XXX

Hidan

They of course avoided the main road. Not just because they're robes and straw hats were a dead giveaway for their allegiance, or that they were carrying an unconscious boy with them, or even that they themselves were the most wanted men in the nation. Rather, they just didn't like being around other people that they couldn't kill.

We need to keep a low profile. Can't go charging off blindly anymore.

They walked through the rough trodden side road, long forgotten by maintenance and swallowed up by vengeful nature. Vines and rocks went skittering across the ground as they're almost military order footsteps went between the trees. The rain continued it's merciless descent, drenching their cloaks and straw hats, but the white tassels protected their faces from the drops that fell off the brims.

As their journey to the Village Hidden in the Leaves continued, he found his thoughts straying across what their Leader would do. The moment he had found out he and Kakuzu had disobeyed a direct command, there would be trouble. Truth be told, the Leader was the only one that made him slightly queasy inside, the only one he was sure might actually be able to kill him, even with his immortality. His disgraceful tone was just to cover up the real emotion beneath the surface.

He claimed to be a god. It would be a sight to see when Jashin came to this earth and showed him the real god. But until then, as far as Hidan was concerned, the Leader was truly on another level. His wrath would be something to be feared when they returned to base.

The more he thought about it and the more he tripped over the ensnaring vines strewn across the grass, the more he wondered why he had been so eager to come out here. Was it the thought of more bloodshed by his hand? Probably, but not all of it. Was it because he was eager to make the money off the cashcow? No, money was Kakuzu's thing.

Is it because I actually want to try and be friends with this atheist slime? It can't be, we hate each other! I just made it clear to both of us in the cave that we can't be friends. We can only ever be partners in fighting. That's all there is.

"On the topic of a distraction," Kakuzu grunted. "How can we divert their attention away from one of the side gates so we can slip in?"

"A side gate? Pshhh," Hidan sneered. "No, we'll really give them a slap in the face. We'll come through the main entrance, right under their noses."

"That's ridiculous, that's where security will be heaviest. Use your head. No, we need a clever method that can last us a long time. Enough time to be in and out swiftly."

Hidan shifted the sleeping jinchuuriki to his free shoulder. "I would just say myself, but in addition to my immortality being... unreliable... well, I just can't count on you to actually get through this by yourself. You'd probably just find some way to screw it up."

"It's funny how I'm the one with twice as much as battle experience than you. But no, you can't risk yourself out there. We need something more solid..."

Lost in thought, Hidan stepped forward and smashed his toes into a rock. He tripped and the jinchuuriki fell noisly to the ground, while Hidan landed on his back on the hard earth. He frowned up at the trees obscuring his vision of the raining sky. A few drops landed in his eye before he sat up and rubbed his back. "Well, the ground is tough enough."

Kakuzu stopped, and Hidan recognized the look instantly. "Sounds like you've cooked up something good."

"Yes, your stupidity seems to be coming in handy this time around."

"Than-HEY!"

Kakuzu pointed a painted finger at his back. "The earth style user who I just absorbed. I think..." He stopped and closed his eyes, brought his hands together into a trio of hand seals.

"Earth Style: Rock Clone Jutsu!"

The muddy ground at their feet split and broke apart as dry chunks of earth rose at the command of Kakuzu's chakra. The unrecognizable lumps slowly solidified into living resemblances of Kakuzu, much to Hidan's fascination. He brought a hand up to touch the earth clone, but the figure's personality wasn't to much different from the material he was made out of. "Don't, Hidan."

"Two of the same loser partners," Hidan sighed and picked up the muddied body of the kid. It was a miracle how they had kept him sedated for a few days now, especially after all the times he'd been dropped or gone through battle. "Well, how does this help. It's just a walking statue of yourself."

Kakuzu tilted his head. "Behind you."

He looked, and his mouth split into a grin. "That's what I'm talking about," he said to the ten other rocky Kakuzu's. "So you'll just send in a bunch of these guys to one of the walls, I like it. But these are designed for distraction tactics, probably barely able to do taijutsu. It'll take a hundred of these pricks to do anything worthwhile."

"You forget the chakra nature they are, and that of which the Leaf Village is known for," Kakuzu said slyly, as he did the release sign, and the clones fell back to the earth. "These rock clones can withstand ninja tools just fine, And, fire doesn't have to much effect on earth based chakra, which is what the Land of Fire is known for."

Hidan, who's knowledge of ninjustu was the equivalent of an academy student, cocked his head so that the tassels fell to one side. "You lost me at 'Leaf.'"

Kakuzu pulled out a knife and into a nearby tree carved some symbols. "I don't understand how you got into Akatsuki. This is simple battle strategy. We are under the assumption Konohagakure has sent out its elite forces throughout the Land to hunt us, as per regular hunting procedure, leaving behind reserves of chunin and genin. There are relatively no ANBU or jonin in the village, meaning all their 'high quality' shinobi are not there. These leftover shinobi will have been educated in fire release techniques, which are naturally weak against earth style. And what's more..."

The former Takigakure shinobi made another hand sign. Hidan watched as the features on the stony gray figures changed, losing the strange looking eyes of Kakuzu to normal irises, their facial features warping from wide to stark thin. They lost their muscular shape and reverted to medium built. When it was over, Hidan was looking at completely different clones.

Kakuzu gestured with his knife proudly, though his voice was slightly strained. "And now disguised clones so they don't know who's attacking."

He carved in a wall and some crude figures standing on top of it, then drew some more figures off to the side. "These ones on the ground are the clones, and the ones on the wall the defenders, or the chunin and genin guarding the village. They'll send down kunai, shuriken, and fire release attacks to stop the attack. Which, as they'll understand to late, won't stop these clones." Kakuzu smiled from behind his mask. "The Konoha-nin are clever, and they'll destroy the clones soon enough, but not before we're far inside..."

Hidan nodded dumbly, his eyes still blank. Man, he really likes explaining this stuff. I hope he understands I could care less. "Then..."

Kakuzu slammed the knife halfway into the tree, burying it up to its hilt in a surprising display of strength. "Then we take Sarutobi and walk away from this stupid country thirty-five million ryo richer."

XXX

Kakuzu

The forest began to thin out two hours later, as the rain finally realized the ones it had been attacking were beyond being intimidated. Their trek began to slope upwards, and he overtook Hidan in his eagerness. The largest bounty in twenty years is just a few miles away. This is an opportunity Kurtz would have died for... given he wasn't already dead.

The slope ended and he was suddenly given a view of the large shinobi village of the Land of Fire. It's gleaming lights of the dying night life shined innocently, not knowing that withing a few hours the very place that housed them would be attacked. As Kakuzu recalled, the village had been attacked in a joint union of the Land's of Wind and Sound, though the invasion had eventually subsided into defeat for the attacks. The resilience and dedication the ninja of this village had for one and other and their home was something he would never understand, having forsaken bonds like those when he had left his own village.

And not just leaving, slaughtering the elders and stealing the forbidden ninjutsu scroll for the Earth Grudge Fear. Even if I wanted to return, they would never accept me back. The weak minded fools, they'll never understand...

Hidan finally caught up, his forehead sweaty despite the cool night air. "Thanks for waiting up," he wheezed grudgingly as he unceremoniously threw the jinchuuriki on the ground.

"There it is, Hidan," Kakuzu replied instead, not wanting to aggravate his partner again. "To think so much money could be invested in a single man's lifeless body."

"Who set up the bounty on these Guardian Ninja anyways?"

"I don't know or care, money is money. In this line of work, you don't question sources and information." Kakuzu rubbed his left arm's muscles, involuntarily tensing. The thought of money always got him riled up and thirsting for action. Even if his control over his freshly modified body wasn't perfect, that didn't mean he would skip out on the incoming fight. The rock clones would take the brunt of the attack, but it just wasn't a good bounty mission without a good fight for himself.

Hidan sniffed disapprovingly. "You don't even care where the money's coming from as long as you get it. That's stupid, even by criminal standards." He shook his head as if Kakuzu was a young boy who had brought home disastrous grades. "Tell me again how it's possible such a devout follower of Jashin got put with a person with such a lack of decency?"

"I'm not the one smearing blood on the ground in a triangle and expecting people to realize it's a ritual."

"It's a triangle and a circle!"

To Kakuzu's surprise, he found himself laughing. The sound of it definitely startled Hidan. "Did you just choke or was that a laugh?"

"I think it was a laugh."

Hidan chuckled a bit. "Your laugh reminds me of killing the death scream of the Jashinist leader. Good times, good times."

When was the last time I laughed outside of a fight? Kakuzu thought to himself, disconcerted. An emotion besides hatred with Hidan? His memory traced back to his awkward thanking back when they had first procured the jinchuuriki. Such warm emotions or words were never expressed between the Akatsuki duo, who everyone recognized as bitter enemies on the same team.

But here we are, getting along so well. Actually laughing, instead of fighting. Sure, we were talking about Hidan gutting his former leader and not something casual like sports, but it hardly matters. He looked out over to the bustling village of Konohagakure, slowly reaching a hand up to take off his straw hat. The tassels brushed against his face as he brought it down gently. Hidan is always the one cracking the jokes and trying to talk, and I've always been the one to push back. We're criminals, we said, criminals work only for business. It's just like Kurtz said, I don't have morals. I can't have friends, only partners. His grip on the hat tightened. Then how is one supposed to explain the comfortable feeling, the sense of ease, when being around Hidan?

"Yo, Kakuzu, wake up."

"W-what?"

The silver haired fanatic gave him an odd look. "You spaced out looking over the village, and you've pretty much destroyed your hat. You know Konan got those special ordered, she'll be pissed."

Kakuzu sighed, tossed the crumpled straw out over the cliffside. "I was thinking, you always bring up when you killed the leader of your precious cult, but how does that even add up? How can kill your allies and leader of the only thing that has any value to you?"

Hidan's face darkened visibly. "That's not something I want to talk about, Kakuzu."

He spread his arms, now genuinely curious instead of searching for a change in conversation. "We're both friends here, nobody around to hear. And who am I going to tell, Tobi?"

His partner sighed and sat himself down, his legs dangling over the edge. "Alright, I'll believe you. But one word of this from anyone else's mouth but my own and I'll kill you, alright?" That's how they always warned each other, something so serious to others but so laughable for them both. Kakuzu nodded his head and also sat down, resting himself and concentrating his attention on adjusting the masks on his back.

"There's no real way of saying it other than I woke up and killed them. It was like they'd just pumped me full of caffeine or adrenaline or some shit. They had me chained up, after the ritual of my immortality. I could feel the power of Jashin just running through me! An awesome power..." His eyes seemed to fade a little, grow dim, as he looked back on the memory. "I can't recall many memories happier than that."

"And then he told me to kill all of them." The words came out so bluntly that Kakuzu actually leaned back, amused.

"Who?"

"Lord Jashin, in my head. To slaughter every last one of his disciples. The ultimate offering, he said."

Kakuzu shook his head. "Jashin isn't real, Hidan. You imagined his voice."

Hidan sighed in reply. "I won't bother trying to explain it because I don't understand it myself. Just like when I had that feeling against the Nara kid, the sudden sensation to duck. I could've been killed or at least incapacitated severely if I hadn't moved. And what gave me that impulse to duck?" He was sounding excited, yet frustrated. An interesting mix of emotions that was telling Kakuzu his words were sincere. "It was Jashin, guiding me!"

"I don't know about that. Survival instinct, perhaps."

Hidan shook his head again. "I don't know how else to explain it, Kakuzu. He spoke to me then and he spoke to me in the forest. He gifted me with immortality in his name and in return I fulfilled his request. Not one person left that place but me. Then I went around the whole continent just killing whoever I liked, whether it was apart of the cult or a stranger." He gulped dryly, his face tight. "And that's what set me off on liking killing. Because Jashin liked it, I liked it. I did enough of it that I grew to enjoy it." He turned to look at Kakuzu's impassive face and flashed a broken grin. "Not a fairy tale for the kids, eh?"

Kakuzu did not reply for some time, instead watching his straw hat, caught in the early morning breeze, flutter away. "I don't know what to say about Jashin," he said at least. "The only thing that I know that exists that I can rely on is money. It's the only permanent thing in this world to rely on. I refuse to believe that a god, no matter how barbaric, would actually instruct a disciple to kill members of his own religion. It's illogical."

"Jashinism isn't logical, Kakuzu. It's faith."

"Bullshit. It's sadistic is what it is. It's worse than me." Kakuzu watched the hat fly away until it landed somewhere in the forest far below them. "You say you heard his voice, but the immortality is the result of experimentation by the cult itself. You were energized; maybe you just imagined the voice. It wasn't Jashin telling you to kill them, but yourself."

Hidan was already shaking his head before he had finished speaking. "No, Kakuzu, that can't be the case."

"No God in the right mind would order that. Hidan, we're partners, but you're also one of the most insane people I know. It's possible you just imagined-"

"No, it can't be." Hidan was staring at his hands, eyes still dim. "That couldn't be the case. I wouldn't... no, Jashin told me! It's just your non-believing ways distracting me from the truth..."

Kakuzu waved a hand, not wanting to delve deeper. "Fine, that's enough arguing for one day anyways. I was just wondering what had actually happened that day." He stood up and stretched his arms. "We've spent enough time here. It's time we make our move."

"We've forgotten one thing," came the already smartened up reply. He's glad we're off the topic. "What?"

"What do we with the kid? We can't just leave him anywhere, what if one of those scouting parties picks him up? There's bound to be sensory shinobi of a sort."

He gritted his teeth. "Damn, that slipped my mind. Would be so much easier if we could just kill him and be done with it, but that's out of the question. What, then? Have any sealing jutsu handy?"

"Even if I did, would you just leave him carelessly up in a tree?" Hidan retorted, folding his arms. He got up and looked out over the forest, as if looking for something. "Yeah... this I remember."

"What now? Not having a vision, I hope."

"No..." He sighed again, stood up and ran a hand through his silvery hair. "This was the one I didn't get to, the Leaf ninja took it out themselves. The fools took away to many locals, drew attention to themselves, and just drawing the symbol on the door in blood was probably not the wisest choice, even for me."

Ah, I see. "A Jashinist hideout?" he ventured.

"Worship center," Hidan corrected." He cast a side glance and hefted the scythe onto his left shoulder, holding the blades upwards to the heavens. "Yeah, a small one but still attracted the wrong attention. Konohagakure took care of it pretty quickly, and it was reported to be a complete wipeout of worshipers. But that remains to be seen." He twirled the scythe once and the latched it onto his back, bent over to pick the sleeping boy again. "I came here with the intetion to kill them myself, only to find it already done. Funny how that works, huh?"

"If you say so."

Hidan rolled his eyes. "Alright Mister Enthusiastic, let's go. I think I can remember the way."

XXX

Hidan

His thoughts were haunted, each footstep sending a shiver down his spine. Remembering walking to the scene of disaster, with the flames licking up towards the sky and the mixed jeers and screams. He had been fresh in his power then, arrogant and not worried about potential limits. He had destroyed only one worship center until that point, a small one consisting of only nine people. And along the way, six more had met their end.

But the confrontation of forty-seven burnt and bloody corpses was something else entirely. It frightened him, seeing so much bloodshed at once back then.

It had changed him to what he was now.

For the glory of Jashin, the memory of himself echoed. To kill, to hate, and to obey no one.

The ruined wreck of the building still stood, though nature had reclaimed much of it. Hidan sliced away some vines that blocked the door, then proceeded to slash open the old, burnt wood anyways.

Stay easy. Jashin is with me, this is where he resides. This is where the worship happened-

Then why would he want me to kill and desecrate his centers? Why? Was it really him telling me?

"It's seen better days," Kakuzu commented as he examined the blackened interior walls. "Nobody will look here, you're right, but this ramshackle excuse of a church wouldn't hold a child."

"This is just the surface," Hidan said grimly, shaking his brooding thoughts away. "I doubt the Leaf infidels found- ah, yes, here it is." He carelessly tossed the burnt altar away, revealing a loose, man-sized piece of board. He pulled it up quickly, and both instinctively flinched as a repulsive smell emitted from below.

"Jashin is darkness," Hidan explained as he tested the first step of the ladder going down. "At night, the ceremonies are allowed to be held in the hall, when no light besides the moon penetrates the building. But for constant servicing, the main altar is kept below, hidden away from any potential sources of light."

Kakuzu shook his head. "I could care less, let's just go down there and get this over with.""

They both descended into the darkness, a complete and utter black atmosphere that no eye could ever penetrate.

"Hang on, let me work this out," Kakuzu said gruffly. "Hmm... yes, this'll do. Fire Style: Shattering Inflammation."

There was the sound of air being taken in, and then a large whooshing sound, followed by instant orange light as Kakuzu exhaled a thin stream of flames that ran down the center of the chamber, illuminating it sufficiently.

Kakuzu gave a whistle. "Where the hell did your lot get the money to make something like this?"

The chamber was massive, a huge space opened before them. The floor was earth as was the ceiling, but pillars of obsidian faintly gleaming obsidian acted as supports, while equally dark steps led the way down to a massive triangle with a circle in the middle. It was a full blown underground worship area, an architectural marvel, and-

"Plenty of bodies to go around," Kakuzu finished the silent thought. Hidan slowly nodded, and descended down the black steps.

The coven seemed to have been more expansive than even he had anticipated; there were perhaps another forty cold, lifeless corpses strewn all around. Many were frozen in positions of throes of death, some clutching throats, others stomachs, while a few rusty, slightly red knifes were scattered about.

"Why didn't they just leave?" Kakuzu wondered aloud. "They've all either starved or slit their own throats. That altar wasn't even that heavy, it would've been easy to escape."

You never leave your Lord's side, he thought. He will save you when you are in need. An offering of blood to him, and he will return to you your life when you are in need. However, he did not give these thoughts to Kakuzu. It wouldn't help the situation any more.

They walked down the steps, their footsteps echoing eerily throughout the black chamber. The flames of Kakuzu's jutsu had spread down, lighting up the ground well enough, but still preventing the ceiling from being seen. Had there been even a few dim lights above, it would have seemed they were outside under the night sky.

When they had reached the center of the large red symbol on the floor, which was perhaps the only place untouched by rotting corpses, Hidan tossed the kid onto the ground, to which the blonde grunted uncomfortably.

"Very official," Kakuzu said sardonically. "Now what, we just leave him here under maybe a few feet of concrete and dirt?"

"Hey, I'm trying aren't I?" Hidan retorted irritably. "I have a technique that can bind him here. Here, give me the last of the sleeping pills." A brown hand lanced out from his partner, carrying the barely full bag of pills, then retreated with a wet smack when the bag was in Hidan's grasp.

Alright kid, don't wake up on us now. Hidan plopped open his mouth and forced him to swallow in his deep sleep. The blonde gave a grunt, then carried on with his rest.

"Get back," Hidan ordered. Kakuzu stepped back until he was in line with the obsidian pillars, many yards away from the symbol and the two.

Here it goes. Hidan put his palms together and closed his eyes, concentrating his chakra, kneading it inside himself. "Curse Technique: Death Chain Binding!"

From his connected hands, a long, snakelike coil of brilliant black and red chains burst out, thick and heavy but for the moment as light as a feather. Then another coil of chains came out, hovering in their air in front of Hidan. In the background, he could almost hear his partner's impressment.

Still maintaining a grasp on the technique, the chains followed his intention, and shot out towards the sleeping Naruto. Each chain took an arm and wrapped him rapidly, quickly ensnaring the kid in a glowing darkness. The chains kept coming from his closed palms, multiple yards of chakra hardened chains.

With a cry, Hidan broke apart his palms and held them in front of them spread facing away, so that the two different branches were split. He slammed his palms into the ground, and there was a loud clank as the metal separated from this world from the other. With a deep breath, he stood up and observed his handiwork. The jinchuuriki was wrapped tightly in layer upon layer of glowing black chains, holding him in place efficiently. The chains extended out to where his palms had touched the ground, where they had been smashed in deep.

"Nice technique," Kakuzu said as he walked over. "Another one of your Jashinist tools?"

"I've never used it before," Hidan confessed, rolling his shoulders experimentally. The flow of chakra had sent painful bursts up along his upper body. Further strain of not having done the ritual, no doubt. "I've never had a need to keep someone imprisoned, just to kill them."

"How did you learn this one then?"

He shrugged. "It's what they used on me to keep me restrained during my transformation. Unfortunately, I knew the release seal." He gestured out to the boy. "These chains are made of the pure essence of Jashin, nothing but darkness. They sent only dark thoughts into the captive, both awake and asleep. It'll crush his happy personality if he wakes up and disillusion him into helplessness. It's the safest we can go."

"And furthermore, no one would ever suspect this place," Kakuzu commented. "If it's as you say, then we have no need to worry about this brat anymore." He put a hand on Hidan's shoulder in a somewhat friendly manner. "It's time we get Sarutobi and wipe that smirk off the Leader's face."

Hidan smirked himself. "I can hardly wait. Let's go make a mess of things."

XXX

Shikamaru

There! No, no, it's just another shadow. I could have sworn though, I have to be sure. Quietly, quietly… no, nothing there. Am I being paranoid, Asuma sensei? They're still in the Land of Fire, but for what? To get me? The Jashinist, he wants me, he wants me dead bad, I know. That's why he's been creeping around, he's looking for the right opportunity to strike! Yes, I need to stay vigilant. I won't allow Asuma sensei to have died in vain, not at all. No, they're still in the country, I know. Looking for me, he said he would come back for me. The Will of Fire… can't help me. Only I can. Only I can help myself now to avenge Asuma sensei. What! What was that! It's them, I know!

"Shikamaru, where are you…?" came a feminine voice, distant and floaty. "Where are you...?"

"Ino? Ino! You're alive!" He stood up from the bench in the library, went flying around the side of the bookshelf to see his teammate-

Shikamaru… where are you? Her voice faded with the wind that had blown through the building. Where are you…

No, Ino's dead. She's so dead. It's not just the Jashinist bastard anymore, it's his partner, too. Both are taking my team away from me. No, she can't be dead! Ino… Asuma sensei… gone? No, no, they're still alive. I can make their memories stay, by killing them. I'll be the death of them, yes! By killing them, their memories remain, I avenge them!

He clumsily threw himself down onto the desk, where stack upon stack of books lay. One, Jashinism: Truth or Reality? Was marked in several areas by red ink, circling important facts and observations. A newspaper clipping, Jashinism Outlawed: Worship Center Destroyed was covered in crazed stenciling, marking anything relating to location.

Shikamaru flipped through a journal, his sweaty hands staining each page he touched. Various recent newspaper clippings detailing the hunt for the two, hand-made pictures as well as official investigation photos, and little, completely irrelevant scrawling such as Soon and Will of Fire with it crossed out in darkened X's.

They're here, I know. They're here in the Land of Fire. No, inside the village! Hunting, looking. For me? Yes, for me. They want to kill me, to finish their job. But I won't let them. No… no, not for me. No, yes for me. But for something else. They want something. What?

He thumbed through is journal feverishly, pouring over his countless pages of notes, pictures, statistics and strategies. He had not been home at all since the retreat back to Konoha; he had been in the library, by the newsstands. Choji had stuck by him until recently, when he had been the last of his friends to give up on pulling him away from his "paranoid obsession-"

No, they're here in the village! He said he was coming for me, the Jashinist Akatsuki! And I'm going to be waiting for him, because he's coming for me. Yes, he's coming. But not just for me. No, he listens to his partner. And his partner wants…

He gasped aloud, his already pale face getting sicker. His eyes widened, stretching the bags under his eyes further.

His finger shakily touched Asuma Sarutobi's face, trailing from the eyes to the laughing mouth to the dangling cigar, then off the page, going along the table towards himself, until his finger was running across his leg and into his pocket, where the silver cigarette lighter was.

They're coming for me and you, sensei. They want us both. No, they want me, yes they want you. They're monsters, they're going to attack the Leaf! But they'll never believe me, the Fifth is too stubborn to recognize the threat. The Elders are too stubborn. I tried to tell them before but they won't listen. Asuma sensei lied, there is no Will of Fire binding us together. Only I can do this. Asuma, yes, lied, no, mistake, no Will, yes?

He coughed loudly, finished his drink of water. His head hurt terribly, his mind a painful mess of facts and pictures and memories.

They're coming. Only I know, only I can know. I will create my own will, the Will of Shikamaru. I know them both now, just like they know me. They're coming, I know. And they know Asuma sensei is dead. They killed him, I know. But I know I'll kill them to. They have no more secrets.

I know what I will do. And I know what I will. I will do the Will of Shikamaru.

XXX

I would just like to say that I'm not against religion or anything; I'm Catholic so totally in favor of it. But you know, not like I'm actually going support Jashinism, you know? So just letting you guys know that's not me, that's Hidan and Kakuzu discussing if a god(Jashin) exists, through story banter.