No matter how unwilling Shinsuke was, he still set out with Hidan.
And just as Takigi-sama said, it seemed they were really not being followed by anyone. It was as if Takigi-sama had complete faith that they would complete the mission and return safely.
But unless Shinsuke was really clueless, he wouldn't believe that.
The more likely scenario was that the Evil God Cult had already sent someone to protect (or monitor) them in secret.
"What are you looking at?"
Hidan asked impatiently, clearly not wanting to be on a mission with Shinsuke either.
"Nothing, let's go."
Shinsuke withdrew his gaze, gave no explanation, and walked forward.
Hidan scoffed and followed.
According to the map, they needed to pass through the Land of Fire and then take a boat to the Land of Waves.
Although the journey was long, for ninjas, it would only take a few days at full speed.
Of course, this mission was not urgent.
So they didn't need to rush.
Thus, they took their time and only managed to enter the Land of Fire three days later.
After entering the Land of Fire, Shinsuke's behavior became noticeably strange.
It wasn't that he wanted to shake off Hidan and escape, nor did he have any intention of defecting to Konohagakure.
He simply realized that he was getting closer to the location marked on the [Cursed Treasure Map].
"Should I go check it out?"
He hesitated, fearing it might expose his greatest secret.
But on second thought, if he missed this opportunity, it could be a long time before he had another chance to come near here.
Moreover, he was too eager to find out what this [Cursed Treasure Map] might reveal!
"Damn, why am I hesitating and being so cautious? If I really find something, I can just say it was something I hid there before. That shouldn't be a problem!"
Shinsuke wasn't blindly confident. The Evil God Cult had invested so much effort into him and Hidan; as long as he didn't rebel, they wouldn't be shortsighted enough to seize his stuff.
Additionally, with the system's unreliability and the term 'cursed'...
He was worried that there might be some problems during the process. What if he ended up digging up a 'mummy'? That would turn the story from a fanfic into a tomb-raiding novel!
Looking up at the sky, night was falling.
Shinsuke casually said, "It's getting dark. According to the map, there's a small village nearby where we can buy some food and find a place to stay for the night."
"This is so troublesome."
Hidan grumbled but didn't object.
After all, after eating dry rations and sleeping in the wild for a few days, he was getting a bit tired of it.
If he could have a hot meal and a good night's sleep, he had no reason to refuse.
Of course, he still had to throw in a bit of sarcasm!
"Can't stand just a few days, some people are really pampered!"
Shinsuke didn't indulge Hidan and retorted directly, "Then you can stay here and continue feeding mosquitoes. I'll go over there. Maybe there's some pork cutlet."
After saying that, he walked off without hesitation!
Hidan was left standing there, conflicted!
Following him might be somewhat humiliating.
But if he didn't go...
What if there really was pork cutlet?
As a natural meat eater, Hidan disliked all vegetables and favored pork cutlets above all.
Why should he stay behind eating dry rations and feeding mosquitoes while Shinsuke enjoyed himself?
So Hidan steeled himself and quickly followed.
Seeing Shinsuke looking over, he immediately said, "I really can't do anything about you. Fine, I'll reluctantly accommodate you this time. But there won't be a next time, got it?"
What a tsundere, all talk and no action.
Shinsuke clicked his tongue but didn't press the issue.
After all, most of his thoughts were on the treasure map.
Dealing with Hidan was a long-term task, not something that could be resolved quickly, so there was no rush; it could be done gradually.
"Keep up, we need to speed up."
Finding the direction, Shinsuke put away the map and began to quicken his pace.
In the original story, Hidan was the slowest member of the Akatsuki organization, but that was compared to the monsters in the Akatsuki.
Compared to ordinary ninjas, Hidan's speed was not slow at all.
So the two quickly deviated from their original route and headed north.
After running for a full hour, they finally saw the shadow of a village, and the sky had completely darkened.
Stopping, Hidan couldn't help but complain, "Is this the small village you mentioned? Where did we end up?"
Indeed, an hour of full-speed travel for ninjas was hardly considered 'nearby'.
Hidan felt he had been deceived!
The mention of pork cutlet was clearly just a trick by Shinsuke to lure him!
He regretted being fooled and following so far.
Had he known, he would have preferred to stay behind and deal with mosquitoes!
Shinsuke also knew his excuse was somewhat flimsy, but he had no better solution.
After all, he had come based on the position indicated on the treasure map.
So even if the excuse was poor, he needed to make a detour to check it out.
"Then you go?"
"Go my ass! If I don't get any pork cutlet tonight, I'll make a sacrifice to the Evil God and offer everyone in this village as a tribute!"
Hidan cursed angrily and stormed inside.
Shinsuke felt a headache coming on.
He had no doubt Hidan might actually do such a thing out of anger, but that was not the outcome he wanted to see.
"So I need to think of a way to placate this guy…"
Fortunately, Shinsuke's [Crimson Blood Manipulation] was a perfect counter to Hidan's abilities, so he wasn't at risk of losing control.
"Hello, young men. Are you here to find someone?"
While they were causing a commotion in the village, an elderly man appeared in front of them and asked.
Shinsuke was about to speak when Hidan beat him to it.
"Hey, old man! If you have anything good to eat or drink, bring it out quickly. Otherwise, Hidan-sama will burn your village… Mmmph!"
Shinsuke hurriedly covered Hidan's mouth and put on a smile, "Don't mind him. My brother had a bit of a head injury when he was young and often says strange things."
"We're not here to find anyone. We just happened to pass by and want to buy some food. We'd also like a place to stay for the night."
The old man's tense expression eased a little upon hearing this.
"Oh, I see. Your brother does seem a bit ill."
Hidan glared at the old man upon hearing this, struggling to break free.
"Mmmph, mmph!"
(I'll kill you, old man!)
Shinsuke exerted a lot of effort to prevent Hidan from attacking the old man on the spot.
The old man then said, "Since you're here as guests, it's fate. Don't worry about money. If you don't mind, come to my home. I'll get you some food and a place to stay for the night."
"Thank you very much. We'll stay for one night and won't be a burden."
"Speaking of trouble…"
"What is it, old man?"
"Well, you'll have to keep an eye on your brother. There are many women and children in the village; make sure he doesn't scare them!"
"Hehe, absolutely not! Don't worry. Although my brother has a lot of shortcomings—he's not too bright, is foulmouthed, and is too arrogant for his own good—he has one virtue: he doesn't have any interest in women. He finds them annoying and avoids them, so there's no chance he'll approach."
"That's good. What a shame, such a physique, but too bad he's an idiot. He doesn't understand the joys of women~"
The old man seemed to be quite the storyteller, sighing and lamenting as he led the way.