Hidan responded eagerly to every question, especially those about the "Akatsuki."
Despite not always having the answers, his attitude was sincere and earnest.
Speaking passionately without any sense of being a captive, he said, "I don't have a good relationship with Akatsuki."
"The organization primarily aims to gather wealth, with warfare merely a side objective, which doesn't align with my beliefs!"
"I can't stand people like Kakuzu!"
The man beside him, with a face full of black lines, gritted his teeth, wanting to counterattack verbally. However, with the Nine-Tails perched on his head, he swallowed his words, carefully tilting his head away, pretending to hear nothing.
"Do you know the deity I worship? Now that's truly interesting," Hidan continued, suddenly leaning forward.
He didn't finish.
"Hado No. 1, Sho!"
A burst of energy slammed into his face, knocking out several teeth, which fell to the ground mixed with blood.
"This isn't the time for that," Naruto said softly, "Just stick to what I'm asking."
Hidan, clutching his right cheek, protested, "Damn it, that hurts!!!"
"If you don't want to hear about it, ask properly instead of hitting!"
"I'll continue talking about the organization."
"I don't know exactly how many Akatsuki members there are, but the main ones seem to be just nine."
"Regarding their identities,"
"I only know about Uchiha Itachi."
Naruto squinted his eyes.
Hidan quickly raised his hand, "It's all true, I swear to you!"
"We don't meet in person during meetings. We use a technique called 'Projection Jutsu,' uploading our mental forms to an unknown space where others' appearances are unclear."
Naruto nodded slightly.
Scratching his head, Hidan continued, "As for the leader of the organization, he's said to be very powerful, but I've never met him, only seen his projection in meetings."
"He supposedly has the legendary Rinnegan."
"He calls himself 'God,' but realistically, he's probably just a strong ninja like you."
"He lacks the divine power of the deity I revere."
Another burst of energy.
Almost instantly after his words took a turn, he was struck on the other side of his face, achieving perfect symmetry.
Kakuzu chuckled softly.
Naruto's gaze darted over.
Kakuzu immediately suppressed his smile and nonchalantly turned his head aside. "What I know is about the same as what Hidan knows."
"Everything this chatty guy said is true," Naruto pointed at Hidan, "but your statement is a lie."
"You clearly know more than that."
Kakuzu was taken aback, his body stiffened.
"I have the ability to distinguish truth from lies," Naruto's tone was calm, "speak the truth."
Kakuzu lowered his head and remained silent, clenching his lips tightly, unwilling to reveal a single word.
"Naruto," Karin tugged at his sleeve.
Naruto glanced over.
The red-haired girl cautiously signaled with her eyes.
He walked with her to the side.
"I feel something is off," Karin whispered, keeping her gaze on the two individuals, "You must have noticed this earlier, right?"
"They're way too deliberate in their behavior," Naruto replied with a smile.
Karin nodded.
This situation seemed like the organization had strangely overestimated its confidence in itself, deploying two individuals with some peculiar secret techniques, intending to use their abilities to capture Naruto.
But upon further consideration, these two didn't seem surprised at being caught by Naruto instead.
Moreover, they were quite willing to divulge Akatsuki's affairs.
Naruto barely needed any interrogation.
The intel about Akatsuki being in Amegakure was revealed almost immediately.
The crucial point was, the one consistently talking about "Akatsuki" matters was the person named "Hidan."
Yet this person knew even less about "Akatsuki" than Naruto did.
At the very least, Naruto was aware that behind Akatsuki was someone named "Madara Uchiha," and their purpose in collecting the tailed beasts was most likely to awaken the "Ten-Tails."
Hidan was completely unaware of this.
The only useful information he provided was that the leader of the Akatsuki possessed a pair of "Rinnegan."
"They're most likely just bait thrown out by the Akatsuki," Naruto turned back, glancing at the two individuals, "The purpose is to inform me of Akatsuki's location, to lure me there."
"They'll set up traps there, gather enough manpower, preparing to capture me."
Karin worriedly asked, "So what are you going to do, Naruto?"
"Should we go to Amegakure?"
She instinctively felt that this was not a good choice.
"I wonder, in Akatsuki's eyes, how absurdly foolish they must think I am," Naruto whispered, "Do they really think that I, knowing their hideout, would lose my head in overconfidence and charge straight in?"
Yang Kurama leaped onto Naruto's shoulder, "It's just Amegakure."
"Could it possibly be stronger than Kumogakure?"
Naruto and Karin stared intently at it.
It had just been said.
And here it seemed.
Yang Kurama, feeling somewhat embarrassed, stomped heavily on Naruto's shoulder a few times, "Am I wrong though?"
"Amegakure is just a small country."
Naruto reached out, pinching its tail, "Amegakure is indeed a small nation, but."
"Our enemies are the Akatsuki."
"Hidan's understanding of that organization is quite minimal."
Yang Kurama grumbled, "He's a fool."
"Kakuzu, however, is no fool," Naruto glanced at the man with a lowered head, his body stitched with black threads, "Yet he said nothing."
"So what if he said nothing?" Yang Kurama questioned, puzzled.
Naruto remained silent.
Karin spoke up to explain, "There are only two possibilities; one is that he's an incredibly loyal person."
"But having become a missing-nin, what talk is there of loyalty."
"Then it can only be the other possibility."
"In his mind, the Akatsuki's leader is considered a greater threat than Naruto."
Kurama glanced at Naruto.
"How much do you know about the Rinnegan?" Naruto asked him.
The Nine-Tails shook its head, "I don't know."
"But the rumor among humans is indeed true. The Rinnegan was once possessed by the Sage of Six Paths."
"After that, I've never seen anyone else have it."
"Not even Indra and Madara Uchiha."
Naruto caught an unfamiliar name, "Indra, who is that?"
"One of the Sage of Six Paths' sons, Asura's older brother," the Nine-Tails answered casually, "A very extreme person who, out of jealousy for the Sage of Six Paths' love for Asura, turned against his own brother."
Naruto nodded, pondering deeply, "So."
"The Rinnegan is a unique power of the Sage of Six Paths?"
The Nine-Tails thought for a moment and nodded, "To my understanding, yes, that's true."
"The Sage of Six Paths," Karin repeated the name, "I never expected that this matter with the Akatsuki would involve such a legendary figure."
Naruto looked up.
The sky was clear, with not a cloud in sight.
He remembered the time in Konoha when he battled against the "Sage of Six Paths," or rather, the "powers left behind by the Sage of Six Paths."
That jutsu called "Truth-Seeking Orb."
"Before we truly understand their abilities," Naruto spoke softly, "and before we know how many members or what powers they possess in their organization,"
"it wouldn't be wise to rush into Amegakure."
"Then we should."
He clapped his hands once, forming a summoning seal.
A toad appeared in a puff of white smoke within the array.
"Oh, it's Uzumaki Naruto," the toad with goggles around its neck remarked, tilting its head, "It's rare for you to summon me."
"Is there something you want to tell Jiraiya?"
Naruto nodded, "I have two pieces of information to share."
"The Akatsuki's base is in Amegakure."
"The leader of the Akatsuki possesses the legendary Rinnegan."
The toad was astonished, "Amegakure? That tiny village?"
"I see, I'll relay this news to Jiraiya."
Naruto waved his hand. "There's one more thing."
"Have Konoha share this information with the other villages that have tailed beasts."
The toad blinked in surprise.
"Share with the other villages?" It was somewhat taken aback.
Naruto nodded with a smile. "Yes, say it's intelligence provided by Uzumaki Naruto."
The toad's expression turned serious. "Got it." With that, it vanished with a "poof."
"Will they believe what you say?" Karin frowned.
Naruto shook his head. "I'm afraid only the Cloud and Sand villages will take it seriously."
"Then why…" Karin was puzzled, not understanding why this information needed to be shared with other villages.
Naruto looked at the undamaged black cloak with red clouds that Hidan was wearing. "Karin, have you thought about why they would want to lure me to the Hidden Rain Village?"
"Their base is there; they have the home field advantage." Karin immediately replied after a moment of thought.
Thinking back, they hadn't been able to gather much information about the organization over time.
Even Jiraiya, who had been focusing on it for years, only managed to uncover bits and pieces.
So, she continued, "This organization doesn't want their existence to be overly noticed by the Five Great Nations."
"They want to stay as hidden as possible."
Naruto nodded, gazing into the distance. "It's like in battle—if you want to defeat your enemy, you must not let them achieve their goals."
"Since they want me to go to the Land of Rain, I won't go."
"Since they don't want the Five Great Nations to know about them, I'll tell the Five Great Nations."
Karin appeared thoughtful.
"So, should we just leave them be?" The Nine-Tails grinned, shaking its head.
Naruto shook his head as well. "Of course not."
"We have two ready-made experimental subjects now, don't we?"
"We'll stay stationed outside the Land of Rain and mind our own affairs."
"If they want to challenge me, why should I go to them?"
"Maybe you shouldn't come out at all."
Yang Kurama grinned, giving a slight nod of his head.
(End of Chapter)