Near the border between the Land of Waterfalls and the Land of Grass, a man in a black cloak patterned with red clouds, his gray hair slicked back, swaggered along while carrying a huge red triple-bladed scythe on his shoulder.
Not far behind him, Hiruko wore the same cloak and followed at an unhurried pace.
"Sasori, hurry up already! You're so damn slow, it's annoying!" Hidan complained, waving his red scythe.
"I heard the waterfalls in the Land of Waterfalls are spectacular. If we walk too fast, we won't be able to appreciate them," Sasori's disguised, slightly raspy voice came from inside Hiruko.
"We're not here to admire waterfalls! We have a mission, got it? A mission!" Hidan shouted.
"Heh heh, that Seven-Tails Jinchuriki named Kaede is just a little brat. Takigakure doesn't have any powerful ninja either, so capturing her will be easy," Sasori said leisurely.
"I heard that guy has appeared near Takigakure before. If we run into him..." Hidan shot him a sidelong glance, the implication obvious.
Sasori instantly recalled many unpleasant experiences.
The first time he had met Houka, Houka had still been trailing behind Minato Namikaze, and his strength had only been around Chunin level. They had merely caught sight of each other from afar before going their separate ways.
When they met again, Houka's strength had advanced by leaps and bounds, beating Sasori so badly he couldn't tell which way was north.
If he could, he truly wanted to return to the past and kill Houka without hesitation when they first met!
Sasori pushed those thoughts aside and snorted. "Then lure out the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki!"
"A Jinchuriki is an important strategic asset. Would Takigakure's leader agree to that?" Hidan asked.
"Did you forget what happened with Sunagakure's Jinchuriki, idiot?" Sasori said disdainfully.
"I get