The moment Hidan finished speaking, his entire body went black, thick white lines snaking across his skin like bleached bone.
"Curse Technique: Death Controlling Possessed Blood!"
"What the hell kind of jutsu is this?"
Zabuza watched the skeletal figure before him, a sense of dread churning in his gut. When he'd tried to break free earlier, Hidan's fingernails had grazed his left arm, drawing blood. That blood was clearly the trigger for this curse.
Remembering Menma's warning, Zabuza's hands flew through hand seals.
"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique—"
"Everything's set! Enjoy the pain!"
Seeing Zabuza about to unleash his jutsu, Hidan jammed a massive iron spike straight through his own palm.
Zabuza's hand seals stuttered, his breath catching in his throat as searing pain shot through his hand. He looked down in disbelief. A large, bleeding hole had punched through his palm.
"What the...?!"
His heart plummeted. He finally understood what this was—no, this wasn't a ninjutsu. It was a cursed technique.
Immortality, combined with damage reflection, triggered by contact with his blood.
"Zabuza-sama!"
Haku, who had been observing calmly from the rear, couldn't stand idly by anymore. He activated the Body Flicker Technique, vanishing and reappearing behind Hidan in an instant.
He thrust a handful of senbon at Hidan's back.
Sensing the attack, Hidan didn't even try to dodge. Instead, he laughed—a harsh, grating sound—and lowered his head, using his forehead to deflect the needles.
"Pathetic!"
"Good! Let's finish this!"
Whoosh!
At the last second, realizing the danger, Haku pulled his strike, retracting most of his force. The needles only grazed Hidan's cheek.
Simultaneously, far away, the bandages wrapped around Zabuza's face soaked with fresh blood.
"Dammit! Undo the curse!"
Haku realized what was happening immediately and pulled his weapon back.
Hidan threw his head back and cackled. "Hahaha! You can't break my curse!"
"Feel the blessing of Lord Jashin! Revel in the sensation of your vitals being pierced!"
Hidan swung the iron spike again, this time aiming directly for his own chest—right for his heart.
Thud!
The sound of the spike burying itself in flesh echoed through the clearing.
"Zabuza-sama!" Haku cried out, unable to stop it.
A bloody hole erupted in Zabuza's chest, and the bandages around his face were drenched in crimson.
"Stop calling out, little beauty. You're next!"
He ripped the spike from his chest and pointed his scythe at Haku.
Before he could move, Zabuza struck from a distance.
In a blur of motion, Zabuza was suddenly standing before Hidan. Pale red chakra flames flared to life around him as he raised the Executioner's Blade high.
"I didn't think I'd have to use the power the Boss gave me so soon," Zabuza muttered through gritted teeth. "You really made me look bad."
Hidan's expression mirrored the shock Zabuza had felt earlier. "You're not dead?"
Then, manic joy twisted his features. "You're immortal too! You're a follower of Jashin as well!"
The blade came down, and Hidan's hand gripping the iron spike fell away.
Zabuza caught the severed hand before it hit the ground, pressing it against his own wounds. Pure Yang Release Nine-Tails chakra surged through him, the severed joint scabbing over and healing at a visible rate.
"Seriously? It heals that fast?" Hidan, still in shock, stared dumbfounded. Then, rage exploded through him. "Damn you! How dare you receive more of Jashin's favor than me!"
"Jashin? You're a fool," Zabuza sneered, backing away quickly. "Haku, sever his limbs. I want to see what he can do without them."
The wounds on his chest and arm were only superficially healed; he didn't dare tear them open again. He also couldn't let Haku strike Hidan's vitals—he'd die before Hidan did.
"Understood!"
Haku moved instantly. But Hidan, already anticipating it, went berserk.
"Impossible! I am Lord Jashin's most loyal follower! I am the chosen one!"
"You're lying! Die!"
With his remaining hand, Hidan gripped his scythe, aiming the three blades at his own neck, face, and brow. He didn't care that beheading himself would render him temporarily useless. He just needed to see Zabuza die.
"Haku, stop him!" Zabuza yelled.
Haku lunged, his senbon aiming for Hidan's joints. But Hidan, displaying surprising physical skill, sidestepped effortlessly. The scythe drove into his skin with unslacked momentum—but stopped there. He was paralyzed.
"Show's over. I don't want two brain-dead idiots on my hands."
The voice came from nowhere. A Shadow Clone of Menma had appeared before Hidan, unnoticed by anyone.
His body was sheathed in malevolent, golden-red chakra. Nine fox tails writhed behind him like tentacles, lashing out to bind Hidan and hoist him high into the air.
"Menma-sama!" Haku's heart, which had been suspended in his throat, finally settled. He quietly retreated.
Zabuza, however, lowered his head, his face twisting in resentment.
"This chakra is terrifying..."
"Such extreme malice and killing intent..."
"It feels ominous... evil... yet warm, like a mother's embrace."
"Lord Jashin! You are the great Lord Jashin!"
Hidan, bound by Menma, was first startled, then overwhelmed with ecstasy. He stared at him as if gazing upon the world's greatest treasure. Even mentioning his "evil god," the fanaticism on his face made his entire body tremble.
Because the chakra Menma had given Zabuza and the others was the purified version—Hidan hadn't felt its true nature at first.
But now, with Menma actively channeling it, the dark, ominous malice of the Nine-Tails, amplified by Menma's own extreme hatred, erupted forth.
This was an evil intent Hidan had never known existed.
A killing desire that wished to destroy everything. To slaughter everything.
It was the spitting image of the legendary evil god.
"Yes," Menma said, his voice devoid of warmth. "My faithful servant. Do not refuse my grace."
He deliberately released his aura without restraint. It was the first time he had fully unleashed his power, steeped in malice and resentment.
"A gift!"
At the word "gift," Hidan immediately recalled the pale red chakra flames around Zabuza's body. He tossed his remaining weapon aside, surrendering completely.
Menma didn't hesitate. Six fox tails pierced Hidan's body like blades, injecting a torrent of primal, malevolent chakra.
"Ah! Haha! Incredible! This power! The pain! The pleasure! It's exquisite!"
"Hahaha! AHHH!"
Hidan howled and laughed simultaneously, his skin burning and regenerating in a cycle of agony and ecstasy.
When the dust settled, Menma reattached Hidan's severed arm and lowered him to the ground.
"From now on, you work for me."
Hidan's fanaticism flared brighter than ever. He dropped to his knees and kissed Menma's shoes with reverent devotion.
"Great Jashin! Your humble servant awaits your command!"
Zabuza and Haku watched in silence.
They're getting played by an idiot boss, and they don't even realize it.
These Jashin cultists are sick in the head.