Hidan

Hidan (飛段, Hidan) is an S-rank missing-nin who defected from Yugakure and later joined the Akatsuki. There, he was partnered with Kakuzu, despite the two's somewhat mutual dislike of each other. He was also the second newest member of Akatsuki at the time of Tobi's introduction.[2] Kisame Hoshigaki laughingly referred to Hidan and Kakuzu as the Zombie Combo (ゾンビコンビ,Zonbi Konbi).

Background
After Yugakure deteriorated from a shinobi village to a tourist site, Hidan became infuriated with how things were turning out. He believed that the shinobithat resided there were meant to kill, and thus slaughtered his neighbours before leaving Yugakure, and joining the cult-like faith known as Jashin, a religion that worshiped a deity of the same name.[1]The primary teaching of this faith appears to be outright slaughter, where anything less than utter destruction is considered a sin.[4] Through experiments with Jashin's secret technique, Hidan was granted immortality. Eventually, he had become affiliated with the criminal organisation, Akatsuki and after learning that one of its members, Kakuzu was a pioneer in immortality as well[5], he joined and was partnered with Kakuzu.

In the anime, Hidan and Kakuzu met with Sasori and Deidara to discuss their new missions assigned by Akatsuki. After Kakuzu said they had a choice between a money-making mission and a war-mission, he chose the money mission after Sasori and Deidara showed no interest in it, much to Hidan's annoyance.[6] Some time later, the duo was sent to capture the jinchūriki Fū. Fū, who was excited to befriend Kakuzu despite knowing the rogue shinobi's history, baffled Hidan with her carefree disposition.

Like all Akatsuki members, Hidan is shown to be present (in hologram form) at the sealing of the One-Tailed Shukaku. When Zetsu reveals their enemy's presence, Hidan offers to take on Might Guybecause of an apparent failure to capture a jinchūriki, however Kisame offers instead claiming he wanted to get revenge for Guy attacking him three years prior. Pain agrees to this, much to Hidan's annoyance, stating Kisame had the most chakra in all of Akatsuki and was suitable. Later when more enemies approached, Hidan again wanted to, but this time Itachi was selected instead.

Hidan and Kakuzu made their first actual appearance after corneringYugito Nii, the jinchūriki of the Two-Tails, in the sewers of Kumogakure. Initially, Hidan offered Yugito the option of surrender, claiming his faith did not allow him to fight an opponent only to leave them half-dead (for the capture of her tailed beast).[35] Yugito refused his offer, and transformed herself into the Two-Tails, but the Akatsuki duo still managed to defeat her, and gave her to Zetsu, before they continued to the Land of Fire.

Upon arrival in the Land of Fire, Hidan begrudgingly joined Kakuzu in attacking the Fire Temple, so that they could collect the bounty on the head monk, Chiriku.[36] Ultimately, Chiriku and his numerous subordinates were slaughtered, and Hidan repeated his lengthy ritual. Afterwards, Hidan reluctantly travelled with Kakuzu to take the monk's body to the nearest bounty station.

Reaching the bounty station, Hidan opted to stay outside, not liking the fact that the station was hidden inside a lavatory that smelled particularly foul. While he waited for Kakuzu to collect the money, Hidan was ambushed by Asuma Sarutobi, Shikamaru Nara, Kotetsu Hagane, and Izumo Kamizuki. Despite being immobilised, and stabbed in the chest by two large kunai,[18] Hidan asked who the shinobi were while acting as though he did not even register the fatal blows, much to the Konoha group's surprise.

Kakuzu soon arrived, forcing Hidan's assailants to fall back. Instructing Kakuzu to leave the battle to him, Hidan exchanged blows with Asuma, eventually succeeding in obtaining some blood and initiating his curse, right before Asuma used Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning on him, causing Asuma to suffer from third degree burns. Not realising what Hidan had done, Asuma charged, and fell over in pain when Hidan stabbed himself in the leg. As Hidan prepared to kill Asuma, Shikamaru, realising what was going on, again immobilised Hidan, but had difficulty maintaining his hold. While Hidan was momentarily restrained, Shikamaru analysed everything Hidan had said and done up to that point, eventually figuring out the weakness of Hidan's technique.[37] With that epiphany, Shikamaru managed to force Hidan from the safety of his symbol, temporarily releasing Asuma from Hidan's curse.

After cutting Hidan's ear, to ensure he was then freed from the curse, Asuma decapitated Hidan. To the Konoha ninja's horror, the severed head loudly cursed and swore at Asuma for doing so, and then at Kakuzu for not stopping them. Kakuzu casually shrugged this off, as he felt it was Hidan's fault for telling him to not interfere.[14][38] While Asuma and the others stood shocked by Hidan's survival, Kakuzu reattached Hidan's head to his body, again surprising the Konoha ninja. As Kakuzu dealt with Kotetsu and Izumo, Hidan re-entered his symbol, and linked himself once more to Asuma. Hidan swung his scythe at Asuma, only for Asuma to duck and the scythe to bury itself into Hidan's own vital organs. Asuma doubled over with pain, and as Shikamaru rushed to Asuma's aid, Hidan used the opportunity to stab himself through the heart with his spear, which fatally injured Asuma. Asuma coughed up blood, and collapsed, as Hidan smiled enjoyably, with Izumo, Kotetsu and Shikamaru watching in sorrow and horror. Shikamaru loudly swore at Hidan, and charged at him, but collapsed from exhaustion.

Reinforcements from Konoha arrived as Shikamaru collapsed. Although Hidan expressed interest in getting to kill them as well, the Akatsuki leader called him and Kakuzu away. Angry, and promising to kill the Konoha ninja later, Hidan left with Kakuzu to a secluded area, where they spent three days sealing the Two-Tails (and, in the manga, another three days sealing the Three-Tails).

Once the sealing was over, Hidan and Kakuzu headed for Konoha, eager to continue their battle. Along the way, the two were once again ambushed by Shikamaru, the latter having waited for them, this time accompanied by the other remaining members of Team 10. Although Kakuzu managed to escape from Shikamaru's shadow, Hidan was left under Shikamaru's control, and was forced to fight his partner.

When Kakuzu was apparently killed by Kakashi Hatake, Kakashi prepared to finish Hidan as well, but was quickly repelled by a surprisingly alive Kakuzu. Freed from Shikamaru's shadow, due to its inherent time limit, Hidan charged at Kakashi, while Kakuzu fired blasts of elemental attacks at the duo's opponents. Recognising that the two-man Akatsuki team was too powerful as a pair, and needed to be separated, Shikamaru volunteered to draw the immortal away.[39] Hidan, having been trapped by Shikamaru's technique so many times, was determined not to fall prey to it again, and made sure to avoid the shadows. In doing so, Hidan mocked Shikamaru for fighting in a sneaky and distant manner. While focusing on the shadow attacks, Hidan didn't notice Shikamaru suddenly appearing close enough to stun him with a punch to the face. Hidan blocked this with his hand, connecting their shadows and as a result, he was trapped by Shikamaru's shadow, and was led away by him.[40]

Hidan was led towards an area that was surrounded with wire and explosive tags, which Shikamaru had prepared in advance. However, Hidan had no desire to escape, and he attacked Shikamaru when the shadow technique wore off. It appeared as though he had acquired some of Shikamaru's blood. Quickly drawing his symbol and transforming, Hidan seemingly killed Shikamaru. Once Hidan departed, the "fallen" Shikamaru jumped up, still alive, and tried to decapitate Hidan from behind, although failing to make a cut deep enough. Surprised that Shikamaru was alive, Hidan learned he had been tricked into consuming Kakuzu's blood, so he, in effect, destroyed one of Kakuzu's hearts.

As Hidan attempted to kill Shikamaru in retaliation, Hidan was again stopped by Shikamaru's shadow. With Hidan restrained, Shikamarucovered Hidan with the surrounding explosive tags, tying Hidan to the spot. With Hidan unable to move, Shikamaru activated a prepared mark to cause the ground beneath Hidan to break away. He then informed Hidan that the forest that they were in belonged to his clan, and that they would ensure that Hidan remained bound to it for eternity. Finally, having a chance to avenge Asuma's death, Shikamaru lit a cigarette (in the anime, it was changed to Asuma's lighter) and tossed it at Hidan, causing the explosive tags to detonate.[42] Hidan was literally blown to bits. As Hidan's remains fell into the pit below, his detached head promised to kill Shikamaru in any way possible. Shikamaru caused the pit to collapse, trapping the screaming Hidan beneath the rubble.[43]

Though believed dead by Akatsuki,[44] Hidan is in fact alive but is dying slowly from a lack of nutrition.

Superpowers
Hidan is a very powerful S-rank missing-nin whose skills were of a high enough standard to be accepted into Akatsuki. Alongside his partner Kakuzu, he captured the Two-Tails' jinchūriki, Yugito Nii, despite her transforming into her tailed beast. Hidan also defeated Asuma Sarutobi, one of Konoha's top jōnin, using his unique skill set.[11]

As a result of extensive experimenting with the Jashin religion's various techniques, Hidan's main advantage is his inability to die from virtually all causes, with the exception of malnutrition.[12] His immortality allows him to survive numerous fatal injuries,[13] and almost any form of dismemberment; he even retained his ability to speak after having his head cut off.[14] However, his head still needed to be connected to his body in order to control it,[15] requiring Kakuzu to reattach it, and other body parts, when needed.[16] Even Shikamaru's attempt to blow Hidan into pieces using hundreds ofexplosive tags adhered to his entire body only succeeded in decapitating him and damaging his body (after weakening the tendons that Kakuzu used to re-attach his head). Even though he could survive most physical attacks, even ones that actually impaled him, he was still susceptible to pain, which he came to find pleasure in at the expense of his opponents' expense.

This inability to die was the primary reason for Hidan partnership with Kakuzu. Since Kakuzu couldn't kill him, Kakuzu didn't need to find new partners after his fits of rage.[17] Although the two disliked working together, this advantage made them the ideal team. His immortality was exploited by Kakuzu, whose destructive techniques could be utilised to their full extent without fear of harming Hidan (as demonstrated in their combo involving Hidan distracting an opponent with vicious attacks while one of Kakuzu's hearts used Wind Release: Pressure Damage on both targets).

Furthermore, Hidan also has impressive healing abilities, the greatest example of this is how rapidly he healed from numerous physical injuries he underwent during his battle against Asuma and Shikamaru. Mere moments after that battle he had been completely healed from all of his wounds and the damages he was subjected to such as getting his rib cage crushed by two kunai blades,[18]piercing his leg,[19] getting his whole body perforated by Shikamaru's shadow,[20] stabbing his chest with his retractable spear,[21] having his scythe piercing his abdomen and go through his back,[22]and getting his neck sliced then reattached.[23] Even his burnt scars inflicted by Asuma's Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning completely vanished mere days later.

In battle, Hidan is shown to be very skilled in bukijutsu. He wielded aTriple-Bladed Scythe that he used as a short and long-range weapon. Despite its large and dangerous shape, Shikamaru speculated it was intended to draw blood, instead of inflicting fatal damage. He controlled it with a long metal cable that was connected to a coil hidden under his robe. He is exceptionally skilled at wielding it, capable of deflecting a swarm of shuriken thrown at close range. He has also demonstrated tremendous aim and control of where and how it will strike, making it highly difficult for his opponents to predict the weapon's path. The unusual curvilinear trajectory that it took made it even more unpredictable, and Hidan was shown to be capable of causing the scythe to swerve perpendicularly and unexpectedly at a target even though the scythe was quite far from him. However, during his final battle against Kakashi and Team Asuma, the cable was destroyed by an explosive tag attached to a kunai thrown by Shikamaru. Hidan stated that the large size inhibited his attack speed, claiming he was the slowest attacker in Akatsuki.[24]

Nevertheless, Hidan is extremely agile, having tremendous acrobatic prowess and dexterity in avoiding attacks, able to nimbly evade Shikamaru's shadow while skilfully manipulating his scythe in mid-air.[25] Hidan's proficiency in evasion made it impossible for Asuma to land a single blow on him using taijutsu without Hidan being immobilised by Shikamaru's Shadow Imitation Technique.[26] He could also evade a massive fire ball fired at him at point-blank range, which reduced the building he was standing in to rubble. He was also shown to be capable of dodging Shikamaru's Chakra Bladeaimed at him in mid-air, by thrusting his scythe into the trunk of a tree and using it as a stand, halting his fall and making the blade miss by a margin.

Apart from his immortality, Hidan possessed a tremendous level of durability and stamina, enduring massive fatal injuries and battling for considerable periods of time with no signs of fatigue. Moreover, his immortal body's durability is so great that it could withstand virtually any form of damage and still function properly, only dismemberment via cutting was seen to be able to incapacitate him. Hidan is also invulnerable to injuries that should normally maim him despite him being immortal such as bones and muscles damages, as seen when he pierced his own femur during his fight against Asuma. The latter to whom the same damages were also inflicted due to Hidan's curse could hardly stand and was limping by sheer willpower.[27] Another testament to his great durability similar to the latter is the fact that Asuma's Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning could maim his own arm but not Hidan's.[28] Despite his arms being severely damaged by Shikamaru's Shadow Sewing Technique, Hidan was still steadily dual wielding his weapons.[20]

Using his weapon, Hidan makes every attempt to acquire an opponent's blood, where upon consuming it he draws the Jashin symbol on the ground. This process somehow "links" his body with his opponent's.[29]Once this link is established, Hidan takes on a Grim Reaper-like appearance, with black skin and white bone-like markings.[30] In this state, he is essentially a living voodoo doll for his opponent; any damage that is done to him is also inflicted on the opponent.[19] Hidan referred to this as his "curse", and he was fond of toying with his victims by inflicting non-fatal injuries with his retractable spears, while taking obvious pleasure in their shared pain.[31] Once he was done playing with the opponent, or if he wanted to kill them quickly, he impaled himself through the heart killing his opponent in the process,[32] and then relishing in intense satisfaction.

Despite its effectiveness, the curse has many requirements, and can be a slow technique to employ. The curse can be avoided if the opponent happens to know what to look out for, and knows of Hidan's inability to die. The link between Hidan's curse and his opponent could be broken prematurely if Hidan was removed from the symbol;[33] However, Hidan would remain in his transformed state, allowing the curse to be easily re-established by him simply entering the symbol's borders once more.

Jutsu

 * 1) Curse Jutsu: Death Possession Blood

Weapons

 * 1) Retractable Spear
 * 2) Triple-Bladed Scythe

Trivia

 * The first kanji in Hidan's name (飛) stands for hisha, the rook in shōgi. Similarly the first kanji in his partner's name means "bishop".
 * Hidan's Jashin amulet appears with the point of the triangle pointing upwards in the manga, and pointing down in the anime, but on episode 75, minute 19:05, it appears pointing upwards.
 * Before his début in the manga, a character with no clear similarities to Hidan appears during Akatsuki meetings. It is unknown if this is one of Kakuzu's previous partners or simply an early design for Hidan.[51]
 * Both Hidan's and Kakuzu's faces were on a pair of lanterns in the omake of Naruto: Shippūdenepisode 129, Hidan being to the left and Kakuzu being to the right.
 * In chapter 323 of the manga Hidan's forehead protector was mistakenly depicted with aKonohagakure symbol.[52]
 * According to the databook(s):
 * Hidan's hobby is "Jashinistic" activities.
 * Hidan's favourite food is spare ribs. His least favourite are any kind of vegetable or devotion cuisine.
 * Hidan's desired opponents are heretics.
 * Hidan's favourite words are "massacre" (殺戮, satsuriku) and "Jashinism" ("ジャシン教","Jashin-kyō").
 * Hidan is the only member of Nagato's Akatsuki to have never met Naruto Uzumaki. However, in the anime of Tsunade's Infinite Tsukuyomi dream, Naruto encounters Hidan.