After completing the sublimation, not only did he gain an additional kekkei genkai, but his other kekkei genkai such as Storm Release, Steel Release, and the rest also received varying degrees of enhancement.
If before he could only barely touch the threshold of Kage level by relying on the mutual coordination of multiple kekkei genkai, then after the sublimation, he was legitimately at "Kage" level.
Moreover, due to the diversity of techniques brought by the various kekkei genkai, even among peers of the same level, he could be considered one of the more outstanding ones.
In short, Hiruko now felt that he was terrifyingly strong. That was why, when facing Hidan's complaints, he unhesitatingly counterattacked without leaving any face at all.
And the reason he acted this way was not only the confidence brought by his increased strength, but also because from quite some time ago, he had never really looked favorably upon Hidan, feeling that the other party, as a fellow Akatsuki member, was dragging down their average level.
Someone like Uchiha Itachi—although Hiruko didn't particularly like him either—he at least acknowledged the other's strength and believed he was qualified to stand as an Akatsuki member alongside himself. But a guy like Hidan, who was basically an idiot...
Better to forget it.
Since organization members didn't meet often, Hiruko didn't know that Hidan had an almost guaranteed kill ability once he obtained blood. But even if he had known, he wouldn't have cared much. With the enhancement from Steel Release, even if Hidan used every trick in his book, it would be difficult for him to get even a single drop of blood from Hiruko.
"How would I know? But I think you're probably right. After all, we've all seen the Leader's strength with our own eyes. How could this guy dare go pick a fight with the Leader?"
Right after Hiruko finished speaking, another voice immediately chimed in from behind him. The agreeing voice carried little emotion, as if simply stating a fact.
The one delivering this additional critical hit to Hidan was naturally Hiruko's teammate, Shinnō. But unlike before, the current Shinnō no longer had white hair.
Instead, it had all turned black, and his entire aura had grown much stronger. And of course, this wasn't some kind of rejuvenation, but rather the result of his research on the Zero-Tails.
While Hiruko was completing his Kimera no Jutsu, Shinnō hadn't been idle either. With the Akatsuki's resources, his long study of the Zero-Tails had finally borne fruit a few days ago.
The completion of the Zero-Tails not only brought him a massive amount of chakra, but its power also nourished his body, bringing it to the best state it could achieve.
And now that his many years of research had finally succeeded, Shinnō's state was similar to his teammate Hiruko's—he also felt that he was terrifyingly strong. He was just relatively more restrained compared to the other.
But "restrained" was only relative to Hiruko. After obtaining the Zero-Tails, Shinnō also wanted to show off his power in front of these colleagues to raise his own status.
So when he noticed that his teammate seemed to be on the same wavelength and had found what appeared to be an "easy target" in Hidan, Shinnō immediately chose to join in.
Although there had been some friction between him and Hiruko before, both Shinnō and Hiruko were smart people. They knew that banding together in a place like this was the better choice.
Moreover, although their research directions were different, they were still among the rare few scientific ninja in the ninja world. Compared to the others, they could get along better, which was also an important reason they could grow closer.