Asuma met up with Shikamaru as Iruka made it to Kakashi.

"You got a plan?" Asuka asked Shikamaru.

"Yeah, I'll bind them with my Shadow Imitation technique and you decapitate them," Shikamaru said.

"Smart plan," Asuma said. He and Shikamaru moved in range and waited. When Hidan and Kakuzu walked under the shadows of some trees, Shikamaru attacked, using the shadow to strengthen his hold. Both immediately realized something was off.

"What the @$%#%^$ happened!" Hidan asked, trying to move. Both were draining on Shikamaru.

"Crap, I'm not going to hold them," Shikamaru said, wait, if I grow to a normal sized height, that would help." Shikamaru then grew to 6 feet tall. The bind was more powerful now.

As Shikamaru strengthened the bond, Asuma came down and decapitated Hidan. The head flew off and hit a tree.

"God $%$#%%^ it! That #$@*% hurt!" Hidan yelled. Asuma looked at the talking head, while Kakuzu tried breaking the bind. But with Hidan decapitated, Shikamaru focused his efforts on the remaining one, a shadowy hand reached up and started strangling the man. Kakuzu saw where the bind was coming from and sent a tendril through the ground to disrupt it. He had to hurry as he felt the hand squeeze his neck.

"Come on Shikamaru," Asuma thought, while Hidan shouted obsenities and for Kakuzu to fix him. Asuma then picked up Hidan's head. "So he can fix you?" he asked before throwing Hidan's head far into the woods. It rolled and fell into the river.

Shikamaru was getting worn from holding this guy. "Asuma, kill him now!" Shikamaru said. At that moment, a tendril shot out and almost hit Shikamaru. He dodged at the cost of releasing his jutsu.

"What an interesting pair you two are," Kakuzu said. before he felt Asuma's blade pierce a heart of his, but the blade was still an inch from his body. "Wind blades, how interesting," Kakuzu said, "You just killed a heart of mine." Kakuzu then countered , by breathing fire on Asuma.

"Asuma!" Shikamaru yelled, moving towards his sensei.

Back with Iruka and Kakashi, Iruka moved into position and threw a kunia at Deidara. The missing-nin dodged easily and both looked towards where Iruka threw it from. But another came from another Iruka.

"I think their trying to trap us hmm," Deidara said as more came from random spots. They were easily deflected by Sasori's puppet's tail.

"I wish they'd just attack. I hate waiting," Sasori said before they both sensed something behind them and saw Kakashi's lighting blade formed and he was charging at them.

"Raikiri!" Kakashi yelled as he pierced and destroyed thtail then puppet's shell. In the shock of this attack, a clone Iruka took the scroll and got out of there. Kakashi also poofed away.

"They were all Shadow clones?!" Deidara yelled, "What do we do now?"

"They went right after the scroll," Sasori said, standing up in his main, 'They probably know what it's for. We should follow them and report in."