Huh...?
Emergency situation?
Kyo couldn't help but stir.
Currently,
Amegakure had Pain and Konan personally stationed there, so it certainly wouldn't be a problem.
That is to say,
The situation must be happening where members were out on missions.
Was it Itachi and Kisame in Konoha?
Or Kakuzu or Deidara over there?
In that brief instant,
All possibilities flashed through Kyo's mind.
However,
Before he could respond, he heard Pain continue speaking solemnly:
"According to intelligence relayed back by Zetsu,"
"While traveling to and from Konoha, he discovered... Hidan's location."
"In the western part of the Land of Fire, deep in a mountain called 'Kuryo'."
"Huh???"
At these words, Kyo paused for a moment.
Wait,
What's going on?
Deep in Kuryo mountain in the western Land of Fire?
Didn't the intelligence say there were only three possible locations for the Jashin Cult's activities...?
This...
As if sensing Kyo's confusion,
In Amegakure, Pain flickered his gaze and said firmly:
"The intelligence we found earlier was most likely the work of other Jashin Cult's members."
"It has nothing to do with Hidan's whereabouts."
"According to Zetsu,"
"He personally witnessed Hidan acting alone in that mountain, preaching to the villagers in the Land of Fire."
"And anyone who doubts Jashin is killed by him in an extremely special way."
"..."
As Pain's words fell,
Kyo's heart stirred slightly, and he couldn't help but shake his head helplessly.
This was indeed Hidan's style of conduct...
Either accept the preaching,
Or accept death.
"Currently,"
"You and Deidara are the closest to him; let's not even mention Kakuzu in the Land of Hot Water."
"On Deidara's side,"
"I've already notified him to head over there."
"However, with his current strength, he might not be able to take down Hidan, who has an immortal body... he could even be killed instead."
"That's why I contacted you, to ensure the recruitment's success."
Pain said seriously.
Obviously, saying this implicitly meant he was convinced Kyo could succeed.
As if it was already predetermined.
However,
After his words fell,
Kyo's eyebrows immediately raised.
Uh?
What's going on? They actually sent Deidara to gank Hidan first...?
This...
Kyo couldn't help but laugh and cry internally.
He never imagined,
This pair of 'Hidden Dragon' and 'Hidden Phoenix' in the Akatsuki would actually fight so soon...
However,
If they really had a 1v1, the outcome was hard to say.
After all, Hidan's curse technique, Death Controlling Possessed Blood, only required obtaining the opponent's blood to basically ensure victory.
Except for immortals like Kakuzu with multiple hearts, basically few could withstand it.
Deidara was no exception.
But,
Deidara's explosive clay was also not to be underestimated.
If he wanted, he could even stay in the air indefinitely, remotely kiting Hidan on the ground with explosions, becoming a cancerous bomber.
No matter how tough Hidan's life was, he'd probably be blown silly.
That is to say,
This, was a PK of brains.
These two 'Hidden Dragon' and 'Hidden Phoenix' were both beings who had allocated all their stat points to appearance while abandoning intelligence.
It might just,
Become a classic battle.
"..."
"I understand."
After a moment, Kyo replied in his mind.
In fact,
He didn't really want to interfere in this.
But, recalling the long-standing side mission in the system, "Recruit three members for the Akatsuki organization", which was still incomplete,
Going was unavoidable,
After all, the reward for this mission was marked as an EX reward; not getting it would be a huge loss.
Currently,
Kyo had already participated in recruiting Orochimaru and Deidara; as long as he successfully recruited Hidan, the reward would be secure.
As Kyo pondered,
Pain's communication ended after a moment.
However,
Tsunade and Shizune on this side were both gazing at Kyo, their expressions strange.
They naturally couldn't hear the conversation in Kyo's mind; they only saw his changing expression.
That's why they were puzzled.
And at this moment,
Kyo noticed their gaze fixed on him,
Then he helplessly chuckled:
"Sorry, I spaced out for a moment."
"Come on, let's quickly have a gamble. I might be short on time."
"Huh?"
At these words,
Tsunade and Shizune looked at each other, both sensing something unusual.
The guy who was so leisurely just now,
Now,
Suddenly short on time?
Something definitely happened just now...
Could it be,
Some kind of long-distance communication technique?
Tsunade pondered slightly in her mind.
But there was no help for it,
Since she had just said she would gamble if she lost the arm wrestle,
She naturally couldn't go back on her word now.
...
A moment later,
The three arrived at a gambling house at the end of Tanzaku Town.
Even though it was almost late night,
There were still quite a few gamblers inside, lingering.
Even the loud noise from the street earlier couldn't interrupt their enthusiasm for gambling.
Tsunade was clearly a regular.
She walked in very skillfully greeting the owner and brought Kyo to a place resembling a private room.
On the table here, various gambling tools were displayed, a dazzling array.
Tsunade looked at Kyo, slightly grinning, and chuckled:
"Hehe..."
"Let's see whose luck is worse tonight?"
"..."
Hearing this,
Kyo slightly raised an eyebrow, amused inwardly.
You want to compete with me in luck,
I plan to compete with you in cheating and using hacks...
At this moment,
Kyo naturally didn't intend to dawdle.
After all, on that side,
Deidara alone might not be able to handle Hidan.
So, he had to help with this little favor.
...
The moon set, the sun rose,
In the blink of an eye, it was the next day.
The morning sun pierced through the darkness and clouds, casting light on the land of the Shinobi World.
At this time,
In the western part of the Land of Fire, deep in the mountain called Kuryo.
Lush green forests, dense foliage, completely obscured the view below.
And at the same time,
A giant white bird soared in the sky.
Looking closely,
One would find that this white bird was not a real living thing, but merely made of white clay.
And atop the white bird,
A blond, ponytailed youth wearing a black robe with red clouds crouched, looking down.
Then he frowned and muttered:
"Tch..."
"What the hell,"
"Can't that guy Zetsu give a more detailed location in his intelligence?"
"This forest is so huge, where do I even start looking, hmm..."
As he complained,
Deidara guided the white bird down towards the forest floor.
Although he was quite annoyed,
This was, after all, his first official mission. If he didn't do it well, wouldn't he be ridiculed by the other members?
Deidara certainly didn't want that.
What he hoped was that his explosion art would be admired by others, just like what Kyo had done back then...
Therefore, he naturally would spare no effort to complete this mission.
Landing on the ground,
Deidara put away his clay bird and walked forward.
However,
Before he had gone far, he saw an unexpected sight.
Ahead, on a large tree,
There was... a villager's corpse hanging!!
It was suspended from a branch, its chest pierced by a spear, the death quite gruesome...
Seeing this,
Deidara's expression shifted slightly, his gaze focusing.
And just then,
He immediately noticed that on the ground beneath the tree, a strange circular array was drawn with blood...
Walking over, he immediately felt a stir in his heart.
"Hmm...?"
"The blood isn't dry yet?"
"That means... he left not long ago... huh"
Deidara placed his hand on his chin, pondering carefully, but at that moment,
Behind him,
A light voice suddenly came.
"Yo, brother,"
"Want to join our Jashin Cult?"