Land of Hot Water, a certain hot spring bathhouse.
Itachi, Kisame, Deidara, and Hidan were soaking in the steaming water. As for Sasori—of course, he wouldn't show up. And Tobi was nowhere to be seen either.
"I know this place well. If you guys run into any trouble, just drop my name—Hidan-sama! No one will dare mess with you!" Hidan said proudly, lounging in the bath and boasting in front of the others.
Itachi leaned silently against the edge, eyes closed, in no mood to respond. He needed to think about Kamizuki Hikari—what kind of impact that man's existence might have on his plans.
Deidara, however, wasn't one to indulge Hidan's nonsense. "Hidan, you're part of that Jashin cult. If the people around here find out, they'll probably toss you into a bonfire. And yet here you are, acting so smug."
Hidan tilted his head up arrogantly. "Heh, I'm a man blessed by Jashin-sama! I'm immortal—some measly flames can't do anything to me!"
"Oh really?"
Kisame smirked, clearly amused by Hidan's arrogance.
"I wonder if Itachi-san's Amaterasu could burn you to ashes," Kisame said teasingly.
"Amaterasu? What's that?" Hidan asked curiously.
Kisame glanced at the silent Uchiha Itachi, assuming his lack of reaction meant approval. As a loyal Itachi fan, he eagerly explained to Hidan, "Amaterasu is one of Itachi-san's ultimate techniques! It's the black flames of the sun itself—so hot it can even burn water, and no Water Release can put it out. I'd love to see whether your so-called immortal body could survive that."
Hidan froze for a moment: 'I was just bragging, and now you're talking about burning me with black fire? Bro, that's too much!'
He was feeling a little uneasy inside—but of course, Hidan would never admit it.
As a devout follower of Jashin-sama, he firmly believed his god was omnipotent.
"Even if I were burned to ash, Jashin-sama would resurrect me! After all, I'm his most faithful follower—bar none!"
Kisame: "Heh."
Deidara: "Heh, un!"
Itachi: "..."
Hidan growled, "Itachi, say something! Your Amaterasu definitely can't kill me, right?"
Itachi opened his eyes, looking at Hidan with a faintly confused expression.
'What's going on? I zone out for a moment, and suddenly we're talking about Amaterasu burning Hidan? Did I actually cast it just now? But he's sitting there fine... probably nothing happened.'
"Enough already," Kisame finally said, unable to bear it anymore. "You couldn't even beat me, and now you're provoking Itachi-san? Want me to feed you to the sharks?"
Hidan shot back, "Try it! Come at me if you dare! You think Hidan-sama gets scared that easily?"
"Oh-ho? You damn punk," Kisame growled, grinning wide. "I'll show you that your Jashin-sama isn't as almighty as you think!"
Itachi: "Um..."
Hidan: "Shut up!"
Kisame: "Today, it's him or me!"
Itachi: "..."
*Mangekyō Sharingan!*
'You two ignoring me because I haven't activated my eyes, huh? Take a look at this!'
Hidan blinked. "Wait, who just spoke?"
Kisame: "...Probably Itachi-san."
Hidan: "Impossible! Itachi-san's clearly resting. Must've been my imagination!"
Kisame: "I must be too tired. Hearing things. Forget it, I'm done arguing—going to bed."
Hidan: "Tch, weakling. You should have faith in Jashin-sama! That voice earlier must've been Jashin-sama calling out to me!"
*Splash!*
The two of them got out of the bath and left, leaving behind Itachi, whose Sharingan was still faintly spinning.
'Did I... get that wrong?'
Deidara watched the two fools leave unharmed and sighed inwardly.
If only Itachi had actually punished them a little—it would've been nice to see that shark-face and the immortal loudmouth get what they deserved. He didn't like Itachi either, but still... that would've been satisfying.
"Itachi, Tobi's back!"
Sasori's voice came from outside. Itachi immediately understood the implication.
He stood, grabbed a towel, wrapped it around himself, and walked out.
...
"One versus seven, huh?"
Tobi circled around Itachi, eyeing his physique with exaggerated admiration. "Not bad, not bad at all!"
Itachi gave him a cold glance, then turned away to get dressed. Only after he'd changed did he return to the meeting room.
"Tobi," Itachi said calmly, "tell us what you've been doing these past two days."
"Why'd you ditch us here and take off?" Deidara was the first to lash out—he was the least afraid of Tobi.
Even knowing how strong he truly was, Deidara still dared to kick him around when he felt like it.
"I didn't leave for no reason," Tobi said with a light chuckle. "I went to investigate the Three-Tails' seal."
"And? What did you find? Can we capture it now?" Deidara pressed.
"I've located it," Tobi explained, "but I think something this important should be discussed with the leader first. Don't you agree?"
His reasoning sounded fair, but no one there truly believed him.
No one in Akatsuki was a fool. Tobi had never shown any real respect for Pain—it was obvious he had his own agenda.
And for someone who never participated in group meetings, he was suddenly acting as the leader's representative. Suspicious, to say the least.
Still, everyone was smart enough not to expose him.
"Back to Amegakure, then? I don't mind," Sasori said flatly. "But we should at least divide the reward from this mission first."
As a puppet master, it wasn't like his creations came cheap. Even human puppets required rare herbs and complex materials for crafting and modification.
He might be a rogue shinobi, but he still followed certain professional rules. If he wanted something, he'd pay for it—he wasn't some bandit.
"No problem!" Tobi said cheerfully. "After turning in half the bounty to the organization, the rest of you can split it evenly. I don't need a single coin."
Buying Sasori's silence with money clearly pleased him.
"What about the rest of you?" Tobi asked, glancing around.
Itachi lifted his gaze slightly. "If that's your proposal, then let's proceed with it. As for the Three-Tails, we'll let the leader decide."
Tobi nodded, clearly satisfied.
If everyone were this easy to handle, things would be much simpler for him.
Unfortunately, every one of them was troublesome in their own way.
"I'm not done yet!" Deidara interjected. "I need to restock my high-quality clay and develop some new techniques. The last battle didn't even let me fight properly. Next time, I'll have a masterpiece that guarantees instant victory!"
That last fight had bruised his pride—and Tobi's behavior hadn't helped either.
He was determined to create something even stronger.
"Fine, fine," Tobi said easily. "If no one else has anything to add, we'll rest for a day and return to Amegakure tomorrow."
In the corner, Kisame sighed silently.
'So no one even cares about my opinion, huh? A little basic respect between comrades wouldn't kill you people. Even if I wouldn't have disagreed, you could at least ask me!'
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