A few days later, Shinji returned to the Evil God Cult alongside the mostly healed Hidan.
After that excruciating experience of being cut into pieces and mounted on the wall, Hidan's usual arrogance had finally toned down a bit.
He had also come to realize the limitations of his immortality.
He wanted to become stronger!
Shinji was naturally pleased with this change in Hidan.
That said, don't expect him to say a single kind word.
At most, he would drill Hidan relentlessly every day, peppering his training with verbal "encouragement" so that Hidan could understand Shinji's good intentions.
Something like this…
"Bang, bang, bang…"
"Ah!"
"Stop screaming, or someone outside will think I'm slaughtering pigs."
"Then why are you hitting my face? Are you jealous that I'm better looking than you?"
"Heh. Before I met you, I never judged people by their looks. But after meeting you… I went blind."
Shinji sneered and then beckoned to Hidan, who was sprawled on the ground with a swollen face.
"Get up quickly. Stop playing dead!"
"Didn't you say that once I get stronger, the first thing you'd do is kill me?"
"Then at least show some fight. Give it your all!"
"What, have you mastered the Sleeping Fist and plan to kill me in my dreams?"
Spitting out his frustration, Hidan grit his teeth and got back on his feet, his eyes red as he charged at Shinji with a wild scream.
Two seconds later, a figure shot backward with a whoosh, slamming into the wall with a heavy thud.
"While both gold and shards of glass reflect light, I never expected a piece of glass to crash straight into gold."
"Consider this me begging you—use your brain, will you?"
"You have no advantage in strength or speed, so what makes you think you can just charge head-on?"
"Are you thinking just to make yourself look more impressive?"
Thwack!
Hidan slammed his hand against the ground with force, fire almost shooting from his eyes.
Though he was usually a chatterbox, compared to insulting others, ten Hidans wouldn't even be worthy to tie Shinji's shoes.
Even after all this time, the only insult Hidan had repeatedly hurled at Shinji was a single word: "Bastard."
Pathetic.
Still, after getting back up this time, Hidan had indeed become a little smarter. At least he no longer recklessly charged head-on, looking for pain.
He maneuvered, circled, searched for openings…
Perfect opportunity!
Hidan surged forward.
Hidan fell.
"You couldn't even see such an obvious bait? If I had known, I would have thrown you in with the trash this morning."
"Sigh, it's also my fault for forgetting. I accidentally treated you like a human."
With Shinji's increasingly mocking tone, Hidan's blood boiled even more.
Charge—knockdown.
Get up—fight again—knockdown.
What frustrated Hidan the most was that after each knockdown, he could hear that bastard's sarcastic voice spouting maddening words.
Things like:
"Looks like you're giving it your all, but in reality, you're still worse than me goofing around."
Or:
"Can you stop breathing for a while? Even from here, I can smell the stench of failure."
…
Hidan was enduring not just physical punishment but mental torment as well.
Unconsciously, he began to feel dazed.
In that daze, all the objective elements around him—the walls, the changing light, even that incessant voice—blurred gradually.
All that remained was that bastard.
Focused. Unprecedentedly ultra-focused.
Hidan could finally see every movement Shinji made with clarity and respond correctly.
Immersed in this state, Hidan's irritation vanished, and his mind became exceptionally sharp.
The most noticeable effect of this change was on Shinji, who was acting as his sparring partner!
Without using [Crimson Blood Manipulation], Shinji realized that the long-abused Hidan seemed to have finally "awakened," starting to put immense pressure on him.
Honestly, the speed of this progress was terrifying.
Shinji suddenly went silent and began to give his full effort, doing his best to help Hidan sustain this state and adapt to it.
After a while, exhausted, Hidan stumbled and broke out of that extreme state of focus.
Shinji, however, showed no mercy. With a crisp snap of his fingers, he struck Hidan's forehead, knocking him heavily to the ground once again.
"Ugh…"
Already drained, Hidan was sent reeling, seeing stars, and gagged as he supported himself with his hands.
A few minutes later, Hidan finally caught his breath and staggered to his feet, gritting his teeth: "Again!"
Shinji shook his head. "That's enough for today. I think you've found your own way to get stronger."
Hidan froze for a moment, then recalled that special state.
It was a state of total focus, ignoring everything else, seeing only the enemy.
In that state, his reaction speed reached its absolute limit.
But it also had serious drawbacks.
Not to mention how to enter that state quickly, just the fact that he ignored everything except the target was enough to make Hidan sweat.
What if the enemy has companions?
What if there are traps around?
Still, regardless, this was undoubtedly a good start.
These flaws might be fixable later.
That's why Shinji said what he did to Hidan.
At first, Hidan seriously suspected Shinji only agreed to help him train so he could beat him up at will.
But when he actually gained something from that grueling experience, that thought wavered.
And recalling Shinji's final actions, and the look in his eyes that seemed genuinely happy for him, Hidan's suspicion immediately vanished, replaced by another thought:
"That guy really is a bastard. Did he really have to do it this way?"
Of course, even thinking this, he was still annoyed.
After a brief pause, Hidan lifted his chin. "Too easy. Since you agreed to spar, give it your all. Or are you worried that the genius Hidan might surpass you? Don't worry. When the time comes, Hidan will give you a death worthy of your effort!"
"Heh. You're sure you can handle it? Today I only used one-tenth of my strength for you to get a taste."
Shinji's expression was peculiar.
Hidan froze, but for the sake of pride, stammered: "J-just… bring it on!"
"All right, then it's settled."
Seeing Shinji act so decisively, Hidan instantly regretted speaking so confidently.
But now, it was too late to back down.
Thinking about how he would not only be beaten every day but also constantly mocked made him feel utterly dejected.
Maybe… he should just run away?
Hidan gazed outside, deep in thought.