Chapter 350: Obito and Hidan, Lost Brothers in Despair!

On the other side, the Land of Snow.

In the Akatsuki’s headquarters, as space warped, Obito appeared inside a cave.

His face was twisted in fury, his whole body trembling with rage.

“Damn it, how is this possible?”

“What right does Uchiha Jin have to be so strong? He even defeated Uchiha Madara and sealed him so easily.”

“And—Kurotsugi!”

“That guy was always a master at escaping, yet he got caught by Uchiha Jin this time too.”

“Both of them were captured. Nagato and the others defected to the Hidden Leaf. What should I do now?”

“What about the Moon Eye Plan?”

“I’m the only one left—how am I supposed to collect the Tailed Beasts?”

“Without the Rinnegan, how can I cast Infinite Tsukuyomi?”

“Nagato is now in the Hidden Leaf, and Uchiha Jin has awakened the Rinnegan. I’m sure the moment I show up there, Jin will detect me.”

“….”

Obito couldn’t help muttering to himself, furious yet terrified.

But, more than that…

It was confusion.

Yes.

He was merely a pawn manipulated by Madara and Kurotsugi; all his former bravado was hollow—even the Akatsuki was founded by Nagato and the other two.

In essence, Obito was still the same Xian Er from before.

He had merely been pushed along before, but now that Madara and Kurotsugi had been captured and the Akatsuki had effectively collapsed, he truly didn’t know what to do next.

No choice!

What Obito faced now was an empty shell.

Most of the Akatsuki had joined the Hidden Leaf, Madara and Kurotsugi were sealed, even the Outer Path Samsara Tree had been summoned away by Nagato, and the eight Tailed Beasts previously captured by the Akatsuki had all fallen into the Hidden Leaf’s hands.

Now a lone commander with no followers, Obito had not even one person to advise him; with his intelligence, even if he wanted to rebuild the Akatsuki, he had no idea where to find rogue ninjas to join him.

At that moment, Hidan walked in, carrying his twin scythes.

“Madara, Itachi’re here!”

“Do Itachi know where Nagato and the others went?”

“I searched everywhere, but couldn’t find anyone.”

“Even Kakuza seems to have vanished suddenly.”

“Have Itachi seen them?”

Looking at the empty hall, Hidan couldn’t help asking.

He, too, was utterly lost.

After all, just two days ago, everyone was still here in the Land of Snow, and he and Kakuza were on missions together—then he woke up to find Kakuza gone.

After wandering the Akatsuki headquarters and realizing none of his comrades remained, how could he not be stunned?

So.

Seeing Obito now, Hidan felt a flicker of relief.

Obito: “…”

Seeing Hidan’s equally bewildered face, Obito felt a vein throb on his temple.

No choice!

The one difference between him and Hidan was that at least he knew the others in the Akatsuki had all joined the Hidden Leaf.

So.

This Hidan before him was clearly abandoned.

For a moment,

He felt a strange sense of kinship with a fellow sufferer—but Obito quickly suppressed the thought, since his situation was still somewhat different from Hidan’s.

He and Nagato had always been separate factions; Nagato not recruiting him was understandable, since he was never Nagato’s subordinate to begin with.

But what about Hidan?

He was merely an ordinary member. Nagato left without even trying to bring him along—proof the man didn’t value him at all.

Now the question arose:

If Nagato discarded him like trash, why should Obito bother trying to recruit him?

But, sigh!

It seemed he had no right to be picky now. After a long, weary sigh, Obito spoke in a cold tone: “Everyone’s gone. It’s just Itachi and me now.”

“Nagato and the rest have all defected to the Hidden Leaf.”

What?

Hearing this, Hidan’s mind went blank.

Gone?

Nagato and the others defected to the Hidden Leaf? Now the Akatsuki was just the two of them?

Are Itachi kidding?

But seeing Obito’s icy aura, Hidan, though unwilling to accept it, could only nod.

“Damn it! Bastards!”

“Did they all just run off without even telling anyone?”

“Why didn’t anyone tell me? I never said I wouldn’t join the Hidden Leaf!”

“Uh, Madara…”

“What are Itachi planning to do next? Are Itachi going to join the Hidden Leaf too?”

Hidan asked, his eyes filled with confusion.

And to this,

Obito erupted in fury: “Who the hell wants to join the damn Hidden Leaf? I’m carrying out the Moon Eye Plan!”

“The Hidden Leaf is the enemy!”

“I will reclaim the Rinnegan and the Outer Path Samsara Tree—only then can Infinite Tsukuyomi bring ultimate peace to the ninja world!”

Hearing this, Hidan finally relaxed.

He knew he could never join the Hidden Leaf—he worshipped the Evil God and needed to constantly offer sacrifices to Him, something the Hidden Leaf would never tolerate.

He had feared that if Obito joined the Hidden Leaf, he’d have to roam the ninja world alone to find sacrifices for the Evil God—but now Obito had said this.

“That’s good then.”

“Since I’ve got nothing else to do, as long as Itachi don’t stop me from offering sacrifices to the Evil God, I’ll follow Itachi from now on.”

“What’s our next mission?”

“Tell me.”

Hidan spoke eagerly.

Clearly,

Having grown somewhat accustomed to Akatsuki operations, he had no idea what to do if forced back to acting alone.

So, whatever.

As long as he could find sacrifices for the Evil God during missions, he didn’t care who he worked for—that’s why he immediately decided to stick with Obito.

Meanwhile,

Hearing this, Obito was utterly stunned.

Follow me?

Hidan was a weakling; taking him in felt like picking up Nagato’s discarded trash…

But here’s the problem:

As a lone commander with no one else, he had no right to be choosy.

Still,

Even if he took Hidan in, what could they possibly do next?

Nagato had taken the Outer Path Samsara Tree and the Rinnegan with him; neither he nor Hidan had the strength to storm the Hidden Leaf and retrieve them.

But what else could he do?

He couldn’t defeat Uchiha Jin—he seemed incapable of doing anything at all.

Improve himself?

He had already hit a ceiling; without new opportunities, his entire life would remain stuck like this.

So.

What exactly should he do next?