Robbery

Walking down the road, Hidan cast a glance at Kakuzu. Although he couldn't see his face, he could clearly sense that the man was in a good mood, counting money as he walked.

Hidan, on the other hand, wore a slack expression, bored and unhappy enough to yawn repeatedly. What was so great about money, anyway? He truly couldn't understand it. "Kakuzu, who is our next target?"

Kakuzu ignored him, only replying after he had carefully finished counting to ensure the amount was correct. "Hengye, a rogue ninja from Iwagakure. According to intel, he's just ahead. However, this guy is very skilled at using Earth Style ninjutsu to hide, so keep your eyes peeled. If you let the money get away because of your incompetence..."

Before Kakuzu could finish, Hidan picked at his ear, interrupting with an annoyed look. "Got it, got it. You know you can't kill me, so stop saying that every single time."

"..." Kakuzu didn't respond to Hidan's provocative tone and kept walking in silence. The main purpose of that remark was to tell Hidan to take things seriously; as for the effect, it was better than nothing.

Hidan slammed his scythe into the dirt, leaving many deep craters in the vicinity. "Argh, so annoying!" He had originally thought that killing someone would be fun, but who would have guessed it would turn into this kind of mess?

Thinking of this, Hidan grew irritated, and his next strike caused even more destruction than before, yet he still missed. He stood up, deflated, watching as Kakuzu slowly sealed off the area, blocking his escape routes. Fine, I'll catch him sooner or later.

Hidan decided to take a break, looking utterly listless. How can this guy run so much? Did he put all his talent points into escaping?

As he pulled out his scythe, he suddenly noticed blood on the blade, and his mood instantly brightened.

Preparing the ritual, Hidan plunged a stake into his own heart and let out a satisfied sigh.

"Lord Jashin, please accept my sacrifice!"

At the same time, in a clearing up ahead, Hengye suddenly burst halfway out of the ground, spitting blood. A hole identical to the one in Hidan's chest appeared in his own heart. He looked dazed. "Why?" He had clearly escaped that meat grinder; after running for so long, how did it end up like this? The next moment, his breathing ceased.

Kakuzu looked at Hidan coldly and walked over to dig the wide-eyed Hengye out of the ground. Because this guy was involved in some of the village's secrets, they had to bring the body back intact to collect the bounty. "Your religion is truly troublesome. Hurry up and pack up once you're done playing; it's time to go."

"What do you know, you bastard? This is a ritual! A ritual!"

However, just as Kakuzu was about to leave, a strange figure suddenly appeared before them. A person wearing a white mask stood there watching them, limbs twitching into different poses as if he didn't know what to do with himself.

Kakuzu's green eyes narrowed as he stared for a moment. He remembered—wasn't this the loser from before who didn't have a bounty? Come to think of it, that new recruit from the Akatsuki organization also seemed to wear a white mask.

Uchiha Gen, who had been following them, was busy contemplating which pose would look the most stylish. Realizing he had already been spotted, he chose to lean against a tree with his arms crossed. "I didn't build this mountain, and I didn't plant these trees, but if you want to pass, leave your toll!"

Kakuzu: "..." Another idiot just like Hidan?

Hidan, unaware of Kakuzu's thoughts, was surprised to see this after packing up his gear. He asked Kakuzu, "You didn't kill him instantly this time. Do you know him?"

"..." The main reason Kakuzu hadn't attacked was that he estimated he couldn't kill him in one hit. Ignoring Hidan, Kakuzu asked Uchiha Gen, "Are you that new recruit?"

Uchiha Gen thought for a moment. Hmm... I forgot Kakuzu saw me in the projection. But it didn't matter; he hadn't intended to use Uchiha Gen's actual abilities anyway. He feigned confusion and said, "What new recruit? Don't change the subject. 35 million ryo, not a single coin less. Pay up and get lost."

Kakuzu: "..."

Hidan burst into laughter upon hearing this, tears nearly streaming down his face. "This kid actually wants to rob Kakuzu! Hahahaha, I'm dying! Kakuzu, if you can't slaughter him, I'm definitely going to mock you about this every single day..."

"...Shut up!"

Kakuzu reached out in anger, and a mass of black threads shot out from his arm toward Uchiha Gen.

However, just as they were about to reach Uchiha Gen, they were blocked by several golden chains. Uchiha Gen smiled. "Want to see whose ropes are tougher?"

Seeing these golden chains, Kakuzu immediately recalled the peak era of the Uzumaki Clan. Could these be the Adamantine Sealing Chains? Thinking of the sealing power those chains possessed, the situation seemed a bit dire...

Seeing Kakuzu hesitating and failing to continue his attack, as if he couldn't quite take him down, Hidan asked, "Hey, hey, need some help?"

Kakuzu wasn't a stubborn man. He frowned and said, "Yes. Watch out for his chains; don't get bound. That stuff has sealing properties."

Uchiha Gen, taking advantage of their conversation, decided to test if he could use Susanoo to strengthen the Adamantine Sealing Chains. To his surprise, after activating it, the chains suddenly multiplied to sixteen, radiating a terrifying pressure.

Uchiha Gen felt he could impose a certain seal on this space, so he did just that. The chains circled the three of them, forming a barrier around the area.

Suddenly, Kakuzu felt the flow of chakra within his body slow down. What was going on?!

The situation felt wrong. Kakuzu looked at Uchiha Gen with a mix of shock and rage. What kind of monster is this guy?

Turning his head, he saw Hidan, completely oblivious, still swinging his scythe at Uchiha Gen! "Hidan, stop!" Kakuzu cursed Hidan for an idiot, but he couldn't let him die so pointlessly.

The next moment, Hidan was swatted back by a chain, smashing into the ground and creating a massive crater.

Due to his immortal body, the damage from this strike was effectively zero. Hidan slowly sat up from the crater, looking annoyed. "Hey, do you know how much that hurts, you bastard!" Even as he said this, he realized the gap in their strength and didn't rush forward again.

Uchiha Gen ignored all of this and repeated, "Robbery! 35 million ryo. Pay up and you can leave, but you have to write your names on the money—both of you."

"???" Kakuzu was bewildered. Based on the strength Uchiha Gen had displayed, if he wanted money, he could just finish them off and take it.

Or perhaps... Kakuzu pondered for a moment. Can a guy with this level of strength not maintain it for long? But a new contradiction arose: who the hell opens a fight with a massive, chakra-draining ultimate technique?

If Uchiha Gen knew what Kakuzu was thinking, he would certainly agree. Just activating this jutsu alone would have drained two-thirds of his chakra if he weren't in an Edo Tensei body, and every attack consumed a massive amount of chakra to fuel.

But who cared about chakra consumption when Uchiha Gen didn't have to worry about it at all?