Yugito had ultimately discovered Chinatsu's true identity, but fortunately, she only knew one part of the truth.
For Chinatsu, who was already preparing to establish a completely new identity and alias, this wasn't enough to seriously disrupt her plans.
Meanwhile, Chinatsu grabbed Hidan and Kakuzu and used the Flying Thunder God Technique to instantly teleport dozens of kilometers away, escaping Yugito's sensory range entirely.
"Phew~ I almost forgot I could use the Flying Thunder God Technique. With this ability, even if I can't win, escaping is never a problem."
Chinatsu lightly patted her chest and let out a long breath.
She finally understood why Kizaru in One Piece was always so relaxed.
When you possess overwhelming speed, who can actually catch you if you truly want to leave?
And in the current ninja world, both the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju and the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze were already dead.
As someone who had mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique, Chinatsu stood among the absolute fastest shinobi alive.
After arriving dozens of kilometers away, Kakuzu and Hidan looked around in surprise.
"This... this is the Flying Thunder God Technique?"
The knowledgeable Kakuzu recognized the technique almost immediately.
After all, it was originally developed by Tobirama Senju and later brought to legendary status by the Yellow Flash of Konoha, Minato Namikaze.
Any shinobi who survived the Third Great Ninja War would know of its reputation.
Kakuzu stared for a full three seconds.
Then his face returned to its usual expressionless state.
"Actually, it's not that surprising."
"Our boss can use Wood Release, possesses the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, and even controls Kotoamatsukami."
"Compared to those abilities, knowing the Flying Thunder God Technique doesn't seem strange at all."
The more Kakuzu thought about it, the more reasonable it became.
Meanwhile, Hidan wasn't surprised in the slightest.
In his eyes, there was nothing unusual about the young lady mastering a space-time ninjutsu.
Compared to that, he had a much more important matter to deal with.
Hidan immediately turned toward Chinatsu.
Then, with astonishing agility, he performed a dramatic spin, dropped to one knee, and lowered his head.
"It's all my fault!"
"Please punish me, Young Lady!"
The kneeling posture was extremely professional.
His tone was filled with loyalty.
Chinatsu immediately felt embarrassed.
She hadn't planned to blame him at all.
"Get up. I'm not blaming you."
"No!"
"It was clearly my fault!"
"I won't stand up unless you punish me!"
Hidan's attitude was unbelievably firm.
Looking at his serious expression, Chinatsu felt a headache coming on.
She suddenly regretted modifying Hidan's personality so deeply.
This level of loyalty was becoming troublesome.
"Fine, fine."
"You want punishment?"
"Then stab yourself a few times."
"Understood!!!"
Hidan instantly jumped up.
He grabbed his triple-bladed scythe and prepared to commit ritual suicide on the spot.
Unfortunately, the scythe was far too large.
After several failed attempts, he finally gave up.
"Kakuzu."
"Do you have a sword?"
"Can I borrow it?"
"Tsk."
"This sword is very expensive."
"Don't break it."
Kakuzu reluctantly opened a sealing scroll and removed a high-quality sword.
Question:
Isn't Kakuzu obsessed with money?
Why would he spend money on such an expensive sword?
Answer:
After surviving for decades, Kakuzu had long understood that simply hoarding money wasn't enough.
Currency could lose value.
Rare weapons, real estate, and collectibles retained their worth.
To Kakuzu, expensive equipment was an investment.
Hidan accepted the sword.
The beautiful craftsmanship meant absolutely nothing to him.
The only thing he cared about was whether it was suitable for self-stabbing.
Holding the sword backward, he pressed the blade against his abdomen.
Stab!
Blood splashed everywhere.
Then another stab.
And another.
And another.
The rhythm was strangely consistent.
Watching from the side, Chinatsu almost felt like adding background music.
As the number of stabs increased, Hidan's enthusiasm visibly grew.
Ten stabs.
Twenty stabs.
Thirty stabs.
Fifty stabs.
At this rate, he looked prepared to reach one hundred.
Fortunately, Chinatsu finally stopped him.
Otherwise, the amount of blood on the ground might genuinely have formed a small pond.
"Enough."
"A few dozen times is plenty."
"A few dozen?"
Hidan looked disappointed.
"Actually, Young Lady, I recently developed a brand-new self-sacrifice routine."
"It combines several previous methods."
"The visual impact is even better!"
"..."
Chinatsu covered her face with one hand.
At that moment, she seriously considered using Kotoamatsukami again and resetting Hidan's personality.
Unfortunately, the lingering pain in her eyes immediately reminded her why that was a terrible idea.
Forget it.
Let's just leave him like this.
After all the commotion, it was finally time to discuss serious matters.
The Akatsuki had sent their members to capture Tailed Beasts.
Naturally, they couldn't return empty-handed forever.
Should they simply bring Nagato four former enemies instead of Tailed Beasts?
Actually...
That wasn't impossible.
However, Chinatsu still wanted to recruit Kisame before making any major moves.
Therefore, she hoped to delay matters a little longer.
Pinching her chin thoughtfully, Chinatsu began considering their report.
"Actually, Yugito becoming stronger might be perfect."
"You two can report that the Two-Tails Jinchuriki was too powerful."
"Say you suffered serious injuries and couldn't complete the mission."
Kakuzu thought for a moment.
"That's actually true."
"Even if we genuinely fought Yugito now, defeating her wouldn't be easy."
"But what if Pain decides to handle it personally after hearing that?"
"Tsk tsk tsk~"
"Don't overthink it."
Chinatsu waved her hand.
"You don't need to return immediately."
"But don't wait too long either."
"Just delay things appropriately."
"Our objective is simply to buy time."
Her current plan was straightforward.
Hidan and Kakuzu.
Deidara and Sasori.
All of them would continue operating outside for as long as possible before eventually returning to the Akatsuki.
As long as Pain didn't completely lose patience, they could continue stalling.
Meanwhile, several other problems needed to be solved.
Itachi's situation.
Kisame's recruitment.
Obito's future plans.
If all of those pieces were handled properly, suppressing Nagato later would become significantly easier.
Perhaps they could even find an opportunity to deal with Obito ahead of schedule.
Nagato: What exactly are all of you doing?
Everyone: Sorry, Boss. We're actually undercover agents.
"Pfft—"
The image instantly appeared in Chinatsu's mind.
She couldn't stop herself from laughing.
"Wow~"
"Just imagining it is exciting!"
Far away.
Inside the Akatsuki hideout.
Nagato suddenly sneezed.
His already frail body swayed slightly.
"Nagato..."
Konan immediately looked concerned.
Lately, Nagato seemed to be sneezing suspiciously often.
A strange sense of unease gradually filled her heart.
Nagato merely shook his head.
"It's nothing."
"Probably just a cold."
Then he slowly looked toward the massive Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
His Rinnegan reflected determination.
"Konan."
"Our dream is almost within reach."
"As soon as the members return with their Tailed Beasts, we can begin the final phase of the plan."
"Then we will move against Konoha."
"The Nine-Tails must be captured."
Nagato slowly clenched his fist.
"The peace we have dreamed of..."
"...is finally about to arrive."
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