The Cursed Treasure Map

No matter how unwilling Shinji was, he still set off with Hidan.

And just as Cult Leader Takihata had said, no one seemed to have been sent to follow them, as though he were completely confident that the two of them would finish their mission and return safely.

But unless Shinji had completely lost his mind, there was no way he would believe that.

It was far more likely that the Jashin Cult had sent people to secretly protect-and monitor-them.

"What are you looking at?"

Hidan sounded impatient. Clearly, given a choice, he wouldn't have wanted to go on a mission with Shinji either.

"Nothing. Let's go."

Shinji withdrew his gaze and walked straight ahead without explaining anything.

Hidan scoffed and followed him.

According to the map, they needed to pass through the Land of Fire, then take a boat to the Land of Waves.

Although it was a long journey, traveling at full speed would only take a ninja a few days.

Of course, their mission wasn't urgent enough to warrant that.

So there was no need for them to rush.

Traveling with frequent stops, they only made it deep into the Land of Fire after three days.

Once they entered the Land of Fire, however, Shinji's behavior became noticeably strange.

He wasn't trying to ditch Hidan and escape, nor did he have any intention of seeking refuge in Konoha.

He had simply realized that he was getting closer and closer to the location marked on the [Cursed Treasure Map].

Should I go take a look?

He hesitated, afraid that doing so might expose his greatest secret.

But then he reconsidered. If he didn't seize this opportunity, who knew when he would next get to leave and come anywhere near this place?

Besides, he desperately wanted to know exactly what he could dig up with this [Cursed Treasure Map]!

Fuck it, what's there to agonize over? If I really dig something up, I'll just say I hid it there before. That shouldn't be much of a problem!

Shinji wasn't being blindly confident. The Jashin Cult had invested so much effort in him and Hidan that, as long as he didn't betray them, he couldn't imagine them being shortsighted enough to steal his belongings.

For another thing, considering how unreliable this system was, along with the words "cursed"...

He was also worried that something might go wrong along the way. What if he dug up an undead corpse? Just like that, his fanfiction would turn into a tomb-raiding novel!

He looked up at the sky. Night was almost upon them.

Shinji immediately feigned a casual air. "It's getting dark. I saw a small village marked nearby on the map. We can buy some food there and find somewhere to stay the night."

"What a pain."

Hidan grumbled, but didn't object.

After all, he was getting sick of eating dry rations for every meal and sleeping outdoors as mosquito bait.

If he could get a hot meal and a good night's sleep, he had no reason to object.

Of course, that didn't mean he would pass up a chance to mock him!

"Can't take it after just a few days? Some people really are spoiled rotten!"

Shinji wasn't about to indulge Hidan and fired right back. "Then stay here and keep feeding the mosquitoes. I'll go check it out. Maybe they'll have fried pork cutlets."

With that, he walked away without the slightest hesitation!

Hidan was left standing there alone, thoroughly torn!

If he followed, he would be eating his own words.

But if he didn't...

What if they really did have fried pork cutlets?!

A born meat lover, Hidan hated all vegetables and vegetarian food. Fried pork cutlets were his favorite.

Besides, why should he stay behind eating dry rations and feeding mosquitoes while that bastard Shinji went off to enjoy himself?

Hidan put on a stern face and immediately hurried after him.

When Shinji glanced his way, he spoke first. "You're hopeless. The great Hidan will indulge you this once.

"But there won't be a next time, got it?" What a tsundere. His mouth said no, but his body was honest.

Shinji clicked his tongue a couple of times but didn't call him out again.

After all, most of his attention was on that treasure map now.

Needling Hidan was a long-term project, not something he could finish in a day. There was no rush; he could take his time.

"Keep up. We're picking up the pace."

After checking their direction, Shinji put the map away and immediately accelerated.

In the original story, Hidan was the slowest member of the Akatsuki, but that was only compared with the monsters in that organization.

Compared with ordinary ninja, Hidan was anything but slow.

The two of them soon veered off their original route and headed north.

They ran for a full hour before finally catching sight of the village, by which time it was completely dark.

As soon as they stopped, Hidan couldn't help complaining. "This is what you call a small village nearby? Where the hell have we ended up?!"

He had a point. How could somewhere a full hour away at their top speed possibly count as "nearby"?

Hidan felt he had been tricked!

That bastard Shinji had only brought up fried pork cutlets to lure him in!

And he had been stupid enough to fall for it and run all this way.

If he had known, he would rather have stayed where he was and fought the mosquitoes!

Shinji knew his excuse was rather far-fetched, but he hadn't had any better options.

After all, he had come here by sensing the location indicated by the treasure map.

So even with such a lousy excuse, he had to make this detour and take a look.

"Then why don't you leave?"

"Leave, my ass! If I don't get fried pork cutlets today, I'll sacrifice every last one of these people to Lord Jashin!"

Hidan cursed angrily, then barged straight into the village.

Shinji felt a headache coming on.

He had no doubt Hidan was capable of doing something like that in a rage, but it was not an outcome he wanted to see.

I'd better think of a way to placate this guy...

Fortunately, his [Blood Manipulation] completely countered Hidan's abilities, so he wouldn't lose control of him.

"Young men, are you looking for someone?"

As the two of them wandered conspicuously around the village, an elderly man approached them and asked.

Shinji was just about to speak when Hidan beat him to it.

"Hey, old man! Hurry up and bring out whatever good food and drink you've got, or the great Hidan will burn your village... Mmph! Mmph!"

Shinji hurried forward and clamped a hand over Hidan's mouth, then put on a smile. "Please don't misunderstand, sir. My little brother got water in his brain when he was a kid, so he often talks nonsense."

"We're not looking for anyone, actually. We just happened to be passing through and wanted to buy something to eat, preferably with somewhere we could rest for the night."

Only then did the old man's nervous expression ease a little.

"Oh, that explains it. I thought your brother looked like he had something seriously wrong with him."

Hidan's eyes widened at that, and he began struggling fiercely again.

"Mmph mmph mmph mmph! Mmph mmph!"

(I'll kill you, old man!)

It took considerable effort for Shinji to keep Hidan from hacking the old man to death on the spot.

Then the old man continued, "Travelers are guests, and fate must have brought us together. How about this? Never mind the money. If you two don't mind, come home with this old man, have something to eat, and make do for the night. What do you say?"

"Thank you so much. We'll leave after one night. We won't cause any trouble."

"Speaking of trouble..."

"What is it, sir?"

"Uh, you'd better keep an eye on your brother. There are plenty of women and children in the village. Don't let him frighten them!"

"Haha, absolutely not! Don't worry. My brother may be dim, unpleasant to listen to, arrogant, conceited... He has a whole pile of faults. But he does have one good point: he has no interest in women. Women and children annoy him. He can't get away from them fast enough, so why would he ever approach them?"

"That's good, then. Ah, what a waste of that physique. A shame he's an idiot. An idiot wouldn't understand what's so wonderful about women."

The old man seemed to have quite a few stories of his own. Sighing at length, he led the way with his hands behind his back.