"I regret it now!"
Standing on the Akatsuki's high platform in the center of Amegakure, Deidara looked up at the sky and spoke with deep emotion.
Beside him stood Hidan and Sasori. The two exchanged a glance and ignored him completely.
"I'm talking to you two—can't you cooperate a little? We're teammates, aren't we?"
Seeing the lack of response, Deidara felt an urge to throw a clay bomb at them.
As for how Hidan returned—well, that was thanks to Tobi. If he hadn't used Kamui to retrieve Hidan, no one else could have saved him so quickly.
Hidan couldn't take it anymore. "Deidara, if you've got something to say, then say it. Do you regret leaving Iwagakure, or regret joining the Akatsuki?"
Someone finally answered him. Even if the answer wasn't great, Deidara was satisfied.
"I'm saying I regret bringing Orochimaru back. Our Akatsuki funds were pretty abundant before, but ever since he came, it's like throwing money into a furnace. We're burning cash every single day."
To be honest, Deidara wasn't the type to care about money.
The only reason he complained was because most of the money Orochimaru used came from bounties they earned through missions.
Deidara served as the aerial unit, Sasori as support, and Hidan handled both offense and defense.
As long as the enemy was injured, their blood would—under Deidara and Sasori's coordination—fall precisely into Hidan's hands.
Then Hidan would perform his ritual to offer the life as a sacrifice to his beloved Jashin-sama.
Afterward, they would deliver all the corpses to the underground bounty exchange for money.
It could be said that the laboratory Orochimaru built was funded entirely by the blood, sweat, and earnings of Deidara and the others.
"If you've got a problem, go talk to the Leader. I'm sure he'll listen," Hidan said, already used to Deidara's nagging.
He knew he must not show kindness at times like this—or Deidara would ramble endlessly. He really couldn't stand it.
Many times, Hidan wanted to sacrifice Deidara to Jashin-sama, but he worried Jashin-sama wouldn't like chatterboxes. To avoid being abandoned by his god, Hidan gave up the idea.
"The Leader is busy. Forget it!"
At the mere mention of the word "leader", Deidara instantly deflated.
In his eyes, Pain was very serious. Bothering him over such a trivial matter might just earn him a scolding.
There were only two people Deidara feared: Pain and Uchiha Itachi.
Both wore the same cold expression, impossible to read.
"Tch, coward." Hidan sneered.
"This is respect for the Leader—you wouldn't understand!" Deidara defended himself, then looked toward a nearby cave entrance.
A man wearing a spiral mask stepped out.
Seeing him, Hidan frowned. "Tobi, another mission?"
Though Hidan wanted to offer souls to Jashin-sama, being ordered around like this and running back and forth was exhausting. He was immortal, but that didn't mean he couldn't get tired.
"Tobi, you finally showed up! This guy was bullying me—you have to help me out!"
Seeing Obito, Deidara grabbed his clothes like he'd found his savior.
Sasori turned away, clearly disgusted by Deidara's behavior.
Obito stared at Deidara, puzzled.
Ever since he revealed his real strength, most people treated him warily—except Deidara. Deidara still joked with him, and occasionally clung to him for protection... Like now.
"Deidara, enough already."
Because Obito had saved his life, Hidan owed him a favor. He would rather face Uchiha Itachi or Pain than go against him.
To Hidan, repaying kindness and exacting vengeance were absolute duties of a Jashin follower.
Ignoring Deidara, Obito said, "No mission this time. I'm mainly here to invite you all to tour Orochimaru's laboratory. He's made significant progress in researching the Three-Tails chakra, and I want you to see where the money is being spent."
"He made progress on the Three-Tails?"
Everyone acknowledged Orochimaru's research ability, but not everyone cared about this topic.
"I'll pass. Compared to the Three-Tails, I'd rather dissect Hidan."
Sasori said it in an indifferent tone—yet it made Hidan shudder.
"Sasori-senpai, I don't remember offending you!"
Sasori shook his head. "You didn't. I'm simply curious about your immortality. When making human puppets, I only need the most basic parts—bones, skin, muscle pathways. Your immortal body allows you to stay alive. So, if I hollowed out your organs and turned you into a human puppet, would you still revive?"
"N-No... absolutely not!"
Even Hidan, brave as he was, jumped at Sasori's words.
As a Jashinist, he had witnessed countless horrors in the shinobi world, so his tolerance was high.
But only so long as those horrors didn't happen to him.
Especially since Sasori said it with the same tone one would use to ask, "Have you eaten?"—that was genuinely horrifying.
He really feared waking up one day to find his organs gone and his body turned into one of Sasori's puppets. If that happened, he could never offer sacrifices to Jashin-sama again.
Just imagining it was terrifying.
"Sasori, don't scare Hidan."
Obito had saved Hidan specifically to use him as a trump card.
After all, Hidan had a jutsu that shared injuries with the enemy—ignoring all defense. Once the curse was complete, killing the target became easy.
All he needed was their blood.
And with Akatsuki's support, obtaining that blood wasn't difficult.
After the previous battle, Obito had learned to analyze enemies properly.
Kamizuki Hikari and Tsunade were currently the biggest obstacles the Akatsuki faced.
As long as they lived, forcing a breakthrough would be extremely difficult.
But if he obtained their blood, Hidan's jutsu could kill them effortlessly.
Of course, that required actually acquiring their blood.
Obito wasn't in a hurry about that.
Even if he couldn't get theirs, blood from other Konoha shinobi would work. Reducing the enemy's fighting strength would increase Akatsuki's chances of victory.
Besides these benefits, rescuing Hidan also allowed him to help gather funds for the Akatsuki. It was a case of one person serving multiple purposes.