Hidan

Hidan (飛段, Hidan^?) is the foul-mouthed partner of Kakuzu and the second-newest member of Akatsuki.^[12] The first kanji in Hidan's name (飛) stands for hisha, the rook in shogi. Hidan belongs to the Jashin religion, a religion that worships a deity named Jashin and where anything less than utter destruction is considered a sin.^[13] As a part of his religion, Hidan owns a charm with an upside-down triangle inscribed inside a circle that he carries on a chain of beads. Before a battle starts he prays to this charm, asking for nothing short of a kill or, in the event that a target must be captured alive, for forgiveness. Once a battle has begun, Hidan dislikes being interrupted or being forced to stop the fight, and it takes a great deal of persuasion to get him to comply. After battles, should he have time, Hidan performs a thirty-minute ritual in accordance with his religion, which seems to culminate by stabbing himself in the chest and lying upon the ground.^[14]

Hidan is apparently immortal, having been fatally wounded a number of times and even surviving decapitations while still retaining the ability to speak.^[15][16] Although he can survive dismemberment, Hidan needs to be connected to his body in order to control it.^[17] Despite the fact that he cannot die, Hidan openly states before battle that he wishes his opponents will be able to kill him. In battle, Hidan wields a three-bladed scythe that he uses as a projectile while controlling it with a rope wrapped around his wrist. Although he is capable of striking even the most talented of ninja with it, Hidan claims that the scythe makes him the slowest-attacking member of Akatsuki.^[18] The three blades on his scythe are not meant to increase the damage of his attacks, but rather to increase his chances of drawing his opponent's blood. After acquiring some of an opponent's blood and consuming it, Hidan uses his own blood to draw the symbol on his charm on the ground. Once done, Hidan enters the symbol and undergoes a transformation, turning most of his skin black and creating white lines in roughly the same locations as his bones. Combined with his scythe, this transformation gives him the appearance of a Grim Reaper. Once his transformation is complete, Hidan and his opponent are "linked", and any damage done to Hidan is also done to the opponent (akin to a voodoo doll).^[19] While within the symbol, Hidan uses a pike instead of his scythe to do more precise damage to his own body, causing extreme pain to both him and his opponent. Because of his immortality, Hidan is uninhibited by the damage of his attacks and even seems to find pleasure in the pain. After toying with his opponent by giving himself nonlethal injuries, Hidan stabs himself in the chest, fatally injuring the opponent and causing his transformation to reverse. While being a useful technique, Hidan needs to remain within the symbol for the voodoo-like effects to work.^[20] If he does leave, the link still exists and his transformation remains, leaving him to only need to return to the symbol to resume the technique.

Although he is a member of Akatsuki, Hidan dislikes many of the formalities required for the allegiance, particularly being partnered with Kakuzu. Most specifically, he dislikes the fact that Kakuzu fights solely for money. Kakuzu also dislikes their partnership, and has little patience for Hidan's time-consuming battle style and rituals. However, because of Kakuzu's habit of killing all of his former partners and Hidan's immortality, the two remains paired together, as Kakuzu can attack Hidan without needing to get a new partner. This also allows for a combination of efforts between the two, as Hidan can distract enemies while Kakuzu attacks them from a distance without worrying about Hidan's safety. Kakuzu's partnership also serves as a way for Hidan to be repaired in battle, as Kakuzu's threads can sew any part of Hidan's body back into place, allowing the wounds to heal with time. Hidan also doesn't seem to like Pein and openly disrespects him in front of others.^[21]

As Hidan and Kakuzu travel through he Land of Fire, Hidan is forced into battle with Asuma Sarutobi. After forming a link with Asuma and preparing to kill him, Hidan is stopped by Shikamaru Nara. Although Shikamaru is able to break the link and allow Asuma to decapitate Hidan, Hidan is soon able to rejoin his body with Kakuzu's help, reform the link, and kill Asuma. Before Hidan can turn his attention to Shikamaru and the rest of his team, he and Kakuzu are called away by the Akatsuki leader. Once their business is finished, Hidan and Kakuzu set out for Konoha to finish their battle, though along the way they are captured by Shikamaru, who had been waiting for them. Although Kakuzu is able to escape, Shikamaru is able to use his shadow to force Hidan to attack him, although he eventually decides to lead Hidan away so the rest of his team can deal with Kakuzu. Upon reaching his destination, Shikamaru restrains Hidan, covers him in exploding tags, and causes a pit beneath Hidan to break away. Finally having a chance to avenge Asuma's death, Shikamaru lights a cigarette and tosses it at Hidan, causing the exploding tags to detonate. As his remains fall into the pit Hidan promises to kill Shikamaru in any way possible, to which Shikamaru responds by causing the pit to cave in, trapping Hidan beneath the rubble. While his actual status is currently unknown, Akatsuki no longer considers him a member.