Another story of how I imagine specific characters that got killed would have contributed to the story had they survived their actual deaths. Everything that has happened up to Hidan and Kakuzu's defeat is the same/canon; everything after that is my viewpoint of how they would have carried on.

Kishimoto owns Naruto and I don't, blah blah. Figured I should do this now so I don't get sued (:

XXX

Hidan

"I have to admit, you pathetic atheist, you've really gotten me angry! I'm gonna have to gut you like a fish, just to appease Lord Jashin!"

Unfazed, his opponent stepped back to admire his handy work. Hidan glared at him, then swiveled his head to observe the shadowy black tendrils that were holding him in place, and again took in the almost decorative hanging explosive tags lining the trees. He had managed to pick himself up from the ground from where he had fallen during their battle, straining against the jutsu. He was slowly combatting it; he now understood that the technique weakened with duration. However, it was still paralyzing him effectively.

Oh man, this kid has no idea what he's messing with. He just got lucky, that's all. All I have to do is break free of this shit, and I'm in the clear- "AH! THAT STINGS!"

The boy unfolded his hands from his hand sign, which had caused the black hands to clench painfully where they touched him. The pain was welcoming, yes, but not the sort he enjoyed. It was being done to him by someone else, and therefore not a sacred pain. It was practically blasphemous.

"You're sick, and so is your religion," the boy said to him, turning to face him. "I'll be doing the world a favor by killing you."

Hidan furrowed his eyebrows. "Sick? No, you convoluted nonbeliever, you're the one who's sick! You and that one bearded guy, the cash-cow, just a bunch of fools!" He whipped his head to the side. For a moment, the black tendrils holding him in place had slacked as the last few words. He looked back at his captor, saw emotional pain leaving his face. The cogs slowly turned his mind, forming a plan that for once did not involve the brute force of his lord.

"Oh, sorry, is that a soft spot? Surely you didn't actually think he was a good mentor; I mean, I took him out easy as one, two-"

"Shut up, you nutjob," the boy said somewhat calmly. Again, the shadow tendrils holding him in place slackened for a moment, but again reinstated his grip. Looks like when his emotions run high, it messes with his ability to use this damn jutsu of his. If I can just get him to loosen up a little, I can get him to drop jutsu and just kill him. And the best guess is that his teacher held a spot in his heart -sickening, but useful for me. He took a plodding step forward, the black hands struggling to contain him. And let's not forget that he's already weakening.

"Admit it, kid. The longer you use this jutsu, the more feeble... it gets." He clenched the ritual spike in his hand, his anger knotting in the all to familiar strength and desire to kill. "Isn't that right?!" He stood in front of the kid as he collapsed to his knees. Vengeance... is mine. Vengeance, is for my Lord! He began to laugh aloud as he gazed upon the despicable person lying at his feet, how it always would be. The nonbelievers would always be at the feet oh his lord, no matter what threats or attacks would be made on him.

The kid gave a last minute attempt to strenghen the shadow justu, but it was to late, Hidan couldn't be stopped. He continued to walk forward, still laughing. "Hate to break it to you, but I can still move!"

It was delightful to see him struggle. "Damnit..."

Hidan smiled down as he raised the ritual spike, which he would plunge straight through the boy's heart. "If only you believed in Jashin, you might have a chance... he could step in and save you right now!" He curled his lip, wanting to make the boy suffer. "It might not be to late to convert though, to change your ways..."

The boy's eyes widened and looked around Hidan, as if he actually could see the light of Jashin for a moment. But Jashin wouldn't appear to someone about to be sacrificed... then what...

It clicked in his mind. He opened his mouth and shouted,"Nah, just kidding, you're dead, kid-!"

The boy outstretched his hand as his eyes lifted to the left behind his head, and for the smallest of seconds, the justu retreated and vanished-

Jashin, help me-

On an impulse, he dropped to the ground, flinging the ritual spike behind him. He touched the ground of his own will, but he heard a sharp tink as something struck the ritual spike. There was a great whirling sound all around him, and Hidan thought that Jashin himself was arriving to assist him, coming in all his glory to help.

But no, a quick look up gave him not this realization, but perhaps something equally as wonderful. The boy was giving him a scandalized look. Around them both, the explosive tags were whirling around as black tendrils flurried them about. And then there was his ritual spike, suspended in midair by another claw-like shadow, right above his head where he had been standing a microsecond before. The tags were converging on the spike, blanketing it in paper. It was quite a show, and Hidan had an involuntary shiver as he realized that had he had not had the impulse to drop, he would have been coated in the explosives instead.

He bowed his head to the dirt. Thank you, Lord Jashin, for saving me, your disciple. Rage was beginning to course through him again as he looked at the scum that had just tried to kill him. The boy, now completely exhausted, dropped to one knee, breathing heavily. "How... how did you evade my Shadow Pull Jutsu... there's no way you could have seen or felt it coming!"

Hidan picked himself up from the ground, tasting the blood in his mouth. Blood that had been drawn because of this young upstart.

"I already told you... if you believed in Jashin, he would step in to save you. This isn't strategic insight, you fool. I'm not all that intelligent, I know. It wasn't me that made me dodge your attack."

This time, the boy's eyes widened in real shock. "Wha- no, no you're lying-"

He stooped to pick up the ritual spear, rubbed it lovingly in his hands. "It's perfectly true. You know, I'm not one for believing miracles; besides myself, obviously. And judging by how dependent on logic, I doubt you believe in anything spiritual, let alone miraculous."

"The Will of Fire..."

"Garbage. Pure garbage." Hidan paused, looking down with disdain on his defeated opponent. "You weren't deserving of experiencing this miracle. But now that you have, it's imperative I sacrifice you to Lord Jashin. No more messing around."

He raised the spike for one final thrust, the boy's eyes still wide open in disbelief-"

"Cherry Blossom Impact!"

A great crushing blow struck Hidan in the ribs, making the woods echo with a resounding crack. He went tumbling across the ground, skidding and swearing angrily with each stone or loose branch he picked up.

"Shikamaru!" Two more shinobi had joined the fray, one male and one female, arriving to help the sacrificial offering. Hidan furiously picked himself up from the ground, dusting himself down and rubbing the large bruising forming on the impact spot.

"My Jashin, what does it take to do a decent ritual around here?"

The girl looked up from her wounded comrade to look at him in surprise. "What, he's able to get up from a direct hit? This must be the one with the immortality."

"You're damn right I'm immortal, girl. Now how about you and your friend get out of the way so I can just do the ritual and sacrifice your little nonbeliever friend here."

She held her arms wide, shielding the boy from his view. "No way you're getting Shikamaru."

Her friend, the other boy, also drew up beside her, carrying some sort of coloring book scroll. "Agreed. Your fight is with us, Akatsuki."

Ah I don't have time for this. His gaze returned to the suspended ritual spear from the earlier attack. And I've had a few close shaves today. I can only enjoy so much pain from outside sources. Time to fall back to Kakuzu and just get out here. He began to back away, retracting the spear and making to tuck it away.

"Where do you think you're going!" The girl was incensed, no doubt angry and seeking revenge. Ordinarily, he liked to see anger in other people. But in this case, it was just an annoying distraction. She threw a trio of shuriken at him, and he whirled the spear in front of him like a propeller. The incoming metal bounced off harmlessly. The boy likewise threw another barrage of kunai. This time he simply took the attack with his body, making a beeline for the trees. He would lose them in the clearing.

What a waste of a mission, and time. These guys really cannot let go of a single comrade to be sacrificed, can they? Don't they understand I have priorities? He felt the kunai enter his body, but he ignored it and kept running, unfazed. He had a gut feeling that the two would not pursue him, but rather would tend to their fallen friend. True enough, when he turned back, he saw that both of the reinforcements had stopped back down to help their weakened comrade.

He retracted the ritual spear and stuffed back into his shredded Akatsuki cloak. But as soon as they've tended to him, they'll running back to help that guy Kakashi and the rest of the intercept squad. Kakuzu is great and all, but even he's got limits. He grit his teeth together as he saw the forest beginning to thin, and familiar earth and dead trees coming into view. And these Konoha brats aren't the ones we can normally walk all over. As much as I'd just like to kill them off right now, Kakuzu and I need to get a days rest.

Then there'll be enough blood spilt to spell Jashin's name for him to see from above!

Kakuzu

I can't let that thing touch me, or I'm dead.

From across the wasteland, Kakuzu eyed the Nine-Tails Jinchuuriki warily. The amount of chakra being molded into the boy's hand- a boy! - was enough to send shivers up his spine. It had been a while since he'd seen anything like it.

And in his line of work, it was a true statement.

It's enough to take away my last two hearts. And that piercing sound... you mine as well be attach a siren to his head, the chakra is so concentrated. He allowed the writhling grey tendrils of his technique to slide along the ground nervously. His calm demeanor had been spent with his battle with Kakashi and the other brats. He had lost two hearts; an especially rare occurrence since he could not recall the last time he had lost even one.

And now this blonde boy, the jinchuuriki... with that jutsu...

Deidara's warning back at the hideout was suddenly very clear. He had tangled with the boy before, and the missing arms and wrecked excuse of a body was enough to make the point believable. Only now was it clear to him.

Hidan and I were overconfident. We should have realized there was a trap and just avoided this altogether. He narrowed his eyes. And now that little idiot's mistakes might end up getting us killed.

"Wind Style: Rasenshuriken!"

The jutsu had apparently reached it's peak; the jinchuuriki held it above his head, where it sent air currents around sporadically, making his allies shield their faces. It's power was tremendous; definitely enough to take out the precious hearts of his jutsu.

He stooped to a defensive pose as four bodies of the jinchuuriki ran at him. Three of them were running faster than the last, probably the original, and therefore were the immeadite threat. He dispatched them easily, running one through with the tendrils while the other two were blasted by his Wind and Fire Masks-

Behind me! "What? No!" He snuck around while I was dealing with the clones. He saw the jinchuuriki running towards him, the strange jutsu now hammering his ears mercilessly. He looked on it with apprehension as it closed in on him-

And just as suddenly, it died. No warning, and to everyone's shock.

Kakuzu blinked. The boy was standing a mere inch from his enhanced body, arm outstretched with the palm open to him. However, the jutsu had vaniashed. It would seem he's still incompetint with using it. How... unfortunate. He lashed out, but the prize jumped back. However, Kakuzu lashed out with singular rope-like appendages, and they caught the jinchuuriki flat on his two feet.

"I'll be taking your heart for my collection," Kakuzu rumbled, and began to reel in the boy. To blazes with taking him alive, we can still seal the Nine-Tails after I've buterched him and the rest of these carriers.

However, in a flurry of action, Kakashi and the other adult shinobi broke into a coordinated attack. While Kakuzu dodged what looked like the First Hokage's kekkai genkai, the Wood Release, Kakashi sliced through his wire, freeing the jinchuuriki from his grasp. With a snarl of frustration, he made to capture them both, but he was forced to dodge another wood style attack from their third shinobi.

I can't keep this up... I know the boy's attack plan now, but I can't handle this situation. We need to go.

The mission was nothing short of failure. Not only had he lost two of his hearts, but Hidan was gone, probably in another ripped apart state. Kakuzu had great faith in his abilities, but his run with Kakashi had been taxing, and the arrival of fresh reinforcements did not help his tired state, especially when one was a jinchuuriki. The odds were not in their favor; it was time to leave.

But I can't just walk out of here, I need Hidan for cover.

The boy Naruto was creating his wind style jutsu again, it's piercing sound resounding through the wasteland battlefield again. Much to his surprise, the rest of the attack force was staying back; they were letting the jichuuriki come in alone.

Big mistake. I know his strategy now. I'll bag the boy, then meet up with Hidan.

The clones came again, and again he slew them with ease. This time, instead of allowing the boy to come at him, he jumped high and flew on top of the jinchuuriki and his jutsu. Just as he suspected, he lost control of the immense attack, and he ran his tendrils through his body. Just like that, it was over.

"It's done," he rumbled. "Now, for the main prize-"

"Kakuzu, behind you!"

Hidan, right on time. He lurched forward and left the body behind in seconds, getting clear. A moment later, a terrific explosion engulfed the place he had just been standing. A cocoon of wind chakra was swirling furiously-

I see. So he tricked me again by having two of these Rasenshurikens, but having the one on the ground be a clone. He jumped above me to strike in my blind spot... clever. He tilted his head towards Hidan was running towards him, blood-red scythe in hand already. I might actually have to thank him now. Just what I needed.

The Konoha-nin were looking devastated, no doubt having expected the jinchuuriki's attack to have worked. He allowed himself a smile. "How the tides have turned, Kakashi Hatake," he growled out to the silver-haired jonin. "A shame your star student lasted so shortly." He turned to Hidan, who had finally reached him and was slightly panting. "What kept you?"

"Ah, shut it. You don't look to good either."

"Alright, this is no time for arguing. Grab the jinchuuriki and let's make a retreat."

Hidan looked at him, dumbfounded. "Wow, you're seriously this worked up? To use the r-word?"

"Quiet, Hidan! Just grab the boy!"

Once again, Kakashi and the Wood Style man snapped into action. "Yamato, Formation G!"

"Right! Ino, Choji, get to Naruto and get him out of there!"

Kakuzu snapped his head to his partner. "Get the boy! We're not leaving empty handed! I'll stall them, go-!"

The earth was quaking at his feet. He jumped into the air, just nearly avoiding a massive wooden spike from impaling him. However, from the sides of it, even smaller wooden spikes emerged, homing in on him in midair. A burst of flame ended the assault, leaving the wood to crumble away. However, the pat pat pat of footsteps told him that Kakashi was coming in on his left.

His staminas run out. "To slow!" He lashed out with the wire, conjoining the thread-like extensions into a sharp needle. They struck the incoming figure, making Kakashi emit a feminine scream of pain-

No, it's the girl! A diversion and I fell for it-

He whirled, seeing Kakashi with the infernal Lightning Blade coming in on the other end. He couldn't shift the Masks to retaliate in time-

" I got it!" A sharp, familiar whirling sound rushed by his ear. Hidan's scythe lashed out, aiming for Kakashi's neck. However, the skilled jonin curved his body, enough to avoid the path of the scythe all together. Still, it diverted his attack away from Kakuzu. And this gave him the perfect opening-

"Fire Style: Hard Intelligent Work!" A stream of hot fire emitted from his Flame Mask. Kakashi crossed his arms in front of him for what little protection it offered, since he could not move again in midair. The flame struck him in the cross, buffeting him several yards away and burning away the tattered remains of his jonin uniform. His friend, the Wood Release man, backed away, jumping back to assist his seared friend.

And the girl? She was sprawled on her back, clutching a gaping wound where Kakuzu had impaled her. He tendrils had moved quickly once they struck her- he knew that at the least he had ripped open her right lung. Her wheezing, hoarse breathing was enough to confirm this. Her overweight companion abandoned his attempt to grab the jinchuuriki from the crater he had created, and instead rushed to her side. "Ino... Ino, hang in there!"

It's not a fatal wound, as unfortunate as that is. I would've needed more time for that. He relaxed his body, and slowly, the gray wire extensions retreated back into his body, folding back into place. He resumed the form of a normal human, tough his ragdoll stiches of course took away from that effect. With fatso tending the girl and the Wood Style man getting Kakashi, that means-

"I got the kid, let's blow this popsicle stand." Hidan already had his scythe attached to his back, while the bloody heap of the jinchuuriki was flung over his shoulders. Kakuzu was to caught up in the damage done to the boy to reply to Hidan's infuriating remark. Amazing. That jutsu of his hit him instead of me in the explosion it created. I'd wager he missed the worst of it, but he won't be walking around anytime soon. If ever again. His heart is definitely a good replacement.

With everything in order, they ran, aiming for the border. They would need to rest before making the full journey back to the Hideout-

And I need to collect that 35 million ryo bounty on the Guardian shinobi. We'll pick up his body soon.

When the Konoha-nin had been left far behind to count their wounded, he finally overcame the resistance to say it. "Th...thanks. For helping me out twice back there."

Hidan flashed him a cocky smile, the jinchuuriki's unconscious body rag dolling all over the place. "Hey, just helping out my partner in crime, right? Even if he is a total son of a bitch most of the time-"

"I instantly regret thanking you."

"Oh come on, it's something I could get used to. Even I like words of encouragement every now and then."

"You're like a five-year-old."

"Well, this five-year-old isn't the one that doesn't like going to church!" He laughed insanely at his own joke, making Kakuzu sigh. "We need to recuperate and make a grab for the Guardian's body, the one we killed back at the bounty hunter's office. He's worth to much to ignore and leave behind."

"You actually want to go back? So soon?" It was quite unlike Hidan to sound so hesitant; something had changed during his absence.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Fine. Have it your way. But we're going back for the bounty, like it or not."

Hidan jiggled the body. "And this one?"

"We'll report back to the Leader, but also tell him of a change in plans. I want to take his heart first."

The maniacal smile returned, covering up the subtle change in his demeanor. "Good enough for me. I'll use the corpse for a substitute ritual. A bit of mutilation and vwa-la. Immortality renewed."

"Just don't take an hour like the last one."

"Only if you don't wreck the body getting the heart."

"Deal."

"Deal."