I am the new Hokage of Konoha.

Of course he knows!

Knowing this is one thing, but if the Iwa ninja representative were to launch an attack, he wouldn't dare.

Faced with the behemoth that is Konoha, even with the support of other major powers, the weak Grass Ninja would be easily crushed if they got involved.

Unlike the Cloud Ninja, the Grass Ninja chose to die later rather than early.

Therefore, when faced with the railway construction team sent by the Land of Fire, the Grass Ninja protested softly a few times, but seeing the tough attitude of the accompanying Konoha ninja, they simply ignored it.

Just because the Grass Ninja pretend not to see it doesn't mean the Rock Ninja can stand by and watch.

Just like the railway that connects Konoha to the Land of Frost, the railway that connects to the Land of Grass is now like a sharp sword piercing the heart of the Land of Earth.

Since the former are doing nothing, then let them do it.

That's exactly what the Akatsuki organization did.

At this moment, within the Land of Grass, about ten kilometers away from the railway construction team of the Land of Fire, two people wearing black coats with red cloud patterns and bell-adorned straw hats were walking towards the former.

"Kakuzu, I heard this mission is to deal with the Land of Fire! There should be Konoha ninjas there, right? Let me handle this alone later, so I can use these Konoha ninjas for a ritual to please the true god."

The boy named Hidan touched the blood-red three-month scythe behind him, his eyes filled with killing intent.

He harbored deep resentment towards the Konoha ninjas.

You know how wonderful the Land of Hot Springs used to be!

Everyone in the church believes in the true God religion. The believers in the church speak eloquently and are all talented.

For Hidan, it was his most cherished childhood memory.

But everything changed when the Konoha ninja arrived.

The True God Cult is not only universally condemned, but also defined as a cult.

Cult?

joke!

They are clearly a perfectly legitimate religion! How could such a great and true God be some kind of evil spirit?

As for saying that rituals involving killing to please the true God are evil?

Tch~~

Everyone knows that the five great ninja villages have killed many times more people than the True God Cult.

Why should the eldest brother mention the sixth brother?

For Hidan, witnessing the destruction of the True God Cult firsthand, and then being constantly hunted down by Konoha ninjas, until even the elder who had recruited him was killed, was undoubtedly a very painful experience.

The fact that the offerings to the true god were decreasing year by year made him, as a fanatical believer, extremely resentful of the Konoha ninja who caused all of this.

If given the chance to deal with Konoha, he would be extremely eager.

You have to understand, I'm not as powerless as I used to be.

The forbidden experiment the elder conducted on him before his death was successful thanks to the blessing of the true God.

The immortality he now possesses is not the incomplete version like the elders', but true immortality.

This is also why he, a remnant of the evil god cult, has been able to remain at large for so long despite being constantly hunted down by Konoha ninjas.

Although he was later forced to join the Akatsuki organization, Hidan was quite comfortable there as long as the organization didn't stop him from spreading its teachings, helped him escape Konoha's pursuit, and guaranteed to take action against Konoha in the future.

Upon hearing his partner's words, Kakuzu, hidden beneath his straw hat, glanced over indifferently, his gaze lingering on Hidan's head with a hint of regret in his eyes.

Since he joined Akatsuki, he has had quite a few different companions.

Some of them were killed by the enemy because they were not strong enough.

But most of them were turned into corpses by his machinations, and then exchanged for bundles of money on the underground black market.

Of course, he did a good job on the surface, never killing his comrades himself, but using the enemy to carry out a carefully planned backstab.

That's why Payne didn't blame him much.

As long as the organization's rules are not violated on the surface, if a member dies, so be it; blame it on their own lack of strength.

What Kakuzu never expected was that his new partner would be Hidan, who possessed an immortal body.

Because of the Konoha ninja's large-scale suppression of the Jashin Cult in the Land of Hot Water, the entire ninja world gradually heard about the Jashin Cult's supposed immortality. Naturally, this so-called immortality also attracted the attention of certain forces.

Hidan, a remnant of the Jashin cult, is now offering a reward of 50 million yen on the black market.

Kakuzu had thus been eyeing Hidan for a long time.

However, all subsequent clandestine attempts to kill the opponent failed.

If Payne were to take the live victim to the black market to exchange for money, he probably wouldn't let him go.

Pity!

From now on, the only way to make money is to cut off the option of killing one's partner.

At this moment, seeing the fifty million that kept hovering around him but he couldn't get his hands on it, Kakuzu, who was obsessed with money, was in a bad mood and said, "I can give it to you. But you must ensure that the body is intact. I still need to exchange it for money on the black market."

Because Konoha had previously eradicated the underground black market within the Land of Fire, in retaliation, other underground black markets have issued warrants for the arrest of Konoha ninja.

Although the reward wasn't much, every little bit helps, so Kakuzu naturally accepted it without hesitation.

"Going to the underground black market again?" Hidan's face fell at the thought of the stench of toilets and corpses from the black market he'd been to before. "What's the point of going to that kind of awful place! And Kakuzu, why are you so concerned about money? If you're feeling empty and lonely, why don't you come with me and worship the true god! The great god is absolutely worth your faith!"

Towards the end, Hidan couldn't help but start preaching again.

However, Kakuzu resolutely refused, saying, "Believe in your god? No, that's not right. The only thing you can believe in is money."

Hidan retorted, "Money isn't a religion! Kakuzu, do you even know what religion is?"

“For me, money is my faith,” Kakuzu replied calmly.

Hidan: "......."

At that moment, he really wanted to kill this inexplicable heretic next to him.

They actually dared to compare money with the great true God.

But this was just a thought.

Having fought many times before, Kakuzu already knew his own abilities.

If it really came down to a fight, I'm afraid I wouldn't be a match for this guy who also has multiple lives.

In the end, Hidan could only sulk and ignore the guy next to him.

......

Not far from the immortal duo, a railway construction team from the Land of Fire was laying railway tracks with the help of machinery.

The sound of a lighter's gears grinding could be heard from the side.

Sarutobi Asuma, a heavy smoker, took a comfortable drag on his cigarette and looked at the project in front of him with a good mood. He said to his companion, "Judging by the time, the railway project should be almost finished, right?"

"Just one week left." Namishita Raito, with short brown hair and a scar on his left cheek, said as he wiped his black sword.

As a force protecting the construction team of the Land of Fire's railway, a squad led by Sarutobi Asuma and consisting of Namiashi Raido, Yamashiro Aoba, and Shiranui Genma has been guarding this place since taking over from the previous squad.

"Danger is getting closer and closer," Genma Shiranui said, with a senbon needle dangling from his mouth.

Asuma and Namikaze are not surprising.

Given Iwashinobu's consistent style, it's impossible that he would turn a blind eye to the construction of a railway right in his own backyard.

Moreover, they had received intelligence from Konoha before this.

"No matter who they come from, make sure they never leave alive!" Asuma, the captain, said with unwavering determination.

Just then, Yamanaka Aoba, who had been scouting outside, quickly ran back and said directly, "My crows have detected two ninjas arriving two kilometers to the east. Judging from their attire, they should be members of the Akatsuki organization mentioned in the intelligence."

"Ah? You've finally arrived!" Asuma drew his Flying Swallow sword and immediately said, "Prepare for battle!"

"Yes!"

"Same as above," Yamashiro Aoba and Shiranui Genma said in unison.

......

Fifteen minutes later.

The clear, tinkling sound of bells rang out on the railway construction site, which had already been evacuated.

Seeing the four Konoha ninjas in front of him who had clearly spotted them and were ready for battle, Hidan excitedly raised his Bloodstained Three-Moon Scythe and said, "Kakuzu, you promised to leave these people to me!"

"Wait a mininute!"

Kakuzu reached out and stopped Hidan from starting the fight.

Amidst the puzzled gazes of both sides, he swiftly produced a thick book of bounties, his fingers rapidly flipping through it.

Soon, a page with Asuma's image appeared in his eyes.

"Appearance matches! Identity matches!"

Then, Kakuzu glanced at the "thirty-five million" bounty amount on the page and said in a rather good mood:

"Hidan, you can hand these people over to me. But you must ensure the bodies are intact!"

"Especially that guy who's in charge, the one with thirty-five million!"

Chapter 184 Encounter

Thirty-five million... buddy?

Sarutobi Asuma, who was being stared at by Kakuzu's greedy eyes, was stunned for a moment before realizing that the other party was talking about him.

Thirty-five million—isn't that exactly the amount of the bounty on my head in the black market?

It's really infuriating to say something like that at this time!

Seeing the confident expressions of the two Akatsuki members in front of him, Asuma couldn't help but snort coldly. He channeled his Wind Release chakra into the two Flying Swallow Chakra Blades, instantly generating two powerful blue light blades.

Then he quickly gave the orders: "Aoba, Raito, you two are responsible for keeping an eye on that rogue ninja from Takigakure. Genma, you will cooperate with me to deal with the remnants of the Evil God Cult."

Konoha wasn't completely unaware of Hidan, as depicted in the original story.

After all, the Jashin Cult was destroyed by them, and Hidan had evaded Konoha's pursuit many times. In a way, the two sides were old acquaintances.