"This…"
The gate guard froze, at a complete loss. In all his years stationed at Konoha's front gate, this was the first time he had ever encountered something like this.
Sure, there was Orochimaru, the Sannin who betrayed the village and became a rogue ninja.
But for someone to openly come from another village and ask to join Konoha? This was unheard of.
"I have a letter of recommendation from Tsunade-sama, one of the Legendary Sannin," Hidan explained calmly, his tone steady.
"You can take me to meet with the Third Hokage to confirm its authenticity."
He knew Tsunade had left Konoha years ago.
Only the Third Hokage himself could truly vouch for her letter...after all, Tsunade was his student.
And Hidan understood very well: if this letter ended up in the wrong hands, people with ulterior motives could twist it against him.
"Tsunade-sama's letter of recommendation?"
The guard blinked, clearly unsettled, and hesitated for a long moment before finally nodding.
"In that case… I'll report this to the Third Hokage. But whether Hokage-sama will agree to meet with you or not… that, I can't promise."
The guard quickly signaled another shinobi to run ahead and inform the Third Hokage, while he himself stayed behind to keep a close watch on the silver-haired boy.
As for this so-called recommendation letter, he didn't even think about checking it. Tsunade had been gone from Konoha for years...he had no way of telling real from fake.
And besides, anything involving one of the Legendary Sannin was far above his pay grade.
His duty was simple: keep this kid in one place and make sure he didn't wander off.
Hidan, for his part, didn't complain. He waited patiently, arms folded, his expression calm.
In his heart he was certain...once the Third Hokage heard Tsunade's name, he would come.
With how much Sarutobi cared about his two remaining apprentices, Jiraiya and Tsunade, there was no way he would ignore news like this.
......
Swish! Swish! Swish!
The sharp sound of bodies cutting through the air echoed, and in the blink of an eye, three figures appeared in front of Hidan.
The sight made his stomach sink. They were the very last people he wanted to see at this moment, Shimura Danzō and his two loyal followers.
At this time, Danzō still looked like the middle-aged man Hidan remembered from the anime: short black hair, bandaged arm hidden beneath his robes, and those cold, gloomy eyes that radiated ruthlessness.
But unlike the future Hidan knew, Danzō did not yet possess the Sharingan-studded right arm, nor Shisui's stolen eye.
At his sides stood his two most trusted Root operatives:
Torune Aburame, of the Aburame clan, his body host to poisonous nano-sized insects that could corrode anything they touched.
Fū Yamanaka, of the Yamanaka clan, a skilled sensor and user of their secret mind-transfer jutsu.
Both were Elite Jōnin, their abilities strange and deadly, making them the perfect left and right hand of Danzō.
Danzō's cold gaze swept over the silver-haired boy standing before him.
"Oh? So you're this… Hidan?" His tone was skeptical, his expression twisting in mild irritation. "A little brat?"
In his mind, the idea was ridiculous. Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin, vouching for a mere child to join Konoha? Impossible. There must be more to this.
Just as Danzō was frowning in doubt, Fū, ever the perceptive type, stepped closer and whispered something into his ear.
In an instant, Danzō's expression changed. His eyes narrowed, dark and calculating.
"Ohh~… are you the Third Hokage?" Hidan suddenly spoke up, feigning ignorance. His silver eyes glinted with mockery.
"To think you'd rush here so quickly the moment you got the news. I'm really flattered!"
Of course, Hidan knew exactly who stood in front of him. But playing dumb while mocking him at the same time? That was his specialty.
Inside, though, he couldn't help but sigh. So this is the leader of Root, huh? No wonder… the old snake's information network really is terrifying.
The Third Hokage hasn't even shown his face yet, but Danzō already beat him here.
A darker thought slithered into Hidan's head. Could it be… he's blocking the news? If Sarutobi hears Tsunade's name, he'd definitely come.
But if Danzō's intercepting things, then he's planning to keep me from ever meeting the old man at all…
Of course. Tsunade's one of the Sannin, one of Sarutobi's loyal students. Anyone she recommends has value to him.
Which means… Danzō would never allow it.
Hidan's smile twitched, his inner voice grumbling. Ahh, shit, here we go again… I can practically see how this'll play out. He'll brand me as suspicious, claim it's for the safety of the village, and then...boom—attack me in the name of Konoha.
He rolled his shoulders slightly, preparing himself. Then I'll fight back, and the whole circus begins. Tch… I never thought such a cliché plot would drop on me the very moment I set foot at Konoha's gate.
His irritation was clear, but so was the sharp gleam in his eyes.
Danzō's face grew darker with every word Hidan spoke. Finally, he jabbed a finger toward the boy and snapped coldly:
"This brat… who knows where he really came from? Most likely a spy sent by another village, using Tsunade's name to worm his way into Konoha and steal information. Take him down this is my order!"
"Danzo-sama, he...!"
One of the gate guards tried to speak up in protest, but Danzō silenced him with a sharp wave of the hand.
He had no intention of letting Hidan explain himself.
The last thing he wanted was Tsunade's name entering the Third Hokage's ears. Anything that might strengthen Hiruzen's side, Danzō would strangle before it even left the cradle.
Hidan's lips curled into a grin. "So… it seems you're not the Third Hokage after all!"
His silver eyes gleamed with fake innocence as he continued to twist the knife.
"No wonder I felt something was off when I first looked at you. You didn't give me Hokage vibes at all."
He tilted his head, letting his words drip with sarcasm.
"At first, I thought...'No way, this gloomy guy can't be the Hokage.' Oops, sorry! I didn't mean to be rude or anything… I just didn't want to hide my thoughts from you. That would've been impolite, right?"
Hidan stressed the word "Hokage" with deliberate weight, smiling all the while.
Danzō's eye twitched. As soon as the word hit him, his expression contorted. His narrow eyes filled with a sharp, suffocating killing intent.
For him, the word Hokage was the deepest wound in his life, a throne he'd always coveted but never attained.
And now this brat had the audacity to fling it in his face, not once but several times, rubbing salt and chili straight into his scars.
"Do it!"
Danzō barked the order, his voice cold and sharp. But he himself remained rooted in place.
As the leader of Root, he had to maintain a certain dignity. If he moved personally against a child, even if that child was on par with a Jōnin, it would make him look pathetic.
The command was enough.
Torune Aburame flicked his wrist, sending a hail of poisoned shuriken flying toward Hidan, while Fū Yamanaka circled at the edge, waiting for his opening.
His plan was simple: the instant Hidan dropped his guard, he'd strike with the Yamanaka clan's secret mind-transfer technique and seize control of the boy's body in one decisive blow.
"Well… fuck!" Hidan cursed inwardly, teeth clenched. This bastard really went and did exactly what I predicted. What a damn NPC script!
His lips twisted into a loud sneer. "What a fucking retard!"
His eyes tracked the two operatives. Torune, with his creepy nano-bugs, touch him and you're poisoned.
In the anime, even Obito had to chop off his arm because of this freak. As for me… sure, I'm not afraid of dying.
But walking around purple and swollen from venom? Nah. Too ugly.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The Bloody March Scythe in Hidan's hands spun, intercepting shuriken mid-air with vicious sparks. Steel bit steel again and again, the echoes ringing across the gate.
At their current pace, it was a stalemate. Jōnin versus Jōnin, both sides were dangerous in their own ways.
But Hidan could already see it: these guys relied entirely on their clan techniques. Without them, they had nothing... basically he was the same too but with low combat experience which means he...is fucked.
"Mind Body Switch Technique!"
Fū Yamanaka shouted, seizing his chance. His consciousness shot forward, plunging toward Hidan's mind like an arrow through the air.
But the next moment froze him in disbelief.
Nothing.
He couldn't enter. The clan's secret jutsu, one that had trapped countless shinobi before, slid uselessly against a wall he couldn't even comprehend.
It was as if the boy's soul was locked behind an impenetrable gate.
"What…?!" Fū's eyes widened. His technique had failed.
In rare cases, the Yamanaka's secret art would bounce off targets with extraordinary mental fortitude, those with unshakable wills or monstrous chakra control.
But this… this was just a silver-haired brat barely 10, yet resisting him as though he were nothing.
What Fū didn't know was the truth: Hidan's mind wasn't just his own. It carried the merged soul and memories of another Hidan, and above all his body was tied to a system.
That system would never allow another will to trespass.
There was never a chance.
Grinding his teeth, Fū abandoned the technique and pulled out a shuriken, diving back into the melee alongside Torune. Together, they pressed Hidan hard, their coordination forcing him on the defensive.
Steel clashed and bugs hissed in the air, but no matter how they pushed, Hidan's scythe whirled like a storm, holding them at bay.
Off to the side, Danzō's eyes narrowed. His lips pressed into a grim line.
This is bad.
The boy was still standing. His operatives had been at it for too long, and the clash at Konoha's gates was impossible to keep hidden forever.
He had already intercepted the initial report before it reached the Hokage's ears, but if this dragged on, Sarutobi's watchdogs would surely notice.
I need this resolved quickly.
His hands clenched. His chakra surged, flooding his body with killing intent. The air around him warped under the pressure as his aura spiked, heavy and suffocating.
Danzō Shimura straightened, his presence flaring with the might of a quasi-Kage.
He was ready to make his move.
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