"You two..." Watching the two of them echoing each other, Hidan's face instantly darkened, and at the same time, he unconsciously gripped the massive scythe in his hand tighter. If anyone familiar with him saw this, they would definitely recognize it as the prelude to him preparing to act.
After all, for someone who took pleasure in killing and offering sacrifices to the god of death, the behavior of Hiruko and Shinnō was absolutely intolerable to him. Even an idiot like Hidan could see the full provocative intent in their actions.
"Hehe, things are getting interesting now, huh? By the way, Big Bro Sasori, who do you think has the upper hand?"
The performance of Hiruko, Shinnō, and Hidan was naturally seen by everyone else present. Aside from Uchiha Itachi, who wasn't particularly interested in any of this, the others were all enjoying the show.
Or rather, they loved watching drama and didn't mind if it escalated.
"I'd say those two new guys. They give me a different feeling compared to before. It must be related to recent events."
Sasori's tone showed no fluctuation, as if he wasn't really putting his mind into the current matter and was just casually responding to his teammate's question.
As for whether this answer was based on fair and impartial judgment or carried his own personal feelings, only Sasori himself knew.
After all, while Hiruko was hunting kekkei genkai users, Sasori had also taken the opportunity to enrich his collection. For him, puppets were always better in greater numbers.
Previously, because the organization still needed to keep a low profile, Sasori hadn't acted on a large scale. But now that the Akatsuki was preparing to step into the open, plus with White Zetsu providing intelligence support,
such a heaven-sent opportunity—if he didn't seize it, he would feel like he was letting himself down.
And indeed, he had seized this rare chance and reaped great rewards. In other words, Sasori was absolutely one of the contributors to the huge waves the Akatsuki had stirred up in the ninja world lately.
Therefore, he was clearly included in the target of Hidan's earlier complaints. But he was too lazy to bother with the guy, and now that someone else had stepped up to take the heat, he cared even less.
Not caring was one thing, but if someone could teach this guy a lesson, Sasori would be more than happy to watch. After all, he wasn't exactly a saint.
"Hm, as expected of Big Bro Sasori. Same as what I was thinking."
"Tch." Just as the surrounding Akatsuki members were getting ready to enjoy the spectacle, one person's expression didn't look good. His bluish-green eyes appeared extremely gloomy. It was none other than Hidan's teammate, Kakuzu.
Although he usually didn't like Hidan much either, the other was still his current teammate. And the way Hiruko and Shinnō were acting clearly showed they weren't taking him seriously at all, which was why they dared to be so unrestrained.
For Kakuzu, who was already in a very bad mood, the reason he hadn't acted immediately was that he shared a similar feeling with Sasori. Compared to before, Hiruko and Shinnō now seemed a bit strange.
There was a high probability they had gained some new abilities. If he acted rashly, he could very well be countered by them. In that case, it was better to let Hidan go first and test the waters.
After all, no matter what, with Hidan's immortal body, there was no need to worry about anything going wrong. He was the perfect candidate for gathering intelligence through probing.
Amid the standoff between both sides, the surrounding atmosphere quickly grew tense, and the voices gradually faded away, as if it were the calm before the storm.
Finally, Hidan, who could no longer keep face after constantly seeing Hiruko's disdainful expression, could endure it no longer and made the first move.