No matter how reluctant Shinji was, he still departed with Hidan.
And as Takihata said, he seemingly really didn't send people to follow them, as if he was very certain that the two of them would definitely complete the mission successfully and return safely.
However, unless Shinji was truly crazy, he wouldn't believe it.
Most likely, the Jashin Cult had already sent people to protect (monitor) them secretly.
"What are you looking at?"
Hidan asked impatiently. Clearly, if given a choice, he also didn't want to run a mission with Shinji.
"Nothing, let's go."
Shinji withdrew his gaze, didn't explain anything, and directly walked forward.
Hidan clicked his tongue, then followed him.
Based on the map, they needed to cross the Land of Fire and then take a boat to the Land of Waves.
Although the journey was far, for a ninja, a full-speed journey only took a few days.
Of course, this mission wasn't urgent to that extent.
So, they didn't need to rush.
They walked leisurely and only arrived in the interior of the Land of Fire three days later.
After entering the Land of Fire, Shinji's behavior looked slightly strange.
Not because he wanted to leave Hidan and run away, and he also didn't intend to defect to Konoha.
He just discovered that he was now getting closer to the location marked on his Cursed Treasure Map.
(Should I go see it?)
He was slightly hesitant, afraid his biggest secret would be exposed.
However, after thinking about it again, if he didn't take advantage of this opportunity, he didn't know when he would be able to get out and come around here again.
And he was very curious about what he could dig up from this Cursed Treasure Map!
(Damn it, what needs to be thought about continuously! If I really dig up something, I only need to say it's something I hid there before. Should be fine!)
Shinji wasn't blindly confident. The Jashin Cult had poured so much effort into him and Hidan. As long as he didn't rebel, the other party wouldn't possibly be narrow-minded enough to seize his belongings.
On the other hand, considering this system couldn't be relied upon, plus with the word 'cursed'...
He was also worried there would be problems in the process. Don't let what he dug up be a 'zombie' (term in Chinese grave-robbing novels for an undecomposed corpse), later the story would change from fanfiction to a grave-robbing novel!
He looked up at the sky, night was almost upon them.
Shinji then pretended to say casually, "The day is almost dark. I see on the map there's a small village near here. We can go buy food and also stay overnight."
"Really troublesome."
Hidan grumbled, but he didn't mind.
After all, he was already tired of eating dry rations and sleeping in the wild while being bitten by mosquitoes for the past few days.
If he could eat warm food and sleep soundly, he had no reason to refuse.
Of course, mockery still had to be thrown out!
"Just a few days and already can't stand it. Some people are really spoiled!"
Shinji didn't let Hidan act as he pleased, he directly countered, "In that case, you just keep staying here and be mosquito food. I'll go there to look around, who knows there might be katsudon."
After saying that, he directly left without further ado!
Hidan left in that place immediately felt very conflicted!
If he followed him, it would embarrass himself.
But if not...
What if there really was katsudon?!
As a natural carnivore, Hidan hated all vegetables and vegetarian food. His favorite food was katsudon.
After all, why should he stay here eating dry rations and being bitten by mosquitoes, while Shinji enjoyed himself?
So, Hidan put on a sour face, and immediately chased after him.
Seeing Shinji turn to look, he immediately spoke first, "I really can't do anything with you. Hidan-sama will try to comply with your request this one time. But there's no next time, hear!"
(Such a tsundere, mouth says no but heart says yes.)
Shinji clicked his tongue twice, and no longer tried to expose it.
After all, most of his thoughts right now were focused on that treasure map.
Debating with Hidan was a long-term job, couldn't be finished overnight, so no need to rush, he could do it slowly.
"Follow me, we need to speed up."
After finding the direction, Shinji stored the map and immediately began speeding up.
In the original story, Hidan was the slowest Akatsuki member, but that was compared to the monsters in Akatsuki.
However, compared to ordinary ninjas, Hidan's speed wasn't slow at all.
So, the two quickly deviated from the original route and headed north.
After running for a full hour, they finally saw the shadow of a village, and the sky had already completely darkened.
After stopping, Hidan immediately complained unbearably, "This is what you call a small village near here? Where have we even arrived!"
Of course. A full hour journey at full speed for ninjas like them, how could that be called 'near'?
Hidan felt he had been fooled!
That katsudon was just bait deliberately thrown by Shinji!
How stupid he was to be deceived and run this far.
If he had known, he would rather stay in place and fight with mosquitoes!
Shinji also knew his reason was somewhat unreasonable, but there was no better way.
After all, he came here based on the guidance from the treasure map.
So, even though the reason was poor, he had to detour to see it.
"So do you want to leave?"
"Leave what! If today I don't eat katsudon, I'll burn this whole village and make it an offering to Jashin!"
Hidan cursed angrily, then directly barged in.
Shinji immediately felt a headache.
He didn't doubt that Hidan could do such a thing in his anger, but that kind of result wasn't what he wanted to see.
"So, later I have to think of a way to coax him..."
Fortunately, his Blood Manipulation completely defeated Hidan's ability, so he wasn't worried about not being able to control that bastard.
"Two young men, are you looking for someone?"
Just when the two of them were walking around the village very conspicuously, an elderly person appeared before them and asked.
Shinji was just about to speak, but Hidan preempted him.
"Hey, old man! Quickly give us the good food and drink you have, or Hidan-sama will burn your village later... Mmm mmm mmm!"
Shinji hurried forward and covered Hidan's mouth, then smiled, "Grandpa don't misunderstand. My little brother here got water in his head when he was young, so he often rambles."
"Actually we're not looking for anyone, we just happened to pass through here, want to buy something to eat, and preferably there's a place for us to rest overnight."
Hearing that, the old man's tense expression eased slightly.
"Oh, I see. I thought your little brother really had a big illness."
Hearing those words, Hidan's eyes widened and he started struggling again with all his might.
"Mmm mmm mmm mmm, mmm mmm!"
(I'll kill you, old man!)
Shinji tried hard to prevent Hidan from killing the old man on the spot.
Then, he heard the old man say again, "Guests from afar are honored guests. Since we met, this is fate. How about this, don't talk about money or anything. If you don't mind, follow me home. You can eat something and rest overnight, how about it?"
"Thank you very much! We'll leave after staying overnight, we won't be troublesome."
"Speaking of troublesome..."
"What is it, Grandpa?"
"Ehh, you must watch your little brother. There are many women and children in this village, don't let him scare them!"
"Hehe, certainly not! Don't worry, although my little brother is insane, his words are unpleasant, and he's arrogant... he has many flaws. But he has one advantage, which is he's not close to women. He gets annoyed seeing women and children, he'll avoid them, how could he approach them?"
"That's good then. Hah, such a shame with his physique, but too bad he's stupid. The beauty of women, fools won't understand~"
That old man seemed to be someone who had many stories. He sighed long while walking forward leading the way with hands behind his back.