Kuro's Partner

"... ha?"

Deidara looked at the man standing in the center of the platform, expressionless, who called himself a god, with surprise, and subconsciously scratched his head.

So the leader of Akatsuki was a chuunibyou (a person with delusions of grandeur)?

Just as Deidara was silently complaining to himself, a burst of almost ear-piercing laughter suddenly exploded in the empty room.

"Hahaha! Hey, did you guys hear what this guy just said? God?! Hahaha!!"

Hidan, bound hand and Hidan, laughed so hard he almost fell over, completely ignoring the excruciating pain from the swollen bumps all over his face.

Kakuzu felt Pain's icy, devoid-of-warmth gaze directed at them and sighed with deep annoyance.

He glanced coldly at Hidan, who was still laughing wildly, and without hesitation, distanced himself from him.

Hahaha, hahaha!!

Hidan continued to laugh wildly until he finally realized that everyone's eyes were fixed on him, at which point he stopped laughing.

He tilted his head, completely unaware of the trouble he had caused, and looked around with a strange tone:

"Huh? What's going on? Why are you all staring at me like that? Have I done anything weird? Don't you all think what this guy just said was really funny?"

Of everyone present, apart from Deidara and Raiga Kurosuki, who had just joined Akatsuki and were unaware of Pain's strength, everyone else maintained a considerable distance from Hidan with remarkable coordination.

Pain stared coldly at Hidan, his eyes devoid of any emotion, his deep, icy voice echoing slowly across the empty tower platform:

"Was anything I said funny?"

"It's funny everywhere!"

Hidan answered matter-of-factly, meeting Pain's gaze without flinching, and declared fervently:

"Leaving aside those utterly pointless things like peace and non-peace, there is only one person in this world who truly deserves to be called a god!"

"That is... the great Lord Jashin!!"

His fervent shouts were still echoing in the air when the Chakra he had been accumulating within him suddenly exploded, instantly snapping the ropes that bound him tightly!

Hidan gripped Pain crimson Triple-Bladed Scythe behind him and pounced on Pain like a wild beast breaking free from its cage.

"Die, you damned heretic who dares to call himself God!!"

Sasori watched as Pain's silver-haired figure pounced on Pain in the Hidan of an eye, a flash of undisguised surprise crossing his eyes.

What surprised him was not Hidan's incredible speed; on the contrary, the newcomer's performance was simply too weak.

Of everyone present, even someone as unskilled in close combat as himself could easily see that Hidan's fighting style was shockingly crude.

Forget about being a Kage, this guy's level isn't even as good as some experienced elite Jonin!

"Why did Pain specifically hire such a useless person?"

Sasori pondered coldly to himself, his gaze silently fixed on Kakuzu, who had brought this guy over and was now watching this one-sided Kakuzu with amusement.

Seeing Kakuzu's reaction, he narrowed his eyes slightly, then turned his gaze back to Hidan, who was wielding his scythe and Hidan towards Pain.

He had a feeling that something very interesting was about to happen...

Hidan closed in on Pain with incredible speed, and as he looked at Pain's face so close to his own, a smug glint flashed in his still somewhat crazed eyes:

"We succeeded!!"

He roared excitedly, dragging his scythe, which left a blood-red afterimage, and slashed straight down at Pain's cold face!

However, just as the tip of the scythe was about to touch Pain's bloodless skin, a cold glint flashed in Pain's purple Rinnegan.

An ominous premonition instantly welled up in Hidan's heart.

But the confidence that came with his immortality led him to ignore the warnings from his body's instincts and to continue swinging the scythe without hesitation.

If you can get even a single drop of this guy's blood, then the winner... will be him!

"Just obediently become a sacrifice to the Lord Jashin —idiot!!"

Pain calmly looked at Hidan's ferocious face and slowly spoke:

Shinra Tensei.

"... well?"

Hidan froze instantly.

Before he could even realize what was happening, a terrifying repulsive force he had never experienced before, as if it were about to tear every inch of his flesh from his body, suddenly erupted from Pain's body without warning!

Hidan's body was swept up by this irresistible force, and like a cannonball being launched, he smashed through the outer wall of the building and fell into the abyss below!

"Ughhhh!!!"

"Smack!!"

(Hidan Mamba out!)

With a deafeningly loud bang, Hidan's screams came to an abrupt halt.

Hearing the sound of a plane crash coming from outside, everyone fell into a long silence.

"That... that power, is it real...? There weren't even Hand Seals, what kind of Ninjutsu is that?"

Deidara stared wide-eyed at Pain's expressionless face, swallowing hard with lingering fear.

Without a word, he killed the troublemaking newcomer. The leader of Akatsuki is definitely not an easy person to get along with.

Kou first glanced at Deidara beside him, who was so frightened he didn't dare to breathe, then glanced at Pain, who was surveying everyone from the high platform, and smacked his lips with a smile.

Starting by sending Shinra to set rules for the newcomers, it seems Nagato is thoroughly fed up with these gods in Akatsuki.

Pain looked at the now completely silent crowd, nodded in satisfaction, and then, in his icy voice, slowly began the formal group assignments:

[Azure Dragon] Deidara, [Jade Maiden] Sasori

[Vermilion Bird] Itachi, [Southern Dipper] Raiga Kurosuki

[Northern Dipper] Kakuzu, [Three Platforms] Hidan

[Black Tortoise] knocks, [White Tiger] Konan

"The above is the current pairing arrangement determined by the organization."

As he spoke, Pain slowly scanned the crowd, finally fixing his meaningful gaze on Kou:

"Gentlemen, do you have any questions about the organization's arrangements?"

Kou stood quietly in place, feeling Pain's meaningful gaze, a deep surprise flashing in his eyes.

Should I Konan... as my partner?

He slowly raised his head, meeting Pain's gaze without flinching, the light in his dark eyes instantly becoming incredibly deep:

Nagato is Nagato thinking?