Kakuzu took quite a while to accept the fact. Akatsuki wanted to capture the Nine Tails Jinchuriki, yet he had now become the Nine Tails Jinchuriki's subordinate. Life really was unpredictable.
The three entered the nearby village together. Its state surprised Naruto. He had only sensed it roughly before and had assumed it was merely an abandoned village, but once inside, he discovered that the air was permeated by a nauseating stench.
Most of the buildings were thatched huts, though their walls were made of packed earth and stone, an extremely antiquated style of construction.
Yet in the center of the village stood something strikingly conspicuous and utterly out of place.
It was a massive curled-up statue. A pair of equally folded giant bat wings extended from its back, and the statue was the source of that foul, bloody stench.
Only when the three approached did they realize that the statue had no facial features. The place where its face should have been carved was completely blank, while beneath its feet lay the true source of the disgusting odor.
It was a pool of crimson, viscous liquid, like mud, with fragments of ghastly white bone faintly visible within.
Orochimaru and Kakuzu were both old hands who had survived the battlefield, and their expressions remained unchanged. Only Naruto could not help but frown slightly. The cult had truly harmed countless people.
"When I arrived, I looked around. Every room in this village was covered in dust. It has probably been abandoned for a long time."
Kakuzu noticed Naruto's change in expression and calmly offered an explanation, lest he be misunderstood.
"Heh heh heh, perhaps this is the so-called Evil God experiment. If one wants to obtain the power of immortality, one must resort to some unorthodox methods."
Orochimaru spoke, glancing at