[September 14th. After leaving the Land of Hot Water, I used my Earth Grudge Fear technique. What surprised me was that no matter the condition, this heart kept beating persistently. Eventually, something I hadn't anticipated happened—it refused to integrate with my technique. The constant pulsation seemed to be telling me that this thing belonged solely to Hidan. When I returned the container to his body and simply pressed it against his blood vessels, the wound sealed itself in under a minute, without even requiring the assistance of my Earth Grudge Fear threads.]
[September 15th. This guy wouldn't stop cursing at me. Annoyed, I used Fire Release on him. Even though his skin was burned beyond recognition, after a short period of air exposure, the flesh on his head started regenerating.]
[September 16th. I attacked with Fire Release, Water Release, Lightning Release, and various other techniques. As long as his skin wasn't completely sliced off, it would regrow rapidly. His cells seemed endless, regenerating infinitely.]
"Hey, are you done playing around yet? You're just like those bastards who captured me before, trying to dig something out of my body. But in the end, they all failed, didn't they? Ahahaha!"
"I'm telling you, if you ever give me the chance, I'll bite you to death piece by piece and offer your flesh and blood to my revered Jashin-sama! Think about it—how do you think Jashin-sama will respond when I tell him about you? Wahahahaha!"
"Enough with the chatter."
"Chatter?" Hearing Kakuzu's words, Hidan frowned, visibly displeased.
"Talking too much is still better than being a money-grubbing miser like you. You keep going on about 'time is money' and complaining about how this whole trip has yielded no experimental results—just a waste of time and money. You're the real disgrace here."
At that, Kakuzu sat down on a nearby rock and placed Hidan's severed head beside him. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. On one hand, he knew he couldn't outtalk this loudmouth, but on the other, Hidan did have a point. Rather than carrying him around and listening to his endless ranting, it was better to sit down and have a proper conversation. After a moment's thought, Kakuzu changed tactics.
"So, from what you're saying, there were people who experimented on you before? Did they succeed?"
"Hah! Do you think they could succeed against someone like me? I told you, I'm immortal!"
"Oh? Is that so? I don't believe you." Kakuzu's lips curled slightly.
Hidan was indeed a talker, but he wasn't particularly bright. Kakuzu planned to extract some useful information from him.
Before long, Kakuzu got what he wanted.
Hidan was born near the end of the First Great Ninja War. His parents were shinobi from the Land of Hot Water. The country, similar to the Land of Waterfalls, had its own daimyo and ninja forces. At the age of ten, Hidan joined the ranks of the Land of Hot Water's shinobi.
During the chaos of the Second Great Ninja War, when the five great nations were at war, the Land of Hot Water also sent its forces to invade other territories. It was during these battles that Hidan experienced the exhilaration of killing. However, the good times didn't last. When the war ended, the Land of Hot Water faced severe consequences for its actions. Other nations imposed sanctions on it, and even the Land of Lightning began showing hostility toward it.
Given this situation, it was no surprise that the Land of Hot Water's daimyo demanded exorbitant compensation from A of Kumogakure.
Afterward, the Land of Hot Water realized its own limitations. Without the power and resources of a great nation, it was unwise to meddle in large-scale wars. The country decided to reduce its shinobi forces and focus on economic development instead. With this shift in policy, the nation would no longer engage in warfare.
But for Hidan, who had just discovered his thirst for battle, this was unacceptable. His parents had died in the war, and his growing bloodlust was becoming harder to control. Eventually, he defected from the Land of Hot Water, only to be captured by another group on his way out.
Hidan didn't provide too many details about these captors, only mentioning that they wore strange clothing. After capturing him, they locked him in a facility where numerous shinobi and civilians were imprisoned. All of them were subjected to experiments by these cultists. Without exception, the test subjects either died or went insane—except for Hidan. He was the sole survivor.
One day, after being beheaded and realizing he was still alive, Hidan had a revelation—Jashin was real.
With his newfound power, he went berserk, slaughtering every last one of the cultists who had captured him.
After absorbing all this information, Kakuzu nodded.
"How old are you?"
Hidan's severed head frowned as he thought about it.
"How the hell should I know? I just know I've been a devout follower of Jashin for five years now. You wanna join the faith too? Heheheh…"
Kakuzu fell into silence.
Forget it. No point in dwelling on this any further—asking him was useless anyway.
"Where is this so-called Jashin-sama of yours? I'd like to meet him."
Every scientist in the ninja world knew that Hashirama's cells were the ultimate research material, invaluable for their regenerative properties. If Jashin's so-called 'blessings' were real, Kakuzu figured they might be worth investigating as well.
However, in Kakuzu's eyes, Hidan's cellular structure was just as valuable for research. For a proper study, they would have to return to the Land of Dragons. But for now, what he wanted to know was—did the so-called "Jashin" actually exist? If not, then how could Hidan's body be explained?
"Heh heh heh, you must be joking. Lord Jashin isn't someone you can just meet whenever you want!"
Kakuzu stared at Hidan for two seconds. "Even though your brain is clearly messed up, you don't seem to be lacking intelligence."
"Of course! Lord Jashin often praises me for being smart."
At this point, Kakuzu stood up, pulled a sealing scroll from his robe, and summoned Hidan's lower half. Then, with a casual toss, he threw Hidan's severed head forward.
Thud, thud, thud—
"Ow! Damn it, can't you be a little gentler?!" Hidan's head rolled across the ground like a soccer ball until it reached his severed neck. A minute later, he stood up with a pained expression, adjusting his head as the cells at the wound site finally reconnected.
"You bastard, I'm going to kill you!" Hidan was about to attack when he instinctively reached for his waist—only to realize that his scythe and spear were missing. "You bastard! Give me back my weapons!" He stretched out his hand toward Kakuzu without hesitation.
But Kakuzu ignored him and simply said, "I'll make this simple. Let's make a trade—you tell me one wish, and I'll fulfill it. In return, you let me meet your Lord Jashin. If I can't meet him in person, then you'll have to come with me obediently."
"Idiot, why would I—" Hidan started, but Kakuzu took a step forward, his towering frame closing in menacingly. He didn't mind tearing Hidan's head off again and preserving it in formaldehyde. Drowning him over and over again, watching him die and revive repeatedly—he had a hundred ways to make Hidan suffer.
Hidan swallowed nervously. Fine, he'd concede for now—better to live and fight another day. But deep down, he made up his mind: the moment he got his hands on Kakuzu's blood, he'd stab his own heart and let Kakuzu experience the agony of a thousand blades piercing his soul.
"So, have you decided on your condition?"
"Hmm… let me think…" Hidan rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Yeah, Lord Jashin loves the blood of the strong. Aren't the strongest in the shinobi world those so-called Five Kage? Just bring me one of them."
"Alright. Since you're making a request…" Kakuzu started, but then trailed off. Old habits kicked in. He took a couple of steps forward, gazing at the forest ahead, and formed two quick hand seals.
"Fire Release: Intelligent Hard Work!"
Whoosh—! A wave of flames surged forward, engulfing the forest like the maw of a massive beast, reducing everything in its path to ash.
"Oi! What the hell are you doing?! I asked you to help me kill the Hokage, not burn trees!"
Kakuzu ignored him. Sometimes, even speaking an extra sentence to Hidan felt like a waste of time.
The forest was soon reduced to charred remains and swirling black smoke. Kakuzu stomped on the ground and spoke coldly.
"Black Zetsu! Get out here!"
Black Zetsu was intrinsically connected to the land and vegetation. Besides, that sneaky bastard was always keeping an eye on him—there was no way he wouldn't have noticed the commotion.
Ten minutes later, a soot-covered Black Zetsu reluctantly emerged from the ground.
"Lord Kakuzu, what can I do for you?"
"Before we get to that… why did you take so long? You know I hate waiting."
Without warning, Kakuzu smacked Black Zetsu twice across the face, sending him spinning.
Against a tool like Black Zetsu, Kakuzu saw no need for politeness.
"Alright, alright! Lord Kakuzu, I was wrong! Let's get to business!" Black Zetsu's frustration simmered beneath the surface, but he swallowed his pride for now. After all, Kakuzu was useful. The abuse he had suffered at Kakuzu's hands in the past few years might have been worse than anything in his entire thousand-year existence—but he endured. He, too, had made up his mind: once Mother was resurrected, Kakuzu would pay.
Kakuzu flexed his fingers, loosening his joints.
"You keep tabs on more than just me in the shinobi world. Tell me—where's the nearest Kage that would be easy to capture?"
Black Zetsu hesitated for a moment, then cast a fleeting glance at Hidan. Though he quickly masked his expression, Kakuzu still caught the subtle shift in his gaze.
"Heh… So that's how it is?" Kakuzu chuckled. "I thought it'd be something complicated. Turns out, you just happened to notice something interesting in Sunagakure."
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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