The group once again set out on their journey to the royal capital.
Lin Qing rode on horseback, Hiruko's Memory Disc in his hand.
He had never expected Hiruko to be friends with Jiraiya and Tsunade, much less that this unlucky newcomer to Akatsuki had mastered an unreasonable fusion ninjutsu like the Chimera Technique.
Lin Qing had made dealing with Hiruko look easy, but his Dark Release could absorb chakra and ninjutsu. It was practically the natural bane of ninja.
Samurai, or Ripple warriors like Lin Qing, found him much easier to handle instead.
"...He joined Akatsuki intending to use its members as weapons against me, then fish in troubled waters and seize my body."
Lin Qing looked back at Hiruko, who lay in the carriage.
Whether Hiruko could fight or not, Lin Qing could not say.
But if he truly possessed the ability to toy with every crafty member of Akatsuki in the palm of his hand, he would not have been driven out of Konoha back then by the Third Hokage, who had seen through him completely.
Hiruko wanted to "eat" Lin Qing, so naturally, Lin Qing would not go easy on him.
Lin Qing had originally planned to extract the disc, kill him, and bury the body. But after checking his memories, he discovered that Hiruko had already fused four Kekkei Genkai. With just one more, he could achieve "immortality."
Lin Qing wanted to give Hiruko a hand.
Once the negotiations between the Land of Wind and the Daimyo were over, he would send Hiruko back to the Research Institute, help him fuse a fifth Kekkei Genkai, and see how his immortality differed from Hidan's undying body.
Perhaps, after some time...
"Mass-produced combat-type Hiruko."
"Mass-produced reconnaissance-type Hidan."
Lin Qing shook his head. The specifics would have to