Five days later, Hidan, whose spirit had suffered severe damage, slowly opened his eyes.
"Hmm. Where am I?"
The moment he woke up, Hidan felt the surroundings spinning. The aftereffects of the ocular technique Ryun used on him had not completely faded, leaving his whole head feeling foggy and extremely uncomfortable.
"Ugh. My head hurts so much."
Hidan originally wanted to raise his hand to hold his head, but the next moment he was shocked to find he could not control his arms.
"Huh? What is going on."
His arms had been reattached, and even the broken bones in his legs had been healed, but he found he could not command his limbs at all.
"Well, look who finally decided to wake up." Kakuzu held a stack of bills, smirking at Hidan on the bed.
"Did you reattach my limbs? You are not so bad. But what is wrong with my body? Why does it not listen to me? Hey. Did you put the arms and legs on backwards."
Right now, Hidan could not even crane his neck to look at his own limbs, he was just like a vegetable.
"I did reattach your arms, but your injuries were treated personally by Lord Dragon God. The reason you cannot move is because a certain immobilizing sealing technique was placed on your body. The level of this seal is very high, I cannot understand it at all, so do not expect me to remove it for you."
Kakuzu explained all of Hidan's confusion in one go.
"That damned pretty boy. He broke my limbs, reattached them, and now he plants these strange seals on me. What does that bastard even want to do." Hidan roared, his face full of frustration.
"Stop yelling, or I will sew your mouth shut with a needle." Kakuzu warned with a stern face.
"Kakuzu. Big brother. What does that bastard actually want." With his personal freedom so completely restricted, Hidan had no choice but to soften his attitude towards Kakuzu slightly.
"If you just submit to Lord Dragon God, nothing will happen, no one wants to do anything to you. Besides, you brought this on yourself with your big mouth the moment you met him. It is pretty good that you are not dead and he even bothered to heal your injuries." Kakuzu retorted, rolling his eyes.
"Didn't you guys say the Sound Village has an existence that rivals the Evil God? I saw he was tall and thin, with pale, reddish skin like a woman. Saying he can rival Lord Evil God is an insult to Lord Evil God."
Hidan was still being stubborn, he did not feel he had done anything wrong.
In his eyes, beauty was about being domineering and ferocious, just like Lord Evil God. Ryun, in his eyes, looked like a woman, nothing like a god.
"Also, I am from the Jashin Cult, I believe in the great Jashin. You want me to submit to some Dragon God. Isn't that making me betray my faith." Hidan grew more agitated as he spoke.
"Stop with all that nonsense. From now on, just do whatever Lord Dragon God says. Isn't that simple enough." Kakuzu said casually while counting his money.
"You money obsessed bastard, do you even know what faith is? For me, there can only be one god, the great and supreme Jashin." Hidan's face was full of determination.
"Faith? My faith is money. Lord Dragon God is powerful and generous with his money, so of course I am willing to work for him."
"Tch." Hidan's face showed disdain.
Just as the two were talking, Ryun's figure silently appeared in front of Kakuzu, making Kakuzu jump in fright.
"Lord Dragon God."
"Hmm."
Ryun nodded to him, then turned his gaze towards Hidan on the bed.
"Since you are awake, make your choice. Submit or not."
"I will only ever be loyal to Jashin. I do not believe in any other random gods, and I will never submit." Hidan was still stubborn, his mouth as hard as ever.
If Ryun did not hold the title of 'God', perhaps Hidan would have gone along with him and served him. But in the Land of Hot Water, he had seen people worshipping the Illusory Sun Dragon God, a symbol of peace, in their homes. He could not betray Lord Jashin by obeying another deity. This was a matter of his faith.
"One after another, so troublesome."
Ryun could not help but rub his temples.
"Fine then. I will not interfere with your Jashin Cult, I will not hinder you from spreading its teachings, and I will not stop you from believing in Jashin. Just work under me. Like them, acknowledge me as your boss."
Ryun felt he was being very reasonable, but the next moment, he was met with Hidan's merciless refusal.
"I will not work for you. You bastard, you broke my limbs, you stepped on my head. I have not settled that score with you yet."
Hidan was not only hard headed, he was also a bit slow. He did not understand his current situation at all, he only knew how to be stubborn.
"Alright, alright, alright."
Ryun was actually amused by this brat's attitude.
"Kakuzu, do you know where the public toilets in Otogakure are?"
"That. I know." Kakuzu was silent for a moment, then nodded decisively.
"Good. Go right now and shove this guy's head into the latrine pit. Today, I will make him understand the consequences of defying me."
Ryun let out a fierce laugh, then with a chop of his hand, he cleanly severed Hidan's head.
"Following Jashin only gets you a meal of shit and piss. Let us see how long you can last, and whether that damned Jashin dares to come save you."
Since Hidan had an immortal body that could not be killed, Ryun would shove his head into a cesspit, leaving it there until the maggots in the toilet ate away his flesh and skin, until he died completely.
"Hey. Hey! Bas, bastard, let us talk this over properly."
Seeing Kakuzu pick up his head and about to walk out, Hidan immediately panicked.
"Wai, wait a minute. I submit, I will submit, alright."
Hidan suddenly screamed. The thought of his immortal self being forever submerged in a pit of feces made him instantly feel that all matters of principle were not really problems anymore.
Kakuzu held the head, standing in place waiting for Ryun's instruction.
"Really submitting, or just pretending? Do not force yourself, you little brat." Ryun looked at him with a smile.
Hidan cursed eighteen generations of Ryun's ancestors in his heart, but forced a smile onto his face. "Not forced at all. Working for the boss is what I should do."
"Hmph. Reattach his head."
Seeing that Hidan was completely subdued, Ryun formed a few hand seals. The sealing restraints on Hidan's body fully retracted and silently flowed into his body.
This was a method to control him. Hidan probably was not truly convinced yet, so Ryun could not just give him his freedom so easily.
"Next, you will go with Kakuzu and Sasori to the Akatsuki organization. The three of you will remain there, lying low and keeping silent. Also, if Kisame Hoshigaki dares to leak secrets, then you can contact me directly."
Ryun gave orders to the two of them. He thought Kisame Hoshigaki probably would not dare to reveal his plans. Of course, if the other really had a death wish, Ryun would not mind personally stepping in to crush him.
"Understood."
Not long after, the 'Souten of Akatsuki' was successfully in place.
The 'Kūchin of Akatsuki' ring temporarily fell into the hands of the masked Obito. Currently, only the 'Seiryū of Akatsuki' position remained unfilled among the Akatsuki members.