Born in Sunagakure, dedicated to antagonizing Konoha for decades

"..."

"Whoosh... My great scythe... How come this old thing is so hard..."

After hacking away for ages, Hidan, who was supposed to be invincible, was finally exhausted. Panting heavily, he looked at his broken scythe. He'd never encountered anyone so shameless and tough. He'd hacked at his scythe for ages, and it was completely unharmed. Even worse, the old guy was still babbling in his ear, seemingly enjoying it. It was truly infuriating...

"..."

Kakuzu looked at his panting younger brother speechlessly and gazed at the sky. "The man known as the toughest in the ninja world, how could he not be tough? Don't mention that broken scythe of yours; even a divine weapon couldn't cut through it..."

"What? You're out of energy? You can't even last a little while? You're really useless. Now, Daddy will teach you a lesson in life. If you're capable, being arrogant is a given. If you're incapable, being arrogant is just being a fool. Come and experience Daddy's love!"

As he spoke, Shinto loosened his neck, clenched his dark, grimy fist, walked up to Hidan, who was still alive, and punched his silver head.

"boom!"

"boom!"

Cool!

A powerful punch of love sent the immortal Hidan flying and created a huge crater. The feel and the visual impact were, needless to say, incredibly satisfying!

This brat is protected by an evil god; he's practically indestructible. You can beat him however you want; it's way more satisfying than a sandbag. While it's not as hard, it feels much better than Nine-Tails, and most importantly, he's unkillable...

"Ouch...it hurts, it hurts so much...damn it, why does it hurt so much...."

Hidan, inside the giant crater, clutched the huge bump on his head and rubbed it for a while, as if his soul was about to leave his body. Tears and snot streamed down his face uncontrollably; it hurt so badly, the kind of pain that cut to the bone.

"Pain? There's more to come, damn it! I've been around for decades and I've never seen anyone this arrogant. Don't you even bother to find out who I am? You dare to be so cocky in front of me? Your boss, Ring-Eyes, is even qualified. You're just a weakling. Ada..."

It's been years since I've had this much fun. Back during the Konoha Chunin Exams, that ugly guy who was in the same year as Jiraiya, although his Steel Release was tough enough, he wasn't very durable. He turned into an idiot in no time, and in the end, he just stood there like a fool, not even having a chance to react, letting him beat him up.

No one can react as realistically as Hidan, who can't die!

As he spoke, he walked over and punched him on the head again, but he couldn't use too much force. After all, this kid just wouldn't die. The only problem was whether he would become an idiot. If he did, that wouldn't be good. Kakuzu had raised his nephew for so many years, so he still had to give him face.

"boom!"

"Snapped!"

"Ouch! It hurts, it hurts, it hurts..."

The blows, the fall, and the screams were short, powerful, and executed in one smooth motion. Hidan, who wouldn't die, rolled around on the ground rubbing his head once again.

Right now, all I can think of is one word: It hurts so damn much!

This pain, as if his soul were being torn apart, was beyond his comprehension; he simply couldn't describe it in words.

"No way? No way? You were so arrogant just now? It hasn't even been that long, and you can't hold on anymore? You're so weak! My nephew could last a whole morning when he was seven..."

"boom!"

Shinto, while saying disdainfully, went up and threw another punch. He couldn't help it; he hadn't had such a good time in a long time.

It's intoxicating!!

1045. Got beaten up and still didn't know who the other person was.

"Damn it..."

"boom!"

"Wow, your lips are pretty firm!"

"Hiss... I..."

"boom!"

"Come on, come on, it's been a long time since I've beaten someone up like this, let's see how hard your head is..."

"Hiss....I...."

"boom!"

"You're really tough, huh? I admire tough guys like you. Don't stop..."

"Stop! That's enough, old man! I haven't even cursed you out yet, and you're already hitting me? (#｀皿′)"

Just as Shinto was about to deliver another punch, Hidan, who was supposed to be immortal, couldn't take it anymore and, with his head full of bumps, yelled angrily.

Damn, is this old guy addicted to hammering?

But speaking of this old guy's fist, what's wrong with him? Ever since he was taken in as a lackey by the evil god, he shouldn't have felt pain anymore. But this bastard's fist can actually make him feel pain, and it's the kind of pain that pierces to the core...

"...Ahaha, sorry about that, but speaking of which, your head really feels good to the touch. I've hammered the Three-Tails, Four-Tails, Five-Tails, Six-Tails, Seven-Tails, and Nine-Tails, but none of them feel as good as yours. Kakuzu-kun, bring your little brother to play with me more often...ヾ(^?^)?"

Masato withdrew his fist, which was raised in mid-air, and smiled apologetically.

“…”

One side of him was exasperated, the other his best friend whom he couldn't beat, and the other his underling.

When the two started fighting, he was caught in the middle and could only watch the show without taking sides. Anyway, he couldn't kill the underling, so it was good for his good brother to teach him a lesson.

But you can beat him up all you want, but what kind of nonsense is it to make me bring him along next time to get killed? He's still my underling, after all.

"Boss Kakuzu..."

Hidan, who wouldn't die, looked pitifully at Kakuzu with teary eyes. Seeing his little brother getting beaten like that and not helping at all—what kind of boss is that...?

"Alright, let's get down to business. I came to you because my cooperation with Onoki a few years ago went quite well, so for some reason, both the Four-Tails and Five-Tails Jinchuriki from their village have escaped. Knowing that I 'helped' Kirigakure capture the Six-Tails, they want to pay me a hefty sum. But you know I'm good at fighting, not so good at finding people. The Five-Tails Jinchuriki is manageable; I've heard he occasionally goes berserk. But the Four-Tails Jinchuriki, Roshi, has been a Jinchuriki for many years and rarely goes berserk, so finding him in a sea of ​​people is very difficult. That's why I wanted to ask for your help. I still have some leads on the Five-Tails Jinchuriki; I'll go with Hidan to look for him. As for Roshi, I'll leave it to you..."

Kakuzu's eyes gleamed with a green light as he spoke. This was a big deal! He hadn't made a big deal in a long time since selling the Six-Tails to Kirigakure. Perhaps it was because he had done big deals before that he didn't feel anything from small deals. He never expected that Onoki, that idiot, would actually let two Jinchuriki escape at the same time. Just thinking about it made his mouth water.

However, this kind of big business requires the cooperation of a good brother, since a good brother has strong perception and can find the Four-Tails Jinchuriki much more easily than him.

He originally thought the organization's goal was to take down the tailed beasts, so after reaching a verbal agreement with Onoki, he also informed Pain. Although he liked money, he also had his own principles. However, Pain said that now was not the time to take action, so he might as well do his bidding.

"Both Jinchuriki escaped? Onoki is really getting worse with age. No problem, I'm just killing time anyway. I'll take care of the Four-Tails..."

Upon hearing Kakuzu's words, Shinto was also somewhat surprised. The Four-Tails and Five-Tails Jinchuriki had both run away, so why was there no news from Iwagakure? If he hadn't been Kakuzu's brother for decades, he would have suspected that Kakuzu was lying to him.

There are countless spies sent between villages throughout the ninja world. Sunagakure certainly has its share of spies within Iwagakure. The escape of a Jinchuriki is a major event in any village, yet their spies haven't gotten a single tip-off. It's unclear whether they succumbed to temptation and betrayed their village, or if they were simply too incompetent; after so many years, they haven't managed to infiltrate the enemy ranks...

Look at the spy capabilities of Iwagakure and Konoha. They're absolutely top-notch. They even knew the day after a retired senior officer rescued a prostitute. They couldn't hide the fact that Chiyo had a portrait of Tobirama Senju in her room. And look at the spies sent out by Sunagakure. They didn't even know that two Jinchuriki from the ninja world had run away.

It seems I need to talk to Luo Sha and send out another group of loyal and trustworthy underlings as spies...

Actually, Shinto was wrong about his underlings who were acting as spies. Only a handful of people in the entire Iwagakure village knew about the Four-Tails and Five-Tails' escape. Moreover, because he was afraid of losing face, Onoki didn't bother sending his underlings to search for them after learning that the Four-Tails and Five-Tails had escaped. If other villages found out, they would be laughed at. The Jinchuriki of other villages stayed in their villages obediently, while they couldn't keep an eye on their own Jinchuriki. Just thinking about it was embarrassing. So, after learning that the two Jinchuriki had escaped, Onoki didn't make a fuss or send anyone to search for them. After all, sending his underlings would only increase casualties. Only Onoki could protect the entire Iwagakure village, but he couldn't leave.

So, having no other choice, I had to contact Kakuzu, the former tailed beast dealer. Although I knew I was likely to be scammed by Kakuzu, compared to the casualties of my underlings, losing a little money was no big deal.

It must be said that in this respect, Onoki, the Tsuchikage, is quite outstanding.

.......

After discussing the plan and setting a meeting point, Kakuzu and Shinto split up. Kakuzu took Hidan to hunt down the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, since the Five-Tails Jinchuriki would occasionally go berserk. Kakuzu was also the spokesperson for the Black Market, so finding the Five-Tails Jinchuriki was quite easy. They just had to wait for the Black Market to give him a message.

However, things are more complicated with Lao Zi. Lao Zi and the Four-Tails have a relatively harmonious relationship and haven't gone berserk for many years, so expecting the Four-Tails to go berserk and then go looking for it is basically impossible. Therefore, he can only rely on the powerful Observation Haki of the real fighter.

"Brother Kakuzu, who is that old guy? Damn it, how dare he hit me! If I get the chance, I'll kill that old bastard... (▼へ▼メ)"

After they separated, Hidan, who was immortal, once again unleashed his true nature. Touching his head, which showed no signs of swelling, he gritted his teeth and said...

In all his years as a fighter, Hidan had never been beaten like this before. He'd never forget this grudge. He quickly tried to write the old man's name down in his notebook, only to realize he'd been beaten up and didn't even know who it was...

1046. Hidan: No wonder Sasori defected.

"Listen to your elder brother's advice, give up. The entire ninja world has countless people who want him dead, and he's still alive and well, isn't he? But... you don't know who he is? (⊙_⊙)?"

Kakuzu had originally intended to comfort his younger brother, but then he realized what was happening and looked at his gritting-teeth brother with astonishment, as if he were looking at an alien.

"What? Is that old guy famous? What's so strange about not knowing him?"

Even Hidan, who can't die, looked completely bewildered at his older brother's gaze.

"It's quite strange. That guy is Sasori's uncle, the Golden Lion of the Sand Village. There are very few people in the ninja world who don't know him..."

Kakuzu stared speechlessly at his younger brother. This younger brother was indeed too arrogant. It was understandable for a good brother to be arrogant for decades based on his own abilities, but this younger brother had been arrogant for over ten years without any ability. He dared to draw his sword and attack without even knowing anything about the other party's background.

"What?! That old guy is Scorpion's uncle? With such a wicked uncle, no wonder Scorpion defected..."

Upon hearing his older brother's explanation, Hidan was no longer angry; instead, he seemed to have suddenly realized something.

He had been wondering before, because of his elder brother, he had a pretty good relationship with Brother Scorpion, that handsome old man. When his elder brother introduced Brother Scorpion's background, he really couldn't understand why a super third-generation rich kid, with money and power, a protagonist's destiny, would give up his life of luxury to kill the leader of his own village and live a miserable life in a poor, remote place like the Land of Rain.

If it were just some kind of power struggle within a wealthy family, that would be one thing, but you're the sole legal heir!

Brother Scorpion doesn't seem like a brain-dead person. Look at the puppets he makes; if you put chips in them, they could even have artificial intelligence.

Why did you have to become a rogue ninja?

Just like Hidan, if he hadn't lost both his parents at a young age and been born in the impoverished Land of Rivers, where he had no chance of rising to power, who would have become a rogue ninja?

But at this moment, he finally found the answer to his long-standing question: with such a wicked uncle who would beat people at the drop of a hat and whose blows were so painful, defecting was quite reasonable...

"Stop talking nonsense and let's get going. We received news from the black market that the Five-Tails Jinchuriki has appeared in the Flower Country. This is a big deal..."

Kakuzu reluctantly changed the subject. His little brother's personality was beyond redemption; all Kakuzu could do was hope his brother had enough face to be humiliated, and that he wouldn't be killed in his lifetime...

For some reason, he felt a connection with this younger brother, and their experiences were somewhat similar. Both of them were abandoned by their beloved villages or organizations. In fact, the younger brother's experience was even more tragic than his. If he hadn't been lucky enough to recognize an evil god as his elder brother, he probably would have been killed by the organization he believed in long ago. So when he saw this younger brother, Kakuzu felt as if he were seeing his younger self. Over the years, he treated him better than his own son.

Anyone else who dared to be arrogant in front of Kakuzu would have been beaten to a pulp long ago...

......

"You're saying both of Iwagakure's Jinchūriki escaped? Hmm... What's Onoki doing...?"

"Has the Akatsuki made their move?"

After Kakuzu and the immortal Hidan left, Shinto went home, had a simple breakfast, and was about to leave when Chiyo and Ebizo blocked him at the door.

He swaggered off to Yixiantian early in the morning. The ANBU underlings weren't blind. Although Chiyo and Ebizo had retired, they still had connections in the village, so they knew all along that this guy had made contact with Kakuzu.

In the past, it wouldn't have mattered at all. After all, they knew that Kakuzu and Shinto were sworn brothers, so there was nothing wrong with meeting. Kakuzu had even taken care of Sasori for them for so many years.

However, now that they know the Akatsuki's purpose, they are very sensitive to the Akatsuki members, even Kakuzu is no exception. So after receiving a report from his subordinate, he immediately came to find out the truth. When he learned that the two Jinchuriki of Iwagakure had run away during this sensitive period, his mind was buzzing.

Ohnoki is such a terrible teammate!

They were also worried that the Akatsuki might be about to make a move.

Although they already had a plan, they were still very worried.

"It shouldn't be. If they wanted to take action, Kakuzu wouldn't have come to me for help. The mastermind behind that organization can fool the Rinnegan, and finding Ryushi wouldn't be too difficult. They wouldn't need Kakuzu to come to me for help. Aren't they afraid we'll guess their purpose?"