Hiruko spent a full half-hour boasting in the sky.
He spent the time introducing everyone to his years of research achievements and how powerful he would become after fusing with the Sharingan.
He might as well have publicly announced his weaknesses.
He acted as if he were invincible, as if no one in the world could stand against him.
He was so full of himself that he was practically floating.
Of course, Naruto could completely understand this behavior.
After all, as the saying goes...
If you achieve greatness but don't show it off, it's like walking at night in fine clothes.
This kind of behavior was just like when you're playing a certain MOBA game, barely surviving until you finally completed your items, and even if you have to beg, you'd force others to stay and let you flex for a bit.
Maybe Hiruko's mindset was the same.
But this guy had overestimated himself and underestimated the hidden powers of the Shinobi World.
"Bandage white hair!"
"My father Sasuke won't let you get away with this!"
"He'll definitely smash your head into your butt with his Heavy Xuan Ruler!"
At this time, Mitsuki's voice suddenly came through the projection, followed shortly by the sound of the brat getting smacked.
A few seconds later, Hiruko finally turned off the live broadcast.
When Sasuke heard the naughty brat's words, his blood pressure instantly spiked.
He turned around and walked awayin anger. He didn't want to care about this guy anymore. As he left, he cursed under his breath.
'Mitsuki's life or death is none of my business!'
'Even if that kid gets rescued today, I'm still going to beat him to death!!'
"Damn it!"
"Let Yakushi Kabuto to come back, Mitsuki deserves it!!"
Sasuke genuinely wanted to find a place to hide right now.
After all, everyone had heard Hiruko's projection!!
'In other words…'
'That man definitely knew now!'
Sasuke was just thinking about how to kill the other party in his mind, but now that this matter is exposed…
Sasuke was afraid that the moment he saw the other party, Itachi would immediately bring up Mitsuki.
'Damn it!'
'He never should've done experiments with Orochimaru in the first place!'
Itachi, who was far away in the Land of Fire, looked up at the sky, his eyes flashing with tenderness.
'Sasuke's child…'
'It seems that Sasuke has finally realized the importance of continuing the clan.'
Thinking of this, Itachi couldn't help but feel a little worried.
'I wonder if Sasuke has become stronger in these years.'
If Sasuke had focused solely on clan continuation, that wasn't what Itachi wanted either.
"My little brother …"
"How far can those eyes of yours see now?"
Itachi raised his hand slightly, as if tapping something invisible in the air, lost in the memories of that distant afternoon.
…
"Sasuke, where are you going?"
"Aren't you going to save Mitsuki?"
Naruto grabbed Sasuke.
Orochimaru had already received word that Kabuto had tracked Hiruko's location and gone ahead to scout for information first.
Given their current strength, they probably couldn't defeat Hiruko, so Sasuke and Naruto would have to step in.
Beep beep beep…
But just as Naruto grabbed Sasuke, his communicator rang.
After taking it out and taking a look, Naruto was slightly stunned when he saw the caller's ID.
'Pain?!'
'What did he call me for?!'
Naruto glanced at the people around him and answered the phone with a guilty conscience.
"Leader?"
"Ichigo, you and Hidan are going on a mission."
"Bring back that Hiruko's head."
Pain's tone left no room for refusal, leaving Naruto at a loss for words.
'Tsk tsk…'
'Auntie, look at my Senior Brother.'
'The moment something happens, he's already solving the problem. Meanwhile, I don't see you calling me.
"Understood, Leader!"
"I will definitely bring his head back!"
As a probationary member of the Akatsuki, Naruto naturally couldn't refuse the mission.
This would could also make up for the last time he had tricked Pain.
Nagato smiled with relief when he heard that this kid agreed so straightforwardly.
'Look at Ichigo!'
'When I asked the others to go on missions for the organization before, the answer would be they had something to do today or whether I could wait a few days.'
'As expected!'
'Ichigo is still the most reliable!'
Pain then gave Naruto the rendezvous point with Hidan, reminded him to stay safe, and hung up.
Orochimaru, who had been eavesdropping, looked at the yellow-haired man in horror.
'What's going on!?'
'Since when the leader of the Akatsuki speak so kindly?!'
'Back in my day, if I said the wrong thing, he'd threaten me!?'
Orochimaru looked at Naruto strangely, and recalled everything he had experienced in the Akatsuki organization, and suddenly realized that there really is a gap between people.
'But…'
'Is it really okay for you, a Kyubi's Jinchuriki, to join the Akatsuki?!'
Naruto didn't pay any attention to Orochimaru's wild thoughts. Grabbing Sasuke, he went to find his teammate, Hidan.
Half an hour later…
Hidan looked at the black-cloaked young man beside Ichigo in confusion, revealing a mocking smile.
"Hey, brat."
"Do you think going on a mission is like playing house?"
He pulled out the scythe from his back and swung it at the black-robed young man without hesitation.
Sasuke ducked, pressed the ground with one hand, spun mid-air, and used the momentum to kick Hidan square in the face.
"This is your teammate?"
After finishing the move, he didn't even bother looking at Hidan, but instead turned to Naruto with a question in his tone.
The unspoken implication was clear…
'If he wasn't one of us, I would have killed him.'
Naruto nodded, then shrugged at the death-obsessed cultist who clearly didn't know how to spell the word 'death'.
"Leader's mission comes first."
"Hidan-senpai, if you've got a problem, settle it with him after we're done with the mission."
Hidan, who was about to get angry, grinned and showed his big white teeth.
"Brat…"
"You've got some nerve."
Despite his words, Hidan didn't press the issue further. Instead, he cheerfully sidled up to Ichigo, slinging an arm over his shoulder.
"Hey, newbie."
"I think you've got potential, how about you join me in worshipping Jashin-sama?"
Hidan felt from the bottom of his heart that this young man had a special temperament, and if he could offer him to Jashin, Jashin would surely be pleased.
"Pass."
Naruto raised his hand to open the other party's arm, pulled Sasuke and walked forward.
Seeing that this guy was so ungrateful, Hidan was not angry, but just chuckled darkly.
With his hands behind his back, he twirled a single strand of hair from Ichigo between his fingers.
"Hehehe…"
"Jashin-sama will definitely like you."
Hidan planned to use the other party's hair to test his affinity with the Jashin first. That way, he could prepare the perfect ritual to please his god.
"Hey!"
"Newbie, I'm going to go to the bathroom."
"You guys go ahead, I'll catch up later."
The more Hidan thought about it, the more excited he got. After shouting to Naruto, he ducked into a corner to start his preparations.
When Naruto heard that this cultist wanted to slack off, he felt even more sympathy for his Senior Brother.
'What kind of misfits is this organization made of!?'
'Not only are there traitors everywhere, but everyone's also like to slack off!'
'If this goes on, when will the organization's great cause be accomplished?!'
'Alas…'
'This organization will sooner or later fall apart without me.'
While thinking, he and Sasuke soon arrived at Hiruko's hideout.
"Let's go together, Sasuke!"
"Okay!"
Naruto shouted, and the BGM automatically played in his mind, but just as they were about to rush to the hideout, Hidan's voice suddenly rang out from behind them.
And weirdly enough, it sounded like it had some kind of echo effect.
"DAD!! I CAN'T TELL THE DIFFERENCE! I REALLY CAN'T TELL THE DIFFERENCE!"
Naruto: "!!!"
Hearing those words, Naruto's face instantly paled. He twisted his stiff neck to look in Hidan's direction…