Land of Fire.
On the road to the Bounty Station.
"We agreed to look for the Tailed Beasts, and here you are catching another high-bounty guy. Your intelligence network is trash, or maybe you just want to work for free?" Hidan grumbled, shouldering his triple-bladed scythe with a bored expression.
Kakuzu remained expressionless. "The organization needs funds. Besides, doesn't this give you a chance to perform that god-awful ritual of yours?"
"Hey, hey! Don't insult Lord Jashin! That's my faith! Keep it up and I'm quitting; you can work for the organization all by yourself," Hidan muttered. "By the way, do you think we'll run into Konoha people on the road?" Hidan's eyes darted around.
"Hmph. Isn't that exactly what you want?" Kakuzu said coldly.
Suddenly.
"They're here."
Trill!
A lody drifted through the air—notes like "Wu-wu," "Di-di," "Du-du," and "Da-da." A lodious tune, like a bubbling spring, reached their ears. Kakuzu gently set down Chiriku's corpse and quickly wove hand signs.
Wind Style: Pressure Damage.
A massive vortex of storm-force winds lashed out in all directions.
Crash! Snap!
Trees were uprooted, and the ground was torn apart by the hurricane.
"Fast!" Hidan, hearing the music, pulled out a short spike and slashed himself several tis.
Sizzle!
Blood flowed from his chest. "Heh heh heh... what a nuisance of a Genjutsu." He grabbed his scythe and charged in one direction.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Two Konoha ninjas appeared, simultaneously unleashing shuriken at Hidan.
Clang! Clang!
"Useless!" Hidan easily batted the shuriken away, sending them thudding into the ground.
"Such incredible Taijutsu." The two Konoha ninjas were shocked by his skill, but rembering their captain was supporting them, they felt no fear. They charged straight in.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
They engaged in close-quarters combat. However, Hidan's Taijutsu was clearly superior. Within five seconds, he had grazed their cheeks, drawing blood.
Flick—
Hidan looked at the blood on the tip of his blade, a manic grin spreading across his face. He retreated a distance and began drawing a symbol on the ground.
Kakuzu looked toward the distance. Standing atop the only remaining tree was a white-haired man, playing a flute.
"Tonbo Tobitake."
He recognized him instantly. Aside from the various Kage and the Jinchuriki, Tonbo was the most noteworthy opponent in the ninja world. Two masked monster heads made of black threads erged from Kakuzu's shoulders.
Lightning Style: False Darkness.
Fire Style: Searing Migraine.
Crackle! Boom!
A lightning spear streaked forward while an explosive jet of fla erupted. However, Tonbo Tobitake didn't seem to care about the ninjutsu; he continued to play.
Kakuzu frowned.
Whoosh!
Before he could even blink, the two ninjutsu seed to have built-in navigation; they veered off and cleanly missed their target. He quickly adjusted the direction of the techniques, sweeping them left and right.
To his growing frustration, no matter how he adjusted, the attacks simply would not land.
"Kakuzu, rogue ninja of Takigakure. Bounty: 70 million Ryo. Professional financial manager of the Akatsuki. Pray tell, where do you hide your money? Once I've finished with the two of you, I could use it to buy so snacks," Tonbo said down to Kakuzu, smiling.
Now that Kakuzu and Hidan were here, Tonbo finally had a chance to stretch his limbs. He had been getting stronger constantly but lacked a reference point for his progress. Of course, he didn't intend to use his full power; he was just demonstrating ordinary Genjutsu as a proof of concept.
"If you have the skill, co and take it. Genjutsu alone won't do much against ." Hearing soone ntion stealing his money made Kakuzu's entire deanor darken. He looked at Tonbo with murderous intent. "Besides, your teammates are about to die."
He turned toward Hidan, just in ti to see Hidan plunge a black spear into his own chest.
"Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha! Lord Jashin, here is your sacrifice!" Hidan laughed maniacally as the spear pierced his heart. He looked at the Konoha ninjas, expecting to see shock and despair—the most delicious food for Lord Jashin.
"Uh... what is he doing?"
"Seems like so kind of ritual. Careful, we don't know what his ability is."
The two Konoha ninjas looked at Hidan as if he were an idiot. They were on high alert, but the wounds on their faces that Hidan should have inflicted were non-existent.
"Huh? What's going on?" Hidan's laughter died instantly as he saw the two standing there perfectly healthy.
"Again!"
Stab! Stab-stab!
He stabbed himself several more tis, creating multiple holes. But the two n across from him remained unhard and ready for battle.
Swoosh!
While he was reeling in shock, a slightly plump Konoha ninja appeared behind him and slashed a blade across Hidan's neck.
"Die!"
Hidan's head flew high into the air. This ti, Hidan saw clearly—there was no ritual pattern on his skin after the self-mutilation. In other words, he hadn't actually obtained their blood.
"Dammit, it's Genjutsu!" Hidan raged. He rembered the Leader's warning to be wary of the Genjutsu master nad Tonbo Tobitake. He realized the music in his ears hadn't stopped for a second. Even if he broke the initial illusion, he was imdiately covered by a new one.
"Kakuzu! Help out!" he scread.
Zip! Zip!
As soon as he opened his mouth, several black threads shot out from the ground, pulling his head back to his body and stitching it on.
"Be careful. This opponent is the Tonbo Tobitake the Leader ntioned," Kakuzu said, his gaze toward Tonbo filled with gravity. "You are the most formidable Genjutsu user I have ever seen. That technique just now... it tricks visual distance, texture, and mass, doesn't it?"
Looking at the missed attacks and Hidan's failure, Kakuzu made a deduction. He suspected this was only the tip of the iceberg. The "Genjutsu that strips the will to live" ntioned by the Leader hadn't been used yet—was there a restriction? Or had Tonbo already deduced his secrets?
His Earth Grudge Fear technique created four separate entities that lacked human emotion; they shouldn't be susceptible to that kind of emotional attack. He wondered if the opponent would try it. But based on what had been shown, Tonbo was already a nightmare to deal with.
I might have to separate the hearts and rely on pure instinct to attack, Kakuzu thought, quickly calculating his next move.
"Hey! I'm trying to be careful, but can you make him stop the music first? Otherwise, no matter how many tis I stab myself, I just get covered by a new illusion. I can't even fight!" Hidan yelled. Having regained his head, he gave himself a quick stab through the heart to temporarily break the current illusion, then began swinging his triple-bladed scythe in wide arcs to keep the Konoha ninjas at bay.
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