In the Land of Fire, two men clad in black robes with red clouds walked side by side.
These two were none other than Kakuzu and Hidan, the immortal duo of the Akatsuki.
To be fair, Kakuzu had always been something of an oddity in the Akatsuki.
Why? Well, because before Hidan, every single teammate Kakuzu had ever worked with had ended up dead at his hands, their hearts turned into his trophies.
Only someone like Hidan, who couldn't die, could manage to stay teamed up with him for this long.
"Ugh, we could've been back at the base resting by now, but nooo, because of you, we had to waste days hunting down some bounty. You're such a pain!" Hidan grumbled, glaring at Kakuzu as they walked.
"We may have lost three days, but we earned another 5 million Ryo from the bounty exchange!" Kakuzu responded, seemingly unbothered by Hidan's complaints.
Three days for 5 million Ryo? Not a bad deal, if you ask Kakuzu.
In fact, when he thought about it, not only had they completed the mission the organization assigned, but they had also made an extra 5 million Ryo on the side. That was definitely worth it.
As the Akatsuki's financial manager, Kakuzu often felt that none of the others truly understood the value of money.
He was over 90 years old now, and anyone else his age would be living out their days in peace. But not him.
No, he still had to work for the organization.
And when he said "work," he meant it literally—it wasn't just a figure of speech. For example, on this last mission, he had lost a heart. That was a literal loss of life!
Unfortunately, he hadn't encountered any suitable ninjas to replace his heart with, so he'd been one down this whole time.
"Wait, someone's coming!" Kakuzu suddenly tensed, interrupting their banter.
Hidan shut his mouth immediately, both of them quickly hiding from view.
About thirty seconds later, a group of four Konoha ninja appeared in front of them.
This team was composed of one Jonin and three elite Chunin, all members of Konoha's Anbu Black Ops.
They were on their way to Sunagakure to meet with the current Kazekage, Rasa, about organizing a Five Kage Summit.
Thanks to Akira's actions, the timeline had been altered. Orochimaru had returned to Konoha, which meant that the original "Konoha Crush" plan never took place.
As a result, the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, hadn't been assassinated by Orochimaru and was still very much alive.
"Konoha ninjas, huh? Konoha is in the Land of Fire, so the chances of them having Fire Chakra are higher than other villages."
Kakuzu's eyes lit up as he spotted the Konoha shinobi.
His missing heart had been a Fire-based one, and now, this might be his chance to replace it.
There were four of them—surely one of them had a Fire Chakra heart!
With his mind made up, Kakuzu unleashed his black threads, launching them at the Konoha ninjas.
"Ambush!" The Konoha ninjas reacted quickly, shouting in alarm.
But when faced with an attack from a Kage-level opponent, it was almost futile.
In a single exchange, Kakuzu had already disabled them, and two of the elite Chunin were injured.
"Who are you? Why are you attacking us?" the Jonin leader asked, his face tense as he stared at Kakuzu and Hidan.
Especially Kakuzu—his use of the Earth Grudge Fear technique was bizarre, unlike anything they had ever seen before.
It wasn't just the attack, though. As Konoha ninjas, they were in their own homeland—the Land of Fire. Being ambushed here was infuriating.
"They're from the Akatsuki, Kakuzu and Hidan!" Before Kakuzu and Hidan could respond, a new voice rang out, and Akira appeared in the clearing.
"Such an advanced Shunshin no Jutsu!" Kakuzu's pupils narrowed in surprise as he watched Akira's entrance, shocked by the technique.
When you're skilled, you recognize skill.
Just from that brief display of the Shunshin no Jutsu, Kakuzu could tell that Akira's strength was extraordinary.
"Who are you? How do you know about us?" Hidan demanded arrogantly, slinging his scythe over his shoulder as he stared down Akira.
"Captain!" The Konoha ninjas exclaimed in surprise before breaking into smiles of relief when they recognized Akira.
They hadn't expected their captain to appear just when they needed him most. His presence was enough to make them feel safe.
"You all leave. I'll handle this," Akira instructed, addressing his subordinates.
"Yes, sir!" they responded without hesitation. Of course, they weren't worried about Akira.
After all, this was the man who had severed the Tsuchikage's leg seven years ago.
They had absolute confidence in his power.
"Hmph. Did I say you could leave?" Hidan sneered as he saw the Konoha ninjas turning to leave. He raised his scythe, ready to stop them.
But before he could act, Akira raised his Kusanagi Sword, murmuring softly:
"Pierce him… Shinsō."
Shnk!
The blade of the Kusanagi Sword shot out, extending rapidly toward Hidan.
Hidan quickly raised his scythe to block.
He managed to catch the blade, but that didn't mean he could stop it.
A powerful force surged through the scythe, pushing Hidan back. His feet dug deep grooves into the ground as he was forced backward.
In the original story, Orochimaru had used the Kusanagi Sword's extending ability to push Four-Tails Naruto back hundreds of meters.
Was Hidan as strong as a Four-Tailed Naruto?
No, and Akira's strength far surpassed Orochimaru's.
Hidan was no match for Akira in terms of power. He was forced back hundreds of meters before the attack finally stopped.
The only reason it ended was that the length of the Kusanagi Sword was putting too much strain on Akira's chakra. There was no point in continuing to push.
After sending Hidan flying, Akira retracted the blade, a smirk on his face as he admired the sword in his hand.
"Yeah, I think I'll name this sword… Zanpakutō, Shinsō. It suits it perfectly!" Akira mused to himself.
Kakuzu, however, had his own thoughts. He watched in disbelief as his partner had been pushed back hundreds of meters with a single blow.
"Who… what the hell are you? What kind of monster are you?" Kakuzu's voice was heavy with disbelief as he stared at Akira.
Hidan, his immortal partner, had been sent flying with ease. Akira's display of power left Kakuzu deeply unsettled.
And then there was that horn on Akira's forehead…
What kind of human grows horns?
For the first time, Kakuzu, who had always been considered a monster due to his Earth Grudge Fear technique, found himself looking at someone who seemed even more monstrous than him.
"You're Kakuzu, right? The Akatsuki's treasurer? You must be loaded," Akira said, shifting his attention to Kakuzu with a gleam in his eye.
"My money? Is that what you're after?" Kakuzu's tone became grim.
If Akira had attacked because Kakuzu had just ambushed the Konoha ninjas, that would've been understandable.
But to think that his goal might be Kakuzu's money?
This, Kakuzu couldn't tolerate!
His head could be chopped off, his blood could be spilled, but his money? That was untouchable.
Kakuzu wasted no time responding. Without another word, he launched a direct attack.
His long tendrils shot out, hurtling toward Akira.
Akira deflected every strike with his Kusanagi Sword, even managing to cut through some of the threads with the blade.
Even with just these few exchanges, Kakuzu realized that Akira's power was formidable and not to be underestimated.
Kakuzu's body tensed as he began to move.
It was a grotesque sight. His body twisted and contorted, and suddenly, several masked creatures made of tendrils separated from him, each bearing a mask.
"Kakuzu, I'm back!" Hidan called out, finally returning after being sent flying. He began drawing a strange ritualistic circle on the ground, shouting as he did.
He was preparing his signature move, the Jashin Ritual.
Seeing Hidan's ritual, Akira became more cautious.
Though Hidan's actual combat strength was only that of a typical Jonin, his ability was too peculiar.
If Hidan managed to get his hands on Akira's blood, there was a chance things could go sideways fast.
And Akira wasn't about to bet his life on it.
No, the best option was to fight smart and avoid giving Hidan the chance to draw blood.
"Let's go!" Hidan shouted as he and Kakuzu exchanged a glance and then launched their attack.
In that moment, both of them decided to work together.
*********
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