Encountering Hidan (Lower)

Ye Wuji had originally intended to soak in the hot springs at this inn, but after seeing Hidan, he felt his time was running short and decided he should hurry off to find the Angkor Fortress. Although, Ye Wuji was also thinking, If I were to finish off Hidan right now, it would likely be the best opportunity. Looking at him now, he doesn't seem to know his own abilities yet; in other words, his Kekkei Genkai hasn't awakened.

However, Ye Wuji quickly abandoned this thought. After all, he was currently in the Land of Hot Springs, and killing someone without any justification would surely lead to him being wanted by the authorities. From Old Boss Ukyo, Ye Wuji knew that while the Daimyo Mansion was primarily composed of samurai, there were still experts among them. They might not be a match for everyone, but if they sent a few squads of guards after someone like Ye Wuji, he would have no choice but to run.

Furthermore, Hidan's immortality had left a deep impression on Ye Wuji. If he failed to kill Hidan and instead caused him to discover his own abilities prematurely, it would only lead to more trouble.

Based on these points, after paying his bill, Ye Wuji walked out of the hot spring inn. As for the location of the Angkor Fortress, he had already inquired about it from Old Boss just moments ago.

Zhu Town was located on the seaside of the Land of Hot Springs, quite close to the border of the Land of Fire. The people there primarily made their living by harvesting pearls from the sea. Because of its proximity to the Land of Fire, it was quite prosperous, attracting many who wished to make money through pearl diving.

Ye Wuji had gathered the basic information. As for how many villages existed near Zhu Town, the innkeeper was unsure. The information Ye Wuji had obtained was that the clues were in Zhu Town; as for the specific village, Shennong hadn't specified. Perhaps Shennong assumed that as a fellow Sky Ninja, one would naturally know the location of the Angkor Fortress upon reaching Zhu Town. This meant Shennong must have left clues within the town.

Ye Wuji walked cautiously along the path in the middle of the plains. After leaving the inn, he felt as though someone was following him, though he didn't know exactly who. He began to pick up his pace; after all, he had been training for quite some time.

Seeing that he was about to exit the plains and enter a forest, Ye Wuji thought that once he was inside, he would immediately use chakra to accelerate and shake off whoever was tailing him. As for who was following him, Ye Wuji had no interest in finding out for the time being.

Just as Ye Wuji was about to enter the woods, two men jumped down from the trees ahead. They were two burly, fat men. Looking at them, Ye Wuji couldn't help but chuckle—they were the same two who had been following Hidan at the inn. When Ye Wuji had left the inn, he had taken a special look at them; after all, anyone hanging around Hidan was worth noting.

Ye Wuji was just about to say something to the two fellows in front of him when he suddenly sensed someone behind him. He turned his head to look and saw it was Hidan, who already had beads of sweat on his face.

"You guy in front, you run pretty fast, making Lord Hidan chase you for so long," Hidan said, panting heavily.

Judging by Hidan's heavy breathing, it was clear he hadn't undergone much physical training, otherwise, he wouldn't be gasping for air after just this short chase.

"What do you want with me?" Ye Wuji asked, remaining vigilant. No matter what, he was facing Hidan, even if the Hidan of today seemed quite weak.

"Kid, you're here to look for relatives, right?" Hidan had caught his breath by now, but his question caught Ye Wuji off guard.

"Yes. I don't know why the three of you are surrounding me," Ye Wuji replied, playing the part of an ignorant child despite his internal confusion.

"That's good," Hidan said, looking quite pleased. "Since you're here to find relatives, and judging by what that old man said earlier, you don't have any other family left, right? Then you must have quite a bit of money on you. Kid, this is a robbery. Hand over all your money, or Jashin will surely punish you."

"You mean... this is a robbery?" Ye Wuji was visibly stunned. He truly hadn't expected Hidan to stop him just for a simple mugging.

"That's right. Hand over all the money you have, and I'll spare you. Otherwise, see them?" Hidan pointed to the two fat men who had blocked Ye Wuji's path earlier. "Da Ye, show him what you've got."

"Sure, Boss," one of the fat men said in a simple, honest voice. Suddenly, the man swung his fist at a nearby tree. With a "crack" followed by a loud "boom," the tree was snapped in half by his punch, and he subsequently knocked over another tree beside it.

Damn, Ye Wuji cursed inwardly upon seeing this. What terrifying strength. Looking at how casually he swung his fist, he clearly wasn't using much effort. This is almost on par with Tsunade.

"How about it? Be a good boy and hand over the money, or if their fists land on you, there's nothing I can do," Hidan said smugly from the side.

"B-Boss, I'm hungry. Can we eat?" the other fat man asked.

"Nakano, wait a bit. Once I'm done here, I'll treat you to a full meal. You can eat whatever you want," Hidan replied.

"Thank you, Boss," the fat man said.

Seeing this, Ye Wuji pondered his next move. If it came to a direct fight, Hidan was actually the least threatening of the three. Judging by the build of these two fat men, they were clearly power-types with immense strength, but such people were usually slow. Furthermore, they didn't seem very bright. If he could take care of them, Hidan would be easy to handle.

Got it. After a moment of consideration, Ye Wuji had a plan. Although I'm not a high-IQ genius like Shikamaru, I used to frequent internet forums back in the day. While this trick wouldn't work on anyone with a normal brain, it should be very effective against these two simpletons.

"Alright, wait a second, I'll get the money out," Ye Wuji said, pretending to reach for the pack on his back. Because he was wearing a cloak, one could only vaguely see that he was carrying something, but no one knew exactly what.

"Smart choice. Hurry up," Hidan urged.

"Coming right up," Ye Wuji said with a sudden smile. In a flash, he moved to the side of the two fat men. With a flick of his hands, two ropes flew out, quickly binding the feet of the two men. Ye Wuji then leaped, using the momentum of the ropes to jump to another tree, hanging the two fat men upside down. Fearing their immense strength might snap the tree trunk, he chose a branch far from the main trunk to hang them from. Once suspended in mid-air, their brute strength would be useless.

After Ye Wuji secured the ropes and walked toward Hidan, the two fat men were just dangling in the air, wailing. In truth, if they had normal intelligence, they could have just swung their bodies to snap the branch and save themselves, but these two were clearly not very bright and just flailed their arms while shouting.

"Now it's your turn. I remember your name is Hidan, right? I'll make sure you remember today forever," Ye Wuji said with an evil grin. Although he couldn't kill Hidan, he could certainly give him a sound beating.

To think I'd get to beat up Hidan from the Akatsuki, even if he is just a kid right now, Ye Wuji thought, feeling quite excited.

"Crack." Ye Wuji clapped his fists together, flashed a wicked smile, and walked toward Hidan.

"You bastard, take this!" To his surprise, Hidan struck first, throwing a punch at Ye Wuji. Unfortunately, the punch lacked both power and speed. Ye Wuji easily dodged it, kicked Hidan to the ground, and proceeded to deliver a brutal beating. After five minutes of non-stop pummeling, Ye Wuji felt refreshed. He thought to himself that if he could beat up Uchiha Madara like this, his transmigration into the world of Naruto would be worth it. Alas, he knew that was just a fantasy.

As for Hidan, who lay at Ye Wuji's feet, he was no longer recognizable. His face had swollen at least twice its size, his entire body was covered in bruises, and he had already passed out.

Looking at the unrecognizable Hidan, Ye Wuji ignored him and walked over to the two fat men hanging from the tree. Fearing their strength, he stood at a safe distance—a spot where he could quickly escape even if they managed to break free.

Ye Wuji picked up a long branch and, from a distance, began to whip the two fat men. Since he hadn't seen Hidan with any partners in the original series, he didn't hit them too hard, but it wasn't light either; he specifically aimed for the fleshy parts. As he whipped them, he shouted, "That's for scaring me! That's for scaring me! You wanted to rob me? Now you know how tough I am!"

Ye Wuji whipped them many times. Although the two fat men were wailing, he himself was exhausted. So, beating people up is also hard labor. Now I finally understand how those villains die—they're all exhausted by the protagonist's 'undying mode'.

"Are you convinced now?" Ye Wuji stopped with the branch.

"We're convinced, please don't hit us anymore, Boss! We won't dare do it again. But I'm hungry, can you give us something to eat?" one of the fat men asked. Since they looked so similar, Ye Wuji couldn't tell who was the older brother and who was the younger.

"Damn, you still want to eat? Not a chance. You've seriously inconvenienced me," Ye Wuji said with a wicked smile. "Just stay there until someone comes to save you. I'm in a good mood today, so I won't do anything else to you. If you dare bother me again, I'll hang you up for a month without food." He knew that for these two, eating was the most important thing, so he used it as a threat.

After saying this, Ye Wuji ignored them and set off toward his destination. Hidan and the two fat men weren't discovered and rescued until the following day.