On the other side, Hidan charged at Fugaku Uchiha with a bloodthirsty grin plastered across that face.

Fugaku Uchiha just stood there. Calm. Still. Like none of it registered at all.

Closing the distance, Hidan had already made up the mind, this ninja called Xiaohei couldn't be much. In a moment, Hidan would hack that guy into minced meat and offer every scrap of it as a sacrifice to Jashin!

Kehehehehehehe...

The instant Hidan swung the scythe down hard, a large pinwheel pattern flared to life in Fugaku Uchiha's eyes.

A full-form Susanoo erupted from the ground.

Fugaku Uchiha didn't flinch. Not even slightly. There was enough mental space left over to let the mind wander to completely unrelated things.

The Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan really was something else. No risk of going blind, no strain on the body, just open it up whenever and let it run. Fire Style ninjutsu used to be the go-to specialty, but now...

Opening with Susanoo had started to feel like second nature.

CLANG!

Metal struck something that was not metal, and the sound rang out sharp and hard.

Hidan's scythe slammed into the Susanoo and did absolutely nothing.

And Hidan stumbled back, startled by the enormous figure that had just materialized out of nowhere.

"What the hell?!?! What the hell is this thing?!

Isn't that — Susanoo?!"

Hidan flashed back several steps in a hurry.

Susanoo. The most powerful ability of the Uchiha Clan. Hidan had seen it before, back in Akatsuki.

Itachi Uchiha had gone missing, sure, but before that, Itachi had been a core member, and that Mangekyō Sharingan was nothing short of terrifying. The genjutsu alone were nightmare-inducing. And then there was this, this colossal thing.

So was this guy called Xiaohei actually an Uchiha?

But that didn't add up.

Hadn't the entire Uchiha Clan been wiped out by Itachi Uchiha?

How was another Uchiha just popping up now?

And this Susanoo, it looked even more terrifying than Itachi Uchiha's.

The confidence started to crack.

Hidan wasn't afraid of dying. But genjutsu was a different matter entirely. The body was immortal through faith in Jashin, but if the enemy locked Hidan inside a genjutsu, that was as good as dead. Maybe worse.

Fugaku Uchiha didn't wait for those thoughts to go anywhere. The Susanoo drew back one massive fist and brought it straight down.

BOOM!

RUMBLE...

The ground where Hidan had been standing caved into a crater. Hidan's entire body was reduced to something halfway between a person and a smear.

Fugaku Uchiha's eyes narrowed.

That thing that had just been pounded into pulp... wasn't dead?

The skull had been flattened. And yet a mouth was down in that crater, screaming.

"KAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

I am a devoted believer of Jashin! I am an immortal! No method in existence can kill me!

Do you see it now?!

This is the great power of Jashin!

You cannot kill me!

With strength like that, you must be an Uchiha — am I right?! Then why not join Jashin's embrace?! Offer your faith! And receive the gift of immortality in return!

Kehehehehehehehehe!"

Fugaku Uchiha stared at the crater and, honestly, found the whole thing rather fascinating. Smashed into a pulp and still going. Still talking, even.

The thought surfaced, unbidden: centuries from now, when someone digs up the grave, will there just be a mouth in there still rambling away?

A truly bizarre existence.

And then a stranger thought: was there actually something called Jashin in this world?

Immortality, huh. Could it be... that Hirofumi was Jashin?

Hirofumi was someone who had punched the Reaper and snatched souls straight back from those hands. Compared to a Jashin that had never once shown any true form, Hirofumi was probably several levels above whatever Jashin was supposed to be.

Not far away, minato namikaze was watching Kakuzu slowly push up from the ground, and at the same time, keeping one eye on everything happening on Fugaku Uchiha's side.

These two Akatsuki members were strange.

According to the intelligence Itachi Uchiha had passed along before, these two were Akatsuki's immortal duo, Kakuzu and Hidan.

Abilities like these were practically made for experimentation.

Indeed. These two had a certain destiny with the Hidden Leaf Village.

"Xiaohei! These two have some very interesting tricks — why don't we bring them back to the Hidden Leaf Village first? Hirofumi might find them interesting, and even if Hirofumi doesn't, I'm sure Orochimaru would be very interested!"

"Kehehehehe... Dahuang! That's exactly what I was thinking! I mean, compared to whatever Jashin is supposed to be, Hirofumi is clearly in a different league entirely!"

"Kehehe... Great minds think alike, Xiaohei!"

"Couldn't agree more, Dahuang!"

minato namikaze activated the Flying Thunder God Technique.

Kakuzu had just barely made it back to standing.

WHOOSH! BOOM!

A Rasengan sent Kakuzu flying again.

Kakuzu's second life, gone.

On the other side, Hidan's body was slowly knitting itself back together. Fugaku Uchiha watched it happen and drove the Susanoo straight down onto the pulped remains, once, twice, several more times. When it was done, Hidan was less minced meat and more dumpling filling.

And yet the mouth still worked.

"DAMN IT! You two miserable bastards, how dare you blaspheme against Jashin! Jashin will not let this go!"

Hidan had caught every word of that exchange between Dahuang and Xiaohei. They had actually said that some guy from the Hidden Leaf Village named Hirofumi was more impressive than Jashin?!

How could that possibly be true?!

Fugaku Uchiha looked down at what was left of Hidan, half a skull and a working mouth, and without any particular hesitation, produced a Scroll of Seals and sealed all of the Hidan-brand dumpling filling inside it. Half a skull and a mouth remained outside the seal.

"I have no idea what kind of existence this Jashin of yours actually is... but honestly? It doesn't sound all that remarkable. Dahuang and I are both people who have already died once. Coming back from death seems like it might be considerably more terrifying than anything Jashin can offer, wouldn't you say?"

Hidan went quiet for a moment.

"What did you just say?! You said, the two of you have already died once?!

Impossible. Absolutely impossible!

How could anything in this world work like that?!

Only Jashin could ever accomplish something like that!"

➤ Next: Hidan Demands to Meet Jashin!

Chapter 208 - Hidan Demands to Meet Jashin!

Staring at the half-a-head in hand, still yapping away nonstop, Fugaku Uchiha simply smiled.

"There's no reason for me to lie to you, is there?! It's not like you're some naive young maiden — deceiving you gets me nothing. Besides, I'm taking you back to the Hidden Leaf Village next, and you'll find out about all of this once we get there!"

Hearing that, Hidan was somewhere between believing it and not.

"Who are you?! Someone with eyes like those — you're definitely not a nobody in the Uchiha Clan! Those are the most powerful eyes the Uchiha Clan has, the Mangekyō Sharingan! Eyes just like Itachi Uchiha's!"

"Ah... didn't expect you to actually know your stuff. That's right, these eyes of mine are the Mangekyō Sharingan — or to be more precise, they should be called the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan!

My name is Fugaku Uchiha! That Itachi Uchiha you just mentioned is my son...

But I died many years ago. As a member of Akatsuki, you should know well enough that the Uchiha Clan was wiped out many years ago!"

The half-headed Hidan's brow furrowed hard at that.

"So you really are someone who came back from the dead?!"

"Of course..."

Fugaku Uchiha found this Hidan character rather interesting. So, holding the half-a-head in one hand, Fugaku started chatting.

"Then who is that person called Dahuang?!"

Hidan shifted attention to the other side. Good teammate Kakuzu was down to a single life at this point.

A mass of threads was writhing around on the ground.

"Hmm... you mean Dahuang? The name is minato namikaze! Now, that name might not mean much to you, but say the Fourth Hokage, and you'd definitely know!"

Hidan swallowed hard.

"You're saying he's the Hidden Leaf Village's Fourth Hokage, minato namikaze?!"

"The genuine article..."

"You two really did come back from the dead?!"

"Isn't it right there in front of your eyes!"

Hidan froze for a moment, then immediately erupted into wild, manic laughter.

"Muahahahahaha...! It must be Jashin's divine manifestation! This must be the great power of Jashin! In this world, no one but Jashin could do something like this! It must be Jashin!

Jashin! I am your faithful devotee!

Fugaku Uchiha! Who is this Hirofumi you just mentioned?! Don't tell me bringing you back from the dead was something he did?! That would mean... he must be the legendary Jashin himself!

Take me to the Leaf! Take me to the Leaf right now! I want to meet Jashin! I am Jashin's most devoted follower!

Hahahahaha... I never imagined you two were also followers of Jashin! We're all family here! Muahahahahaha..."

Fugaku Uchiha had nothing to say to that.

From everything in that conversation, this Hidan character was more than a little off in the head.

The whole brain seemed to contain nothing but Jashin.

And apparently, the moment Hidan learned of Hirofumi's abilities, Hirofumi had been immediately filed away as the Jashin being worshipped.

Hard to say whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Right now, Hidan was beyond excited.

"Hey! Fugaku Uchiha! What's Jashin's full name?! And come on, can't you put me down first?! I'm about to go meet Jashin, showing up looking like this is way too pathetic...

And surely I'd need to prepare some offerings before meeting Jashin, right?

Can't you just put me down?! I need to go get a few offerings ready first!"

Fugaku Uchiha was truly at a loss for words.

"I honestly don't know whether Hirofumi has anything to do with your Jashin. But Hirofumi is currently the Fifth Hokage of our Hidden Leaf Village, full name, Hirofumi Ito!

And Hirofumi doesn't need any so-called offerings. Even when performing the art of returning from the dead, it doesn't require killing anyone or doing anything of that sort...

Though... if you're talking about offerings, there is perhaps one thing that is actually needed!"

Hidan's eyes lit up.

"What does Jashin need?!"

"Money..."

"What did you just say?!" Hidan was momentarily baffled. Money? What does money have to do with anything?

"I said money! What did you think Dahuang and I were doing when we robbed Kakuzu the other time?!"

Hidan burst into anguished, sobbing tears.

"Aaaargh! Damn it! To think that all these years, I've been doing it wrong?! Jashin never needed any so-called offerings at all?! So all these years, I've been making the wrong offerings?! Jashin only ever needed money?!

Damn it, damn it! No wonder Jashin has never shown divine favor or come to see me, this devoted follower, all these years...

It's because what I was offering, Jashin never needed at all!

Damn it! Jashin! Please forgive my ignorance! From now on, I will gather so much money for Jashin!

Fugaku Uchiha! You have to take me back to the Leaf! I need to beg Jashin's forgiveness in person!"

Fugaku Uchiha winced.

Hidan had absolutely decided that Hirofumi was Jashin. But this probably wasn't such a bad thing, the character's strength was nothing to scoff at, impossible to kill on top of it, and who knew what other special techniques might be lurking underneath. If Hidan could become part of the Hidden Leaf Village's fighting force, that would be a fine thing indeed.

As for how to actually handle Hidan, that would come down to Hirofumi's call.

On the other side, Kakuzu, now reduced to a single heart, was nothing but a mass of threads crawling back and forth across the ground. This time, Kakuzu absolutely dared not revive again.

There was only that one life left. And Kakuzu had just watched teammate Hidan get taken down, that dumpling-filling body already sealed up, with nothing left on the outside but half a head and a running mouth.

The threads crawled across the ground for a good while. Then a bundle was tremblingly lifted out by a single thread, and the mass reshaped itself into something like a mouth.

"Dahuang! This is every bit of money I've saved up! Stop killing me! Take all of it!"

minato namikaze took the bundle and opened it. Eyes lit up immediately.

"Didn't expect you to be this loaded! Last time I already took about a hundred million ryo off you, and in this short stretch of time you've saved up over a hundred million more! You really are something else!"

➤ Next: Lord Hokage, Please Accept Kakuzu's Bow!