At the foot of the mountain, Tobi looked at the Mizukage, who had already woken up but was pretending to be unconscious, and sneered inwardly!
To be honest, he really had considered killing her outright earlier.
After all, weakening the Five Great Nations was something he had been doing all along.
He had nearly brought the vast village of Kirigakure to ruin single-handedly!
But after weighing the pros and cons, he decided that one Mizukage was not worth abandoning his identity as "Tobi" just yet.
Compared to Akagi Shinji's importance, what did a mere Mizukage amount to?
Once he grasped the secret of fusing humans and cursed spirits, he might be able to launch that plan ahead of schedule. By then, the Five Great Nations, beset by internal strife and external turmoil, would be nothing to fear!
And perhaps he could use his identity as Tobi to bring about an alliance between the Akatsuki and the Jashin Cult?
Tobi could not help entertaining that tempting thought.
While he was thinking (spacing out), the mist on the mountain began to gradually disperse.
It did not vanish entirely, but it was no longer so thick or concentrated in one area. It began spreading outward, turning into ordinary mist.
Before long, Shinji came down the mountain, dragging Hidan by the ankle.
Although he did not think anything could happen to Hidan, the fact remained that Hidan had become mentally unresponsive.
"Shinji, sir, what happened to Hidan? Did you take care of the enemy?"
"Yeah, he's dead. That idiot Hidan got caught by the enemy's last-ditch counterattack. He'll probably need a few days of rest to recover."
"Wow, Shinji, sir, you're amazing! So Hidan really did stay behind just to hold you back, huh? Sigh! He really makes you worry~"
Tobi spread his hands