Land of Hot Water
A young man dressed like a full-on chunibyo suddenly blocked a merchant with a travel pack.
"Hey, brother—wanna join the Jashin Religion?"
A few minutes later…
A circle drawn in fresh crimson blood lay on the ground, while the merchant had been nailed to a tree.
Not long after, two figures in black cloaks patterned with red clouds arrived at the scene.
"No money was taken. No revenge motive either," Itachi analyzed calmly. "It was… killing for the sake of killing."
Kakuzu looked visibly irritated.
"You really get on my nerves."
Then his gaze slid toward Konan, who stood in the distance.
"So you're here to watch me, huh? Afraid I'll kill Itachi?"
Konan replied without expression.
"We don't have any other sensory-type ninja right now."
"I'm here to act as bait."
Kakuzu frowned.
"Bait?"
Itachi understood instantly.
"You're planning to lure him out."
Konan gave a faint nod.
Disguised as an ordinary passerby, Konan soon encountered Hidan, who was hunting freely.
Seeing the "lone woman" approaching, Hidan's mouth curled into a grin.
"Yo, miss."
"Wanna join the Jashin Religion?"
Konan blinked.
"Jashin Religion?"
"What is that?"
Hidan grew even more excited, launching into a loud explanation like a street preacher.
"Yeah! The Jashin Religion!"
"You can kill people and never get punished!"
"And Lord Jashin will be super happy!"
"How about it? Sounds awesome, right?"
"So… you wanna join?"
He danced around like he was celebrating a festival.
Konan sighed.
"I get it."
"You're just a deranged serial killer."
Hidan didn't like that label.
"Deranged serial killer? Not even close!"
"I'm simply offering sincere prayers to Lord Jashin!"
He raised his blood-soaked triple-bladed scythe and pointed it at her.
"Looks like I'll have to sacrifice you to Lord Jashin."
Just as he moved to strike—
Kakuzu and Itachi leapt out from hiding.
Kakuzu walked forward slowly.
"Let me see if he's really immortal."
Hidan still didn't sense the danger. Instead, he started judging the three of them like they were performers on stage.
"You guys wearing matching outfits… are you a band?"
"Band roles are probably like this, right?"
"That gloomy guy is bass."
"The girl is keyboard and lead singer."
"No—wait—this little bro is probably the actual vocalist!"
Kakuzu's face turned black as a pot.
Hidan licked his lips, delighted.
"With sacrifices like you…"
"Lord Jashin will be thrilled!"
He swung his scythe and charged.
Kakuzu casually shifted to the side.
Hidan burst out laughing.
"Haha, what's wrong?"
"You only know how to dodge?"
"Don't even think about running! You can't escape!"
He launched into the air, clearly aiming for a scythe-to-the-face finisher.
Kakuzu's eyes filled with contempt.
"Hmph. That move is basically child's play."
His arm suddenly extended—
and a heavy punch pierced straight through Hidan's heart.
Hidan grunted, coughing blood as he fell out of the air.
Kakuzu looked disgusted.
All that yelling… for this?
Hidan roared in outrage.
"It hurts!"
"That's freaking painful!"
And then—he stood back up.
Kakuzu's pupils shrank.
Oh?
Still alive?
Interesting.
Hidan didn't find it interesting at all. He cursed nonstop, spitting blood and rage at Kakuzu.
"You bastard!"
"I hereby deliver divine punishment upon you!"
He drew a red circle on the ground with his own blood.
Kakuzu still didn't take him seriously.
"Punish me?"
"You think you can?"
Kakuzu punched again—another clean "heart-pierce."
Hidan gritted his teeth.
"Didn't I tell you to stop doing that?!"
Kakuzu's voice stayed flat.
"So the immortality rumor really is true."
After struggling like hell, Hidan finally managed to collect a bit of Kakuzu's blood.
"Alright—everything's ready."
"Ritual begins. Die!"
He stabbed himself.
Instantly, Kakuzu clutched his chest and dropped to one knee.
"You bastard… don't tell me—"
Hidan laughed like a maniac.
"Hahahaha! This is amazing!"
"May Lord Jashin bask in eternal glory!"
Luckily, Kakuzu was also a "cheat character."
Even after losing a heart, he wasn't about to die here.
Konan and Itachi exchanged a quick look—then reached the same decision.
Bring him into Akatsuki.
Kakuzu looked down on Hidan, but he didn't object.
Faced with Akatsuki's invitation, Hidan rejected them outright.
"Join Akatsuki?"
"Are you kidding?"
"I don't care about some 'Akatsuki' or whatever."
"My mission is to spread the Jashin Religion!"
After a round of persuasive "sales pitching" that wasn't much weaker than Will-of-Fire brainwashing, the not-so-bright Hidan was eventually convinced.
Back at Akatsuki's base, Hidan carved a slash across his forehead protector with a kunai.
"I'll join you—but I'm still going to preach Jashin!"
Pain handed him the ring and red-cloud cloak.
"Do as you like."
Akatsuki's first phase officially began.
In just a few months…
Kisame's predecessor, Biwa Jūzō, died while investigating the Water Country's tailed beast—reportedly even cutting apart a Tailed Beast Bomb.
Orochimaru attempted to take Itachi's body, only to be caught by a binding technique and escape after losing an arm.
Pain issued a new order:
"Akatsuki must absorb new members."
Water Country — The Bloody Mist Begins
With Pain's side acting behind the scenes, Obito had already secured Yagura.
Under Sharingan control, the Fourth Mizukage began ruling with cruelty and madness.
Kirigakure—one of the Five Great Villages—officially entered the era known as the Bloody Mist.
Deep in the forest, inside a ninja camp—
a beautiful Kirigakure kunoichi approached Kisame.
"Kisame-san, come sit and eat with us."
Kisame answered coldly.
"Please… don't try to get close to me."
A so-called "brains-type" Mist ninja mocked Kisame repeatedly, even calling him "muscle-brained."
Kisame didn't react.
"Once we're done eating, we leave immediately."
On the road, the same kunoichi tried again—chatting him up, even inviting him to dinner after the mission.
Kisame remained unreadable, but his mind replayed his superior's instructions:
"Listen, Kisame."
"Your mission is to protect the cipher unit while they transmit information."
"Under no circumstances can the cipher ninja fall into enemy hands."
A kunai and explosive tags tore through the quiet night.
Kisame's squad fell into a Konoha trap.
"Surrender. You're surrounded."
Kisame fought like a beast to cover his teammates' retreat.
But the gap in strength was too wide.
Even with Kisame's ferocity, he couldn't keep them all alive.
"Find a way—take them alive," Ibiki Morino ordered. "We need intel."
Kisame turned into a cold executioner.
Each time a teammate fell, he immediately finished them himself.
One by one, the Mist ninja dwindled.
The last three were forced to the edge of a cliff.
Kisame raised his blade—
and killed the remaining two male teammates without hesitation.
The beautiful kunoichi collapsed, trembling.
"W-Why…?"
Kisame's face stayed blank.
"This is my mission."
A flash of understanding crossed her eyes.
"Your life… must be really hard."
Kisame's blade fell.
Her throat was cut.
The pursuing Konoha ninja froze in shock.
"Why would you kill your own comrades?!"
Kisame answered calmly.
"Why?"
"You should understand—I can't hand cipher ninja to the enemy."
"They leak secrets too easily."
He sheathed his sword slowly.
"Until we meet again."
And then—
Kisame turned and jumped off the cliff.
Days later, Kisame returned to Kirigakure.
He killed his superior, Fuguki Suikazan, and seized Samehada.
As he prepared to leave with Samehada on his shoulder, a childish voice sounded behind him.
"You've worked hard, Kisame."
"I guessed he'd lower his guard around you… and I was right."
Kisame spun around, hand on the hilt, on full alert.
"Fourth Mizukage…"
Yagura waved casually.
"No need to be so tense."
"Fuguki Suikazan colluded with outsiders."
"From today on, you are Samehada's new owner."
"And also… my subordinate."
Kisame gave an honest, almost gentle smile.
"Until I'm erased too?"
"Fourth Mizukage-sama…"
Yagura's face didn't change.
"I know your character. That's why I trust you."
"Only someone like you—who has carried out endless filthy missions for village and nation—can understand…"
"This world is nothing but a false thing."
Kisame's dead-fish eyes widened in anger.
"From the moment I started killing my comrades, I understood that."
"People slaughter each other… what kind of person does that make me?"
"How do I ever find peace?"
"The only real feeling… is falseness."
The moment he finished, a shadow slipped out behind Yagura.
"Then let me free you from that false pain."
"I'll create a place where you belong."
Kisame's expression shifted—shock, then sharp vigilance.
"Who are you?"
The figure didn't answer.
He only revealed a pair of blood-red, three-tomoe Sharingan.
Kisame's eyes widened.
"Those eyes…"
"So that's it."
"The one controlling the Fourth Mizukage… is you."
"This world really is all false."
"To control the Three-Tails Jinchūriki with that kind of ocular power…"
"Who are you, really?"
The masked man lied with a straight face.
"Uchiha… Madara."
Borrowing "Madara's" name, Kisame was quickly "converted."
With the South Star now in place, Akatsuki shifted their target again—
to a rogue ninja from Iwagakure:
Deidara.
Land of Earth — The Artist
Inside a temple, Deidara was deeply absorbed in researching the art of explosions.
Suddenly, Itachi, Sasori, and Kisame appeared before him.
"Young man," Itachi said evenly. "We're here to invite you to join Akatsuki."
Deidara didn't give them an ounce of respect.
"Akatsuki?"
"Who the hell are you?"
"Don't interrupt me while I'm appreciating art!"
From inside Hiruko, Sasori spoke with open disdain.
"Do I seriously have to partner with this brat?"
"He's got presence, sure—but he feels like the type who won't live long."
Itachi replied calmly.
"This is the leader's order."
"His ability is useful."
Deidara's interest sparked.
"You know my ability?"
"Who are you people, exactly?"
Kisame flashed his signature shark grin.
"You're the one who helps rebels across borders…"
"The one who uses explosions to create terror incidents, right?"
"You're a rogue ninja—why do this?"
Deidara muttered.
"Why? No reason."
"I was just hired to make my 'works' explode."
Sasori frowned.
"Works?"
Deidara pulled a spider from his pocket.
"That's right."
"Look—this."
"How is it?"
"Lines refined through endless effort."
"A form that chases two-dimensional transformation."
"This… is clay art made by my own hands!"
"But my art doesn't stop there."
"My art has flow."
"And it explodes."
"Through explosion, its existence is elevated."
"That is true art."
He smiled.
"Art is an explosion. Hmm."
...
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