With the disappearance of Shukaku, the Konoha shinobi erupted into earth-shattering cheers.
Morale surged instantly, roaring through their ranks like wildfire.
Meanwhile, the forces of Sunagakure and Otogakure were crumbling.
Their spirits, already worn down from failing to break through for so long, collapsed completely under the panic of Shukaku being wiped out of existence.
Confidence in victory?
Gone.
"Man… what a shame I can't kill this guy yet. I could've earned a fat chunk of killing points."
Hidan looked down at Gaara, unconscious and motionless, and let out a dramatic sigh.
He even caught himself wondering — if he killed a tailed beast… would he gain the tailed beast's power?
Like true immortality?
Or turning his body into a chakra entity?
The thought was tempting, but not tempting enough to be stupid.
After all, the Killing System required actual kills to grant stolen abilities.
And a tailed beast couldn't truly be killed — so what would the system even "deprive"?
That was the kind of headache Hidan didn't sign up for.
Putting that aside, Hidan's gaze shifted toward the man sprinting desperately toward Gaara.
Baki.
A top jōnin of the Sand Village, the mentor of Gaara's squad.
His face twisted into a mask of worry as he stared at the unconscious jinchūriki.
Of course, someone like Baki wasn't worried about Gaara the boy.
No — he was panicking about the thing inside him.
To Sunagakure, a jinchūriki was an indispensable piece of military force.
The person could die — but they could not afford to lose the tailed beast.
And right under his nose, Shukaku had shrunk by more than half.
The ordinary Sand villagers didn't know what that meant.
But a high-ranking shinobi like Baki…?
He understood perfectly.
A chakra aggregate like Shukaku losing more than half its mass was a disaster — a massive injury to their greatest weapon.
His heart was bleeding.
And the hatred in his eyes as he stared at Hidan was unmistakable.
Hidan had single-handedly destroyed their entire plan…
and inflicted catastrophic losses on Sunagakure.
He wanted to tear Hidan to pieces.
But he didn't dare.
If Shukaku could be sealed that easily by this man, how could Baki possibly stand against him?
"Since you're here," Hidan said coldly, "you don't get to leave."
From the start of the invasion until now, he hadn't racked up many killing points.
And this elite jōnin in front of him?
That was 1,500 killing points walking toward him.
Baki felt like a helpless animal cornered by an ancient monster — the kind that could tear a tailed beast in half.
Cold sweat slid down his spine.
"We surrender!" Baki blurted out instantly.
"We are willing to compensate Konoha for all losses! We were deceived! Our Fourth Kazekage was impersonated!"
Ever since Orochimaru showed his true face, everything finally made sense.
Why the sudden aggressive plan?
Why ally with Otogakure?
Everything aligned now — Sunagakure had been played like fools.
Hidan, of course, knew exactly what Baki was thinking.
Sand had been manipulated by Orochimaru, and now both sides had suffered heavy casualties.
But what did that have to do with Hidan?
As long as the key target wasn't killed, nothing else mattered.
And compensation?
Spare him.
What compensation could compare to the sweet satisfaction of a clean, crisp killing point?
"I'm sorry," Hidan said with a mad grin, "but things like truces? Yeah, I couldn't care less! Hahaha!"
A truce?
Ever since Orochimaru launched the Konoha Crush Plan, Hidan had formed his own ambitions.
Why not use this to ignite a real war between two villages?
War means death.
And death is Hidan's favorite currency.
Baki felt his blood turn to ice.
This lunatic wasn't acting like a Konoha shinobi at all.
Even with Orochimaru's conspiracy exposed, this man wanted to use it to start a war.
A war between Konoha and Sunagakure — created deliberately.
Why?
What was this man's goal?!
Unfortunately, he would never get his answer.
Because among the Sand forces returning alive today…only Gaara's squad would make it home.
"Kamui."
Hidan's Eternal Mangekyō spun.
Space twisted violently.
Baki screamed as his body folded, crushed, and imploded into a spray of gore.
Not a trace remained.
The surge of +1500 killing points finally made Hidan feel a little better.
He turned to glance at the battle atop the barrier.
The Third Hokage and Orochimaru had reached the point of no return — the clash had become desperate and vicious.
With the First and Second Hokage's incomplete reincarnations attacking relentlessly, Hiruzen was barely holding on.
"Looks like the old man can't be saved this time. A war between Konoha and Sunagakure is inevitable."
Hidan's eyes grew colder, the warmth draining from his expression.
If Hiruzen survived, he would push his usual peace policy — exactly what Hidan didn't want.
What Hidan wanted was war, even a massive one between all Five Great Nations if possible.
"Hm?"
Hidan stiffened.
He felt Hiruzen's chakra fluctuate violently inside the Four Purple Flames Barrier.
Something cold… something unnatural began to materialize behind the Third Hokage.
Even with the Sharingan, its form was blurry, almost invisible.
"So this is the 'Shinigami' summoned by the Reaper Death Seal?"
A strange, ghastly presence.
A killing god that harvested souls according to the strength of the summoner.
All the souls it devoured remained sealed… trapped eternally within its stomach.
Hidan had to admit — whoever in the Uzumaki Clan created this technique was a terrifying genius.
This sealing method was one of a kind.
But Hidan wasn't afraid.
Because under the gaze of his Eternal Mangekyō, even though its shape was difficult to perceive, he could sense clearly—
The Shinigami was a spirit entity.
A soul devourer that existed between reality and illusion.
Perfect.
Because the Totsuka Blade Hidan discovered before Itachi ever could — the spiritual sealing sword housed within Hidan's Susanoo — existed simultaneously in both the physical world and the ethereal plane.
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