The Judgment

Synopsis
Asuma's Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning seems to incinerate Hidan, but the team is shocked to find out that Asuma had been burned as well. As Asuma rushes towards Hidan with his chakra blades, Hidan uses his Retractable Spear to stab himself in the leg; the same injury appears on Asuma's leg as well, and he collapses. Hidan attempts to stab himself in the heart in order to finish off Asuma, but Shikamaru manages to stop him in the nick of time with his Shadow–Neck Binding Technique. Knowing that he does not have much time to restrain Hidan and cannot completely trust Kakuzu to stay out of the fight, he attempts to analyse Hidan and formulate a defensive strategy.

Taking in Hidan's remarks about gods, ritual, curses and preparations, as well as recalling that Hidan did not even try to dodge Asuma's attack after licking Asuma's blood off his Triple-Bladed Scythe and instead had walked towards his Jashin diagram, Shikamaru cleverly deduces that Hidan can only link his body with his opponents after ingesting their blood and that his curse only works while he is standing in his circle. Using his Shadow Imitation Technique along with his Shadow-Neck Binding, Shikamaru manages to force Hidan out of his circle; Kakuzu finds Shikamaru both impressive and clever for having figured out the inner workings behind Hidan's curse jutsu.

After forcing Hidan out, Asuma decides to test his theory by throwing a shuriken at Hidan's ear; it manages to tear off a portion of Hidan's but the damage is not reflected on Asuma's ear. Realising Shikamaru's deduction and theories were correct, Asuma limps towards Hidan. Hidan, trapped in place, asks Kakuzu to step in and save him, but Kakuzu merely states that Hidan had done this to himself by being careless. Asuma then uses his Chakra Blade: Straight Line to decapitate Hidan.