Orochimaru finally collected himself from the shock. After carefully choosing his words, he said, "After the first blessing, I felt my strength increased by fifty percent compared to my original state. With the second blessing, it felt like my power doubled. Overall, the experiment was very successful. Congratulations, Naruto-kun, for developing yet another powerful blessing."
"That much of an increase? Then it's definitely a success."
Naruto replied, clearly pleased.
Unlike Kisame, who always just shouted 'What the hell!', Orochimaru's rough estimates gave Naruto a more tangible sense of progress.
'As expected of a scientific researcher, he is articulate and precise.'
"Naruto-kun, there's something I've always been curious about."
Orochimaru spoke.
Naruto immediately became interested, "Oh? You're actually curious about something? Tell me, what is it?"
Orochimaru chuckled and said, "I've always wondered what your brain looks like. How can you be so endlessly innovative, constantly coming up with such bizarre yet effective abilities?"
"Get lost! Instead of thinking about nonsense like that, why don't you focus on your own research? I'm leaving."
As soon as he finished speaking, Naruto flickered away in a flash of golden light, using the Flying Thunder God's mark he had left on Itachi to teleport away.
The night passed uneventfully, and by early dawn, Naruto's group departed Otogakure, heading toward the Land of Hot Water.
Before leaving, Naruto repeatedly instructed Orochimaru, "Orochimaru, you must make sure your clone protects Wartortle at all costs!"
Itachi also repeatedly warned, "Orochimaru, you must ensure Sasuke's safety!"
"Don't worry, they won't die." Orochimaru replied curtly.
While his response was straightforward, it left Naruto and Itachi momentarily speechless.
As frustrating as it was, they couldn't really argue with him. After all, if Orochimaru constantly shielded Sasuke and Wartortle from danger, they would become sheltered and weak, unable to grow. Only by facing repeated life-threatening challenges could they mature quickly. In short, Orochimaru's assurance that they wouldn't die wasn't unreasonable.
The Land of Rice Fields (Land of Sound) wasn't particularly large, and since Naruto's group took the most direct route, traveling in a straight line, by midday, they reached the border of the Land of Hot Water.
Another hour passed, and the system prompt sounded in Naruto's mind.
[It is detected that the host has stayed in the Land of Hot Water for one hour. Sign-in successful. Reward: Water Release Resistance.]
[Water Release Resistance: Passive ability. Enhances the host's resistance to Water Release techniques, reducing damage by half.]
After reading the description, Naruto nodded slightly.
'An ability that boosted resistance was quite decent. As expected from the peaceful Land of Hot Water, the reward was similarly serene.'
'Huh?'
'Wait!'
'System-sama, if the Land of Hot Water had a sign-in reward, why didn't the Land of Rice Fields have one?' Naruto asked the system in his heart.
[Friendly Reminder: Modifying the Rumble-Rumble Fruit consumed one sign-in reward. The reward from the Land of Rice Fields sign-in was used up for this purpose.]
After hearing this explanation, Naruto sighed, 'There really was no such thing as a free lunch.'
For the sake of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, not only did he end up with a powerful enemy like Enel, but he also missed out on a check-in reward.
However, this also indirectly shows the value of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit. Thinking of becoming the Thunder God who controls thunder and lightning in the future, Naruto's mood lightened slightly.
'Forget it, what's done is done. Regretting it now won't change anything.'
Naruto thought so in his heart as he descended from the sky to rejoin his group.
"By the way," Naruto said, "I remember the Land of Hot Water is Hidan's hometown. Hidan, how about you lead the way and show us around?"
Naruto suggested.
With war no longer a concern, the Land of Hot Water had downsized its Shinobi Village's combat forces. After all, the people of this land didn't rely on military might to prosper.
As its name suggested, the Land of Hot Water was abundant in natural hot springs. Coupled with its rich natural resources, it naturally evolved into a tourist destination, earning its title as 'The Land That Forgot War'.
When Naruto followed Jiraiya to the hot springs, he heard him repeatedly praised the Land of Hot Water as a wonderful place.
Now, Naruto thought it would be a good opportunity to enjoy the scenery and refresh his mind.
Of course, if there happened to be beautiful women in the hot springs, he wouldn't mind 'training overtime'.
"What's there to see in this disgusting, pathetic dump?"
Hidan snorted.
Hearing this, Naruto finally noticed Hidan's simmering hostility.
Naruto then recalled that Hidan, being deeply obsessed with battle, joined the Jashin cult because of his bloodlust. The cult required sacrifices, and Hidan had slaughtered the peace-loving Yugakure before becoming a Missing-nin.
It was similar to Frieza's predicament in Dragon Ball. While others' hells were filled with bloody carnage and torture, Frieza's hell was a paradise of serene beauty, laughter, and joy, which is more heavenly than heaven itself.
In short, the peaceful Land of Hot Water was a living hell for someone like Hidan, who thrived on conflict.
Asking Hidan to guide them around this tranquil place was no different from torturing him or, metaphorically, feeding him shit.
After a brief silence, Naruto quipped, "Hidan, it seems your faith is pretty weak after all. No wonder Jashin doesn't favor you."
"What do you mean by that?" Hidan scowled. "My devotion to Jashin-sama is so deep that I would gladly give my life for him!"
Seeing Hidan's agitation, Naruto smirked, "Don't forget, my Sharingan lets me see both your past and future. In the future, you betray Jashin. I suspect Jashin, with his foresight, knows this too. That's why you've been cast aside from the start."
"That's impossible! I would never betray Jashin-sama! You're talking nonsense!" Hidan was completely enraged, and at the same time, a strong sense of uneasiness arose in his heart.
Naruto chuckled and said, "Looking into your past, I saw how much you craved battle and despised the pacifist villagers of Yugakure. The newly emerging Jashin cult, with its doctrine of slaughtering everyone around you, aligned perfectly with your desires. That's why you started worshiping Jashin and became a Missing-nin."
"That was indeed my past. But so what?" Hidan's unease grew stronger.
Naruto smiled as he continued, "If you were truly loyal to the Jashin, why join the Akatsuki? Just to create more bloodshed? Don't kid yourself. You could've achieved that within the Jashin cult. And yet, before I met you, I had never even heard of the Jashin cult. Do you know what that implies?"
"What does it imply?" Hidan's gaze faltered.
Noticing this, Naruto became even more confident in his analysis, and chuckled softly, "It's not just an implication… I saw it in your past. Aside from a few lucky survivors, you massacred most of the Jashin cult's members."
"That's because the Jashin cult's doctrine demands killing everyone around us! I did it for Jashin-sama." Hidan tried to defend himself.
"Pfft!"
Hearing this, Kisame burst into laughter, unable to hold back anymore.
"Sorry, I just couldn't help it," Kisame said, trying to stifle his chuckles, though he only laughed harder.
"What's so funny?! What's there to laugh about?" Hidan snapped, clearly furious.
Kisame laughed openly and said, "You're just a fool, and a pitiful one at that. You keep claiming you did it for your so-called Jashin-sama, but you killed his followers. All you've done is ensure there are fewer believers in this so-called Jashin. If I were Jashin, I wouldn't bother with you either."
Itachi gave a slight nod and added in his usual calm tone, "Even Kisame can figure out this simple truth. Hidan, have you really never thought about it? In my view, from the very beginning, your obsession was with fighting. It had nothing to do with the Jashin cult. You just used its doctrine as an excuse to justify meaningless slaughter."
Kakuzu chimed in with his own agreement, "He's right."