"Leave Samehada behind, and you can go.
This is my final warning."
Hidan spoke with a calmness that didn't match the situation.
Itachi's hidden techniques were troublesome—troublesome enough that even he didn't want to deal with them until he had the Rinnegan.
But one day…
He would pay this back.
And on that day, Itachi would wish he'd never been born.
In truth, it wasn't that Hidan couldn't kill him right now.
If he went all-out—truly unleashed everything—he could take down Itachi even if the Uchiha resorted to Izanami.
Yes, Hidan would lose some of his trump cards temporarily, but he would still win.
But he can't kill him now.
Itachi is the only pillar Sasuke has left.
If Itachi dies now, Sasuke will crumble.
He might not even survive it.
Itachi is the core of Sasuke's hatred—
the very fuel that will let him grow into the monster Hidan expects him to become.
Sasuke is an investment.
A future asset.
Even Naruto has value in Hidan's eyes.
If either of them dies too early, Hidan's plans lose their foundation.
He has high expectations for both of them.
"Give it to him, Kisame. If we hesitate any longer, we won't be leaving here today.
Konoha's forces are already closing in," Itachi said, voice steady.
As long as the ninja survives, things can be rebuilt.
Talent and experience matter more than any weapon.
"Tch… damn it! Fine, take it!
I hope you can actually keep hold of this sword!"
Kisame snarled, releasing Samehada from his grip and hurling the living blade toward Hidan.
Hidan smiled faintly.
The moment he saw Itachi convince Kisame, he knew he'd already won.
Kisame's trust in Itachi ran deep—almost as deep as his loyalty to Obito.
If Itachi said the word, Kisame wouldn't argue.
"Kamui."
Hidan's Mangekyō spun open, and a swirling vortex tore through the air.
Samehada vanished into the dimensional distortion before its scales even brushed against him.
Hidan had no intention of carrying it around.
A sword that didn't recognize a master was more trouble than it was worth, and he didn't have time to tame it now.
His mind was already on Konoha.
He had a feeling...
Itachi must have done something significant.
Something irreversible.
Otherwise, he wouldn't say he could no longer remain in the village.
"Let's go. Konoha's team will be here any moment. If we stay, we'll be trapped."
Itachi disappeared in a blur of motion.
Kisame followed, though he shot Hidan a cold, shark-toothed glare before vanishing into the trees.
Hidan watched them fade into the distance, then turned toward the lake shore.
Several figures were rushing toward him at full speed.
Canceling his Eight Gates stance, Hidan lifted Sasuke with one arm and walked calmly toward the incoming group.
He wanted to see exactly what Itachi had done that forced him into exile.
And clearly, Itachi wasn't worried about Hidan harming Sasuke.
Soon, Hidan recognized the leader of the approaching squad.
Someone he hadn't expected—
but the moment he saw him, everything made sense.
At the same time, from the opposite side, another figure rushed toward him.
Graceful footsteps.
A flutter of paper.
Eyes full of emotion directed straight at him.
Konan.
"Capture the woman first!" the Konoha leader commanded.
The ANBU beside him immediately broke formation and lunged toward Konan.
And the leader himself stood front-and-center with a group of shinobi Hidan knew very well…
--
Several members of the approaching Konoha squad stared at Hidan with complicated, uneasy eyes.
The man at the front kept his gaze ice-cold.
"Yo. Kakashi, Guy, Kurenai, Asuma… Jiraiya.
Everyone's here."
Hidan greeted them like he'd bumped into old acquaintances, completely ignoring their hostile looks.
Then his voice dropped, cold and deliberate:
"Now it makes sense… what really happened."
He finally understood everything.
Itachi hadn't been "watching" him by accident.
And that crow containing Shisui's eye—the one supposedly meant for Hidan to command Danzo—had never truly served him from the start.
Danzo wasn't acting under Hidan's Kotoamatsukami that night during the Uchiha massacre.
He was acting under Itachi's.
Hidan only used Kotoamatsukami afterward to reinforce obedience—precisely because he didn't want to waste his own techniques.
But he underestimated Itachi's cunning. The Uchiha heir had planned several moves ahead—willing to use his own clan, even his family, as pieces on the board.
By doing this, Itachi planted a spy right beside Hidan…
one Hidan trusted without question.
After all, Danzo's loyalty to him was built entirely on Kotoamatsukami.
And that was exactly the opening Itachi had used—
without Hidan noticing.
"What a long-term strategist… every move placed perfectly. His strength might not compare, but that damn Uchiha brain really planned ahead."
Hidan wasn't angry.
If anything, he appreciated it... the same way someone might admire a clever twist in an anime plot.
But sadly…
this wasn't a show.
And Itachi wasn't the main character.
"Hidan. Collusion with Orochimaru. Aiding the Sand's invasion. Attempting to instigate war.
I have the recording you left when you met me.
Do you have anything to say for yourself?"
Danzo's cane tapped the ground rhythmically as he spoke each word with exaggerated clarity.
He had thrown every crime onto Hidan's shoulders... and even brought out recordings of the orders Hidan had once given him, turning prior collaboration into damning evidence.
With the Sand and Sound shinobi already dead, nothing contradicted his story.
And even if Hidan had helped stop the One-Tail's rampage, it did nothing to clear him of the accusation.
"Hidan… why? Why do something like this?"
Kakashi asked, voice strained.
He had suspected Hidan before, but seeing the evidence laid out still rattled him.
Hidan's reputation had always been… volatile.
Reckless. Unpredictable.
Even back when the Third Hokage lived, Hidan had nearly caused international incidents multiple times.
So these accusations were, unfortunately, believable.
And the truth was… Hidan had done much of it.
"Hidan, you're being framed, right!?
This has to be fake!
I've been telling them, but no one believes me!"
Kurenai stepped forward desperately, anxiety written across her face.
She was more worried for Hidan than Hidan himself was—begging him for an answer, any answer, even if it was a lie.
Hidan smiled faintly.
Deny it?
Admit it?
Did it even matter?
He had never cared about how people saw him.
If he did, he wouldn't have spent years cultivating such a dangerous reputation.
And now?
This was a perfect opportunity.
He had come to Konoha to grow stronger—
to earn kills, points, bloodlines, rewards.
He had already obtained everything he needed.
He had even considered starting a war just to harvest more points.
Itachi…
You thought you were binding me?
But you actually freed me.
Now Hidan could go rogue openly—
no restraints, no political ties, no village holding him back.
If he was a traitor now…
then he should start acting like one.
"Kamui."
His Eternal Mangekyō flared, warping space.
Kurenai vanished instantly into the Blood Sea dimension.
The woman he desired...he would take with him.
Since Konoha already deemed him a criminal, why should he stay here any longer?
Konoha clung to its illusion of peace.
He had no place in that fantasy.
He wanted his own village...and he had more than enough power to build one.
"Kurenai!"
"Damn it!!"
Kakashi and Asuma shouted, but Kamui's speed left them no time to react.
"Hidan! Release her right now!"
Asuma's eyes burned with fury, chakra knives drawn and trembling as rage overtook him.
Seeing the woman he admired snatched away so easily twisted his insides with helpless anger.
"Konan! We're leaving!"
Hidan shouted across the battlefield.
Konan, surrounded by ANBU, dissolved into a storm of paper sheets...distracting her attackers as she reassembled beside Hidan.
"Master…"
Her voice was soft, her eyes overflowing with attachment and relief.
"Hm."
Hidan acknowledged her gently, then turned his gaze toward Danzo and the others—
a dangerous, wild gleam flickering in his eyes.
"So…
you're planning to stop us?
Danzo."
His voice echoed like a blade dragged across ice—
shivers crept through every Konoha shinobi present, killing intent gnawing at their nerves.
"…Let him go."
Danzo finally ordered.
With Hiruzen dead, Danzo now held the highest authority in Konoha aside from the two senior elders.
He wasn't about to sacrifice Konoha's forces pointlessly—not against Hidan.
"What!? How can you just let him go!?
He killed my father!"
"He killed Sarutobi-sensei!
You think I'll just stand aside!?" Jiraiya roared, grief twisting into fury.
Before Asuma could protest, Jiraiya exploded first.
His eyes were filled with rage and heartbreak.
He had never imagined the boy he taught Summoning Jutsu would be the one responsible for his teacher's death.
"We are not his opponents.
If you're confident, you can try and see whether you can stop him."
Danzo's voice was calm, realistic.
He understood Hidan's power all too well — thanks to Itachi's manipulation.
"Jiraiya-sama… Sasuke is still in his hands.
Please, don't act rashly," Kakashi warned.
Everyone's focus snapped to the unconscious Sasuke hanging over Hidan's shoulder, and their blood ran cold.
One wrong move…and they'd lose him too.
"…Damn it…"
Jiraiya swallowed his anger, muscles twitching as he forced himself not to strike.
"Hand over Kurenai and Sasuke," Kakashi said bitterly.
"From today onward, you have no ties to Konoha."
He still couldn't understand how things had reached this point...how someone who once felt like a comrade, almost a friend, had ended up here.
He drew in a steady breath and lifted a shuriken, prepared to act the moment Hidan forced his hand.
Asuma's chakra knives flared to life beside him, his killing intent barely restrained.
"Konan.
Go keep Kurenai company.
I'll join you in a moment."
"Yes…"
Konan nodded and vanished into Kamui's space.
Hidan exhaled lightly.
"Kurenai? I won't be returning her.
But Sasuke…
let's ask him."
"Sasuke! Wake up!"
Hidan lifted Sasuke's eyelid and forced his consciousness awake using Tsukuyomi.
Despite the damage Itachi left on his mind, Sasuke began to regain awareness.
Slowly, his eyes opened…
and he stared at the people gathered before him—
completely confused.
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