Inside the small wooden house, the silence was heavy enough to suffocate.
Two teenagers of similar age stood across from one another, neither speaking, both wearing faces that screamed, "I don't want to be here."
Finally, Hidan cracked first.
"Yo! Name's Hidan!"
He shot out his hand enthusiastically, like he was introducing himself at summer camp instead of to one of Konoha's most infamous geniuses.
The boy in front of him barely glanced at it. Uchiha Itachi's expression didn't shift, his crimson Sharingan eyes indifferent as he gave the coldest possible reply.
"…Itachi."
And then he just walked away. No handshake. No warmth. No spark of conversation.
Cold as ice, this guy.
Itachi clearly had zero interest in making friends. His priority was obvious: he wanted to get back to his beloved little brother as quickly as possible.
Ah, classic younger brother complex. Straight up younger-bro con vibes, Hidan thought, scratching his nose awkwardly.
You'd think Fugaku at least taught this kid some manners, but nah, guess that burden falls on me.
His grin widened as his inner monologue spiraled into insanity. Don't worry, Itachi. I'll become your step-daddy one day.
That way you'll have a proper father figure. And Izumi? Heh, she'll be 'my' future daughter-in-law.
See? I'm basically fixing this whole family. I'm such a good person.
The self-proclaimed saint of the Uchiha clan chuckled to himself while Itachi vanished.
With the prodigy gone, Hidan finally had the chance to pull out the scroll given to him by the Third Hokage.
The second he untied it and unrolled the parchment across the wooden table, his heart skipped a beat.
"Holy crap…! It's the Eight Inner Gates!"
Hidan's eyes nearly popped out of his skull. For a lunatic whose favorite hobby was ritualistic murder, this was like Christmas, his birthday, and winning the lottery all rolled into one.
Sarutobi really outdid himself.
Sure, the Eight Inner Gates was "only" classified as an A-rank technique, but anyone with two brain cells knew it was on a completely different level compared to most forbidden jutsu.
Hidan devoured the descriptions, muttering under his breath as he read through each gate.
The Gates
Gate of Opening (Kai): Removes the brain's limiter, unleashing 100% physical ability. Speed and power skyrocket instantly.
Gate of Rest (Kyūmon): Cancels fatigue and restores stamina by overloading life energy. Basically the ninja equivalent of drinking ten Red Bulls at once—minus the heart palpitations.
Gate of Life (Seimon): Strength and speed shoot up again. Skin flushes red, chakra begins to burn bright green. The last "safe" zone.
Gate of Pain (Shōmon): Beyond here, the body starts breaking down. Muscles tear. Bones scream. You've officially entered Dangerous Fun Mode™.
Gate of Limit (Tomon): Speed reaches supersonic levels. Literally fast enough to split the air.
Gate of View (Keimon): A weird semi-open state where you glow like a glowstick but avoid constant damage. With it, you can unleash the flaming fists of [Morning Peacock].
Gate of Wonder (Kyōmon): The body vents blue steam from evaporating sweat. Every nerve feels like it's on fire, but a single punch can wreck an enemy beyond recognition. This also unlocks the beastly [Daytime Tiger].
Gate of Death (Shimon): The final door. Open this, and your body literally combusts—red steam pours out as blood evaporates, your flesh burns like charcoal, and your power multiplies dozens of times over. At this stage you can unleash techniques like [Evening Elephant] and the legendary [Night Guy]—punches so strong they distort space itself.
Hidan licked his lips. Now that's what I'm talking about.
Of course, there were drawbacks. Only someone with monstrous endurance like Might Guy could even dream of using all eight gates. Even then, it killed you.
For Hidan, death wasn't an issue. But his body? Yeah… not exactly "Guy-tier" in terms of durability.
Judging from the notes, his physique could probably handle up to the fifth gate—Gate of Limit. Beyond that, he'd collapse like wet cardboard.
"The immortal body doesn't equal immortal stamina," he muttered, clicking his tongue.
"If only I had Hashirama's ridiculous regeneration, then I could open all eight and just strut around like a god. Tch, unfair."
Not to mention... if such a Taijutsu technique had existed in the era of the First Hokage, then Hashirama would have opened all Eight Gates without hesitation, unleashing his full might.
At that point, even Madara would likely have been flattened by a single punch.
Still, even reaching the fifth gate was huge.
"Damn… with this, my speed and attack power jump to near Kage-level. Quasi-peak kage tier, at least. And since I can't die, I can just spam the thing without worrying about the consequences."
Hidan could already imagine it: Kakuzu foaming at the mouth as he watched him zip around like a green blur, Akatsuki members losing their shit, and Madara himself questioning his life choices when the immortal clown opened a gate in his face.
"Guy almost kicked Six Paths Madara to death with this," Hidan grinned.
"And now it's my turn. Heh, poor Madara. First-gen hammer fist, second-gen memes, third-gen funeral speeches… now me."
Root Base
Meanwhile, in a shadow-soaked chamber beneath Konoha, Danzo Shimura sat on his throne of paranoia.
His single visible eye was sharp, cold, and furious. Around him, Root operatives knelt in silence, the tension heavy enough to choke.
The mission against Fū had failed spectacularly.
His operatives, supposedly the best of the best had learned absolutely nothing useful about the strange silver-haired boy who was now skulking around in Anbu.
Danzo's lips curled. Unknowns were unacceptable. Unknowns meant danger. Even he couldn't deny the chill that crept up his spine.
A voice finally broke the silence. "I heard that silver-haired brat joined the Anbu?"
It was Torune Aburame, stepping forward with a piece of tissue paper, Root's version of an intelligence report.
Danzo snatched it and read. The only info written down? Hidan's name and place of origin. Nothing else.
Danzo's single eye twitched. "This is all?!"
He slammed the report down with enough force to echo through the chamber. "So many operatives, and this is what you bring me? Useless!"
Torune immediately dropped to one knee, head bowed low. "My apologies, Lord Danzo. The Third Hokage has completely sealed off all information about him."
"Even his Kekkei Genkai, if he has one...is hidden. The only confirmed ability is his bizarre regeneration. Beyond that, we know nothing."
Danzo's knuckles whitened around his cane. "Damn you, Hiruzen… always meddling."
For a long moment, the war hawk was silent, his mind turning over schemes. Then his lips twisted into a dark grin.
"…If we can't learn his secrets, then we'll let him bury himself. That boy will take the mission."
The Root operatives shivered. Somewhere above, Hidan sneezed.
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