"All you have to do is believe in Lord Jashin, and you'll become just as strong as me! Plus—you get free lollipops!"
Staring at the kid in front of him, Nara Kazuki had zero doubts: this punk was Hidan.
So young, and already brainwashed by a death cult... then again, that did track. The only question was whether Hidan had already gained his infamous immortality.
Kazuki looked at the short blade strapped to Hidan's waist. No, probably not yet.
Watching the kid try to evangelize with a damn lollipop in hand like some creepy uncle cosplay, Kazuki silently veered off to continue gathering intel. It wasn't until midday that he regrouped with Kakashi in the forest outside the village.
"Three shinobi," Kakashi reported, as steady as always. "Preliminary assessment—two Chūnin, one Genin. None of them wear village forehead protectors, so we can't confirm their origin."
Kazuki exhaled, relieved. No Jōnin.
Sure, in the latter parts of the war arc, some "Jōnin" barely looked stronger than a forever-Genin... but that was context-dependent. Each village had a limited number of Jōnin for a reason.
Becoming one wasn't easy. You couldn't assume that just because someone wasn't world-class, you'd automatically beat them.
Even if a provincial sprint champion didn't make the national team, he was still the fastest man in his province.
"I didn't see any ninja myself," Kazuki added with a grin, "but I did run into a really interesting little boy."
Maybe his luck was bad. Maybe it was good. Either way, he hadn't found many shinobi—just fanatics of this cult. The only person with any real combat potential... was Hidan.
"Think you can handle it?" Kakashi asked, eyes sharp.
After all, this whole mission had been tailored for Kazuki. Kakashi had known Minato for years—he could read between the lines.
"I'll give it a shot," Kazuki replied, nodding. Three shinobi—two Chūnin were the real threats. But with his current ninjutsu repertoire, it wasn't impossible.
Still, he didn't make any bold declarations. That was the mark of a proper wage-slave mindset. Talk too big and you look dumb if you fail. Keep it vague, and success makes you look modest.
Kakashi didn't object. He'd be nearby, ready to back Kazuki up if things went south. Ideally, though, he wouldn't need to lift a finger—Kazuki solving the problem himself would leave the best impression on their sensei.
Kazuki ate a quick meal, then reentered the town alone. Kakashi disappeared into the wind.
Using the intel Kakashi provided, Kazuki soon located his targets in a regular residential building.
"Looks like... a taijutsu user?" Kazuki thought, sizing up a burly man currently stuffing his face.
Across the table sat another man, clearly a ninja. No forehead protector, but his tools gave him away.
"And the third one... there." Kazuki spotted the last ninja across the room, with a greasy, toady grin that turned smug whenever he talked down to civilians.
Hypocrisy so loud it echoed.
"Three shinobi," Kazuki muttered, glancing at the midday sun overhead. The shadows were short—but his own shadow was just long enough. That would do.
He was just about to launch a Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu at one of the Chūnin when the door opened.
Kazuki blinked. Seriously?
He looked at the blade on Hidan's hip again—no chance that kid was anything close to "good." He had to factor this wildcard into his plan.
Kazuki silently slipped back, then summoned a Shadow Clone. The clone met his gaze, nodded, and vanished.
A moment later, rumors began to ripple through the village: a Konoha shinobi had arrived and was asking around about troublemakers.
The three enemy shinobi took the bait and left the house—together. All three.
Kazuki let out a quiet, annoyed exhale. He'd been hoping to split them up for easier takedowns.
Well... so much for divide and conquer. Time for a new plan.
He began tailing the trio, but suddenly paused. Wait. Hidan.
That psycho was still in the house, still eating, and hadn't followed the others.
He knew what Hidan would become. Knew what that smiling, candy-pushing little bastard would eventually turn into.
And if a fight broke out later, there was no guarantee the kid wouldn't run or complicate things. Better to take him out now.
As Kazuki returned, Hidan was mid-sermon, trying to calm his increasingly nervous followers after hearing the words "Konoha shinobi."
"There's nothing to fear! Lord Jashin will protect us!" Hidan declared.
Even though Konoha had nearly been overrun during the Third Shinobi World War, the name still held weight among civilians—and cultists alike.
"So—" Hidan began again, but then froze.
Something felt wrong.
He gripped his blade and whirled, slashing in a fluid, lethal arc. A slash like that could easily gut someone.
The blade carved air, and standing across the courtyard was a man—hands flying through hand seals.
"LORD JASHIN!" Hidan screamed and charged.
He finished his seals.
Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!
A roaring sphere of flame exploded forth. Hidan charged headlong into it—then his crazed eyes went vacant.
The fire swallowed him whole.
"Shhhhaaa... K-ketsu... ki..." came the familiar, warped voice from within the flames.