"Still not done? Hidan, your ritual has already been going on for half an hour," Kakuzu said impatiently to Hidan, sitting on the ground.
Hidan lay on a pattern drawn with blood, a sharp spear piercing his chest, muttering about comfort.
Beside him lay a man on the verge of death. Hidan's Jashin ritual could curse enemies, transferring the damage he endured onto them. However, this required him to taste the enemy's blood and be within the blood array he drew.
"Alright, alright, the ritual is complete. Where do we go next? Are we going to start sealing the Tailed Beast?" Hidan pulled out the black spear and slowly got up, asking Kakuzu about the next step.
At this moment, Kakuzu's old habit kicked in. The Jinchuriki had been captured, so now they should go kill someone with a bounty to earn money. When Itachi and Kisame captured the Four-Tails, Kakuzu had been doing this, which prevented their team from capturing the Tailed Beast sooner.
Actually, it could be said that Lixing had snatched the targets of the immortal duo. The original Seven-Tails and Two-Tails were quickly captured by the immortal duo in the original story, which was completely different from the current situation. However, this could also be considered Lixing saving their lives. Now, there was no way they could go to the Fire Temple in the Land of Fire to capture Monk Chiriku.
Kakuzu took out a notebook and flipped through it, finding a name worth thirty million Ryo: Chiriku. Good, fate had guided them back to the Fire Temple.
"Hidan, we're going to the Fire Temple in the Land of Fire. There's a bounty of thirty million Ryo there. Leave the Jinchuriki to Zetsu."
...
Land of Fire, Fire Temple.
Kakuzu and Hidan had arrived here. Standing before the gates of the Fire Temple, Kakuzu immediately recognized that the gate had a barrier. He then punched the gate with all his might, shattering it.
"The barrier has been broken! There are intruders! Quickly report to Lord Chiriku!"
A group of monks fell into a panic. One of them went to inform Chiriku, while the others blocked Kakuzu and Hidan.
"Wearing the black robes with red clouds, there's no mistake, you are members of the Akatsuki!"
"You all retreat and let me face them alone! The remaining combatants will protect the weak, and send someone to the Hidden Leaf Village to request reinforcements."
At this moment, a bald monk stepped forward, confronting Kakuzu and Hidan.
"It seems a highly respected monk has appeared!" Even Hidan, the fool, could tell that this monk was the leader, likely the abbot of the Fire Temple.
"Wearing a scarf with the character 'fire' around his waist, he should be Chiriku, one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja of the Land of Fire, worth thirty million Ryo." Kakuzu's notebook contained detailed information about these individuals, and he remembered bounty targets like this even more clearly.
"Hey, hey! You're not going to kill this monk for a bounty, are you? You'll go to hell!"
"The judgment of hell also depends on money. With money, what is there to fear!"
Chiriku stared at the two with a solemn expression, completely ignoring their conversation. Such people were either fools or had absolute confidence in their strength. Since they were in the Akatsuki, the latter was obviously true.
"The Fire Temple in the Land of Fire is a renowned ninja temple. It is said that the people here can control a special ability called Sage Art. Especially this Chiriku before us, he is the elite of elites among these monks. Hidan, you mustn't be careless, or you might lose your life."
Hidan raised his Scythe, licking his lips, "Save those words for someone else! Kakuzu!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Hidan charged forward with his Scythe, and Kakuzu followed closely behind.
"Raijin, Senju Satsu!"
Suddenly, a Thousand-Armed Kannon manifested behind Chiriku. Caught off guard, Hidan was sent flying by dozens of golden chakra fists.
Kakuzu, with far more combat experience than Hidan, knew Chiriku's strength well. He had prepared beforehand, dodging the incoming fists one by one. Then, Kakuzu extended his arm and attacked Chiriku directly.
"Nigimyo Kongo!"
As Kakuzu attacked, the Thousand-Armed Kannon behind Chiriku suddenly transformed into a red Kongo, greatly increasing Chiriku's strength and speed in this form.
However, Kakuzu had two people on his side. Hidan had stealthily moved behind Chiriku, raising his Scythe and bringing it down.
"Yahoo!"
"You idiot, would you sneak attack with a yell like that?!" Kakuzu wanted to slap Hidan for shouting during his sneak attack.
But Chiriku, focused on the Kakuzu in front of him, overlooked Hidan's presence. In Chiriku's eyes, Hidan was just a brainless close-combat ninja.
Chiriku leaped lightly, easily dodging Hidan's strike. However, Hidan's Scythe was retractable.
Hidan extended his Scythe and continued to slash at Chiriku. Kakuzu also cooperated with Hidan, instantly appearing behind Chiriku and extending both his hands to attack from both front and back.
Chiriku was in mid-air, and both attackers were at a distance, providing no leverage for evasion. He had to twist his body forcefully to narrowly dodge Kakuzu's hands, but his arm was still grazed by Hidan's Scythe.
Seeing that Hidan's Scythe had successfully drawn Chiriku's blood, Kakuzu continued his assault. As long as Hidan could successfully perform the ritual, they would succeed.
Hidan grinned sinisterly, retracted his Scythe, licked it with his tongue, then cut his own hand with a dagger, letting his blood drip onto the ground. He stepped on the blood, drew a circle, and finally drew a triangle within the circle.
The conditions for the Jashin ritual were complete. Hidan's skin began to turn black and white, appearing extremely terrifying to normal people.
"I have cursed you, and the ritual begins now! You old monk who cannot feel others' pain, God will judge you! Hahahaha!"
Hidan laughed as he pulled out the black spear from his body and unhesitatingly plunged it into his own arm. Chiriku, who was fighting Kakuzu in front, suddenly felt a sharp pain in his arm and was sent flying by Kakuzu in his distraction.
Kakuzu slowly retracted his hands. "Is that all?"
"What are you talking about! It's not over yet!" Chiriku got back up and was about to use Senju Satsu again when he suddenly felt as if he had been stabbed in the leg and immediately fell to his knees.
Chiriku turned to look at Hidan beside him. He saw Hidan plunging a black spear into his own thigh. The wound and the pain he felt were exactly the same. Chiriku suddenly realized that Hidan was behind this. However, he still didn't understand how Hidan did it, this combat style of hurting the enemy by hurting himself.
Then, Hidan continued to stab his other thigh, then pulled it out and stabbed his other arm. At this point, Chiriku's limbs were crippled by Hidan. Finally, Hidan slowly plunged the spear into his own heart.
Chiriku watched all this unfold and finally understood why Kakuzu had said it was over. With deep regret, he closed his eyes.
Kakuzu moved to pack Chiriku's body, but a group of monks suddenly rushed out to stop him, trying to prevent Kakuzu from earning money, which was akin to taking his life. Kakuzu, not wanting to waste more time, then unleashed a massacre in the Fire Temple.