The distance between both sides was not far to begin with, so Hidan rushed in front of Hiruko in just two steps. At the same time, he raised his scythe high and swung it down hard toward Hiruko from above.
"Die!"
"Hehe." After noticing that Hidan's target was not himself, Shinnō proactively stepped back. This was not because he was afraid, but because he wanted to leave the stage to Hiruko.
After spending this period of time together, Shinnō was very clear about his teammate's current strength. Although it was a bit inferior to his own, dealing with this scythe-wielding idiot would definitely be no problem.
Hiruko naturally noticed Shinnō's retreat as well, but he only glanced at it once and paid it no further attention. In his view, if he wanted to establish deterrence, it should be done by the stronger one—himself—so the effect would be better.
As for Shinnō, he could just stand to the side and admire his heroic figure properly.
In the flash of these thoughts, Hidan's scythe was already right in front of him. At this distance, Hiruko could clearly see Hidan's manic grin, which only made him more disdainful.
"I wonder if clashing with this kind of moron will actually help me build any prestige."
Matching the disdain on his face, Hiruko seemed to handle Hidan's attack very casually. He simply raised his arm in a relaxed manner to block the scythe.
Compared to the massive scythe, Hiruko's arm looked extremely fragile, as if it were a mantis trying to stop a chariot.
And Hidan thought the same thing. Seeing Hiruko act so carelessly against him, the smile on Hidan's face became even more manic.
He didn't know what abilities the other had, nor why he was responding so casually, but none of that mattered. As long as he could get some blood, the other would definitely die.
"Clang!"
With a huge collision sound, the smile on Hidan's face turned into shock. He clearly never expected this outcome—his attack had been blocked so easily by the other, without even drawing a single drop of blood.
But according to the law of conservation of smiles, smiles do not disappear; they only transfer. Now the smile had transferred to Hiruko's face. Looking at Hidan's stunned expression, the amusement on his own face became even more obvious.
"You seem quite surprised? Well, of course. Someone like you wouldn't understand."
After saying something vague and unclear, Hiruko forcefully swung the arm he had raised, flinging away the scythe he had blocked. At the same time, he extended his other hand toward Hidan and opened it, lightning flashing within.
Before Hidan could react, countless lasers surged from Hiruko's palm and shot toward Hidan. The lasers were extremely fast. Hidan, standing right in front of Hiruko, had no time to dodge and was instantly hit by them.
"Oh? Interesting."
After Hiruko showed off his strength, everyone's gazes in the room converged on him. No one paid any more attention to Hidan, who had been sent flying somewhere unknown.
After all, compared to Hidan, whose main means of attack was taijutsu, Hiruko's abilities looked far more troublesome. This wasn't to say that Hidan's Curse Technique: Death Controlling Possessed Blood was weak or anything. It was just that if he couldn't get blood, it really was useless.
For example, against the other Akatsuki members, no matter who it was, Hidan would have a hard time getting blood from them. Combined with his not-so-bright battle IQ... tsk tsk tsk. Forget about inflicting damage; it wasn't impossible for his technique to be completely figured out.