At this moment, Hidan lunged forward with a bloodthirsty grin twisting his face. His scythe gleamed with malevolence as he rushed toward the figure standing calmly ahead—Uchiha Fugaku.
Fugaku remained still, unfazed, his expression calm as still water. There was no trace of tension in his body. As Hidan closed the distance, he sneered inwardly. This guy… he's probably weak. Just another stone on the path of sacrifice. His scythe was already beginning its arc, primed to cleave flesh.
"I'll hack him to pieces… grind him down into mush… and offer every piece of him to the great Evil God!" he hissed madly.
"Hahahahahaha!!"
But the moment the blade descended, everything shifted.
A vast, majestic pattern spun into existence within Uchiha Fugaku's eyes—the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. The ground beneath them trembled as a towering figure, shrouded in spectral armor, erupted from the earth in a burst of chakra and power.
A complete Susanoo stood tall.
Fugaku didn't flinch. Instead, he felt an odd calm—his mind drifted.
This Eternal Mangekyō… it's truly remarkable. No blindness, no strain. Just perfect, seamless activation. In the past, I'd rely on fire-style ninjutsu. But now… I prefer to open with this.
The clash came in a blaze of sparks.
Clang!
The force of metal striking chakra armor echoed like thunder across the battlefield. Hidan's scythe clanged against the Susanoo's arm—completely ineffective.
His expression twisted in confusion and fear as he stumbled backward, eyes wide at the massive ethereal form looming before him.
"What the hell?! What is this thing?! This… this is Susanoo, isn't it?!"
Panic settled into his bones as he remembered what he'd seen during his time with the Akatsuki. Though Uchiha Itachi's version had been powerful and terrifying, what stood before him now dwarfed that memory. There was a monstrous calm in this Susanoo. It wasn't just raw power—it was mastery.
"Wait a second…" Hidan murmured. "If this is Susanoo… that guy's an Uchiha?! But… the Uchiha clan was wiped out! That's what everyone said!"
His thoughts whirled. This can't be happening… And yet… this Susanoo… it feels even more suffocating than Itachi's.
He wanted to retreat.
Though Hidan boasted of his immortality, the very idea of being trapped in a genjutsu, helpless, reduced to nothing but a babbling shell, shook him to the core. Immortality did not protect the mind.
Suddenly, Susanoo's colossal fist cocked back—and launched forward.
Bang!!
Rumble...
The earth quaked beneath the force of the blow. A crater burst into the ground where Hidan had stood, now reduced to a mangled wreck of flesh and bone. His entire body was crushed into pulp—yet even then, his voice still echoed from the hole.
"Hahahahahaha!!! I told you! I'm a servant of the Evil God! I can't die! You can chop me, burn me, smash me—but I'll always return!"
Fugaku's eyes narrowed slightly.
That thing—that—was still alive?
Hidan's skull was flattened beyond recognition, and yet he still chattered from the pit like a broken doll. It was grotesque.
"This is the power of the Evil God! You see now, don't you?! You can't kill me! Join us—submit to the Eternal One! I can offer you true immortality!"
"Hahahahahaha!!!"
Fugaku studied the half-corpse with curiosity. It was grotesque… but fascinating. If someone dug up his tomb a thousand years from now, would this mouth still be ranting inside? Could there truly be a god that conferred such resilience?
Immortality… through some false god? Fugaku's gaze sharpened. If there is such power in this world, it doesn't belong to that thing. And it certainly won't surpass what Souta will become.
Elsewhere, Namikaze Minato stood in silence, his gaze shifting from the battered Kakuzu to the crater where Fugaku's Susanoo stood triumphant.
Kakuzu was stirring again, body knitting itself together.
These two… they were the so-called immortal duo of the Akatsuki—Kakuzu and Hidan.
The information Uchiha Itachi had shared seemed accurate, but even knowing didn't dull the strangeness of it all. What manner of techniques allowed these men to rise again and again?
Minato's lips curled in thought. Such methods… they're perfect for experimentation.
"These two," he said, speaking aloud now, "they belong in Konoha's labs. Let's take them back, Fugaku. I think someone like Souta would find their abilities... very useful. And if not him, I'm sure someone else will."
Fugaku nodded once. "Agreed."
Minato's fingers twitched, marking the seals for the Flying Thunder God Jutsu. The air shimmered—
Boom!
Kakuzu, just as he stood upright, was blown off his feet again by a Rasengan that bloomed against his chest.
His second heart was gone before he hit the ground.
As that happened, Fugaku moved again, slamming Hidan's scattered remains a few more times for good measure. By now, the madman was little more than a bag of mangled meat—yet he still spoke.
"You fools! You dare insult the Evil God?! He'll curse you both! You'll suffer for this blasphemy!"
His fury was fueled by their earlier conversation. He'd heard the name—Souta—and he couldn't believe what they said. They claimed someone from Konoha was greater than his god? Impossible!
Fugaku crouched beside what remained of Hidan's body. Without a word, he unrolled a sealing scroll and began binding the shredded flesh with chakra-infused ink. The Scroll of Seals shimmered as it absorbed the remains—except for Hidan's still-talking head and mouth.
"You speak of your god as if he's above all," Fugaku said coldly, sealing the last of the mess. "But let me tell you something. Death is not the only power in this world. My friend… Souta Kazuki… has already transcended it once."
"What did you say?" Hidan gasped. "You died once?! That's impossible! Absolutely impossible! Only the Evil God can grant that kind of power!"
"You'd be surprised what kind of strength is hidden in the will of fire," Fugaku said.
Raiga's blood ran strong in Souta. Haruto's resolve still echoed in his son. And now, it was Souta's time to inherit and reshape the shinobi world. Not through blind devotion, but with will, skill, and unshakable purpose.
And none of that would come from an "evil god."