Kakuzu and Hidan Provoke Him? A Curse Formation? Let's See Who's More Ruthless!

At the end of the first month after the empire was founded.

In a secret chamber of the Uchiha Clan Compound, Yuan sat cross-legged on a cushion. Before him floated an encrypted scroll delivered by the dark web's highest-ranking intelligence officer. He tapped it lightly with a finger, and flame burned away the sealing wax.

"On the border of the Land of Hot Water, in the primeval forest, two shinobi wearing black cloaks with red clouds have been discovered. They match the characteristics of members of the Akatsuki. One wields a Bloody Triple Scythe, and one wears a mask."

After Yuan finished reading the intelligence, he casually crushed the scroll into ash. A fanatical killing intent flickered in the depths of his eyes. The Five Great Shinobi Villages had already become his backyard. Now, the only prey that could still interest him were those pieces of trash who called themselves gods.

"Obito, you rats in the gutter... it's time to clean you out."

Without bringing any attendants, Yuan put on a brand-new black high-collared trench coat, slung that pitch-black short blade over his back, and directly used the Body Flicker Technique, turning into a streak of lightning that vanished into the night sky.

The Land of Hot Water was a primeval forest region filled with hot springs and towering trees. A faint smell of sulfur permeated the air.

When Yuan stepped into the depths of this dense forest, the chirping of insects and birds around him abruptly stopped, leaving a silence that made one's skin crawl.

"Tap. Tap."

A crisp sound of footsteps came from the tree shadows ahead. Hidan carried that massive Bloody Triple Scythe and swaggered out from the darkness. His face wore a savage grin that bordered on madness.

Not far away, on the trunk of a giant tree, Kakuzu stood with his arms crossed, coldly watching the movement below.

"Well, well, well! Isn't this the great Uchiha lord who turned the shinobi world upside down?" Hidan pointed his scythe at Yuan and laughed so hard he rocked back and forth. "Kakuzu, look at this kid's tender skin. Wonder if the blood that comes out after I cut him open will satisfy Lord Evil God?"

Yuan stopped, his gaze like he was looking at a dead man. "I hear you don't die. In this life, what I hate most is someone pretending they can't die in front of me."

"You arrogant brat! Taste the judgment of the Evil God!"

Hidan wasted no more words. His feet suddenly exerted force, and he lunged forward like a rabid dog. The Bloody Triple Scythe in his hand carved three deadly blood-red arcs through the air, closing straight in on Yuan's neck.

Yuan did not even blink. His short blade flashed from its sheath. Clang, clang, clang! Three extremely swift blocks in succession; the short blade struck precisely against the scythe's edges, and the enormous recoil directly forced Hidan back several steps.

"Not bad strength! But as long as I nick your skin, you're dead!" Hidan laughed wildly. The steel cable at the tail of the scythe snapped sharply, and that huge scythe actually turned back in midair in an eerie arc, stabbing viciously toward Yuan's left ribs from his blind spot like a venomous snake!

Under normal circumstances, Yuan would not even need to look at this kind of attack. He could simply activate Susanoo and shatter the scythe. But at that moment, a trace of mockery flashed through his Sharingan.

Not only did he not open a defense, he did not even dodge.

"Shhk!"

The sharp tip of the scythe instantly sliced through the sleeve of Yuan's trench coat, opening a cut about an inch long on his left forearm. A few drops of crimson blood immediately stained the blade of the scythe.

"Got you!" Hidan was overjoyed. He yanked the scythe back, did not even look at Yuan, and directly stuck out his tongue, greedily licking the blood from the scythe's blade.

The instant he swallowed the blood, Hidan's originally pale skin immediately turned into a black-and-white skeletal totem pattern. Laughing wildly, he pulled a black spear from his clothes, swiftly drew a blood-red formation on the ground with his foot, composed of a circle and triangle, then stood without hesitation at the very center of the formation.

"You fell for it, idiot!" Hidan stood inside the formation, so arrogant he was nearly deranged. "Now you and I share the same pain! My curse ritual is complete. Get ready to meet Lord Evil God in endless agony!"

Hidan raised the black spear in his hand and aimed it at his own left thigh, preparing to let Yuan taste the feeling of a broken bone first.

"Your ritual?"

A voice colder than a Siberian cold current interrupted Hidan's wild laughter.

Yuan did not panic in the way Hidan had imagined. He still stood where he was and casually slid the short blade back into its sheath. He lowered his head and glanced at the tiny scratch on his left arm, then slowly raised his head and gave Hidan a smile that made one's hair stand on end.

"You want to play pain sharing? Fine. Come on, let's see who's more ruthless."

The instant the words fell, under Hidan's and Kakuzu's incredulous gazes from the tree, Yuan abruptly raised his right hand and clenched it into a fist. A layer of violent lightning-nature chakra instantly wrapped around his fist.

Immediately after, he did not attack Hidan. Instead, without the slightest hesitation, he swung his right fist and smashed it hard into his own left arm!

Boom—!!!

Pure monstrous strength combined with the explosion of lightning, releasing a teeth-grating boom.

Yuan's entire left forearm, from below the elbow, was directly smashed by his own insane punch into a mangled lump of flesh and blood! Shattered bone mixed with blood exploded in midair, and half his arm simply vanished!

"Ahhhhhhh—!!!"

At the same time, Hidan, standing inside the formation, let out a scream so miserable it sounded inhuman. His left forearm also exploded into a cloud of blood at the same instant, as if struck by an invisible giant hammer with a bang. Shattered bone pierced through skin, and blood poured out like a fountain!

The spear fell to the ground with a clang. Hidan was in so much pain that he dropped to his knees inside the blood formation, staring at the madman opposite him as if he had seen a ghost, while that man had not even furrowed his brow.

"You... you lunatic! You're fucking insane! Who the hell smashes off his own hand!" Hidan's features twisted in pain, and the perverted pain tolerance he had always been so proud of completely collapsed in that moment.

Yuan glanced at his empty left elbow as blood dripped down. The curve of his mouth stretched wider and wider.

"I went insane a long time ago. What, you can't take this much?" Yuan took a step forward, and Black Lightning lit up over his right hand once more. This time, he aimed his fist at his own chest. "Did your Evil God never teach you how to run when you meet someone who doesn't care about dying?"

Before Hidan could answer, a dense blue-green light that could not be dispersed suddenly shone from the broken surface of Yuan's ruined left hand. The extreme healing ability of the Strength of a Hundred Technique, combined with part of the Hashirama Cells squeezed out from within his body. The ruined bones and granulation tissue actually began to writhe, reorganize, and grow wildly at a speed visible to the naked eye!

In the span of just three breaths, under Hidan's gaze of utter terror, Yuan's shattered left arm miraculously grew back! Not even the faintest scar remained!

As for Hidan himself, although he could not die, he did not possess regenerative ability. That severed left arm was empty, and blood was still spraying nonstop.

"Does it hurt?" Yuan flexed the wrist of his newly grown left hand and walked step by step toward Hidan, who sat collapsed inside the formation. His voice was like an evil ghost demanding a life. "Don't worry. I'll smash your bones inch by inch and see whether your Evil God can help put them back together."

Just as Yuan was about to crush Hidan's head, the soil behind him exploded with a roar.

Countless black, tentacle-like threads shot out from underground like densely packed venomous snakes, wrapping tightly around Yuan's legs and trying to drag him backward.

Kakuzu finally jumped down from the tree. His outer clothing had already torn apart, and four black heart monsters wearing different eerie masks had emerged from his back.

"Hidan, you idiot. You provoked a monster you shouldn't have." Kakuzu's dark green eyes stared fixedly at Yuan. "This kid's life is worth fifty million ryō... but now I think we might be the ones he takes in for the bounty."