Chapter 57: Beheading Hidan

Chapter 57: Beheading Hidan

"How did you realize the corpse wasn't the real target?"

Kakuzu's gaze locked onto Yusuke, as he questioned Sasori coldly.

"The hands," Sasori replied.

"The hands? What's wrong with them?" Hidan chimed in, genuinely curious.

"Our target is nicknamed 'Blazing Blade,'" Sasori explained in a detached tone. "According to the intel, he specializes in kenjutsu. I've turned many skilled swordsmen and shinobi into human puppets before — and those who excel in the blade arts all have distinctly calloused hands, different from normal people."

"Ohhh, I see now!"

Understanding dawned on Hidan's face as he nodded vigorously.

Still staring at Yusuke with a cold, sharp gaze, Sasori asked,

"I've never seen you before. Who gave you my information?"

Sasori was absolutely certain he had no prior dealings with this shinobi.

Moreover, he operated concealed within his human puppet, Hiruko — under normal circumstances, it was almost impossible for someone to recognize him.

For this stranger to call him out so easily, there could be only one explanation: someone had betrayed him.

"Tch, isn't it obvious? It's gotta be that bastard Orochimaru!"

Hidan shouted without hesitation. "A freak like him, obsessed with body modifications, can't be anything good!"

But just as he finished, he noticed Kakuzu and Sasori both turning toward him, their eyes filled with killing intent.

Hidan scratched his head in confusion, not realizing he had insulted not just Orochimaru — but also Kakuzu and Sasori, who had extensively modified their own bodies.

"What? Am I wrong? Only a real sicko messes with their own body like that! And another thing—"

"Alright, alright, enough out of you."

Biwa Jūzō, seeing where this was headed, quickly cut Hidan off before he made things even worse.

Sasori snorted coldly and stopped paying attention to Hidan.

His gaze returned to Yusuke.

"Was it Orochimaru who sold me out?"

On any other day, Yusuke might have toyed with them a little, maybe even framed Orochimaru for the fun of it.

But not today.

He had already made up his mind: end this fast and clean.

If a major incident truly broke out within his clan, the contingencies he had set in motion would activate — and he would have to return immediately.

"You no longer need to know that,"

Yusuke said flatly.

As he spoke, an ancient-looking katana appeared in his hand, its blade reflecting a cold, deadly gleam beneath the moonlight.

Sasori narrowed his eyes at the weapon and sneered.

"Judging by your earlier Fire Release technique, I'll admit you have some skill. However—"

"RAAAH! I'm gonna cut this arrogant bastard into pieces!"

Before Sasori could finish, Hidan let out a crazed roar, brandishing his signature weapon — the Bloody Triple-Bladed Scythe — and charged recklessly at Yusuke.

Watching Hidan rush forward, relying entirely on his so-called immortality, Yusuke calmly activated his Sharingan.

A pair of golden-red three tomoe sharingan spun into life within his pupils.

After all, he was fighting four enemies at once.

The Sharingan's enhanced dynamic vision — and its unique ocular abilities — would be crucial for what came next.

Seeing the pattern in Yusuke's Sharingan, the members of the Akatsuki were slightly surprised. They had encountered the Sharingan before, but this was the first time they had seen such a peculiar design. Their wariness towards Yusuke grew even more intense.

At that moment, Hidan, who had been charging toward Yusuke, suddenly froze, standing completely still.

"Damn it, that idiot's been caught in a genjutsu!"

Kakuzu exclaimed in alarm.

However, by the time the Akatsuki members realized what had happened, Hidan's decapitated body had already collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud. Yusuke stood calmly to the side, holding Hidan's severed head in his right hand and his sword in his left.

Although Hidan's body had a unique constitution, rendering him incapable of dying even if his head was severed, in this state, Hidan was completely unable to act.

With his head in Yusuke's grip, Hidan began to scream in a frenzied rage.

"Ah!! You bastard, I'll kill you!"

This was humiliation — the greatest disgrace of his career. Having his head lopped off and held in someone's hand was something Hidan had never experienced in his entire life.

"Be careful. This enemy clearly has intel on our abilities!"

Kakuzu shouted, warning Sasori and Biwa Jūzō.

After seeing Yusuke sever Hidan's head and holding it without so much as a flicker of surprise, Kakuzu immediately deduced that Yusuke must have had access to their intelligence.

As Kakuzu was alerting the others, a masked figure suddenly darted out from under the cloak he was wearing. This figure, wearing a mask adorned with purple markings, was none other than the Lightning-Style heart of Kakuzu.

"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"

The masked figure shouted.

"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"

A second masked figure, this one wielding Wind-Style, attacked from the other direction.

Three thick lightning pillars and a barrage of razor-sharp wind blades rushed toward Yusuke from both sides.

Yusuke's body flickered with speed as he easily dodged the lightning and wind attacks. In the blink of an eye, he appeared right in front of the Wind-Style masked figure.

With a swift slash, Yusuke aimed his blade at the masked figure, but instead of cutting him, his sword clashed against the decapitation blade of Biwa Jūzō, who had stepped in to block.

However, the moment Jūzō stopped Yusuke's blade, he felt an overwhelming pressure on his arms. He found himself involuntarily stumbling backward, forced to retreat two steps.

"No way... How is he this strong?!"

Jūzō thought, stunned.

Before he could think further, he found himself staring directly into Yusuke's bloodshot, murderous eyes.

"Cut down!"

Yusuke shouted coldly.

A horrible, screeching sound of metal scraping filled the air as Jūzō's decapitation blade snapped in two under Yusuke's strength.

Jūzō was yanked backward, as though someone had grabbed him from behind. In an instant, he was pulled out of harm's way, narrowly avoiding the same fate as his weapon.

Now standing a few feet away, drenched in cold sweat, Jūzō found himself back beside Sasori. A coil of spring steel was wrapped around his waist, a clear indication that Sasori had acted quickly to pull him out of danger.

Yusuke's strength in his strikes did not solely come from his physical power — much of it came from his spiritual pressure.

By unleashing his spiritual pressure, Yusuke's blade was able to cut through Biwa Jūzō's decapitation blade with ease, surpassing even the skills of most swordmasters in the shinobi world.

In just a few short seconds, Yusuke had incapacitated Hidan and nearly killed Biwa Jūzō. This overwhelming display of power unsettled the Akatsuki members, who had always seen themselves as the elite of the shinobi world.

"Who would've thought there were still such powerful experts in the shinobi world... I wonder how he compares to the leader," Biwa Jūzō muttered, his voice low and cautious.

Sasori, not wasting any time, stowed away his Hiruko puppet and brought out his trump card — the third Kazekage puppet.

Kakuzu, meanwhile, quickly gathered the masked figures around him to avoid Yusuke picking them off one by one.

Facing the Akatsuki's defensive formation, Yusuke casually smashed Hidan's teeth in with the hilt of his sword, then fastened Hidan's head to his waist. Since he couldn't kill him, Yusuke decided to take the head back with him and deal with it later.

Ignoring the incessant curses coming from Hidan's head, Yusuke held his blade — the Zanpakuto Ryūjin Jakka — horizontally in front of him. Crimson flames began to flicker from the edge of the blade.

"All Things of This World, Turn to Ashes." Yusuke murmured, a chilling aura radiating from his figure.

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