Arc VII Chapter 10
<strong><b>VII</b></strong>
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<strong><b>Arc VII Chapter </b></strong><strong><b>10</b></strong>
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Asami rubbed her chin, contemting. Her newest enemy challenged her, ice cream vours. So many choices and Asami had a hard time to decide. Vani, chocte, strawberry, orange, banana, cherry, pistachio ...
“Ahem.”
...
“Ahem.”
...
“Ahem!” Theimpatient shopkeepercleared his throat.
Asami looked up. “Yes?”
The shopkeeper smiled. “I don''t want to disturb you, but could you please hurry up. Other customers are waiting, and you are holding up business.”
Asami turned her head. A long row of people stood behind her. They looked impatient, but her dilemma continued, vani, or pistachio.
The shopkeeper fumed.“Hey,ss, didn''t you listen ...”
Asami responded with a schooled re, her purple shimmering eyes underscoring her point.“My friend, I am aware of your concerns, but selecting the right vour of ice cream is a delicate affair, a matter of significant importance. Feel honoured, in fact, that I grace your minor establishment with my presence. A cone pistachio please.”
Ahappy girl got her ice cream.And it was even free.Asami savoured her cone. Today was a joyous day, a day to enjoy the small luxuries of life ...
A string of threads blocked her path, but they failed to kill her. The threads missed her, but they decapitated her ice without mercy.
Her eyes cried,and Asami mourned her loss. Her icecream ...
Hidan clicked his tongue. “Kakuzu, are you sure it is her?”
Kakuzuretracted his threads. “Absolutely, Hidan.”
“...” Asami red at her offenders, recognisingtheircoats, recognisingthe patterns.They wereresponsible for this grave injustice. These bastardsdecapitated her icecream! “Who are you?”
Hidan grabbed his scythe. “I will kill you, you little fucking bitch ...”
Kakuzu grabbed Hidan. Hesensed the danger. Absurd amounts of chakra saturated the air.Purple spheres manifested. They meant trouble.He usedHidan as cover, as efficientcover, asimmortal cover.
The girl hit hard, harderthan Deidara.Her explosioncleaved a corridor through the town inconsiderate of civilian casualties. He miscalcted, urban terrain didn''t limit her capabilities.
His bodygot hurled across the air, but Hidan volunteered to take the brunt of the st, an unpleasant experience.
Kakuzu kissed the ground. He decided to lie low and observe for the time being.
“What the fuck was this, Kakuzu? Do you want to kill me, or what?” Hidan grumbled. His coat was shredded, and his poor bones didn''t approve of being abused as living cover.
“Hey, are you listening, you arsehole?!I am talking with you, Kakuzu!!!” Kakuzudidn''t move and Hidan grew furious. Thisbastard!He knew this trick!
Hidan kicked him, but no reaction. The arsehole was deader than dead. “Stop bullshitting me ...”
“Oh my, you are still alive. Quite surprising.” Asami''s sharine smileinterrupted him.
Asamipressed apurple sphere against his chest. “Thisis for my icecream.This is my revenge.” The sphere packed a punch, catapultingHidanbackwards. Hebouncedover the ground like a human projectile.It hurt.
Hidan gritted his teeth. “You fucking bitch!!! You will pay for...
Asami''s sword cut him shortand decapitatedHidan. “Amateurs.” How disappointing. She had expected more ofthe infamous Akatsuki ...”
“This isn''t over yet!!!Don''t believe you have won!”
“...” Asami blinked in confusion.
“Don''t ignore me! I am down here!”
Asami followed his suggestions andrubbed her tired eyes. His head ... was talking ...
...
...
...
This wasn''t a dream, was it?
Hidan fumed. “Stop staring ...”
Asami grabbed him and inspected the funny talking head.“Curious.”
Hidan protested, “Don''t ignore me, or ...”
Asami presented a diabolical grin. “Or what? Are you going to kill me?” Her palm summoned a lovelypurple me.
“You don''t scare me!” Hidan mocked her. “I am immortal, bitch! So bring it on!”
Darkglee filledAsami''seyes. “Don''t worry, I will trymy best.”
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They survived.Kakuzuroseand dusted off his clothes. They hadunderestimated thegind sufferedthe consequences.The little princess stung. A more cautious approach was rmended.
Fortunately, ying dead served him well. Hemight be immortal, but he wasn''tstupid.
Kakuzu strolled around in search forhis partner. He located his charred headspiked on a broken pipe. Hidanhad seen better days.Not that hedidn''tdeserve his fate.
Kakuzu chuckled in a wave of schadenfreude. “Hidan, what happened?”
Hidan hesitated. “I met an angel, Kakuzu.”
“I met a goddess.”
Kakuzu frowned. The idiot had finallygoneinsane.
Hidan paused. “Kakuzu, I think I have fallen in love ...”
“Mmmm.Mmmm.Mmmm.”
Kakuzu''s threads sealed his lips and silenced Hidan. He had enough of his rambling. “Better.”
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Acave, a dark ce, a cold ce, a lonely ce, an inhospitable ce, poptedspiders and bugs, but thecave was special.A certain groupelectedthe cave as one of their numerous hideouts.
Akatsuki rarely met in person, mostlyrelyingon othermeans ofmunication.
Painconfirmed everyone''spresence. Akatsukisupported flexible structures and autonomy, but a certain degree of organisationwas necessary. A modicum of discipline and hierarchy had to be maintained.
Akatsuki remainedofficially mercenaries, and missions their primary source of ie. A goodreputation was indispensable on this market despite the infamous nature of their members. Immortal zombies, a psychopathic n killer, a pyromaniac fanatic, a morbidpuppeteer, they didn''t contribute to a positive public image.
Kakuzu finallyappeared. His figure flickered in the darkness. “Apologies for beingte, but I was forcedto deal with a few issues.”
Pain merely nodded and acknowledged his presence. The meetingmenced.
“Kakuzu, where is Hidan?”
Kakuzu clicked his tongue. “Hidan is sadly ... unavable. Circumstances forced me to restrain him as he went bonkers. He didn''t take our recent mission well.”
Pain didn''t approve. Hidan going insane was within his calctions, but not this soon. They might need to liquidate him. “What happened?”
Kakuzu scratched his head. “That''s aplicated story.”
“Speak your mind. We have time.”
Kakuzugrumbled annoyed. He wasn''t much of a talkative person. “We received a mission. Our target was a girl, a kunoichi who turned traitor and abandoned her vige. We set out to im herbounty.Nothing unusual.”
“Unfortunately, the girl proved more troublesome than expected and Hidan fell in lovewith her.”
“...” Pain said nothing. Silence was his answer. True love? Such things existed?
“Hidandecided to build a shrine and sacrifice one-thousand souls.He wanted to beg Jashin to help him conquer the pure heart of his beautiful angel in ck.”
“...”
“I intervened before he could do anything stupid.”
Pain merely nodded. “That seems reasonable.”
“How much is the girl worth?”
Kakuzu counted. “Konoha doubled their bounty recently. Kumoand Iwao promised 50,000,000 each, while Kiri and Suna pledged 25,000,000 and 15,000,000 respectively. So 444,000,000 ryoin total.”
Pain fell silent. The bountywasconsiderable, easily bankruptingsmallercountries.
Pain maintained his stoic facade. Surprise didn''t befit a divine leader. “I assume your mission failed.”
Kakuzu''s mood darkened. “That''s ... indeed the case. The girl escaped our clutches.”
“The girl proved a formidable opponent. Capable, determined, aggressive.Her strength caught us ... off guard.”
Pain processed the information. An idea formed. Akatsuki always looked out for new potential recruits, but suitable candidates were scarce. “Kakuzu, tell me more about her. The girl has caught my interest. Her addition might strengthen our ranks.”
...
...
...
“Sasori, Deidara, you receive new orders. You rece Kakuzu and Hidan. Your mission is to establish contact with the target.”
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