"Is this Konoha?"
"It's quite bustling. If we could loot this place clean, we'd definitely walk away with a fortune," Kakuzu's muffled voice echoed from beneath the high collar of his red-cloud cloak.
"Exactly. A bustling village like this would make the perfect sacrifice to Lord Jashin," Hidan said, carrying his giant triple-bladed scythe. His eyes widened with a familiar thirst for blood.
"Kakuzu, Hidan, don't act rashly. We came here with a mission," Kisame Hoshigaki reminded them calmly.
"That snake Orochimaru is taking his sweet time. Making me wait this long..." Sasori's emotionless voice echoed from within the heavy shell of his Hiruko puppet. "I despise waiting. If I get the chance, I'll turn him into a puppet. I'll let him experience the true meaning of eternal art!"
"Speaking of which, I've felt someone watching us since we arrived." Kakuzu glanced at their surroundings. "Did that piece of trash Orochimaru expose us already?"
"It should be Konoha's Anbu," Sasori replied coldly. "With new faces creeping around the village, the Anbu are bound to observe closely."
"Then shouldn't we kill them all?" Hidan licked his lips, his voice dripping with sadistic anticipation. "They'd make perfect sacrifices for Lord Jashin!"
"While we shouldn't expose our tracks... the employer this time is Konoha's Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. Let's give the money some face and spare these Anbu," Kakuzu decided after a moment of thought. "But once the mission is over, I'll be sure to extort Hiruzen for more cash. We'll call it a life-sparing fee."
"Is that so? What a pity for these fine sacrifices," Hidan sighed in disappointment.
"The situation seems to have changed."
A bizarre figure with a flytrap-like appendage slowly rose from the ground behind them.
"According to my investigation, Orochimaru has defected," Zetsu said leisurely. "He has colluded with our mission target—the Uchiha clan—and is currently fighting Hiruzen Sarutobi. Calculations show that Hiruzen has a very low chance of surviving against him, so this mission is effectively a failure."
The Akatsuki members fell silent. A mission failing before it even started, a teammate defecting, and said teammate trying to kill their employer—it was a chaotic turn of events that even this rogue organization rarely encountered.
"Then cancel the mission. Hiruzen's money has already been deposited anyway," Kakuzu said, always the pragmatist. To him, the funds mattered most. If the employer was about to die, the job itself was irrelevant. "Since it's canceled, we can just move on to the next bounty."
"The mission can be skipped, but the traitor Orochimaru must be dealt with," Zetsu countered. "If Hiruzen dies, we will simply change the objective to eliminating Orochimaru."
"Is that so?" Sasori's wooden joints clicked. "Leave him to me. I'll turn him into my finest piece of art." As Orochimaru's former partner in the Akatsuki, it was only fitting that Sasori be the one to retrieve him.
"Tch! Too late again?" Hidan stomped his foot in frustration. "I wanted to sacrifice him to Lord Jashin! He loves freaks like him who are neither man nor woman, neither living nor dead."
"Orochimaru is in Konoha's training ground right now. Do as you please," Zetsu noted, his flytrap halves slowly sinking back into the earth.
"Don't rush off so soon."
A voice cut through the clearing. Jie Uchiha stepped smoothly out of the shadows, a faint smile playing on his lips. "Since you're here, you should at least enjoy Konoha's hospitality."
Hidan immediately perked up. "Not Anbu? Can I kill this guy? A young sacrifice like this will equal please Lord Jashin!"
"The Uchiha clan crest... you're an Uchiha." Kakuzu let out a heavy sigh. "What is this? Do we still have to work after all?"
Zetsu stopped his descent, his yellow eyes locking onto the newcomer. "Don't underestimate this kid. He is the young clan head of the Uchiha, Jie Uchiha. In the recent war between Kumogakure and Konoha, the Fourth Raikage died at his hands."
The casual atmosphere shifted instantly.
"Killing the Fourth Raikage at just ten years old?" Kakuzu assessed the boy with newfound interest. "Even I would find such a terrifying battle record somewhat difficult to achieve. However... an exceptionally talented heart like that is exactly what I want. Uchiha brat, hand over your heart obediently, and maybe I'll make this painless."
"A genius?" Hidan barked a laugh. "Fantastic! Our Lord will be thrilled!"
"His corpse is mine," Sasori declared, the mechanical tail of Hiruko swaying menacingly. "With the secrets of the Sharingan, he will become my most powerful human puppet."
Listening to the Akatsuki members barter over his body parts, Jie didn't get angry; he simply laughed.
"Dividing the spoils so quickly?" Jie asked casually. "Are you even sure you can take me down? In fact, why don't I let you go so you can bring Pain here? Maybe then you'd have a sliver of a chance."
Zetsu narrowed his eyes. "It seems Orochimaru really did defect, considering he leaked Pain's existence to you. But you've only killed one Kage. There are four Kage-level shinobi standing right in front of you. Do you really think you can create another miracle?"
'Miracle?' Jie scoffed, a flash of mockery crossing his face. He never believed in miracles. He only believed in absolute power.
"You think a bunch of bottom-feeders like you require a miracle?"
"Arrogant brat! Try taking this first!" Hidan roared. He lunged forward, swinging his massive triple-bladed scythe down at Jie in a savage arc. "When you're bleeding out on Lord Jashin's altar, I might consider forgiving you!"
Clang!
A sharp ring of metal on metal echoed through the woods. Hidan's sadistic grin faltered. His scythe had stopped dead in its tracks.
Looking down, he saw Jie holding Orochimaru's Kusanagi sword, effortlessly parrying the heavy scythe with just one hand.
'Damn it, how is his physical strength so high?' Shock flashed across Hidan's face. No matter how hard he pushed, the scythe wouldn't budge an inch.
If this had been the same Jie who had just killed the Fourth Raikage, blocking a strike of this magnitude with one hand would have been difficult. However, after helping Izumi Uchiha awaken her fully-matured, three-tomoe Sharingan, the System's reward had drastically enhanced his physical capabilities.
The One-Year Development Boost reward was an absolute game-changer. It wasn't just a simple growth spurt—it artificially pushed his mastery of the Lightning Release Chakra Mode forward by an entire year.
His body had undergone a massive transformation. His raw physical strength had more than doubled, and his chakra reserves had expanded significantly.The Lightning Release Chakra Mode, once a severe burden on his stamina, could now be sustained effortlessly for thirty minutes without any backlash.
He even suspected that if he learned the Eight Inner Gates right now, his reinforced physique could effortlessly handle opening the first four gates without taking a lick of damage.
So, catching Hidan's scythe with one hand?
It was mere child's play....
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