Night had fallen deep, and the town of Thunderclap Pass lay fast asleep.
Like a demon blending into the darkness, Hidan landed soundlessly in the plaza at the center of town. He planted the massive Triple-Bladed Scythe into the ground, pulled a leather pouch from his robes, poured its viscous liquid onto his fingertips, and began drawing the first bizarre rune across the flagstones.
It was blood.
He needed more blood to complete this grand ritual dedicated to the Chaos God.
A night-watch miner yawned as he rounded the street corner with a lantern in hand. He spotted the shadowy figure in the middle of the plaza and was about to shout at him.
A cold gleam flashed.
The blade of the Triple-Bladed Scythe sliced precisely through the miner's throat. He collapsed clutching his neck without even managing a cry.
Hidan dragged the still-warm corpse and threw it into the center of the incomplete formation. Pressing his palms together, he began fanatically chanting prayers no outsider could understand. Blood flowed from beneath the body, slowly spreading along the lines he had drawn and gleaming with an ominous black-red hue beneath the moonlight.
"Great Chaos God, please enjoy this first appetizer..."
From the shadows atop a cliff, Kakuzu watched it all coldly.
His five hearts beat steadily, each at its own rhythm. He was calculating. The intelligence said that Yugito, the Two-Tails Jinchūriki, was nearby. Massacring civilians was the fastest way to lure her out. This was a plan proposed by that madman Hidan himself—stupid, but effective.
Time.
Kumogakure's ANBU needed time to notice the disturbance, launch a signal flare, and get word to Yugito. Yugito would need time to arrive as well. That gap was Hidan's window to finish "setting up the altar," and also Kakuzu's golden opportunity to make