"We already took that guy down, didn't we? So why are we still running?"
"I call you stupid and you really don't have a brain! Didn't you hear him say he was from the Akatsuki? Can you guarantee he was the only one who ca?"
"What's there to be afraid of! Even if a few more show up, they're still no match for Lord Hidan!"
Watching Hidan stubbornly brag with his neck craned high—even though he was half-paralyzed and barely able to move—Shinji was deeply "moved." Without another word, he let go of his hand.
"Hey, bastard! Where do you think you're going?" Hidan, lying on the ground and unable to move, imdiately panicked when he saw Shinji turn to leave.
"I'm just worried that if soone catches up later, 'Lord Hidan' won't be able to fight properly and might accidentally hurt instead."
Seeing Shinji roll his eyes and continue walking away, Hidan hurriedly changed his tune.
Hidan's old face flushed red, but he still shot back stubbornly, "You don't need to worry. I'm just not in great shape right now—there's no way I'd accidentally hurt you. Tch, whatever. I'll let them off this ti. Once I recover, I'll send them to et Lord Jashin one by one!"
"Look at you showing off. If you were really that strong, you wouldn't be lying here paralyzed right now."
Shinji retorted bluntly. After all this ti, Hidan had learned what it ant that a wise man doesn't fight when the odds are against him. So he muttered a few inaudible complaints under his breath and decisively stopped arguing.
In truth, no one understood better than him just how terrifying that guy had been.
Honestly, he hadn't even understood that final move—and he had been utterly shocked by its destructive power!
If he didn't have his immortality, he would've already gone to report to Lord Jashin on the spot.
It could've effortlessly wiped out an entire small village!
But precisely because the opponent had been so strong, it made the fact that they—well, he had "killed" him—look all the more impressive. Fine, they. After all, Shinji had contributed a tiny bit too.
Hidan didn't care what the defeated thought. Who cares about a dead man's opinion anyway?
He would probably have his eyes pop out of his skull when he next saw Pain's Deva Path standing perfectly intact in front of him.
Hidan lay on a makeshift wooden board while Shinji pulled him along with a rope from the front.
Though it was true that Hidan possessed immortality and powerful regeneration, if he wanted to recover faster and avoid any lasting issues, he still needed proper treatnt.
Left with no choice, Shinji could only drag him toward the nearest border of the Land of Fire.
Once they got there, even if the Akatsuki pursued them, they wouldn't dare act too recklessly.
After all, the Akatsuki wasn't yet prepared to go to war with the Five Great Nations.
After a while, a bored Hidan suddenly asked,
"Say, we both got our immortality from Lord Jashin. So why is it that you recover so fast after getting injured? And back in the Land of Wind, I personally chopped off your arms and legs. You were in that state, and yet you recovered completely not long after."
"Why are you only asking about this now?"
"Because I only just thought of it."
"…"
Hearing Hidan's perfectly justified answer from behind him, Shinji was utterly speechless.
Then he gave the explanation he had prepared long ago.
"Because it's different. Even if you suffer a fatal wound, you won't die and your consciousness always stays clear. But every ti I 'die' for real—only to revive three seconds later. And back then, you were the only one who could learn [Death Possession Blood]. No matter how hard I tried, it was useless… With such a huge flaw, I've always been considered your inferior version. You should've known that already."
Hidan's expression shifted slightly. After a brief mont of hesitation, he said, "Tch, that's just those fake believers talking nonsense. They don't understand anything."
"Maybe. Maybe it's precisely because my immortality has such a big flaw that I was compensated in other areas—like curse techniques, or stronger regeneration."
It had to be said, Shinji's half-true, half-false explanation convinced Hidan completely.
And saying it this way would also give him a reasonable excuse to use more curse techniques in the future. By then, Hidan would simply fill in the gaps himself and persuade his own mind.
Suddenly, Shinji changed the subject and joked, "Wait a second. Were you just comforting ?"
"Hah? Comforting you? Why don't you just go die already?!"
"I, Hidan, would rather jump off a cliff, get chopped into pieces, and thrown into the sea to feed the fish than comfort a bastard like you!"
"So damn disgusting—get lost!"
As Hidan flushed red with agitation and spewed curses nonstop, an ill-tid system notification sounded.
[Bond Points 5]
(⊙⊙)!
[Bond Points 5]
[Bond Points 5]
→_→
Shinji was shocked at first. Then he couldn't help but shoot a sideways glance at the guy behind him—furiously cursing him while racking up bond points like crazy.
Didn't even do anything, and 15 bond points just like that!
So this is the kind of person you are, huh, Hidan!
I seriously misjudged you!
Don't stop—keep them coming!
Unfortunately, no matter how much Shinji hoped for more, it stopped at 15 points, bringing the total to 865.
A thousand really wasn't far off now!
Having reaped the benefits, Shinji didn't expose Hidan and make him explode on the spot. Instead, he quietly pocketed the gains and let him rant.
After venting for a while, Hidan finally got over his embarrassnt-induced agitation and cald down.
Then he said sothing that genuinely surprised Shinji.
"I want to rebuild the Jashin Cult. What do you think? Is it possible?"
"Huh?"
Even if his head were smashed open, Shinji wouldn't have guessed Hidan would suddenly have such an idea. He froze, unable to respond imdiately.
"Guess it's impossible. Too unrealistic. You're right—right now, the Jashin Cult is just the two of us. Everyone else, including the leader, was killed by us. Who would join a cult like that?"
Shinji hadn't even said anything yet, and Hidan had already gone on a long rant.
That imdiately made Shinji realize this wasn't so sudden whim. Hidan had definitely been thinking about this for a long ti.
Otherwise, with Hidan's "simple" brain, how could he have thought through so much—even analyzing the recruitnt disadvantages of the Jashin Cult?
After realizing Hidan was likely serious, Shinji grew serious too and began considering whether there was any need to rebuild the Jashin Cult.
From the very beginning, he had only treated the Jashin Cult as a temporary shelter—a stepping stone once he gained enough strength.
Even if Hidan's incident hadn't happened, he would have left that thoroughly corrupt cult sooner or later.
Because in his view, even if you were going to be a villain, you needed your own bottom line. You couldn't just do every evil thing imaginable.
For example, why had the Akatsuki always remained so popular?
It had a lot to do with Nagato's ideal of striving to achieve "peace"!
To put it bluntly, this was the foundation for a future redemption arc!
Sure, I'm a villain. Sure, I kill people. But my starting point is good. I'm doing this for world peace—so that no one has to suffer like this again, so no more children are left holess, so everyone can live happily and peacefully…
Listen to that!
How about it?
Doesn't it suddenly feel a lot more acceptable?
You might even find yourself defending him, saying emotionally: "He had no choice back then!"
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