In the Land of Fire, beside a public restroom outside a remote small town.
Hidan sat bored on a rock by the roadside, leaning against a mottled earthen wall, with a few bare grass stems he had chewed on scattered at his feet.
Kakuzu was still inside the bounty station exchanging the Ninja he had just hunted for a reward, and he could only wait patiently.
"Seriously, why is the bounty station set up in a restroom? Doesn't it stink?"
Nearly an hour later, Kakuzu finally walked out slowly, carrying two boxes of money.
"Too slow, Kakuzu. Besides, you just take the corpses in and get the money directly; why do you have to count it one by one? It's close enough."
Hidan had followed Kakuzu inside once, and after watching him slowly count the money three times, he couldn't stand it anymore and never went in with him again.
"Money must be counted three times. A single coin missing is a sign of disrespect for my work."
Hidan scoffed impatiently:
"What a drag. No matter how many times you count it, it's still the same amount of money, isn't it?"
Kakuzu didn't even look up, his tone remaining flat but carrying an unquestionable seriousness: "In this world, the only thing you can trust is money."
He gently rubbed the latch of the money box with his fingertips, his voice carrying a barely audible chill:
"Destiny will betray you, companions will betray you, and even faith might deceive you. Only money will never deceive you."
"Hmph! Lord Jashin will not abandon me."
Immediately, Hidan looked at him, "Next, let's go find that bastard who blasphemed against Lord Jashin!"
Hidan absolutely loathed Yagami Light; to dare to impersonate Lord Jashin was simply unforgivable.
However, Zetsu hadn't found the specific location yet, but he couldn't wait any longer.
Kakuzu remained expressionless: "No rush. I just received a commission to kill a noble from a small country within three days; the bounty is ten million.
This commission is a rare find; there's almost no risk, and I can also swallow up the noble's wealth. This deal is incredibly profitable."
"This is a perk I got for being promoted to a nine-star assassin; normally, I wouldn't be able to take such a mission."
"Time is tight, we need to leave quickly."
At this moment, the ground suddenly bulged, and a black-and-white pitcher plant emerged.
"Hello, Kakuzu and Hidan. I've found the trail of that Yagami Light."
Hearing Zetsu's words, Hidan immediately became excited, "What, really? Where? I can't wait to perform the ritual. Lord Jashin will surely be pleased that I sent that fake to meet him!"
"He is at the border of the Land of Fire, some distance from here."
At this, Kakuzu interrupted them, "Hidan, that guy can be killed at any time, but this opportunity to make easy money only comes once. Let's do the bounty mission first."
For Kakuzu, even if the sky fell, it wouldn't be as important as making money.
"What? Kakuzu, how can you still be thinking about money at a time like this? Lord Jashin won't forgive you."
"Hmph! Suit yourself. Some bullshit Jashin; I only teamed up with you because you said your religion was very rich, but it turned out to be dirt poor."
Kakuzu said as he walked towards the direction of the mission; his time was very precious, and he couldn't waste it.
"Damn you, Kakuzu, I'll go myself."
Immediately, Hidan rushed off in the direction Zetsu pointed; he was determined to slaughter Yagami Light.
Zetsu saw the two separate, and with his white face, said: "They've separated. This doesn't align with the policy set by Pain."
The black face said in a hoarse voice: "Tell Pain about it and let him resolve it himself."
Saying this, Zetsu burrowed into the ground, and the ground suddenly became empty, as if it had never appeared.
At this time, Yagami Light, having gained much from the Fire Temple, did not rush back to the Land of Birds, but instead wandered around the surrounding small countries.
After all, if he wanted to collect faith, these small countries were the easiest to target. In case the Land of Birds failed, he would have a backup.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, Yagami Light stopped. He sensed a figure rushing towards him at high speed.
Before long, that figure appeared before his eyes.
Yagami Light immediately knew who it was, but he wasn't surprised, merely marveling at how elusive White Zetsu was.
He didn't keep Sage Mode active all the time, so he hadn't detected White Zetsu's trail.
Presumably, it started tracking him after his battle with Orochimaru; that was the only possibility, as the Akatsuki Organization had always been looking for Orochimaru's whereabouts.
At this moment, Hidan had already rushed in front of Yagami Light, brandishing the bloody Three-Bladed Scythe in his hand, and said arrogantly: "Are you the guy who claims to be Jashin?"
"Daring to use Lord Jashin's name, are you ready to accept judgment, you guy!"
Looking at the arrogant Hidan, Yagami Light just asked indifferently: "I am a god, the god of Jashin. Hidan, your immortality was bestowed by me; have you forgotten?"
"You bastard, even at this point you are still blaspheming against Lord Jashin. Go to hell!"
Hidan roared wildly as he rushed over, swinging his scythe. The blood-colored chain exploded into arcs of light in mid-air, and the scythe, carrying a sharp whistling sound that pierced the wind, went straight for Yagami Light's neck.
"Clang—"
The Kunai and the scythe blade collided fiercely, sparks bursting out along the edge of the blade.
Hidan roared as he pressed forward, the chain pulled taut, the screeching sound of metal rubbing against metal was incredibly piercing. Yagami Light felt a huge force impact him, and the ground beneath his feet cracked with fine lines in response.
Seeing that the first strike failed, Hidan didn't care; his face was still filled with a ferocious smile as he continuously swung the Three-Bladed Scythe.
This type of weapon of his was meant for obtaining blood; as long as the opponent was injured, he would win.
Yagami Light kept blocking with his Kunai, sparks from the weapon collision constantly appearing.
At this moment, Yagami Light fully unleashed his mental power, constantly observing Hidan's body.
His immortality was simply too bizarre; it was as if his soul and body were completely separated. As long as the soul was not extinguished, he would not die.
This was a rare research specimen, the only one of its kind in the Ninja World. It was worth observing carefully to see if he could gain anything.
Since Yagami Light had already fused with part of the Jashin energy and fragments, he could see more things now.
There was indeed a bizarre energy inside Hidan, exactly the same as the energy in his own body. The difference was that this energy was parasitic on Hidan's soul.
On the surface, Yagami Light was struggling to resist Hidan's attacks, while simultaneously forming hand seals with one hand, quietly creating a clone to obtain animal blood.
At the same time, he kept focusing his mind to probe Hidan's soul, bit by bit reaching towards that bizarre Jashin power deep within his soul.
Gradually, Yagami Light frowned. He couldn't decipher in the short term how this Jashin power caused the soul and body to separate. It seemed he would need to delve deeper into soul-related Ninjutsu.
Subsequently, Yagami Light revealed a flaw, letting the Three-Bladed Scythe cut a wound on his body.
Seeing that he had succeeded, Hidan revealed a fanatical and twisted expression, immediately leaping backward to create distance.
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100 POWER STONE = BONUS CHAPTER
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