Hidan and Kakuzu

Under Hyuga Shin's guidance, Orochimaru became like a wound-up "Why Encyclopedia," spending every spare moment deep in thought.

Curiosity relentlessly drove his thirst for knowledge.

Hyuga Shin continued his own research, but it was genuinely difficult—after all, they weren't even operating within the same system.

Was he really supposed to go one by one, erasing the Six Paths' latent will from each seed?

That would be far too troublesome, and letting them discover it on their own would have a better catalytic effect.

The banner of rebellion could be raised easily enough.

But days of hitting dead ends left Hyuga Shin feeling irritable.

As for Tsunade and her brother, they had far more freedom, training day in and day out.

Though it was mostly Tsunade Hime unilaterally beating down Senju Nawaki.

After this incident, Nawaki had settled down, no longer shouting every day about wanting to go to the battlefield.

But his craving for strength had only grown fiercer.

In Nawaki's eyes, if he had been strong enough back then, maybe Kazuya, Chijou, and Yuta wouldn't have had to die.

The threat of war and death easily ignited a person's potential, especially in the ninja world.

So once his body had somewhat recovered, he actively sought out Tsunade for practical sparring, striving to improve himself.

Tsunade was also somewhat relieved—at least she'd managed to straighten out Nawaki's thinking, or else she'd have had no end of worry over him.

In recent days, the situation on the Rock Battlefield had calmed down a bit. Ninjas were still human, after all; they needed rest.

And Orochimaru wasn't Danzo. At this point, he still cared relatively about his subordinates.

Besides, he could listen to others' advice—which was also why, after the Third Shinobi World War, so many people supported him to become Hokage.

Hiruzen Sarutobi persistently sent messages to Tsunade, urging her to return to Konohagakure.

In just three days, he had issued twelve orders in a row, very much reminiscent of the twelve golden tablets recalling a general in a past life.

Too bad Tsunade wasn't Yue Fei—she completely ignored him.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had also received word that Nawaki hadn't died. He could anticipate that Tsunade would hold a grudge, but he hadn't expected her to disregard him so thoroughly.

With Tsunade turning a deaf ear, Hiruzen Sarutobi had no real recourse.

After all, Tsunade's strength, status, and influence were not something Hiruzen Sarutobi could easily control at this point.

Hot Country—a land full of hot springs.

It was also a resort destination many ninjas dreamed of visiting.

The bathing culture here was extremely open, even featuring mixed bathing!

This attracted plenty of restless men and women to come sightseeing.

Kakuzu, dressed in black clothing with only his green eyes visible beneath his black face covering, wore the forehead protector of a Takigakure rogue ninja. Walking through the very open territory of Hot Country, he looked quite out of place.

He was there on Hyuga Shin's orders to find a teammate.

For this reason, even his money-making missions had to be limited to small jobs that happened to be along the way.

Though these small missions didn't satisfy him financially, they gave him a certain peace of mind.

Kakuzu still had a strong drive to earn money through missions.

In his view, even building a perfect world required money to pave the way.

Kakuzu truly lived up to being the Strongest Worker that Hyuga Shin had his eye on—he already understood the need to lay the groundwork for future needs.

Despite having Hyuga Shin's hints, knowing in advance to search in places where people had mysteriously died during some kind of ritual, that bastard Hidan was still hard to find, costing Kakuzu a lot of time.

And Kakuzu hadn't expected Hidan to be committing crimes all over the place, even knowing to change locations after each hit.

Probably because his strength wasn't enough yet—he was worried about hired ninjas from the Five Great Shinobi Villages interfering with his sacrifices to Jashin.

After all, Hidan was only fifteen or sixteen right now, relying mainly on Taijutsu. He wasn't that strong, held up entirely by his Jashin secret arts.

This forced Kakuzu to chase after him relentlessly, building up a lot of resentment.

"Once I catch that brat, I'm definitely going to make him suffer a bit first."

Kakuzu couldn't help but grind his teeth in hatred toward Hidan, that Jashin's Successor running around committing crimes everywhere.

This kid was even more evil than him! After all, under normal circumstances, Kakuzu didn't kill people who couldn't fight back.

Unless someone was stupid enough to provoke him.

That was the pride of a strong man!

Hidan was different—to spread the word of Jashin and offer sacrifices, he even killed ordinary people!

This also made Kakuzu question Hyuga Shin's decision, wondering what qualifications someone like that had to become his teammate.

But as the perfect worker, since the boss had given orders, Kakuzu would carry them out even with his doubts.

That was one of the reasons Hyuga Shin valued him.

After three days of tracking and searching, Kakuzu finally cornered Hidan!

"Kid, you made me hunt you down good and proper!" Kakuzu grumbled at the sight of Hidan—slicked-back hair, gray-streaked, wearing a loose kimono and hoisting a blood-red Three-Bladed Scythe over his shoulder.

"Who the hell are you? What do you want from me?" The fifteen- or sixteen-year-old Hidan was full of bravado, not scared in the slightest!

As Jashin's Successor, he possessed an Immortal Body, and anyone who didn't know his weak point could end up dead at his hands.

If it weren't for his current lack of strength, he'd have already run off to the Five Great Nations to preach about the Shinigami.

"Kid, you know you're asking for a beating, right? You made me waste three whole days on you!"

"Don't you get that time is money?"

"And you dare call yourself 'me' in front of me? Looks like I need to teach you a lesson before I take you in!"

Kakuzu's tone was hostile, his eyes baring murderous intent without any pretense.

"Then come on and try! Let's see if you can kill me!"

"Lord Jashin's gotten bored with ordinary folks anyway. I'm sure your soul will satisfy him a lot more!"

Hidan didn't take Kakuzu's threat seriously at all; instead, he wanted to offer Kakuzu up as a sacrifice to Jashin.

His Immortal Body gave him immense courage!

But he had no idea what kind of being he was facing—a battle-hardened old immortal.

And Kakuzu, who'd been tailing him all along, had already figured out his weird tricks.

Because they were just too obvious.

The moment Hidan finished speaking, Kakuzu vanished from his spot.

Bam! An iron fist slammed into the Three-Bladed Scythe.

"So fast! So much force!" Though Hidan reacted in an instant and blocked Kakuzu's attack, he was still stunned by his speed and strength!

Then the two clashed in Taijutsu.

Kakuzu's Taijutsu went without saying, and he had his Skin Hardening technique too. Sure, he'd been thrashed by Hyuga Shin before, but that didn't mean he was weak!

It was just that Hyuga Shin was too freakish.

Within a minute of fighting, Hidan was completely suppressed by Kakuzu's Taijutsu.

"This guy's definitely a powerhouse! At least way better than me in Taijutsu! But no matter how strong you are, you can't escape Lord Jashin's judgment!"

Hidan fended off Kakuzu's relentless attacks while waiting for a chance to nick him, get his blood, and offer him as a sacrifice to Jashin.

In the end, he was just too young. Kakuzu saw right through his plan and never gave him an opening.

The result was that Hidan couldn't get Kakuzu's blood, couldn't sacrifice him to Jashin, and got pounded into the ground by Kakuzu.

Couldn't even run away!

Kakuzu finally got a taste of the same thrill Hyuga Shin had felt when he'd beaten him down.

One word: satisfying.

Two words: pure bliss.

After a thorough beating, Hidan's arrogance was knocked out of him, and he was brought back to his senses.

He learned that there's always someone stronger, always a higher sky!

That having a secret technique doesn't make you invincible.

It also let Kakuzu vent the resentment he'd been holding.

"Now, can we talk properly?"

Kakuzu looked at Hidan—beaten to a pulp, covered in bruises—and said calmly.