Under Hyuga Shin's guidance, Orochimaru became like a wind-up machine with ten thousand questions, thinking whenever he had a spare moment.
His curiosity constantly fueled his thirst for knowledge.
Meanwhile, Hyuga Shin continued his research, though it was genuinely difficult. After all, they were dealing with entirely different systems.
Could it really be necessary to erase the Six Paths' hidden will from each of the seeds, one by one?
That would be far too much trouble. Besides, it would be more effective to let them discover it for themselves.
It would be easy enough to raise the banner of rebellion.
But after so many days without making any progress, Hyuga Shin was growing frustrated.
As for the Tsunade siblings, they had far more freedom. They spent every day training.
Though it was really just Tsunade Hime beating Senju Nawaki one-sidedly.
After this incident, Nawaki had settled down and stopped constantly clamoring to go to the battlefield.
But his desire for strength only grew more intense.
In Nawaki's eyes, if he had been strong enough back then, Kazuya, Chiku, and Yuta might not have had to die.
The threat of war and death could easily bring out a person's potential, especially in the shinobi world.
So, as soon as his body had recovered somewhat, he sought out Tsunade for sparring and worked hard to improve himself.
Tsunade was also somewhat relieved. Thankfully, she had managed to set Nawaki straight. Otherwise, she couldn't imagine how much more worry he would have caused her in the future.
In recent days, the situation on the Rock Battlefield had become less intense. Even shinobi were only human, after all; they needed to rest.
Orochimaru wasn't Danzo. At present, he still cared relatively much about his subordinates.
Besides, he was willing to listen to advice from others. That was one reason so many people would support him becoming Hokage after the Third Shinobi World War.
Hiruzen Sarutobi kept sending messages to Tsunade, urging her to return to Konohagakure.
In just three days, he sent twelve orders in a row, almost as if he were issuing twelve golden summons to recall someone.
Unfortunately, Tsunade wasn't Yue Fei, and she paid him no attention.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had also received the news that Nawaki was alive. He could imagine that Tsunade must be resentful, but he hadn't expected her to treat him with such disregard.
With Tsunade ignoring him, Hiruzen Sarutobi had no real way to deal with it.
After all, Tsunade's strength, status, and influence were no longer things he could easily control.
The Hot Country was a nation filled with hot springs.
It was also a popular vacation destination that many shinobi wanted to visit.
Bathing culture there was very open, and the baths were even mixed-gender!
As a result, it attracted many men and women looking to let loose.
Kakuzu wore black clothes that covered his face, leaving only his green eyes visible. With a Takigakure rogue ninja's Forehead Protector on his head, he looked completely out of place as he walked through the open and carefree Hot Country.
He had come at Hyuga Shin's orders to find a teammate.
For this, he could only take minor jobs along the way, instead of focusing on missions that paid well.
Though these little jobs couldn't satisfy him financially, they gave him a sense of comfort.
Kakuzu was still very eager to take jobs and earn money.
In his eyes, even the ideal of building a Perfect World needed money to pave the way.
Kakuzu truly lived up to Hyuga Shin's faith in him as the Strongest Worker. He already knew to lay the groundwork for what they would need in the future.
Although Hyuga Shin had given him a heads-up to look for places where people had mysteriously died during some kind of ritual, finding Hidan had been no easy task. Kakuzu had wasted a considerable amount of time.
Kakuzu also hadn't expected Hidan to commit his crimes all over the place, then move on after each one.
Perhaps his strength still wasn't enough, and he was worried that shinobi from the Five Great Shinobi Villages might be hired to interfere with his worship of the Evil God.
After all, Hidan was only fifteen or sixteen, and he mainly relied on Taijutsu. He wasn't particularly strong; his secret techniques for the Evil God were the only thing keeping him afloat.
As a result, Kakuzu had to chase after him the whole way, and it had left him deeply irritated.
"Once I catch this brat, I'll make sure he suffers before anything else."
Kakuzu couldn't help but seethe at Hidan, the Evil God's Successor who kept committing crimes everywhere.
That brat was even more evil than him! Under normal circumstances, Kakuzu didn't kill helpless people.
Unless someone went out of their way to provoke him.
That was the dignity of a strong man!
Hidan was different. He even killed ordinary people to spread the word about the Evil God and offer sacrifices!
This also made Kakuzu question Hyuga Shin's decision. He had no idea what qualified someone like this to become his teammate.
But as the perfect worker, Kakuzu would carry out an order from his superior even if he had doubts.
That was one of the reasons Hyuga Shin valued him.
After three days of tracking and searching, Kakuzu finally cornered Hidan!
"Kid, you sure made me work to find you!" Kakuzu looked at Hidan, who stood before him with slicked-back hair streaked with gray and white, a loose kimono, and a blood-red Three-Bladed Scythe over his shoulder. He launched straight into a complaint.
"Who are you? What do you want with me?" Fifteen- or sixteen-year-old Hidan answered boldly, not the slightest bit afraid!
As the Evil God's Successor, he possessed an Immortal Body. If no one knew his weak point, he could even kill them.
If he weren't worried that he was still too weak, he would have gone to the Five Great Nations long ago to spread the word about the Shinigami.
"Kid, you know you're asking for a beating? You made me waste three whole days on you!"
"Do you understand that time is money?"
"You're calling yourself my superior? Looks like I'll have to teach you a lesson before I take you in!"
Kakuzu's tone was hostile, and the killing intent in his eyes was impossible to hide.
"Then come and try! Let's see if you can kill me!"
"Lord Jashin has lost interest in ordinary people. I'm sure he'll be much more pleased with your soul!"
Hidan didn't take Kakuzu's threat seriously at all. Instead, he wanted to turn Kakuzu into a sacrifice for the Evil God.
His Immortal Body gave him tremendous courage!
But he had no idea what kind of opponent he was facing: an old monster with plenty of combat experience.
And Kakuzu, who had been tracking him all this time, had already figured out his strange methods.
They were just too obvious.
The instant Hidan finished speaking, Kakuzu vanished from where he stood.
Thud! A fist slammed into the Three-Bladed Scythe.
"Fast! And so strong!" Hidan had reacted in time to block Kakuzu's attack, but he was still shocked by Kakuzu's speed and power!
The two then began to trade blows with Taijutsu.
There was no need to explain Kakuzu's Taijutsu, and he also had Skin Hardening. Although Hyuga Shin had thoroughly beaten him before, that didn't mean Kakuzu wasn't strong!
Hyuga Shin was simply too monstrous.
Less than a minute into the fight, Kakuzu had Hidan completely pinned down with Taijutsu.
"This guy's definitely strong! At least in Taijutsu, he's way stronger than me! But no matter how strong you are, you'll never escape Lord Jashin's judgment!"
As he fended off Kakuzu's relentless, wave-like attacks, Hidan kept preparing to strike Kakuzu at any moment, take his blood, and offer him to the Evil God as a sacrifice.
He was still too young. Kakuzu could see Hidan's plan plain as day and gave him no chance.
In the end, Hidan couldn't get Kakuzu's blood or offer him to the Evil God. Instead, Kakuzu pinned him to the ground and beat him senseless.
He couldn't even run!
Kakuzu finally understood the exhilarating feeling Hyuga Shin had had when he beat him so badly.
One word: satisfying!
Two words: exhilarating!
After a thorough beating, Hidan's bravado was gone, and he had come to his senses.
He now understood that there was always someone stronger, and there were always greater heights to reach!
He shouldn't keep thinking that possessing a secret technique made him invincible.
The beating also gave Kakuzu a chance to vent his pent-up frustration.
"Now we can have a proper talk!"
Kakuzu looked at Hidan, who had been beaten into a swollen mess and was covered in wounds, and spoke calmly.
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