"Akatsuki?" Hanzo narrowed his eyes at the silver-haired boy in front of him. His gaze slid briefly to Konan, his former hostage and he quickly drew a conclusion.
"Huh? I'm not one of Akatsuki!" Hidan waved a hand innocently. "And the maid standing beside me? From now on, she's not one either!"
"…Oh?" Hanzo laughed mockingly. "So that's the reality. I thought Akatsuki was united. Yet the moment Yahiko dies, someone betrays them. Seems I overestimated your little group."
At the sound of Yahiko's name, Konan's face twisted with grief and hatred. Her chest tightened as the memory of his death cut into her again.
She could do nothing as her closest friend bled out in her arms. The despair of that moment still burned fresh.
Now Hanzo dared to mention his name with disdain. The wound ripped open, and Konan could no longer bear it.
"Kill him! Kill him!" Her voice cracked with fury. "If you do, I'll be your most loyal maid...I'll only have you in my heart!"
Hidan's grin widened. "The maid has spoken! And because I love my maid the most, I'll crush this bastard for you!"
He turned to her, his tone suddenly soft. "But don't get angry, or you'll wrinkle. Wrinkles won't suit that face."
His fingers brushed Konan's cheek, caressing lightly, while his other hand slid across the curve of her back.
Konan's composure shattered. The storm of grief was scattered by the sheer shamelessness of this brat. Her face burned, shyness overtaking sorrow.
Hanzo's eye twitched. …Are they here to fight, or to flirt in front of me?
Still, he was nothing if not cautious. And distraction was an opportunity he would never waste.
Whoosh!
Hanzo's chain-scythe snapped through the air, the blades gleaming with a sheen of poison.
Clang!
The Bloody March Scythe met it head-on, sparks flying as steel clashed. Hanzo recoiled, pulling his weapon back.
"Stay here and watch, maid. I'll handle him." Hidan smirked at Konan before leaping forward.
Both men wielded scythes...Hanzo's with its long chain, Hidan's with rope and hooks.
The weapons screamed through the forest air, colliding again and again in a storm of ringing metal.
Yet there was a difference. Hidan's body steadily took damage, crimson cuts streaking across his skin, while Hanzo remained untouched.
The Sharingan gave Hidan perfect reflexes, but his physical skill was still lacking. Against a taijutsu master like Hanzo, he was at a clear disadvantage.
Konan's chest tightened as she watched him bleed. Why doesn't he use that strange space-time ability?
Why fight directly when he's being cut down like this? She bit her lip, an ache of helplessness and frustration swelling inside.
"Raaaagh!" Hidan roared, swinging the Bloody March Scythe in a wild arc before pulling back.
"Almost enough. After fighting you this long, I've figured out your movements. No more games—time to kill you." His eyes gleamed despite the blood dripping from his wounds.
"Little brat, don't get cocky." Hanzo's tone sharpened. "You dare speak that way to a demigod?"
His hands blurred into seals. "Summoning Jutsu—Ibuse!"
A massive formation spread beneath him, bursting into smoke. Out of it emerged his monstrous yellow salamander, Ibuse. Hanzo landed lightly atop its head, looking down on Hidan.
This was Hanzo's true strength...man and beast as one.
"Ibuse, go!" Hanzo barked.
The salamander's jaws opened wide, spewing a dense cloud of purple mist.
Its poison was lethal, capable of paralyzing even shinobi like Kankurō who trained their bodies against toxins.
"Tch… troublesome." Hidan frowned. He could endure it himself, but Konan was standing not far behind.
He formed seals. "Fire Release: Majestic Destroyer Flame!"
Hidan inhaled deeply, then exhaled a torrent of fire. A blazing inferno erupted, surging forward like a tidal wave of flame.
In an instant, the poisonous mist was devoured, burned away into nothingness.
The flames spread across the battlefield, swallowing everything in sight.
Konan's eyes widened. This scale… this intensity… is this really the power of a boy?
Hanzo's jaw tightened. "Impossible… such chakra, such fire jutsu. At that age?!" For the first time in years, doubt clawed at him.
"Retreat!" he ordered.
Ibuse swallowed him whole, then dove underground, vanishing in an instant.
"Running away again?" Hidan scoffed. "Pathetic. This isn't the 'demigod' I heard about. He's nothing but a coward clinging to his life. The more you fear death, the weaker you become."
His Mangekyō spun. "Kamui."
The earth above Ibuse distorted. The salamander's massive body jerked mid-burrow as a spiraling vortex consumed it.
In moments, both beast and master were dragged helplessly into the crimson dimension of the Blood Sea.
Not even a legendary summon could resist the pull.
Hidan turned back with a smug grin. "Alright, maid. Time to finish this. Once we're done, I'll take you home."
Konan's cheeks flushed scarlet again as he took her hand, tugging her gently.
She didn't resist this time...too stunned by the flames she'd witnessed, too shaken by Hanzo's fear.
Together, they vanished into the vortex.
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