"Hidan?"
The image of Hidan wielding a red triple-bladed scythe immediately came to Gentō's mind.
Gentō understood. At this point in time, Hidan clearly hadn't been recruited by the Akatsuki yet.
He looked at the retainer and asked:
"I remember the Land of Hot Water having its own ninja village. Why come all the way to the Land of Fire to post a mission?"
A flicker of embarrassment crossed the retainer's face. He cleared his throat and said:
"Well... since the Land of Hot Water follows a policy of peace, the village's ninja have become... rather poor at fighting."
Gentō nodded without saying anything more.
The retainer sighed and continued:
"Hot springs are the backbone of our economy. Daimyō and nobles from every nation come to vacation in our country each year."
"But that rogue ninja named Hidan despises peace and spends his days killing for pleasure. Over the past few months, there have already been numerous murders with devastating repercussions."
He adjusted his glasses.
"What's worse, every time he kills someone, he sets up some sort of evil god ritual at the scene, leaving everyone terrified. Now many nobles and daimyō of smaller nations have heard about it and canceled their vacations to the Land of Hot Water."
"If we don't find a way to deal with Hidan soon, our economy... will likely suffer even more serious damage."
Gentō had a clear picture now.
Hidan's strength could reach Kage Level.
The fact that he was still roaming free meant the Land of Hot Water had no one strong enough to subdue him.
He looked at the retainer and asked:
"As for the payment for this mission..."
The retainer immediately grew serious.
"You needn't worry about the payment."
"Hidan's existence has already severely affected our nation's economic lifeline, so we