"It hurts, it hurts, it hurts…"
Hidan's screams rang through the ruins as he lay nailed to the ground.
But his voice was so full of energy it barely sounded like he was restrained at all.
"Hey, hey, hey! You bastard!"
"Let me go! I'm gonna offer you up to Jashin-sama!"
"I'm gonna make you taste the most painful death in the world! I'm gonna…"
Teizawa didn't bother listening.
He simply crouched down with clear interest.
Studying that head as it kept spitting curses.
Behind him, satetsu (iron sand) flowed slowly.
It condensed into huge guillotine blades, flashing with cold light in the sun.
"Interesting," he murmured, like he'd found a new toy.
The guillotine dropped.
"Ah…"
Up and down. One clean stroke.
The shouting stopped instantly.
Hidan's head rolled away.
It spun a few times across the ground before bumping against a chunk of rubble and coming to rest.
Blood surged from the severed neck, staining a wide patch of stone red.
Shikamaru's pupils snapped tight.
Ino clapped a hand over her mouth, forcing a scream back down her throat.
Choji's legs shook so hard it was like his whole body was vibrating.
They had killed before.
As Konoha shinobi, as the heirs of Ino-Shika-Cho, they had seen death and lived through life-and-death fights.
Their hands were not clean.
But this…
This was not combat.
Not a clash.
This was an execution.
A living man, pinned to the ground.
Beheaded by a guillotine, his head rolling away, blood spraying…
It happened too fast, too neatly, too casually.
Like slaughtering a chicken.
Nausea churned in Shikamaru's gut.
He clenched his teeth and forced himself not to throw up.
Then…
"Hey, hey, hey!"
The head spoke.
"You bastard! That hurts!"
Hidan's head lay on the ground.
His mouth opened and closed. His eyes were wide as saucers.
The cursing came out strong and clear.
Nothing like a man who'd just been decapitated.
Shikamaru's mind went blank.
Ino's scream finally burst out, only to catch halfway and choke into a short, strangled sound.
Choji dropped onto the ground, pale as paper.
"Ahhh! My body! You did that to my body?!"
Hidan's head happened to be facing his own body.
He watched, with his own eyes, as the headless torso twitched slightly, limbs still intact and lying nearby.
He exploded into furious abuse, his face twisted with undisguised rage.
"Jashin-sama won't let you get away with this!"
"You bastard! Devil! I curse you! I'm gonna…"
Teizawa didn't bother listening.
He tilted his head slightly, eyes moving back and forth between the chattering head and the headless body.
In his gaze was a thrill that looked almost scientific.
"Really can't die?"
He muttered it like he was confirming a hard fact.
Then…
He raised his hand.
Satetsu (iron sand) surged again, forming smaller guillotine blades.
"Hey, hey, hey… what are you doing?!"
For the first time, Hidan sounded panicked.
"Y-you… don't come over here! Don't…"
Crack.
"Ah…"
Another chop.
His left arm came off at the shoulder.
Crack.
Right arm.
Crack.
Left leg.
Crack.
Right leg.
Hidan's body was completely dismembered into six pieces.
Head. Torso. Left arm. Right arm. Left leg. Right leg.
Every piece twitched.
Every piece bled.
And every piece was still… alive.
The head kept cursing.
Those eyes kept glaring.
That mouth kept spewing venom nonstop.
"You bastard! Devil! Freak!"
"Jashin-sama's gonna throw you into the lowest pit of hell! You'll suffer forever!"
Teizawa didn't bother listening.
He stood up and looked down at the pile of writhing "parts," curiosity filling his eyes.
What was the mechanism?
A split soul?
Or did the flesh itself have independent vitality?
What exactly was the curse mechanism behind Jashinism?
His gaze moved from Hidan's head to the torso, then from the torso to the limbs.
Like a researcher examining a dissected frog.
Nearby, the three of them were already terrified beyond words.
Shikamaru stood rigid, unable to move.
His brain was working itself to death, but nothing came out.
This scene had completely shattered the limits of what he understood.
Immortal.
Truly immortal.
Not strong recovery. Not stubborn life force.
Literal… immortality.
Beheaded and still cursing.
Dismembered and still moving.
What kind of monster was this?
Ino sagged against a wall, legs gone weak.
She was almost sliding to the ground.
Her face was as white as paper, lips trembling uncontrollably.
She wanted to close her eyes, wanted to stop looking.
But she still could not help cracking them open.
And she regretted it instantly.
Choji threw up.
He vomited up every chip he'd eaten.
After that he kept retching, tears and snot running down his face.
Hidan's cursing never stopped.
Even chopped into six pieces, his mouth was still the most active part.
Obscenities poured out like floodwater.
No repetition. No pause.
Like a machine built for endless curses.
Teizawa finally looked away.
He turned his head slightly, voice calm as if he were giving kitchen instructions.
"Someone."
Swish swish swish…
Several figures flashed out from the shadows of the ruins and dropped to one knee.
"Kazekage-sama!"
Sand ANBU. Teizawa's real confidants.
They didn't need a reason to be here.
Teizawa lifted his chin, pointing at the writhing pile on the ground.
"Find a box. Pack it up."
He paused, then added, "We'll use it for research later."
…
The ANBU went silent.
They stared at the pile of mangled limbs still cursing, at the head still glaring, at the twitching arms and legs…
For a moment, no one moved.
A thing like this…
Any normal person would run as far away as possible.
And Kazekage-sama wanted to store it for research?
But no one disobeyed the Kazekage's orders.
The silence lasted three seconds.
Then…
"Yes!"
A few ANBU stepped forward, forcing themselves to do it.
One of them dug boards out of the rubble and started assembling a crate on the spot.
Another pulled out a fūinjutsu (sealing) scroll, hesitating about how to pack up something that was still moving.
A third crouched beside Hidan's head.
He looked left, looked right, clearly unsure where to even begin.
"Get lost! Don't touch me, you trash!"
Hidan's head bared its teeth at him.
"You filthy hands, keep them off!"
"You think you're worthy to touch my head?!"
The ANBU's face turned green.
He inhaled, grabbed a fistful of sand off the ground, and shoved it straight into Hidan's mouth.
"Mmph… mmphh… mmph!"
The world finally went quiet.
The ANBU rose with visible relief, saluted Teizawa, and asked:
"Kazekage-sama, like this… is it acceptable?"
Teizawa glanced at the stuffed mouth and the furious eyes that still refused to blink, and the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
"Acceptable."
He flicked his hand.
"Hurry. Once it's packed, take it to the village lab. Be careful. Don't lose any pieces."
"Yes!"
The ANBU answered in unison.
They began gathering the writhing "parts" with frantic efficiency.
One used a fūinjutsu (sealing) scroll to wrap the limbs.
One pinned the torso between boards.
Another carefully lifted the head that could only go "mmph mmph" now and placed it into the hastily assembled crate.
Inside the box, Hidan's head rolled around.
His eyes were wide, full of fury and unwillingness.
But he could do nothing.
All he could do was muffled "mmph" sounds.
Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji stood not far away.
They watched the whole thing.
No one spoke.
No one moved.
Only Choji's occasional dry heaves sounded painfully loud in the silence.
After a long time…
Long enough for the ANBU to finish packing everything up and vanish into the ruins with the boxes…
Shikamaru finally found his voice again.
His throat was dry, his voice hoarse, barely his own.
"He… he's going to take that monster…"
He couldn't finish.
Ino didn't answer.
She only stared at that gold-clad back.
In her eyes was fear, awe, and something tangled and complicated she couldn't put into words.
As for Choji…
He threw up again.
(End of Chapter)
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