Jashin

After spending some more moments in the meeting room with Samui, Mikoto, Mito, and Karin, Kai decided it was time to move on. A lingering glance toward the people he trusted implicitly was all the farewell he needed. Tayuya accompanied him as they exited the room.

Walking back into the living room, he found Tsunade still by Fū's side, her chakra visibly glowing as it did its work. Fū's condition had visibly improved; she looked more relaxed, as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

Cradling Reina in his arms, Kai approached Tsunade. Despite her clinginess and desire to stay with her father, he transferred her to her mother's arms. As if sensing the shift, Reina giggled the moment he kissed her forehead. Kai then leaned in to give Tsunade a brief, meaningful kiss.

Leaving the house with Tayuya, they encountered Haku and Jugo in the garden. Both immediately fell in line beside him. As they took their position, Kakashi, the newly instated Hokage, walked up to join the congregation.

Kai greeted Kakashi with a nod, straightforward yet layered with meaning. "The Raikage contacted me. Akatsuki's after the Two Tails now. I'm heading over there," Kai stated.

Kakashi's eyes met his for a moment, then he nodded back. "If there's anything you need from Konoha, let me know."

"I will," Kai affirmed. He then turned to Haku and Jugo. "Let's go."

With a flicker of chakra, Kai, Tayuya, Haku, and Jugo materialized in a rocky valley in the Land of Clouds. Kai's senses immediately locked onto the chakra signatures of the Two Tails and the two Akatsuki members. As the ambient energy settled, Kai's eyes focused on a figure standing at a distance—C, a shinobi he had encountered near the Raikage before.

"You can go now. I'll take her with me," Kai told C, his voice devoid of unnecessary sentiment.

C hesitated, as if measuring the words, then gave a respectful bow. "Lord Raikage instructed me to follow your orders. Please, take care of Yugito-san."

C then vanished, leaving Kai alone with Tayuya, Haku, and Jugo. The atmosphere grew still, but the tension remained as thick as ever.

Identifying the Akatsuki members as Hidan and Kisame, Kai turned to Tayuya, Haku, and Jugo. "Kisame is yours, Jugo. Haku, you take Hidan. Tayuya, keep an eye on them. I want to see how much you've improved in the last three years."

Jugo clenched his fists, eyes narrowing. "Understood, Kai."

Haku gave a solemn nod. "I'll do my best."

Tayuya smirked, her flute gripped firmly in her hands. "You won't be disappointed."

As the trio fanned out, Kai took a moment to survey the environment. He sensed no other presences—just the Two Tails and the Akatsuki members. Satisfied, he let his chakra subside to a gentle hum.

Entering the subterranean passageways where Yugito had been fiercely battling Hidan and Kisame, Kai and his team took stock of the situation. Yugito, even in her Two-Tails form, was at a clear disadvantage. She'd already shed a drop of blood, and Hidan was in the middle of setting up one of his dark rituals.

Just as Hidan was about to stab himself in the abdomen, thereby severely weakening Yugito through his mysterious jutsu, he found he couldn't move. Not even a hair. Both he and Kisame locked eyes with Kai and felt a shiver of terror crawl up their spines. Kisame turned to flee, but found his path blocked. With a simple wave of Kai's hand, a barrier had sprung up around them all.

Kai approached Hidan, his eyes studying the rogue ninja's chakra flow. His interest was purely academic; he wanted to understand how Hidan's jutsu functioned. Meanwhile, Yugito, recognizing that the newcomers were allies, let out a silent sigh of relief.

Hidan struggled to speak but managed a sneer. "You think you can decipher it? Jashin-sama's technique isn't something you can copy, bastard!"

Suddenly, a heavy killing intent blanketed the area, directed solely at Hidan. Tayuya's eyes glittered with a murderous coldness as she spoke. "Don't you dare insult Kai, or you won't have a tongue."

Jugo and Haku clenched their fists, their bodies taut with tension. They owed their lives to Kai; the thought of anyone dishonoring him was unacceptable.

Kai, however, remained unfazed, his eyes still locked on Hidan's chakra flow. With keen observation, he discerned that Yugito's blood was acting as a conduit, linking her with Hidan. He turned to look at Yugito, then scoffed.

Hidan's eyes flared with anger. "What are you looking at?"

Ignoring Hidan's outburst, Kai focused on the monstrous entity enveloping Yugito. Dark, writhing tendrils formed a pulsating cocoon around her. The entity was an abomination of shadow and malice, its form defying any simple description.

"Jashin-sama, huh?" Kai muttered under his breath, still more interested in the mechanics of the jutsu than the figure it served.

As if feeling the weight of Kai's gaze, the tendrils around Yugito quivered momentarily before tightening their grip.

Hidan was sweating. For the first time, he felt his unshakable belief in Jashin-sama waver. Ever since he had met the entity years ago, his life had been fundamentally altered. Immortality, the power to summon Jashin-sama, and the twisted satisfaction he derived from his sadistic rituals—it all came from his faith. But now, Kai's unwavering gaze made him question the very foundations of that faith. No one was supposed to see Jashin-sama; how could Kai?

Kai's attention remained fixed on the writhing tendrils surrounding Yugito. He wasn't concerned with Hidan's theatrics or blasphemies. He was unraveling the mechanism behind the technique, his mind moving like a well-oiled machine. Hidan's ritual was disturbing, but at its core, it was just another jutsu—another skill to dissect.

Kai stood in the middle of the subterranean space, his eyes focused on the nexus of energies before him. Yugito's aura was enveloped by the writhing tendrils of Jashin-sama, dark and forbidding, a web of shadow and malice that acted as both prison and conduit. Hidan's own chakra was intermingled with the entity's, creating a metaphysical bridge of sorts. Kai noticed that the linchpin of this nightmarish jutsu was the blood—Yugito's blood—that acted as a unifying agent.

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