181-185

Chapter 181: Hidan Appears

"Pika Pika!"

Inside the cave, Pikachu held a lightning blade in each hand, let out a loud shout, and drew arcs of light.

The two blades crossed and intersected, the attacks continuous and relentless.

It had already mastered the Starburst Stream technique quite well.

Not far away, Kimimaro was studying the Earth Grudge Fear.

Pikachu took a few breaths, then looked excitedly at Kimimaro.

"Good dance, keep practicing."

Kimimaro, without raising his head, sensed Pikachu's gaze and offered encouragement.

Pikachu became even more motivated to train.

On the experimental table, Kimimaro had already dissected the Earth Grudge Fear and was studying its structure with his Byakugan activated.

"This Earth Grudge Fear has the exact same structure as blood vessels, but its life force is far beyond what blood vessels can compare to."

The astonishing life force allowed Earth Grudge Fear to gather five hearts in one body and use them for the main body.

It not only increased the host's combat power but also extended their lifespan.

As long as the heart was replaced, new life force could be obtained.

In theory, this had achieved immortality.

The only cost was becoming monstrous.

To place hearts into the body, naturally, enough openings needed to be made.

Therefore, Kakuzu's body became a stitched monster, his upper body covered in scars sewn together by black tentacles condensed from Earth Grudge Fear.

This was the price of learning Earth Grudge Fear.

Soon, Kimimaro had figured out most of the principles behind Earth Grudge Fear.

Simply put, Earth Grudge Fear was a secret technique, a technique to transform blood vessels into black tentacles.

The special circulation of chakra allowed Kakuzu to produce black tentacles endlessly.

This was quite similar to Kimimaro's Shikotsumyaku.

One was blood vessels, the other bones, neither very normal.

But Kimimaro was good-looking, while Kakuzu was quite sinister.

"It's a decent secret technique, just used in a rather eerie way."

The same technique could be used differently by different people.

Without becoming a stitched monster, the increased life force from Earth Grudge Fear was still quite appealing to Kimimaro.

"Speaking of which, the stitching ability of Earth Grudge Fear is somewhat similar to the stitching of threads. Perhaps I can use thread stitching to unravel the secrets of Earth Grudge Fear, then merge the two and turn them into what I want."

With this thought, Kimimaro prepared to take action.

Although Earth Grudge Fear was a secret technique, with his Byakugan and powerful medical skills, as long as he studied it long enough, unraveling its secrets wasn't impossible.

Of course, perfectly replicating it would be difficult and time-consuming, but he didn't need to replicate it perfectly, just unravel the parts he needed.

As for having Kakuzu teach him, that wasn't realistic.

If Kakuzu knew Kimimaro had the ability to crack his secret technique, he probably wouldn't agree to let him study it.

If he could merge Earth Grudge Fear and thread stitching, Kimimaro believed it would greatly aid his pursuit of immortality.

New research began.

Unconsciously, Kimimaro had already spent several months in the Akatsuki organization.

During this time, the Akatsuki hadn't held another meeting.

So he either went on bounty missions with Kakuzu or trained and conducted research, leading a fulfilling life.

In the forest, Pikachu slashed at Kimimaro with a Starburst Stream.

"Good one!"

Kimimaro's eyes lit up, his right bone sword flicked out, intercepting the sword lights.

Although Pikachu's dual blades were fast, they were all deflected by his bone sword.

The clashing sounds between the blades and the sword were endless, sparks flying everywhere.

Kakuzu, watching from the side, had a hint of surprise in his eyes.

The battle ended.

Pikachu showed exhaustion.

"Little guy, your dual-wielding has become quite impressive."

Kimimaro gave his evaluation.

Receiving his approval, Pikachu smiled cutely and sheathed its lightning blades back into the scabbards on its back.

At this moment, Pikachu was wearing the Akatsuki's black robe with red clouds, and the scabbards on its back were custom-made for its lightning blades.

It no longer looked like a pet but more like a summoned beast.

"Kid, where did you find this summoned beast? Its training talent is remarkable."

Kakuzu asked curiously.

He had seen summoned beasts before, but none that could master swordsmanship to this extent in such a short time.

"Picked it up on the road."

Kimimaro naturally couldn't explain Pikachu's origin, as it wasn't a creature from this world.

"Then you're really lucky."

Kakuzu believed him.

Just then, Kimimaro suddenly became alert.

"What's wrong?"

After spending this time together, Kakuzu knew Kimimaro possessed astonishing perception abilities.

Seeing him suddenly become serious, he must have discovered something.

"Someone is heading towards us, very fast, with strong chakra, not inferior to ours."

Kakuzu frowned and whispered, "Could it be an enemy of yours seeking revenge?"

"Why mine?"

"Because I have no enemies, I've killed them all."

"..."

Kimimaro was momentarily speechless.

"They're here!"

At that moment, countless pieces of white paper descended from the sky, landing in front of Kakuzu and Kimimaro, quickly condensing into a woman with blue-purple hair and a cold expression.

"It's you!"

The White Tiger of Akatsuki, Konan.

Kakuzu recognized her immediately.

And Kimimaro wasn't unfamiliar with her either.

He had seen Konan's paper clone during the Akatsuki joining meeting.

But that was just an illusion, not showing her true appearance, this was the first time seeing her in person.

"Kakuzu, Kimimaro, there's a new mission for you."

Konan didn't waste any words and directly announced her purpose.

"A new mission? What is it?"

"A murderer has appeared in the Land of Hot Water, seemingly possessing the miraculous ability of immortality. Pain wants us to go check it out. If he truly has great power, we can recruit him into the Akatsuki."

Kimimaro's eyes lit up.

The Land of Hot Water? Immortality?

Wasn't that Hidan?

Had his whereabouts finally been discovered by the Akatsuki?

Great.

Kimimaro's interest in Hidan was immense.

Meeting Hidan meant he had a chance to study the secrets of immortality.

"Immortality? Seems like a troublesome guy."

Kakuzu didn't know what Kimimaro was thinking, but hearing about immortality, he was also very interested.

As someone also possessing immortality, he wondered whose ability was stronger.

The strong were always interested in their own kind.

"Follow me. I've already found his location."

Without another word, Konan led the two and set off.

This was Konan, efficient and decisive.

From this, one could imagine her unleashing six hundred billion explosive tags.

(End of chapter)

Chapter 182: Change of Partners

The Land of Hot Water, a country renowned for its numerous hot springs.

Legend says that these hot springs possess mysterious powers, but few know the specifics.

Most importantly, its remote location has spared it from frequent wars.

Even during the great ninja wars, this place was rarely affected.

"I really don't like the atmosphere here."

Kakuzu clearly disliked the peaceful atmosphere along the way.

"I think it's great here. The people are very friendly. Just now, when we were eating, the old lady said I was handsome and gave me a plate of grilled saury."

"Hmph, kid, don't be fooled by such small favors. This country has no sense of crisis at all."

"Kakuzu-senpai, could it be that you're jealous?"

Kimimaro dodged an iron fist aimed at him.

"If you talk nonsense again, next time this fist will be on your face."

Kakuzu said with a cold expression.

"Senpai, you know it's not that easy to hit me."

"Hmph, you can try."

Kakuzu retorted stubbornly.

As they were talking, a paper crane flew from a distance and landed on Konan's hand.

"Stop arguing, we found him, let's go."

Kakuzu and Kimimaro immediately stopped bickering and followed behind Konan.

Soon, the three found their target, Hidan.

"That's the person we're looking for. His name is Hidan. He was originally a ninja from Yugakure, but he killed people in the village and defected not long ago."

Konan briefly introduced Hidan.

"He has immortality?"

Kakuzu asked.

Konan nodded and said, "Yes. According to the information we got before, that's true. But we don't know to what extent. You can test him."

"Test? I only know how to kill. If he doesn't have the ability of immortality, he will die directly in my hands. Is that okay?"

Kakuzu looked at Hidan, already treating him as new prey.

"Those without strength are not worthy of joining the Akatsuki. It doesn't matter if they die. You can do it."

"Okay."

With Konan's affirmative reply, Kakuzu flashed and blocked Hidan's path.

"Konan-senpai, the organization is so strict about recruiting people? It seems that I was really lucky to get in."

Kimimaro threw out a topic.

Konan glanced at him and said, "It was Itachi and Kisame who confirmed your strength that Pain agreed to let you join the Akatsuki."

"So that's how it is."

Kimimaro looked suddenly enlightened, then changed the subject.

"Konan-senpai, does the organization allow changing teammates?"

"You want to change teammates?"

"Yes. You also know that Kakuzu-senpai is too murderous. He always wants to kill his teammates, which is really troublesome for me."

"Aren't you still alive and well?"

"That's because I have some skills, but I can't stand Kakuzu-senpai's daily murderous intent. I'm not immortal, I will die.

Maybe one day, I'll accidentally get a hole punched through my heart by Kakuzu-senpai's black fist. I heard that several of Kakuzu-senpai's previous teammates died this way."

Kimimaro complained.

That's right, he wanted to change teammates.

He had almost finished researching Kakuzu's Earth Grudge Fear. The only ones left in the Akatsuki were Sasori and Hidan.

Hidan was right in front of him, and he should be able to get a sample in the next two days.

So, he needed to find a way to join Sasori and Deidara's team.

Whether it was Sasori's regeneration core or Deidara's explosive clay, they were all things that Kimimaro was interested in.

"I know your request. I'll talk to Pain after we go back."

There were indeed precedents for changing teammates in the Akatsuki.

For example, Orochimaru was originally teamed up with Sasori, then with Kakuzu, and finally with Itachi.

So Kimimaro's request was not excessive.

But Konan didn't agree directly. This matter still needed to be discussed with Pain.

As long as they agreed to change teammates, Kimimaro felt that he was very likely to achieve his goal.

Pain and Konan wouldn't break up their team.

Kisame was someone Obito trusted and was specifically used to monitor Itachi, so Itachi and Kisame's team wouldn't be broken up either.

Zetsu needed to gather intelligence and always acted alone. At other times, he was with Obito and wasn't suitable for having teammates.

The only team left was Sasori and Deidara.

No matter who he teamed up with, it would suit his wishes.

"Thank you, Konan-senpai."

Kimimaro extended his right hand with a smile on his face.

Konan glanced at it but didn't extend her hand.

"You're welcome."

She wouldn't casually have physical contact with people.

Kimimaro could only helplessly retract his right hand.

Handshake failed.

This was the first time.

Sure enough, it wasn't easy to shake a girl's hand, especially a cold one.

On the other side, Kakuzu and Hidan had already started fighting.

"Hey, what are you stopping me for? Do you want to join the Jashin cult and believe in Lord Jashin with me? You have good taste. I've been looking for believers like me recently."

"Idiot, a brainwashed fool."

Kakuzu only believed in money. Any Jashin cult was a liar to him.

"You can insult me! But you absolutely cannot insult Lord Jashin! You will be punished by God!"

Hidan roared.

"I heard you have immortality. I want to see if it's true!"

Kakuzu said, his right fist turning pitch black. He tapped his foot and quickly approached!

Tentacle Fist!

The distance between them was completely within the attack range of the Tentacle Fist, and the punch was extremely fast. Hidan was directly pierced through the chest.

"Bastard! You actually attacked without warning! Too much! It hurts, okay?"

Blood splattered everywhere, and blood overflowed from the corner of Hidan's mouth.

But he still looked lively and energetic, without any weakness that should have appeared after being pierced through the chest.

"It seems that immortality is real, but the strength is too weak. He can't even take one punch from me. He can only be a punching bag when encountering a master."

Kakuzu evaluated Hidan's strength.

Hidan swung the Bloody March Scythe in his hand, cutting off the black tentacles. Blood gushed out, splattering on his left hand.

"You bastard, I will impose God's punishment on you!"

Kakuzu was indifferent to Hidan's shouting.

However, Hidan's right foot, stained with the blood that had just spilled on the ground, drew a strange formation.

"This guy..."

Kimimaro suddenly muttered.

"Do you know what he's going to do?"

Konan asked curiously.

"No, I just want to say, the circle he drew with his foot is so round. He must have drawn it many times."

"???"

Kimimaro's strange train of thought made Konan unable to react for a moment.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter 183: The Akatsuki Band?

"The ritual has begun!" Hidan shouted, then licked the blood of Kakuzu that stained his Bloody March Scythe. Instantly, his skin transformed into a pattern of black and white stripes.

This sudden change surprised both Kakuzu and Konan. They had never seen such a strange technique before.

At this moment, Kimimaro had already activated his Byakugan, carefully observing Hidan's technique. He hadn't yet figured out the secret of immortality, only noticing that after Hidan was injured, the cells in his body rapidly divided, repairing all the injured parts, somewhat similar to the Strength of a Hundred Seal.

But it didn't seem to reduce the number of cell divisions, which was stronger than the Strength of a Hundred Seal. It seemed he needed to study it further to uncover its secrets.

As for the Curse Technique: Death Controlling Possessed Blood in front of him, he did see something.

"After Kakuzu's blood entered Hidan's body, the chakra carried in the blood resonated with Hidan's chakra. In that formation, their chakra transformed from resonance into a whole.

In other words, they achieved a state of shared body. Is this the true nature of the Death Controlling Possessed Blood?"

Kimimaro was quite surprised when he saw this. This Death Controlling Possessed Blood was somewhat similar to the Nara clan's Shadow Imitation Technique.

The difference was that the Shadow Imitation Technique synchronized the opponent's actions, while the Death Controlling Possessed Blood synchronized the opponent's chakra within their body.

The similarity was that, in the state of the technique, whether it was the Shadow Imitation Technique or the Death Controlling Possessed Blood, the damage was synchronized.

"Everything is ready, die!" Hidan yelled crazily, then pulled out a pitch-black spear and stabbed it directly into his own heart!

"Pierced the heart! So exhilarating! May the Evil God enjoy eternal glory!"

After shouting, the black and white colors on his body also dissipated.

At the same time, Kakuzu clutched his heart, his face full of pain. Just a moment ago, the synchronized chakra pierced his heart.

Hidan's heart could recover immediately, but his couldn't.

"This guy..."

His heart shattered, and the mask on his back surged, then broke out of his body and turned into nothingness.

"You bastard! I'm going to kill you!"

Kakuzu was furious. His good heart was just gone like that.

"Hey, hey, why aren't you dead? What's going on?"

Hidan looked puzzled.

But Kakuzu didn't give him time to be confused, coming up with a set of punches and beating him up.

Konan, who was watching the battle, frowned slightly, somewhat puzzled by Hidan's ability.

"Kimimaro, what do you think?"

Konan saw that Kimimaro was watching very intently, seeming to have figured out something, so she asked.

"Hidan's immortality can be confirmed. And the technique he just used is also very terrifying. It's easy to fall for it without knowing the information beforehand. Others don't have as many lives as Senior Kakuzu."

"Can you tell what technique Hidan used?"

"He drew a formation, licked blood, his body changed color, and shouted 'everything is ready, the ritual begins.' It's not hard to judge that his technique has activation conditions. And these conditions should be related to the enemy's blood and the formation under his feet."

Konan suddenly realized upon hearing this. Thinking back carefully, it was indeed like that.

"It's indeed a good ability. Can you separate them? It's time to talk business."

"I can, but let Senior Kakuzu enjoy himself for another three minutes. He must be very angry after losing a heart. If we don't let him vent, he might want to beat me up later."

Kimimaro wanted to see Hidan's recovery process after being injured a few more times, so he didn't intend to separate the two immediately.

"Okay."

Konan didn't refuse upon hearing this.

Just three minutes, she could wait.

And in these three minutes, Hidan had been struggling to resist Kakuzu's attacks, but apart from his taijutsu being able to suppress Kakuzu, he was lacking in all other aspects.

So, in these three minutes, he was "killed" by Kakuzu five times.

In addition to being pierced through the heart twice by the tentacle punch, he also experienced Wind Release, Lightning Release, and Fire Release once each, allowing Hidan to have a good time.

The wind blade cut Hidan's body, leaving countless wounds.

Lightning coursed through his entire body, providing free electrotherapy, leaving his body charred black.

Finally, flames hit his legs, causing severe burns.

But Hidan recovered from his injuries very quickly.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong with this guy? Not only can't he be killed, but he also knows so many strange techniques. I'm almost in pain from being beaten by him."

Hidan finally caught his breath and complained.

But just as he finished complaining, Kakuzu attacked again.

"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"

The lightning spear swept over again!

"Again!"

Hidan had already suffered enough and quickly dodged.

Today's pain quota had been exceeded.

At this time, the three minutes were also up.

Kimimaro used Shunpo to block in front of Hidan, meeting the lightning spear released by Kakuzu.

"Binding Path Thirty-Nine! Round Shield Fan!"

Golden light rapidly spun in Kimimaro's palm, transforming into a shield in front of him.

Boom!

The lightning spear bombarded it, and both shattered at the same time!

Smoke and dust rose, enveloping the three figures, but it quickly dissipated.

Kakuzu's eyes widened, and he didn't attack again.

He didn't expect Kimimaro to suddenly intervene in their fight, nor did he expect him to so easily block his Lightning Release.

Although he didn't use his full strength in that attack, its power was still not to be underestimated.

This young man's strength was stronger than he had imagined.

Seeing this, Konan also became more interested in Kimimaro.

"Such a strange technique, but its defensive power is quite amazing."

Their information on Kimimaro was still incomplete.

Pain never cared about the abilities of Akatsuki members because, in his view, these people were all easily defeated by him.

In front of the Rinnegan, they were nothing.

"Senior Kakuzu, you've vented your anger. Don't forget the purpose of our visit this time. If we continue fighting, Mr. Hidan will become minced meat."

Kimimaro said lazily.

"Hmph, this is the consequence of destroying one of my hearts."

"It's not a big deal, just replace it next time."

"Kid, are you speaking human language? Be careful, or I'll beat you up too!"

"Alright, let's stop here."

Konan also came out and walked directly in front of Hidan.

"Who are you people? Wearing the same clothes, are you some kind of band? If you're a band, your strength is a bit too outrageous."

Hidan still didn't forget to make a吐槽 at this time.

"The Akatsuki Band seems like a good choice too. Senior Konan, you can suggest it to the leader for consideration. Actually, I also have a musical dream."

Kimimaro told a cold joke.

Konan ignored him and looked at Hidan, saying, "Your strength is good, join the Akatsuki."

"Akatsuki? What's that?"

Hidan looked puzzled.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter 184: Healing the Leg

Under Konan's persuasion, Hidan joined the Akatsuki organization. This wasn't a difficult choice for him. Hidan's passions were preaching and killing, and the Akatsuki wouldn't interfere with either. So, if he couldn't beat them, joining them wasn't a bad option. After all, they all seemed like tough guys, and he had just been badly beaten. He didn't want that to continue. He enjoyed intense pain, but that didn't mean he liked being abused.

"Welcome to the Akatsuki," Kimimaro extended his right hand to Hidan.

"I didn't expect to find someone so kind in your organization. Much better than that ugly old man from before," Hidan said, shaking Kimimaro's hand, feeling a surge of goodwill towards him.

"Congratulations, tourist, you have successfully taken a photo with Hidan and received the reward: Dragon Strike."

Dragon Strike, from "Inuyasha," was one of Sesshomaru's signature moves.

Kakuzu's veins bulged on his forehead, and he threw a punch at Hidan! Hidan quickly raised his Triple-Bladed Scythe, blocking the punch.

"Hey, I've joined your organization, why are you still hitting me? Are you not a good sport?"

"I've killed more teammates than you've ever seen. Sooner or later, I'll kill you too," Kakuzu retracted his fist and said coldly.

"You're a bit abnormal," Hidan clearly didn't have a good impression of Kakuzu, who had just beaten him up.

"Kakuzu-senpai is like that, he's always been a bit off," Kimimaro interjected at the right moment.

"It seems like we get along well, let's work together more in the future," Hidan's favorability towards Kimimaro increased even more.

Having a common target for吐槽 (light-hearted complaints or jokes) is one of the effective ways to build relationships.

"Alright, let's go," Konan didn't want to participate in their comedic banter and suggested leaving, thus ending their performance.

As the day drew to a close, the group of four stayed in a nearby town for the night.

In his room, Kimimaro was about to sleep when suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

"Who is it, this late at night?"

Activating his Byakugan, he saw it was Konan at the door, and Kimimaro couldn't help but be stunned.

It was late at night, and a young, unmarried woman knocking on a young man's door was a bit odd.

With doubts in his mind, Kimimaro opened the door.

"Konan-senpai, is there something you need this late?"

"Come with me," Konan said without any further explanation and left.

Her aloof image remained intact.

Kimimaro had no choice but to follow her.

Soon, Konan led him to another room.

In the room, there was a man lying on the bed, his face contorted in pain. His legs had severe burn marks.

"This is?" Kimimaro was confused.

"He's an external member of the Akatsuki. He accidentally injured his legs with explosive tags during a mission. I heard your medical ninjutsu is quite good, can you heal him?" Konan explained.

"Injured by explosive tags? They're completely charred. It would take at least a dozen explosive tags detonating on his legs to achieve this effect. This guy is really unlucky," Kimimaro expressed deep sympathy for the man's misfortune.

"Can you heal him?" Konan asked, her expression unchanged.

"The wounds are fresh, so it shouldn't be too difficult to treat," Kimimaro examined the injuries briefly and came to a conclusion.

Konan's heart stirred, but her expression remained the same.

"Then go ahead."

"Alright."

Such injuries would be nearly impossible for ordinary medical ninjas to treat. But for Kimimaro, although troublesome, it wasn't impossible.

Green chakra, representing Yang Release, appeared in his right palm, while his left hand formed a chakra scalpel.

Kimimaro worked with both hands, his left hand removing the charred flesh from the patient's legs, while his right hand's Mystical Palm Technique quickly stopped the bleeding and stimulated tissue regeneration.

A miraculous scene unfolded.

The charred legs gradually lost their blackened color and new flesh grew back.

This process, naturally, caused the patient to scream in agony.

"Ah!"

Kimimaro frowned slightly and glanced at Pikachu beside him. Pikachu immediately understood, jumped up, and landed on the patient.

"Pika Pika Pikachu!"

Golden lightning struck the patient, and he, who had been screaming, was instantly electrocuted and fainted.

Electrotherapy anesthesia.

The effect was just right.

The world instantly became quiet.

Konan's face twitched slightly, probably because she had never seen this kind of anesthesia method before.

Kimimaro continued the surgery.

His movements became faster and faster, and the patient's legs gradually returned to normal.

Under Konan's surprised and delighted gaze, he completed the surgery.

The total time spent was twenty-nine minutes and thirty-six seconds.

Beads of sweat appeared on Kimimaro's forehead, indicating that this surgery wasn't easy for him.

Multitasking and the prolonged duration took a toll.

In the entire ninja world, only he and Tsunade could accomplish this.

"Done. His legs are fine now. After about a month of rest, he should be able to recover to his previous state."

Looking at the fully healed legs, Konan concealed the shock in her eyes.

She looked at Kimimaro again, her eyes filled with contemplation and hesitation.

"You said his wounds were fresh, so it was easier to treat. But if it were the same injury, but ten years old, could it still be healed?"

Upon hearing this, Kimimaro immediately understood.

The person Konan was referring to was Nagato.

The reason Nagato's legs were disabled was because of the injuries he sustained from Hanzo's Fire Release: Exploding Flame Formation.

Those injuries were similar to the ones this person had.

Was today's treatment just a test from Konan?

Was she testing if he could heal this kind of injury?

Was her ultimate goal to have him treat Nagato?

These thoughts flashed through Kimimaro's mind.

"If it were a ten-year-old injury, it would be more troublesome. But it's not entirely impossible to heal. If I were to do it, there's at least a 50% chance of success," Kimimaro answered.

This answer was completely truthful.

50%?

That was already a high success rate.

If Nagato's legs could truly be healed, it would be more important to Konan than anything else.

Konan's heart leaped with joy, but she didn't immediately ask Kimimaro to treat Nagato.

Such a matter required Nagato's consent.

She knew very well that she couldn't force Nagato.

"Konan-senpai, are there any other similar patients you need me to treat?" Kimimaro seized the opportunity to ask.

"You'll be informed when it's time for you to know. Don't ask about anything else."

"Alright."

Since Konan wouldn't say, Kimimaro didn't press further.

"Hidan, you'll follow Kakuzu and me for now. Tomorrow, I'll go find Pain and let him make the next arrangements. I'll also talk to him about your request. You guys wait here for news."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter 185: The Harmonious Coexistence of Akatsuki Members

Early the next morning, Konan left first, taking the patient from the room with her.

"Konan is really carefree, leaving this guy here. Isn't she afraid he'll be a corpse when she gets back?" Kakuzu eyed Hidan maliciously.

"Hey, you don't actually think you can kill me, do you? What a naive guy. I'm immortal." Hidan scoffed.

"Kakuzu-senpai, Hidan-san, stop arguing. We're all on the same team, and we'll be doing missions together in the future," Kimimaro mediated while eating breakfast, not missing a beat.

Even if the two started fighting, he would at most offer verbal dissuasion and continue doing what he was doing.

"I'm too lazy to argue with him," Hidan also started eating breakfast.

"Kakuzu-senpai, you eat too. Speaking of which, both of you are immortal, you should have a lot to talk about," Kimimaro initiated a topic.

Both of them became interested when this was mentioned.

"His immortality is only good for getting beaten up, how can it compare to mine?" Kakuzu looked down on Hidan's ability.

"Hey hey, my immortality is a gift from the Evil God, and it can be used infinitely. It's not like yours, where you break a weird thing every time you use it. I don't even need to think to know that it definitely has a limited number of uses," Hidan also looked down on Kakuzu's immortality.

"Hmph, then let's see if I beat you to death or you beat me to death," Kakuzu's fists clenched.

Speaking of which, he still hadn't found a suitable replacement for the heart he lost yesterday.

What a good heart, wasted.

"Bring it on! Let me finish breakfast, and I'll show you what I'm made of!" Hidan knew he wasn't Kakuzu's match, but he couldn't lose in a war of words.

After all, he couldn't be killed.

Kimimaro shook his head slightly, suddenly feeling like a third wheel.

It seemed he really should leave this team.

"Hidan, you just said immortality is a gift from the Evil God. What is the Evil God?" Kimimaro asked.

Hidan was a brainless ninja, so there was no need to beat around the bush with him. Just ask directly.

"The Evil God is the Evil God, a very powerful being. Kimimaro, are you interested in the Evil God? Do you want to join the Jashin religion?" Hidan became excited when he mentioned this.

This was the only person who had asked him about the Jashin religion since he started preaching.

Could he expand his followers today?

"Well... I'll learn more about it before considering," Kimimaro smiled awkwardly.

"Don't consider it anymore. The Evil God is very generous. As long as you join the Jashin religion and offer enough sacrifices to the Evil God, you can also gain immortality. If you offer even more, you can also gain the accompanying Jashin ritual, the Curse Technique: Death Controlling Possessed Blood." Hidan explained excitedly.

Jashin ritual?

Curse technique!

Unlike ninjutsu, Hidan's combat methods were called Jashin rituals, which seemed to be another system of techniques.

"Have you seen the Evil God?"

"Of course I have."

"What does it look like?"

"I can't say that, it would displease the Evil God."

"Hmph, I think there's no Evil God at all, it's all in your imagination," Kakuzu interjected.

"You dare blaspheme the Evil God!"

Seeing that the two were about to fight again, Kimimaro helplessly decided not to bother with them.

He was still pondering Hidan's words.

From Hidan's appearance, it didn't seem like he was lying. He seemed to have really seen the Evil God.

Kimimaro wasn't surprised by this.

The Dead Demon Consuming Seal could summon the Shinigami, so it wasn't strange for Hidan to have seen the Evil God.

It seemed this ninja world still hid various strange deities.

Kimimaro suddenly remembered the twenty-seven masks he had obtained from the Uzumaki Mask Temple before.

Could one of them represent the Evil God?

Shaking his head, Kimimaro temporarily banished these thoughts from his mind.

He had used his Byakugan to observe Hidan's body before and roughly deduced the chakra flow in his body when he used the Curse Technique: Death Controlling Possessed Blood.

But to continue researching immortality, he still needed Hidan to provide some cells.

This wasn't difficult.

With a living Hidan right in front of him, was he afraid of not getting his cells?

"Hidan, I want to borrow something from you for research."

"What is it?"

"A piece of your flesh."

As soon as he finished speaking, Kimimaro's hand moved swiftly, and a bone blade suddenly flew out from his palm, slicing off a small piece of flesh from Hidan's arm.

Hidan was startled and quickly retreated.

"What kind of people are you all?"

"Hidan-san, don't be afraid. I'm just a curious person. This bit of flesh is enough for my research. There won't be a next time," Kimimaro smiled.

But this smile didn't make Hidan feel warm, it even made him feel a chill all over.

He had actually thought Kimimaro was a good person before.

Now it seemed that there wasn't even a normal person in this organization, let alone a good person.

One second they were talking nicely, the next second he was slicing off his flesh. He was even more dangerous than that ugly old man.

Were good-looking people also unreliable now?

"I kind of regret joining the Akatsuki. Is it too late to quit now?"

"What do you think?" Hidan sighed.

Meanwhile...

Konan returned to Amegakure and met with Nagato.

"You're back? How did it go?"

"Everything went smoothly. The missing-nin from the Village Hidden in the Hot Springs, Hidan, does indeed possess the ability of immortality, and he also knows another jutsu. As long as he consumes the enemy's blood and stands within a specific formation, he can share damage with the enemy.

It's very strong if the information hasn't been leaked, but if the information is leaked, it's easy to counter him. Even a Chunin would have a chance to kill him."

Nagato nodded in satisfaction.

"With such an ability, the enemy won't have a chance to see him a second time. It's also very suitable for dealing with tailed beasts. Did he agree to join the Akatsuki?"

"He already agreed. He's currently with Kakuzu and Kimimaro. I came back to ask you how to arrange Hidan. There's also another matter I need to consult with you about."

"What is it?"

"Kimimaro requested to change teammates. Kakuzu keeps trying to sneak attack and assassinate him, which is causing him a lot of distress."

Nagato pondered for a moment and then said, "Kimimaro has been teamed up with Kakuzu for over half a year, which is the longest anyone has been partnered with him. He's indeed quite capable. Since he doesn't want to continue teaming up with Kakuzu, let's change it.

Doesn't Hidan have immortality? He can team up with Kakuzu, and there's no need to worry about being assassinated by him. As for Kimimaro... let him team up with Deidara for now.

Sasori has been researching new puppets recently and hasn't taken any action for almost a month. Let Kimimaro and Deidara team up, I happen to have something I need them to do."

(End of Chapter)