Boom!
A large rock smashed onto the ground, and a mass of black hair erupted once more.
Hidan, having lost the upper hand from the start, could only flee desperately, barely defending himself!
If he hadn't decisively cut his own ankle to avoid injury, he would have likely been swallowed by that monster.
Even so, being so close to the well was incredibly dangerous.
Moreover, his most powerful curse technique, Death Controlling Possessed Blood, had no effect on this creature.
This made Hidan extremely frustrated!
Noticing out of the corner of his eye that Shinsuke had already dealt with the surrounding villagers, Hidan couldn't help but shout, "How do we deal with this monster? It's endless!"
At this point, Shinsuke didn't rush to support Hidan but began to observe and recall carefully.
"From opening the chest to being suddenly attacked, escaping the dry well... black hair... an irresistible eerie fragrance... feeding..."
"There must be a way to solve it, something must have been overlooked... what is it..."
"Hey! What are you daydreaming about? Come help me, I can't hold on much longer!" Hidan's urgent voice rang out.
In this short time, Hidan was left with only a kunai, the other one having been knocked away.
If that creature hadn't been solely driven by instinct with a rigid attack pattern, Hidan might have already been overwhelmed by the dense black hair.
Despite Hidan's desperate efforts, it seemed only a matter of time before he was defeated.
Hidan couldn't effectively harm the creature's main body, and merely cutting off the attacking black hair was useless.
Ignoring Hidan's plea for help, Shinsuke instead shouted, "Hold on a bit longer, I'm analyzing this thing's weakness."
"Akagi Shinsuke! You bastard! I'll remember this!" Hidan cursed, seeing that Shinsuke really wasn't coming to help. He had no choice but to gather his strength and keep fighting.
Shinsuke, interrupted by Hidan, began to reorganize his thoughts.
"According to earlier observations, this bizarre thing seems to lack true intelligence, acting on pure instinct..."
"And importantly, we didn't smell any fragrance during its attack. Only after it retreated into the well did it release that enticing scent."
"If it could use the fragrance at will, it would have done so at the start. If it had, we might have been caught off guard."
"Reasonably, this monster likely has two modes: one to lure prey with the scent within its hunting range, and another to capture prey with its black hair. These two modes probably can't be used simultaneously."
"But this isn't enough! Just knowing this can't fully resolve this monster. What's its weakness?"
Taking several deep breaths to calm himself, Shinsuke ignored other concerns, confident that even if Hidan was captured, he wouldn't die immediately, giving him more time to observe.
He abandoned his earlier line of thinking and started anew.
"Going down... opening the chest... being attacked..."
"Wait!"
"Why was I attacked?"
Recalling the attack when he opened the chest, Shinsuke suddenly realized a detail he had overlooked.
The black hair's initial target wasn't him but... the torch in his hand!
Yes, that's right!
Frightened earlier, he had only thought of escaping the well, neglecting this fact.
If he had been the primary target, he would have been caught off guard and escaping wouldn't have been easy.
Upon reflection, the monster extinguished the torch first before turning to chase him, allowing him to escape relatively unscathed.
Eliminating the absurd idea that the monster had a grudge against torches, the most likely explanation was...
"Shinsuke, you bastard! If you don't come help soon..."
"It's fire!"
"What?"
"The monster's weakness is likely fire!"
"Are you sure?"
"Trust me! Use Fire Release to burn it!"
"Okay! I'll burn... I'll burn your whole family! I can't use Fire Release!!!"
Hidan's roar left Shinsuke embarrassed.
"Damn, I got too excited and forgot about this."
They were both so inept at ninjutsu they couldn't even use basic techniques!
Realizing this, Shinsuke turned and ran!
"Bastard! You're running away? Take me with you! Damn it!"
Hidan, initially incredulous, began cursing!
Even if I'm not human, you're truly despicable!
I'm done!
I'm going back to the Cult of Jashin!
Feeling abandoned, Hidan gave up fighting and tried to escape the monster's range.
But entering was easy, leaving was hard.
The black hair, hungry, wouldn't let its only prey escape.
Hidan realized he was trapped.
Previously, they escaped because they worked together and kept their distance.
Now, alone and close to the well, how could he escape?
Panicked, Hidan's actions became erratic.
Previously able to defend, he made a major mistake, and before he knew it, black hair ensnared his legs.
Trying to repeat his earlier tactic, the black hair didn't give him a chance, quickly overwhelming him!
Despite swinging his kunai desperately, its range was too small, and he was captured.
The black hair cocooned him, trying to enter his mouth, nose, and ears.
He understood why the livestock had died so horribly.
For the first time, Hidan doubted his "immortality" would hold up.
"All because of Shinsuke! He ran at the crucial moment! If I survive, I'll kill him!"
Closing his eyes and cursing Shinsuke a thousand times, Hidan suddenly felt intense heat, like his skin was burning!
Shinsuke, having returned with two buckets, doused the black hair with flammable liquid and threw a firestarter!
Boom!
Flames roared to life!
Shinsuke hadn't abandoned Hidan but had gone to the village for fuel, slowing him down.
But he returned in time to save Hidan!
"Damn it, now you'll die!"
Watching the black hair writhe and burn, Shinsuke poured the remaining fuel into the well, tossing in another firestarter!
Amidst the blazing flames, he seemed to hear the monster's anguished wail, a sweet sound!