Summary: Hunting for bounties, Hidan and Kakuzu find themselves in the Valley of Lies. But what is the secret behind this valley…?
“…we’re here,” Hohozuki said, presenting them a steep cliff.
If one were to peek past the cliff, they’d be able to see the running river beneath it. The river had probably formed this cliff over time.
The winds blowing from the valley were strong, and would occasionally bring the water from the beneath the cliff into the forest.
“…there’s no fucking way there’s a village here, dammit!” Hidan yelled without thinking.
“But, there is!” Hohozuki said.
He showed Hidan and Kakuzu the mud balls he was holding, and then threw them as hard as he could towards the opposite mountain.
“What’re ya doing?”
They strained their eyes to follow the little mud balls, and then they hit the opposite mountain… not.
“Holy shit, they disappeared?!”
At the same moment the mud balls were to hit the opposite mountain, they disappeared from sight.
“Pfft, an illusion…” Kakuzu began looking at his surroundings most pointedly, thinking he had it all figured out.
“Hey, Kakuzu, what the hell is doing on, seriously!”
“It would seem that while our guards were down, we got ourselves caught in an illusion. Because of that, the only thing we can see there is a mountain.”
Right then, the strong winds from the valley floors began to rise.
As they were standing at the edge of a cliff, when the water from the river joined in the wind, its mist touched their cheeks. Kakuzu snorted and then whispered to himself, “So this is the source.”
“Will you tell me what the fuck’s going on!?”
“Um, when the river water rises, a fragrance that causes illusions wafts up from the river bed. The fragrance also has a relaxing effect, so it makes you think the forest air is cool and refreshing, rendering you oblivious to the fact that you’re in an illusion.”
Now that he thought about it, the atmosphere in the area did feel almost too perfect. Kakuzu immediately formed a hand seal.
“Release!”
Dispelling the illusion, Kakuzu looked at the mountain once more, and a look of understanding came over his face. “So that’s what it was…”
“Kakuzu! Let me see it too!” Hidan complained almost desperately.
“Release the illusion yourself,” Kakuzu growled, but still did release the illusion for Hidan.
“…whoa…” Hidan gasped at the sight.
There was a gargantuan hole dug in half-way up the mountain, and there were houses lined up in that hole.
There was a strange feel to the place that would make Deidara, another Akatsuki member, who thought of nothing but art, want to bomb it straight away if he were ever to see it.
“The village people call it “Shangri-la”…”
Hohozuki had been so bubbly, but as he looked at the village, his eyes turned dark and muddled. Hidan didn’t really care either way.
“The bounty’s family might be there, huh. What’re we gonna do, Kakuzu. We gon’ kill everyone?”
If Hidan and Kakuzu had each other, they’d face absolutely no trouble destroying a village of that size and scale. But Kakuzu didn’t want that.
“These are quite the special circumstances… We explore the city, find what we’re looking for, and leave with minimal damage.”
“What, can ya follow the scent of money?”
“…more or less.”
Hidan had been ready to go in there guns blazing, but if they were going to have to go undercover instead, he’d have to put off his rituals as well. His mood immediately soured.
“Um, the village people have a firm grasp of who’s who in the village. If you go in there looking like that, you’ll give yourselves away, I think,” Hohozuki said to Kakuzu, sounding worried.
“I suppose that would be the case, since the village is avoiding the public eye…”
“What do we do, Kakuzu.”
Hidan was about to propose simply going in there and killing everyone after all, but then Hohozuki jumped into the conversation with an, “um, well…”.
“If you want, you can use the transformation technique and turn into me. You’d be safe that way,” Hohozuki said, pointing at his own face.
Upon hearing those words, Kakuzu hummed to himself, and then formed hand seals.
Not a hair was out of place; they looked exactly the same. No one would know which was the real one, even if they stood side-by-side.
“Kakuzu, what ‘bout me?”
“You’re not fit for undercover jobs… You wait here.”
Hidan had figured it’d probably be that way. He pouted, bored already.
“Um, the make of the village is pretty complicated, so you’ll get lost if you don’t have a guide. When you enter the village, further back you’ll see a tree pillar. Please make your way there. And then, a friend of mine, “Ameyuki”, should come by. And then—”
Hohozuki squatted down and began gathering dirt, kneading and molding it. In a matter of seconds, he had a large mud ball, and he passed it to Kakuzu.
“If you give this Ameyuki, I think things will go well.”
Kakuzu had no idea what this mud ball was or what it was for, but took it anyway.
“And? Where’s the entrance to the village?”
It appeared that even getting into the village, half-way down the mountain, would be difficult as well.
“You jump.”
A primitive method.
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
“If we made a road into the village, other people would notice it, and it’d be easy for them to invade us, so we didn’t make one. Everyone from the village is a ninja anyway, so they can jump in pretty easily.”
“What, so you’re a ninja too?”
Hohozuki really didn’t look like one, but he rubbed his two dirt-stained hands and nodded repeatedly.
“Hidan, watch over him. I’ll be back.”
If there was no other way into the village, he’d had no choice but to jump. Kakuzu kicked himself off the cliff, taking a giant leap. He took the exact same path as the mud balls Hohozuki had previously thrown at the opposite mountain.
“He’s lived a long time, man, so he’s pretty handy, that Kakuzu.”
Kakuzu landed perfectly, and went straight towards the village, disappearing into the hole without so much as a wave back to them.
“That’s that. Guess I’m on stand-by. This sucks.”
“Um, if you want, could you tell me more about the Jashin faith?” Hohozuki asked, rubbing his neck.
Since joining the Akatsuki, Hidan had been surrounded by atheists. Even if he were to talk about the Jashin faith, his words would fall on deaf ears.
“Well, you leave me no choice! Now, you see, about the Jashin faith—”
“…what unique structures.”
As Hidan went on talking about the Jashin faith, Kakuzu had stepped foot into the village.
Near the village entrance, there were several men who looked as though they were the village’s inhabitants, and they were all making hand seals.
These men were probably the ones applying the illusionary effects to the river waters being blown by the wind. If they were doing this everyday without rest, they were quite the guarded bunch.
You couldn’t tell from the outside, but this hole ran much farther back than one would expect, and there were closely-packed buildings all lined up. It would take a fair amount of time to find someone in a place like this.
The thought of Hidan growing impatient and then going on a rampage ate at Kakuzu, but Hidan could talk about the Jashin faith if that Hohozuki kid was with him, so Kakuzu figured he had a bit more time.
Just slightly further in from the entrance was, as Hohozuki had said, a large tree trunk that acted as a pillar holding the hole open. It was the backbone of the village, basically.
If he stood here, Hohozuki’s friend or whatever should come by. Kakuzu, feeling uneasy and still taking on Hohozuki’s appearance, took an extensive look at his surroundings.
“…Hohozuki.”
Suddenly, he heard a voice from the shadow of the tree calling out to him and approaching him.
When he looked towards the voice, he saw a person with brown skin and silver hair. The person had a sleek physique, and Kakuzu could not tell if it was a boy or a girl. The person was androgynous, no doubt, but Kakuzu believed it was a boy. He appeared to be just slightly older than Hohozuki.
“Ameyuki?”
When Kakuzu called out that name, the boy stopped in his tracks, considering Kakuzu carefully. His line of sight went to the mud ball Kakuzu held. Kakuzu did as Hohozuki said and handed it over. He could feel chakra coming from the mud ball.
The boy took the mud ball, and then crushed it immediately. The chakra that’d been bound inside of it went into the boy’s body.
“…I see. So that’s what this is about.”
Apparently, this mud ball was being used as a tool for communication.
“I understand. I’m Ameyuki… Hohozuki’s friend.”
He bowed his head low.
“I will be your guide,” he said, and then began walking.
Kakuzu couldn’t tell exactly what Hohozuki had said to Ameyuki, but Ameyuki did appear to be very politely entertaining him as a guest.
But, Kakuzu also wasn’t so gullible as to completely trust both Hohozuki and this boy called Ameyuki.
“Do you doubt my sincerity in helping you…?”
Compared to Hidan and Hohozuki, this young boy was pretty good at reading people.
“It’s simple… I have no will of my own… I just continue living, as Hohozuki wishes… When you look deep into me, you see nothing… Yes, that’s right… I am just an empty vessel…”
He was like a living ghost, and the words that poured from his lips were also nothing.
What he said didn’t quite much up with what Hohozuki had told Kakuzu, though, and so Kakuzu asked, “…didn’t Hohozuki say he was only living here because a friend had told him to?”
“Living in the village… That was also by Hohozuki’s will… Because… I am nothing if not Ameyuki…”
Ameyuki’s reply was not an answer. Incomprehensible things were the only things that came out from this boy’s mouth.
“Pay me no mind… Just fulfill your role and find what you’re looking for…”
There was scant light in this cave, which made it look gloomy, but the villagers were coming and going with bright smiles.
“Man, what a peaceful day.”
“Keep looking to the future!”
“Isn’t it wonderful, that we’re all alive today?”
Whenever the villagers met each other, they would say such things.
“…they’re really harping on this peace and happiness thing.”
If he’d brought Hidan along, Hidan would have definitely lost it.
“These are the shared beliefs of the village… Wipe out the past, live in happiness…”
“You think you’re holding true to that?”
“Who knows… Hohozuki’s the only thing I know… I don’t really know him, but…”
“But?”
Ameyuki turned around in silence, and turned his sights on to the lush green forests opposite the cave.
“Hohozuki said he didn’t know the face of the man you guys had killed… I wonder if that’s true… “Shangri-la” or whatever doesn’t exist,” Ameyuki spat, his eyes becoming as muddled as dirt. “This is… the Valley of Lies.”
“…and so ya see, the Jashin faith’s teachings are the best thing ever.”
As Kakuzu investigated “Shangri-la”, Hidan and Hohozuki had returned to the giant tree stump, as Hohozuki had told Hidan that he might once again get caught in the illusion if he were to stay by the cliff side.
Hohozuki got excited at everything Hidan said, and would passionately say things like, “I want to convert even more now!”
“But, uh, hey! Killing is really difficult, right…? I think I’d get killed instead, by the people who wish for peace.”
“Those fuckers won’t be a problem if you kill the whole lot of ‘em. ‘sides, those superficial assholes who talk about peace? They don’t exist,” Hidan sneered, and then continued. “Long ago, I was surrounded by these fucking pacifist atheists. They avoided fights, and were little cowards who were afraid of hurting people. Those assholes are all talk.”
“Really?”
“Damn right,” Hidan said, nodding. “I got fed up with those peace idiots, and, when I bared my fangs at ‘em, you know what they did? They tried to fucking kill me. If they really loved peace and hated fighting, they shoulda just rolled over and died at my mercy, seriously.”
At Hidan’s story, a look of revelation came across Hohozuki’s face. “That’s true,” he agreed.
“Them fuckers were just enforcing their wishes of a safe and secure world without death on other people. When that got threatened, they were all suddenly okay with killing! If you wanna escape the fear of death, then you should just die.”
But that would also be a problem, because if everyone died by their own hands, there’d be no one to offer up as sacrifices to Lord Jashin.
“To save people from the fear of death, we have no choice but to kill them…”
Hohozuki was digesting Hidan’s words with careful thought.
They were both so caught up in talking that neither had realised it was already evening. Was Kakuzu still looking for the bounty’s family?
That greedy bastard never changes, Hidan thought.
“Speaking of which…” Hohozuki spoke up. “Um, thou shalt slaughter thy neighbor… Hidan-san, does that mean you’re going to have to kill Kakuzu-san, too?”
Kakuzu was probably, as Hohozuki implied, the closest person to Hidan right now. But, all Hidan said was, “he ain’t my ‘neighbour’, man.”
“He’s not your neighbour?”
“That friggin’ miser and I are complete opposites. We ain’t nothing like neighbours or whatever.”
As he heard that, Hohozuki’s body started trembling. Then, he nodded, composing himself, as though he’d just received the affirmation he needed.
“That’s right… Hidan-san and… Kakuzu-san… are different… Just like me… and Ameyuki…”
Hohozuki narrowed his eyes, and smiled. He turned his eyes towards the direction of the cliff. “Hey, uh, I think Kakuzu-san will be coming back pretty soon.”
With no time to even ask how he knew, it was as Hohozuki said, and Kakuzu returned. But, he was empty-handed.
“Aw, man. They weren’t there?”
“I looked at all the villagers’ faces, but as far as I saw, I couldn’t pinpoint anyone as the guy’s family.”
If that was the case, that meant they had no more business in this forest. Hidan looked down at the bounty at his feet. He wanted to kill everyone in the village, but if they didn’t cash in this bounty soon, it was gonna decay. After all, just getting out of this forest would take a few days.
“Right then. Let’s get the hell outta this forest,” Hidan said, getting to his feet.
“No… We’ll camp out here tonight. We leave at first light,” Kakuzu said. He still wanted to stay here.
“What!? We got no more fucking business in this forest! This dude’s gonna rot, man!”
Hidan pointed at the corpse to make his point, but Kakuzu simply ignored him and began setting up camp.
“Um, I guess I’ll take my leave as well. I’ll come see you off when you leave tomorrow! See ya!”
Hohozuki bowed, lowering his head, and then ran off towards the cliff.
“…he adores you quite a bit.”
“Just means the teachings of the Jashin faith are awesome, man,” Hidan boasted, puffing his chest out.
This, too, Kakuzu dismissed with nothing more than a hum. He then turned his sight towards the direction of the cliff, to where Hohozuki had run off to, and as he did, he said, “Tomorrow, we’re going to kill that kid and his friend Ameyuki before we leave.”
Those words made Hidan blink a few times.
“Wha? What the hell for?”
“They know too much about us.”
“Well, yeah, duh. But if we were gon’ kill them anyway, shouldn’t we have done so already?
There should’ve been plenty of chances for Kakuzu to kill the kid he’d met in the village, Ameyuki, as well as for Hidan to kill Hohozuki who’d been with him this entire time.
Kakuzu looked at the bounty.
“On the first sweep, I couldn’t find this guy’s family… But, I noticed there were some who appeared restless, roaming around.”
“All over the world, there are people who roam around restlessly, man.”
Hidan didn’t see the need to look too deeply into that.
“That village is unique. Everyone in that village talks about happiness, and anything negative is covered up and hidden away.”
“What the hell. Fucking creepy, that’s what it is.”
“But amongst them, I saw people acting as though they were looking for someone, and they just screamed anxiety.”
“Then ya shoulda just killed them.”
Hidan was getting increasingly confused, and he crossed his arms and tilted his head. Just what was Kakuzu getting at?
“…we’ll take a look at the village tonight. That way, we’ll see this valley for what it really is.”
Hidan didn’t know what Kakuzu’s real intentions were, but he did know that Kakuzu was in high spirits. Maybe he’d had a money-related premonition.
Killing people for money went against the teachings of the Jashin faith, but if Kakuzu was making a move for money, battle was sure to follow.
“…as long as I get to let loose, whatever, man.”
End of Chapter 3