Hidan

The graveyard was in their training guards, which in turn bordered the woods around the village. The sounds of the earth clones fighting the Konoha youth became clearer, though any chance of seeing it was stopped by the smoky clouds of burning plaster and concrete. Their footsteps dug into the gravel path, freshly smoothed like a red carpet announcing their arrival.

Kakuzu stopped and placed his palms together, eyes closed. "They've started to destroy some of my clones," he said after a moment. "Lucky shots, or..."

"Or they've got someone smart," he replied unconcernedly. He touched one of the fresh burns on his forearms and immeaitaly recoiled from the pain. "Thanks for this."

"Stop complaining. They'll be waiting for us."

Hidan rolled his eyes. "They don't even know we're here. Everyone's preoccupied with fighting the clones; we just grab this cashcow's body and hitch a ride out of here. With Jashin on our side, we can't fail anyways."

"Why? Because he's your god, or because you don't want to disappoint him?"

He sighed and fought the urge to cleave his partner in half. "One of these days, you'll see a miracle for yourself that isn't myself, Kakuzu. Then you'll stop asking such ridiculous questions."

"Stop."

You can't be serious! "No way you're telling me to shut up now," he said, infuriated. "You know, I've had about enough of your tough-guy talk, bossing me around. I've bee good to you all this time, even fighting my urge to rampage, and you just stop me cold like that!"

"That's not what I meant-" Kakuzu interrupted tersely, bending down on one knee and running a hand through the gravel.

However, Hidan was to upset to care about anything Kakuzu might say. "You know what? Jashin damn you, Kakuzu," he finished angrily. "You can get your own fucking bounty."

Kakuzu shot out a hand in warning. "Stop moving, you idiot." He stood up and rolled up his sleeves. "This entire path has been laden with explosive trip wire. It's all been smoothed out, instead of being trodden with footsteps."

Hidan crossed his arms. "Yeah, nice job trying to cover up your insult."

His partner sighed, as if he was talking to a little boy. "Just watch." He did a single hand sign, then slammed both palms into the ground. "Earth Style: Terra Disturbance!" For a moment, there was a still silence. Then, beneath his feet, he could feel the earth give a jolt, then a shake, all emitting from Kakuzu's hands. All at once, the earth split around Kakuzu in a small circle, while the ground shook tremendously.

A moment later, the gravel path lit up like a parade as the traps, laden with explosive tags, all exploded from the upheaval of land. Their walkway became a mixture of orange and red light as the tags spent their worth, making Hidan shield his eyes from the brilliant glow.

"Sometimes I'm actually trying to look out for you," Kakuzu said flatly but audibly over the din of bombs. "Remember that next time you shout at me."

The explosions died after a few seconds, leaving a smoky haze in the air that traveled far above their heads, casting them in shadow. The gravel path had been decimated, leaving exposed earth all the way into the woods themselves.

But who knew we were coming down this path to lay the traps?

Kakuzu straightened up, staring through the smoky haze with squinted eyes. He actually looked quite surprised. "Well I'll be damned."

Hidan turned his head. "What? What is it?"

"I knew you two would be coming back," came a voice from the smoke. "I guess a hundred years of experience makes even good traps defunct, right?"

That voice... "The Nara kid?" Hidan ventured aloud. "The hell are you even doing here?"

"Protecting my sensei one more time," said Shikamaru, stepping out of the smoke. Wow, he definitely looks worse for wear. Those bags under his eyes sure weren't made for shopping. "I let you guys best me twice, but this time I won't allow you to go on again." He spread one of his hands out over to point at the village. "I saw through your clones easily. No one else would have any reason to attack the Leaf, and when the fire techniques and shuriken didn't work, it assured me they weren't human."

"How did you not assume it was Iwagakure?" Kakuzu asked, rolling up the sleeves of his cloak. "They've had a grudge against Konoha; they could've easily been the ones attacking, knowing the village is fresh out of jonin and ANBU agents. You came out of this with a wild guess."

The boy came them a crooked grin. "Well, if it was Iwagakure, they wouldn't have come with only ten or so attackers. It would have been a much larger invasion force. Even for an experienced shinobi like yourself, ten clones on that scale of dexterity is about your limit." His smile grew wider. "And it helps that the Fifth and her council has just gone to meet the Third Tsuchikage to discuss negotiations for stopping the use of Akatsuki mercenaries."

Hidan gave a laugh and unhooked the scythe from his back. The boy flinched with the sound of metal, but nevertheless looked Hidan straight in the eye. "But you're the one I'm the most interested in. Your partner is a strategist and powerful fighter, but you..."

His laugh grew wilder as he relapsed the memory. "The one who killed your precious excuse of a sensei? Yeah, that's me!" He charged, dragging the scythe through the ruined path. He would sink its teeth into the boy's body, and then he would sink his own teeth into his throat-

"Shadow Snake Paralysis Technique!" Shadowy sinews sprang out of the boy, and Hidan jumped left to dodge them as they came at him like the tentacles of an octopus. The boy cracked his neck, and closed his eyes. The tendrils of chakra suddenly magnified in size, doubling, tripling in length and width, until they were as thick as three bodies tied together.

Hidan paused, a frown forming on his lips. "How are you doing that? That's gottta be using up all your chakra, and you haven't even attacked Kakuzu yet."

The boy smiled behind his hand seal. "Look up. There's a reason why I chose this place for Konohamaru to mislead you."

"Who?"

"Asuma's nephew," Shikamaru grounded out. "I told him to direct you here. Asuma's grave isn't aware in this direction; you've only walked into my arms."

"Then where is he?" Kakuzu asked calmly from behind. He hadn't moved a finger to jump into the fight, he was eying Shikamaru and his massive shadow tendrils with calculating eyes.

Typical, let me do the dirty work while he evaluates.

"I don't need to tell you that, now do I?" the kid said tersely. "The gravel has been thrown up into the air from the explosions, the heat of the explosions having melted it down into airless molecules. This haze is going to be casting a shadow for some time... which means my techniques are able to be amplified with almost no more than average chakra input."

Here it comes! He jumped into the air as the tendrils lashed out at him. He swiped at them with his scythe and rolled his body around in the air, dodging each one with surprising ease. He's tired, or distracted. His attacks are more powerful, but he's definitely clumsier.

"You seem to be a little worse for wear," Kakuzu commented aloud. "Your movements are lagged and sloppy, a genin could have dodged that." He cocked his head. "You've been soaked in desperate revenge like a sponge, haven't you?"

The boy bowed his head, still maintaining his hand signs. The shadowy extensions hovered warily above him, like giant serpents obeying their master.

"Asuma... Ino... Naruto... you've taken away a lot from me." The head came up, the eyes bloodshot, skin pale. "How can I sleep, knowing that the monsters who've taken so much from me have slipped through my fingers not once, but twice? How do I live with myself with this unsound justice!"

The kid's gone crazy, I've only seen blood lust like that in myself and the rest of Akatsuki.

"How many lives are you taking right now, with those clones?" the boy continued gravely. "How many more lives will be spent because of you and your senseless slaughter?"

Kakuzu seemed to flinch with these words, but if he did, it was only for a moment.

"I knew you were coming, but I let no one else know," The boy said quietly. "It's been my fault I didn't kill you both before. This is my responsibility now, just like it was before. No one will interfere; I'll kill you myself!"

The shadowy snakes came out again, massive and threatening. Four of them came for Hidan, while two more made a grab for Kakuzu. They both jumped out of the way, but even as they made for the air, the black extensions chased after them, almost sentient in their intent.

I am not playing keep away with this kid! With a snarl, he pulled out one of his ritual spikes and threw it venemously at the boy. Before it could impale him, another, small arc of shadow stretched out and caught the spike. In an instant, it had whirled it around and thrown it back at him. He power slid forward, his cloak shredding on the rough earth, but the spike missed him. With a swear, he continued his sprint away from the shadows.

His partner, however, seemed to have something in mind. There was a wet ripping sound, and then from Kakuzu a black, writhing mass came from his back. It jumped away from the tendrils that suddenly divided to attack this new target. However, the mask was beyond human; it soared into the air and hovered, swishing through the sky, searching for something...

"The Wind Mask can't harm me," Shikamaru called. "It's fast now, but it'll have to stall to concentrate chakra into a powerful enough blast to hit me. Then my technique will get it."

Indeed, the mask suddenly stopped, obviously trying to work chakra into an attack. It was right in the center of it all, with the gravel screen cloud drifting through the sky lazily.

With a cry of dismay, Hidan watched as one of the many black serpents struck the wind mask, holding it in place in the air. He heard one of the tentacles make another lunge for him, and he rolled across the ground, barely avoiding it. His strength was fading, his legs hurting. Damn... it's really been a while since I've felt human like this.

"Wind Style: Pressure Damage!"

The masked creature gave a powerful blast of air, not at the boy, but rather right up into the sky. A moment later, the tendrils wrapped around the wind mask and seemed to squeeze. The creature gave an ear-splitting screech before collapsing into black goo, the mask crumpling into a million pieces.

"Kakuzu, what a waste of a shot!" Hidan yelled mockingly as he swerved around his now twenty pursuing shadow snakes. "You really are a crackshot, you know!"

From the other end of the battle, the Nara boy suddenly gave a sharp gasp and fell to his knees, trembling all over. The shadow snakes abruptly stopped and dissolved, fading away like ghosts. His arms wrapped protectively around his body and he groaned loudly, rolling onto his side.

What? Kakuzu didn't even hit him, why's he suddenly so beat? He raised a hand to shield his eyes from a sudden blaring light. The Sun?

"You said that your gravel cloud was enhancing your abilities," Kakuzu spoke up a few yards away, tearing off his now ruined Akatsuki cloak, now that it bore a large hole in the back. "I sacrificed the wind mask to break up the haze you were using as cover for your technique- with that gone and your jutsu still active, your chakra just plummeted with the sudden need to keep it going." He made the release seal with his hands, and his body lurched forward and grumbled as the three other masks broke free from his body.

"And that means you're in chakra shock," Kakuzu finished softly as his back sewed itself back together. "You're finished. You're not a front-line fighter, but you've dipped yourself in revenge and forgotten your strength lies in strategy, not combat." Hidan grinned, licking his lips in anticipation. The kid's open to attack now. And I won't allow Kakuzu to take the credit this time, no not at all. Jashin demands blood, and I'll pay for that in full!

The bot looked up, his eyes clouded with pain and anger. "You won't... be leaving here a third time... I swear it..."

Hidan walked up to him, dragging the scythe across the ground. Shikamaru watched him with dim yet resolute eyes. "Like master like apprentice, you don't understand when it's hopeless. You'll just vainly keep trying till you die. That what you want, to join your sensei in death?" He laughed again. "Can you explain why you keep going?"

"You'll never understand," the boy retaliated. "What a relationship is, will you? You and your partner can't even form a friendship, how can you expect to know what my real motive really is? You're just a killing machine, not even human anymore. How can you hope to understand when you don't know yourself?"

Can't even form a friendship. Can't even form a bond. You're just a killing machine... but I'm feeling pain, I'm experiencing what it is to be human! How dare he! But his mind darted back to their earlier fights. When the Nara boy had saved his two friends from being choked by Kakuzu, when the Wood Style shinobi had caught Kakashi's disabled body. Kakuzu had stood by and let him be decapitated, had allowed him to take the brunt of the battle even now. They were war partners, nothing more. Sasori, Deidara. Itachi, Kisame. The two Zetsus. They had each others backs, they respected each other. But Kakuzu and himself...

He looked over at Kakuzu, who was watching him expectantly. He expects me to kill, like I always do. To be that killing machine that he knows. Maybe that's why we can't be friends, this kid is right. I'm no longer human enough to... have a bond like that?

"Your great gift is your greatest impairment," Shikamaru continued hoarsely. "Your immortality gives you the freedom to live through pain or death, and because of that you can never understand others reactions to those feelings. You're a failed experiment-"

"Shut up-"

"All you have is your stupid god Jashin who tells you it's okay to go on living like this-"

"Kid-"

The boy shook his head. "I pity you."

He charged forward, dropping the scythe completely, wanting only to wrap his hands around the kid's little neck and wring it for insulting him, disgracing his code and body, for telling such a horrid truth he had kept down for so long-

This is... what I'm supposed to do. To kill.

A shuriken pierced his outstretched left arm, coming from straight up. He ignored it, brushed it off swiftly. But two more quickly embedded themselves back in the same arm, and then a third in his right shoulder. He looked up and his jaw dropped.

That's... a lot of shuriken.

The sky darkened again, but this time not from a gravel cloud. Shuriken, perhaps in the hundreds, were raining down like the punishment of an angry god. They covered a wide area, with Hidan and Shikamaru as the epicenter. The boy raised a meek hand to protect his face, but that soon became uneccessary. Two winding vortexes converged on him, knocking away any incoming metal. They scooped him away in an instant and took him away from Hidan.

He dropped to a knee and star after star struck him in his legs, arms, shoulder, head, back, tearing apart his cloak and skin. It was something even his immortality would have staggered to hold. He became similar to a porcupine, shrouded in a blanket of piercing metal. He didn't yell aloud, but he bit his lip hard enough to split it. This was two kinds of pain he could barely hold. For the first time, he felt himself slip into welcoming darkness...

XXX

Kakuzu

"Hidan!"

Hidan was definitely out of commission for the time being. Without his immortality, the shuriken storm would a least impair him for some time.

And he's never had someone call him out like that. He'll be lucky if he even survives this.

His masks had converged around him, taking all the shuriken without problem, for they had no concept of pain or minor damage. It rained for perhaps twenty seconds before the jutsu stopped, and a scroll dropped to the ground as the sun beat through to them once more.

A weapons scroll, very advanced at that. Looks like we've been discovered again.

Six standing shinobi stood before him amid the field of metal. Shikamaru was draped over an enormous white dog, that was growling quietly at Kakuzu.

"Looks like Neji was right in that this was where they were heading," said a kunoichi with two buns, one on each side of her head. "The Akatsuki responsible for attacking the village."

"The Konoha 11 is more than capable taking on this scum," said one of the others with red markings across his cheeks, smashing his left fist into his right palm. "Me and Akamaru can handle them, no problem."

"Don't be overconfident, Kiba," said yet another, a boy with a high collar and dark glasses. "These guys killed Asuma sensei, they're dangerous."

"And that's were gonna end it here!" Ah, there's one I remember. The fat one from the previous battle, one of Sarutobi's students. Kakuzu lowered his head and closed his eyes. Six kids, all chunin rank, with unknown abilities. Hidan impaired. They also said 11, meaning there's possibly more of them in the background, looking for an opening. I have to divide them up and dissuade them from using collaboration techniques.

"There is never an end to how many irksome shinobi there can be," he commented aloud. "You all share a strong bond in this village, even towards the dead. I see that now. However, I also will not let you get in my way. Blood does not have to be shed today."

"Isn't this supposed to be the one with the temper?" said a very pale faced boy politely. "He seems to be acting quite the opposite."

He's one of the ones that arrived as backup up for Hatake. And the pink-haired girl to. She has powerful strength, that much I know. How to use that to my advantage? "There has been enough killing over one man's corpse," he replied aloud. "There doesn't have to be more. None of you have bounties on your heads; I see no need to kill any of you."

"He's afraid," scoffed the boy with red markings, the one called Kiba. "Let's just get him now, come on Akamaru!" The white beast gave a welcoming yelp and shrugged off Shikamaru's body. The two ran forward, then jumped. Kakuzu took on a defensive stance while his black masks spread out in a diamond formation behind him.

"Fang over Fang!" The boy and dog became two seperate whirlwinds, spinning at rapid speeds as their chakra manifested around them like a shell. If they hit him, it would be similar to being drilled into like a piece of ore in a mine-

Sudden movement at the other five forced his attention away. The girl with the buns had two large fuma shuriken in each of her hands, smoke clearing away from their summoning scrolls. The weapons handler, the one who created the shuriken storm. With a cry she hurled both of them at him. At the other four who spreading out around him-

To many attack points, I have to let the masks fight independently. He folded his hands together and felt his skin harden back into its rock hard exterior. The masks split up, the two fire masks going right, the earth going left.

In the corner of his eye he saw the shuriken were heading for his sides, having swerved around. He dropped onto his side and propelled himself around in a circle, swinging his hardened legs around to kick away the large shuriken. He felt them impact against his body and shatter. One threat down. He finished his ground spin by picking himself up by one hand, fixing himself back up to a kneeling position while still coming out of his spin.

"Gotcha!" The boy and his dog struck, but he already knew his defense had won. The momentum of his spin carrying him, he swung out with his right arm and caught first the boy, then dog, knocking them both swiftly out of the air. He finally stopped, smiling tightly beneath his mask. That was some attack those two got, but my timing is better.

Off to the sides, the pink haired girl and pale faced boy were fighting the earth mask, dodging hardened clumps of earth and smashing those that they couldn't. The boy had summoned some sort of spectral, inky lion that he was riding and jumping, trying to claw the earth mask.

On the other side, the two fire masks were raining fire down on the boy with glasses and the sixth attacker, a dark haired girl who's eyes looked like they were wielding Byukugan. He was proven correct when with her hands, she disrupted bolts of fire with just her chakra. The Hyuga Clan's Air Palm technique. And that boy...

Black, writhing clouds were swarming around him, soaking up the fire chakra somehow. Aburame clan. Looks like I have my work cut out from me.

"Hey, you're still fighting us, Akatsuki!" He whirled around in alarm at the close proximity of the voices, and he ducked a swing from the boy. However, the dog sank its canines into his left leg. He grunted and kicked the dog with his right, forcing it to let him go and sending it skidding away.

"Akamaru!" the boy shouted. "Why you little-" He dropped his elbow onto Kakuzu's head, and this time he couldn't move in time. He fell to the ground with another grunt, but quickly recovered by extending his hands forward and pulling himself back towards them. The ground smashed behind him from the boys next attack. That wouldn't have been a good feeling for me.

The air on his right gave a gentle breath of alarm. He immediately hardened his left leg and kicked out, smashing yet another large fuma shuriken. A moment later, a bow staff lurched at him, and he caught it with his left hand. The girl with buns followed quickly, her fist coming at him like a piston.

She's using the staff as balance and momentum. He scissored his legs together, snapping the staff in half. Her attack faltered inches away from him, and he in turn brought his head forward. Their two foreheads clashed, and she cried out as his much thicker skull bounced her away.

However, she was far from done. Out of nowhere, two double sided kunai found their way into her hands, and she swiped at him furiously, almost instantly recovering. He ducked, swerved left, right, left again, dodging the sharp edges. He brought his hands together. "Earth Style: Earth Trapdoor!" The ground cracked and detached from itself, then swung up very much in the fashion of its name. It struck her head on, acting as a divider between them and giving him a moment of breathing space.

"Fang over Fang!" The wall shattered into a hundred pieces as the boy and his beast broke through it with their technique. He gave a quiet swear of disgruntlement as he jumped high into the air to avoid being hit, but he could already see the twin-sided kunai heading for him-

"Wind Style: Pressure Repulsion!" He gave a short burst of condensed air, and the kunai bounced away harmlessly.

And right on time. As he began to fall back to the earth, one of the fire masks soared through the air and caught him. He held on tightly to the alien exterior, hovering above the commotion below.

"Don't think you're out of our reach!" He looked left and saw the pale faced boy riding a great eagle, with the pink haired girl in tow. The creatures of the Earth Grudge Fear technique weren't built for agile flying, especially with him riding one of them. He sent a deadly wave of flame at the incoming duo to disturb their path, but they easily swerved above it.

"Cha..." The girl leaped from the eagle, aiming straight for him, fist drawn back-

There's no time to avoid-

"...CHA!"

XXX

Hidan

What is this? Is this really death?

He stood alone in an empty abyss of space, clothed in a simple white cloth. All alone...

Where is this? Answer me, someone.

He began to walk, although he had no idea what he was going towards. How long he walked he wasn't sure, but he never grew tired. This troubled him, and he began to jog. Nothing changed; the surroundings were black, his physicality unwavering. He ran in earnest, sprinting as hard as he could, going, going...

NOWHERE!

He stopped, breathing heavily without need. He swung his fists around, trying to hit something, anything, everything, but they sailed through emptiness. There was nothing there except himself. No Konoha-nin, no Kakuzu.

Am I dead? he shouted, though he could not hear his own words. That's impossible, but I can't be unconsciouss either. Jashin's champion cannot be downed, he cannot be defeated! Not with Him by my side!

"My dear champion stays true until the end."

He stopped instantly. No...

"Oh, yes." A bright light shined in the emptiness, hovering before him. "You've been faithful till the very end, Hidan."

No way, you're... no, it's absolutely impossible.

"I am your God," said the light sharply, in a great, echoing voice that made the darkness shiver. "With me, everything is possible. Isn't that what you've always told yourself and Kakuzu? Then why do you doubt it when I stand before you."

You just can't be here before me, it's... I just can't understand... why... why of all times, now? Why not when I did your deed and your work, but now when I've fallen and have failed?

"Because you've told yourself over and over that I was watching. There was no need for me to appear then. Now, when you have failed, I come to rejuvenate your faith. Isn't that what you always thought?"

This... this isn't right. I've failed, but you're complimenting me? Where is the rage, the hate that is promised for those who fail to carry out your will!

"Hating my last disciple won't help me out," said the light soothingly. "How haven't you figured that out?"

You told me to slaughter every disciple of your religion, how was that helping you out?

"Because you wanted to be the only one, the unique one, in my service. Isn't that what you always told yourself?"

Yes, it was, but I serve you! Shouldn't you have been telling me to help other ways? Recruit, instead of murder? Forget the Code of Jashin for a moment, Kakuzu was right- the goal should be to grow, not have only one person speaking and doing your word!

"Don't you hold the Code of Jashin above Kakuzu's word, no matter how strong you thought his point? Isn't that what you always-"

Stop. Why do you keep saying that? "Isn't that what you always told yourself?" What are you doing? Where am I?

"We're in your mind. I am Jashin, and Jashinism is you."

Pause. Long. The darkness seemed to draw in on itself. What?

"I am Jashin, the Jashin you created. You wanted to be special, the center of attention. You put yourself into the ritual of immortality and chose to follow the Code. And when you thought the rest of the cult would only take away Jashin's attention, you subconsciously found reason to do so."

You mean...

"You are the only surviving Jashinist alive. Jashin is dead, yet he is you. I am you."

No, the instinct in the woods, against the Nara boy. Something made me duck. And the immortality, that is a miracle. The rituals, the Code, the worship, it's all been for Jashin, for YOU!

"You allowed yourself to believe in all that, you chose that. You chose to kill the Jashinists, because you wanted to be special, to sever bonds with humanity because of the way you thought it worked. And now, in your moment of self-doubt, when you wonder whether humanity was meant to be cast aside, you realize..."

Realize what? Tell me, whatever you are-

"I'm you. You know the answer. This "Jashin" you're talking to is just a manifestation of everything you've ever created and conceived about Jashin himself, if he even exists. You've created yourself, this killing machine that you've begun to despise." The light quivered, seemed to fade a little. "And all it took was finally coming close to dying to access the real, truthful portion of your mind."

I don't believe it. I won't, I can't. This is a genjutsu-

"You cannot escape yourself, me and I know that. Now, figure out whether you want to go back to living that life, of bliss for the sake of killing, or return to humanity."

It's to much to choose, to big of a gap. So what if I built my life on this... this... whatever the fuck this is. It's who I made myself. No, I can't go back. I'm a killer, there's no way around it. No matter how much I want these bonds with being human, I can't go back.

"You tell yourself that. Over and over again. See, doesn't feel to good, does it? Cus it's a damn lie."

What if...

"Oh, how devious. You really think you can do it?"

Maybe. It's all I can bring myself to. The pain is to much, the damage already done. Yes, no more lies. But not to much truth, either. Does that even make sense?

"You tell me. Or, well, yourself. Now get back out there and make yourself proud."

XXX

Kakuzu

The punch was devastating and him directly in the left rib, shattering the bone. The air rippled around them both from the impact. He coughed out some blood that stained his mask, before he went shooting straight for the ground. His pulse grew weak, and his eyes shut...

When he awoke, he was in a wide crater. Two masks, one fire and the other earth, stood beside him. He knew what had happened, and with an angry snarl picked himself up from the ground.

"That's some punch you got, girl, but you'll have to do it three more times."

The six of them converged together. They were to much to handle at once, to much attention to be divided, taking away the masks from him, ruining his defenses. If they got the earth release one, he would lose the ability to protect his body again, and then he would really be in trouble.

To think that once again, I'm being beaten by a bunch of children. The Great Kakuzu, who fought on par with the First Hokage, outmatched by boys and girls. It's disgusting, who would want to hire me then?

"Give up, Akatsuki," said the boy from the Aburame clan. "You are skillful, there is no doubt of that, but you can't match all six of us..." His voice trailed off, suddenly distracted. The other five likewise widened their eyes, while the dog whined.

"He's... not so much alone anymore."

Dear God... how?

Hidan placed a bloody hand on his shoulder. "You've given my pal Kakuzu a tough time, I can see that. But now the tables are about to turn. You've never faced a more fearsome duo with such terrible combo's let me tell ya..."

"How are you even able to move," Kakuzu whispered, stunned. "You've got like a hundred shuriken sticking out of you, and your immortality isn't even fully active..."

"Nevermind that, Kakuzu," Hidan said strongly, as if he had only been stabbed by a toothpick. "It's time to finish this mission up, once and for all."

The confidence in his partners wasn't mocking, wasn't bragging. It was calm, determined, and firm. "What... happened to you? Death scare off your dark side?" He gave a weak chuckle, because his ribs were still damaged and the action made his whole left side burn."

"You could say that." Kakuzu blinked, but ignored the new change. If he's ready to fight, then who am I to get in the way. "Combination Z?"

"I can't think of anything more fitting, seeing as how we both just came back from death."

Hidan laughed. "Right, right."

"From the top, then."