"Don't be nervous. I have very important information here, and I'm giving it to you for free."
Makoto's gaze returned to Kurotsuchi, though he glanced back at Onoki incidentally.
"What information?"
Kurotsuchi looked tense, her hands hovering, ready to form seals at any moment.
Her mind raced with the clichés she'd seen in bad novels.
'—I want to borrow something from you. —What thing? —Your head! —I have free information. —What information? —We're going to invade Iwagakure!'
Ignoring Kurotsuchi's wild internal monologue, Makoto spoke directly.
"There is a rogue ninja from Yugakure in our organization who follows the Cult of Jashin. His ability is a Forbidden Jutsu called Curse Technique: Death Controlling Possessed Blood."
"The effect of this technique is terrifyingly simple. As long as he obtains the enemy's blood, he can activate a curse link. Once linked, any damage he inflicts upon himself is reflected directly onto the enemy."
"Moreover," Makoto added calmly, "Hidan himself possesses an immortal body. You can pierce his heart or decapitate him, and he won't die. But his victim will."
"There's such a crazy technique?!" Kurotsuchi shuddered upon hearing the description. "Is it real?"
"We did have intelligence reports about a serial killer appearing in Yugakure," Onoki's gravelly voice came from the side.
"Victims were found surrounded by strange circular and triangular patterns drawn in blood."
"Yugakure requested our support. But by the time our ANBU arrived, the killer had already disappeared," Onoki narrowed his eyes. "So, he was recruited by your organization?"
"It's true?" Kurotsuchi was astonished.
Her grandfather's words confirmed the monster was real.
But Onoki didn't care about his granddaughter's shock, nor did he have the focus to keep monitoring Deidara in the cave.
Using his Light-Weight Rock Technique, he floated directly to Kurotsuchi's side, facing Makoto.
"If what you say is true, this forbidden technique is indeed a nightmare," Onoki analyzed sharply.
"But its most frightening aspect is the element of surprise."
"In battles between ninja, injuries are unavoidable. Even when there's a huge power gap, the stronger party might get careless, get scratched, shed a few drops of blood..."
"If this forbidden technique were used at that exact moment, it would be fatal."
Onoki glared at Makoto. "So why? Why deliberately tell us this information? You're giving away your greatest advantage! You must have a purpose!"
Sometimes, having too much combat experience makes a person paranoid.
Makoto revealing Hidan's ability was so illogical that it set off every alarm bell in Onoki's mind.
He felt it concealed some earth-shattering conspiracy!
"The objective is simple," Makoto smiled. "Deterrence."
"Deterrence?" Onoki repeated the word to himself, chewing on the meaning.
"Exactly. Deterrence," Makoto explained considerately. "Just as I told your granddaughter, our organization loves peace. Since we love peace, we naturally don't wish to achieve our goals through violence. If we can achieve deterrence and make our opponents back down voluntarily, isn't that a win-win scenario?"
"Are you trying to emulate the Yellow Flash of the past?" Onoki sneered.
Hearing Makoto's logic, Onoki instantly recalled the man who forced other villages to issue a "Run on Sight" order—Namikaze Minato.
"The Flying Thunder God is indeed terrifying," Makoto mused, stroking his chin. "If Namikaze Minato wasn't such an upright gentleman... imagine if he had left a marker on you, Tsuchikage-sama, or your son. He could have used the Flying Thunder God to visit your bedroom every midnight."
Makoto looked at Kurotsuchi. "If that had happened, Kurotsuchi-san hair would probably be yellow by now."
"You...!" Onoki turned purple.
He was so angry he couldn't speak properly.
"ARGH—!"
A sudden, blood-curdling scream tore through the canyon, drawing everyone's attention.
"Chun," the Iwa-nin who had attacked Makoto with the exploding kunai earlier, was clutching his right shoulder in agony.
His entire right arm was gone.
From the commotion below, it looked like it had been violently twisted off by an invisible force.
"What is this?!" Onoki's eyes widened in shock.
"To achieve deterrence, I know mere words aren't enough," Makoto said coldly. "Since one of you voluntarily stepped forward to try and kill me, I believe he must have been prepared to be killed in return, right?"
Makoto snapped his fingers in the direction of Chun.
CRACK.
Chun's right leg abruptly snapped backward. Blood splattered, staining a section of the rock wall red.
"AHHHH!"
After losing his leg, Chun could no longer endure the intense pain and terror.
The chakra at the sole of his remaining foot failed. He couldn't hold onto the steep rock wall anymore.
He plummeted straight down.
SPLAT.
He hit the canyon floor and he died instantly from the fall.
Makoto watched impassively.
Who knows what happens if Hidan's target dies from a fall before the ritual is finished?
"Is this what you call loving peace?!" Kurotsuchi shouted, looking at the bloody mess below.
She glared at Makoto with hatred.
"Isn't this loving peace enough?" Makoto countered. "They say those who carry sharp weapons are prone to killing. I merely eliminated someone who wanted to kill me. What's wrong with that?"
"As the old saying goes: 'It's better to resolve a feud than to prolong it.'"
Makoto leaned forward. "Meaning, when you encounter an enemy, don't think about befriending them—you must eliminate them immediately. That resolves the feud."
"If you find this unbearable and want to accuse me of cruelty, then give me a few names. Or I'll randomly pick a few from your troops down there, and let you..."
"ENOUGH!" Onoki roared, interrupting Makoto.
Makoto's dominance reminded Onoki of the nightmare of his life: Uchiha Madara.
A being with absolute power who did not kill them, but toyed with them.
All these years, Onoki had wondered why Madara let them live.
Onoki quickly shook his head, dismissing the thought.
No.
This opponent is merely cunning. He lacks the absolute power of Uchiha Madara.
"Did Chun fight you before?" Onoki demanded. "Did you obtain his blood then?"
"No need for probing, old man," Makoto chuckled. "If we only had his blood, what kind of deterrence would that be?"
"Moreover, every member of our organization possesses at least Deidara's level of strength. Do you really think a grunt like Chun could survive an encounter with us long enough for us to collect a sample?"
"You mean..." Onoki's face paled. "Who else?"
Onoki floated there, unwilling to voice the speculation in his head.
"For example," Makoto pointed a finger. "You, Tsuchikage-sama."
"Impossible!" Onoki immediately denied it. "Not only have I never fought any of you, but even if I were injured in battles with other shinobi, it was years ago! That blood is long gone!"
"HAHAHAHA! Old man, you'd never guess! Un!"
Suddenly, Deidara's arrogant, chaotic laughter echoed from the cave behind them.
"You might not get injured in battle, but you have HEMORRHOIDS! They bleed frequently! It was so easy to collect, un!"
"..."
"..."
Hearing Deidara's laughter, both Onoki and Kurotsuchi were surprised.
During Makoto's conversation with Konan earlier, they had assumed Deidara had escaped.
They didn't expect him to still be there, silently listening.
But after the laughter subsided, they had no time to dwell on his presence.
The words registered.
Onoki's face flushed a deep, magnificent crimson.
His expression contorted into pure humiliation—even more twisted than when Makoto made the joke about Minato nightly raids.
Kurotsuchi couldn't help it.
She burst out laughing.
But after her laughter faded, a horrific realization hit her.
'Wait the hell up.'
'If the old man's... hemorrhoid blood... could be obtained to perform the Curse Ritual...'
'Then what about me?'
'Oh no. It can't be...'
Kurotsuchi looked at Makoto in sheer horror as her hand instinctively went to her stomach.
"You people are monsters!" she screamed.