"Don't be nervous. I have some very important information to give you for free."
Shirozumi's gaze returned to Kurotsuchi, and he glanced back at Ōnoki as well.
"What information?"
Kurotsuchi looked tense, her hands hovering in front of her, ready to form Hand Seals and face an enemy at any moment.
Wasn't this how it always went in novels and movies?
—I'm going to borrow something from you. —What? —Your head!
—Here's some free information. —What information? —We're invading Iwagakure!
Shirozumi ignored Kurotsuchi's wild imaginings and spoke directly:
"Our organization has a Rogue Ninja from the Land of Hot Water. He follows the Jashin Cult, and his ability is called Death Possession Blood.
The effects of this technique are terrifying.
As long as he gets an enemy's blood, he can activate a curse. Any damage he takes is reflected onto his enemy.
And Hidan himself is immortal. You can't kill him by piercing his heart or cutting off his head."
"There's a technique like that?! Is that for real?"
Kurotsuchi shivered as she listened to Shirozumi's description.
"There was indeed a report that a serial killer had appeared in the Land of Hot Water. A strange circle-and-triangle symbol was found near the victims.
The people of the Land of Hot Water even sent someone to ask for our help.
But by the time our people arrived, the killer had disappeared. Was he the one your organization recruited?"
Ōnoki's voice came from nearby.
"Really?"
Kurotsuchi was stunned.
Her grandfather Ōnoki's words confirmed that what the other man had said was true.
But Ōnoki paid no attention to his granddaughter's feelings. He no longer had the slightest interest in watching Deidara in the cave to see if he would escape. He activated the Light-Weight Rock Technique and floated over beside Kurotsuchi, in front of Shirozumi.
"If what you say is true, this forbidden technique is indeed terrifying. But its most terrifying aspect must be the fact that no one knows about it.
Ninjas inevitably get injured when they fight.
Even in a battle between ninjas with a huge gap in strength, the stronger one might let his guard down and suffer a few superficial wounds, draw a little blood...
If this forbidden technique is used then, it would be...
So why? Why go out of your way to tell us this? You must have some kind of ulterior motive!"
Sometimes, having too much combat experience wasn't a good thing.
Shirozumi's revelation about Hidan was so bizarre and illogical that Ōnoki's alarm bells rang. He felt deeply uneasy.
It was as if some earth-shattering conspiracy were afoot.
"The goal is simple: deterrence."
"Deterrence?"
Ōnoki repeated the word to himself, seemingly mulling over its meaning.
But Shirozumi helpfully explained at once. "That's right, deterrence. As I just told her, our organization is one that loves peace.
Since we love peace, we naturally don't want to achieve our goals through fighting and killing.
Wouldn't it be a win-win if we could deter our opponents and make them give up on their own?"
"You want to follow the example of the Yellow Flash?"
At Shirozumi's words, Ōnoki immediately thought of the man who had once made the other villages agree that they could abandon their missions as soon as they encountered him.
"Flying Thunder God is certainly terrifying. If Minato Namikaze weren't such an honorable man, he could have left a mark on you, Tsuchikage, or your son, then used Flying Thunder God to visit every night. Miss Kurotsuchi's hair might be yellow by now."
Shirozumi stroked his chin, pretending to ponder.
"...!"
Ōnoki was so furious he couldn't speak.
"Ugh—!"
A scream suddenly rang out, drawing everyone's attention.
The Iwagakure Ninja who had attacked Shirozumi earlier, the one called Shizun, was clutching his right shoulder in agony.
His entire right arm was gone.
From the noise below, it seemed to have suddenly broken off and fallen.
"What is this?!"
Ōnoki's eyes widened.
"I know that just telling you isn't enough to deter you.
Since you have someone here who stepped forward to kill me, I'm sure he was ready to be killed too, right?"
Shirozumi snapped his fingers at the Iwagakure Ninja called Shizun.
Shizun's right leg abruptly broke off. Blood sprayed across a section of the rock wall.
After losing his leg, Shizun could no longer endure the intense pain and fear. The Chakra in the sole of his one remaining foot, planted against the steep rock face, could no longer gather. He plunged straight down.
Splat.
He was dead.
Who knew what would happen when Hidan encountered a target who had already died ahead of time?
"Is this what you call loving peace?"
Kurotsuchi glanced at the pool of mush below, then glared at Shirozumi.
"How is this not loving peace? They say that carrying a sharp weapon breeds murderous intent.
I just dealt with someone who wanted to kill me. What's the problem?
As the old saying goes, it's better to resolve a feud than to let it grow.
That means when you meet an enemy, don't try to befriend them. You have to deal with them.
If you can't stand this and want to call me cruel already,
then give me a few names, or I can pick a few people at random and let you—"
"That won't be necessary!"
Ōnoki interrupted Shirozumi.
Shirozumi's show of force reminded Ōnoki of the nightmare of his life: Madara Uchiha.
Madara had possessed overwhelming strength, yet he hadn't killed them.
For years, Ōnoki had wondered why Madara hadn't killed them.
Ōnoki quickly shook his head, driving the thought away.
This man had only found a clever trick. He wasn't capable of what Madara Uchiha could do.
"Shizun had fought you before. Did you get his blood then?"
Ōnoki asked.
"Don't bother testing us. If we only had his blood, how would that count as deterrence?
Besides, everyone in our organization is at least as strong as Deidara.
Do you think that if that guy really ran into us, he'd get away with nothing worse than an injury and having his blood collected?"
Shirozumi chuckled.
"You mean... there's someone else?"
Ōnoki floated there, still afraid to guess.
"For example, you, Tsuchikage."
"Impossible!"
Ōnoki immediately denied it. "I've never fought you, and even if I've been injured fighting other ninjas, that was a long time ago..."
"Ha ha ha ha! You didn't think of this, did you, old man? You haven't been injured, but you've got hemorrhoids! You bleed all the time, so collecting your blood is a piece of cake!"
Deidara's loud, brazen laughter came from inside the cave.
At the sound of Deidara's laughter, Ōnoki and Kurotsuchi were both surprised.
In fact, when they'd watched Shirozumi talking with Konan earlier, they'd already assumed Deidara had escaped.
Who would've thought he still hadn't left?
But once the laughter faded, they had no time to dwell on it.
What came next made their expressions change in completely different ways.
Ōnoki's face turned red and twisted with rage.
Even more twisted than when Shirozumi had said Minato Namikaze could sneak over every night and cuckold him.
Kurotsuchi couldn't help laughing. But as soon as she finished, she immediately realized something was wrong.
—If they could get the old man's hemorrhoid blood and use it to perform that Death Possession Blood thing, then what about her?
Oh no. Could it be?
Kurotsuchi stared at Shirozumi in terror.
Before you continue