."
Her hands flew into a new sequence of seals, chakra swirling around her. But before she could begin, the rest of Akatsuki descended upon her, cutting off every escape route.
The battle resumed in full fury.
Obito and Pain returned to the field, joining the assault.
Hinata fought desperately, her chakra cloak flickering under the relentless pressure.
Every time she felt her strength fading, she drew upon her body's reserves—the immense nutrients and stored energy from all the tonics, food, and medicine she had consumed over the past months.
It wasn't for nothing, she thought.
Everything I ate... every drop of medicine... it's all sustaining me now.
Her body burned from within, her chakra boiling like a storm.
Chakra, she knew, had three balances.
Genjutsu favored spiritual energy.
Ninjutsu relied on balance.
Taijutsu demanded overwhelming physical energy.
Hinata's "gluttony" had long been her secret weapon—fueling the physical endurance that now kept her alive in this nightmare.
But even that was starting to crumble.
"Universal Pull!"
The Deva Path's gravity tore through her momentum, stopping her short of another Yomotsu Hirasaka portal.
"Not again—!" she gasped, raising her arms just in time to block a joint strike from Kakuzu and Sasori.
That was the fourth time her escape had been interrupted. Hinata's breathing grew ragged.
They're too coordinated... too strong... I can't keep this up.
These weren't opponents she could simply overpower one by one. Together, they were an unstoppable storm.
The Yomotsu Hirasaka had already been exposed—using it again under their watchful eyes would be nearly impossible.
Her Byakugan darted between the attackers. If I can't take them all... then I'll take one with me.
Kisame.
Konan.
Deidara.
She had targeted each of them, but they were already anticipating her moves. Dodging her strikes, countering her seals—it was impossible to land a killing blow.
Obito glanced at Pain and gave a silent nod.
Nagato closed his eyes briefly, then raised his hands. His decision was made.
"Summoning Jutsu — Demonic Statue of the Outer Path!"