Hidan: The Immortal Butcher of Jashin

Naruto Shippuden is a popular anime series that follows the adventures of Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja who dreams of becoming the Hokage, the leader of his village. Along the way, he faces many enemies and challenges, including the Akatsuki, a mysterious organization that seeks to capture the tailed beasts that reside within certain individuals, such as Naruto himself.

One of the most notorious members of the Akatsuki is Hidan, a sadistic and immortal worshipper of Jashin, a deity that demands blood and destruction. In this article, we will explore Hidan’s background, personality, abilities, and role in the anime Naruto Shippuden.

All about Hidan

• Birthdate: April 2
• Sex: Male
• Age: Part II: 22
• Status: Incapacitated
• Height: Part II: 177.1 cm
• Weight: Part II: 56.8 kg
• Blood type: B
• Classification: S-rank/Missing-nin
• Affiliation: Yugakure/Akatsuki
• Partner: Kakuzu

Hidan’s Background

Hidan is an S-rank missing-nin who defected from Yugakure, the Village Hidden in the Steam. He was born on April 2nd and has a blood type of B. He has silver hair, purple eyes, and a distinctive purple stripe running down his chin. He wears a black cloak with red clouds, a symbol of the Akatsuki, and carries a large triple-bladed scythe as his weapon.

Hidan joined the cult-like faith known as Jashinism, a religion that worships a deity of the same name and where anything less than death and utter destruction is considered a sin. Through experiments with Jashin’s secret technique, Hidan was granted immortality.

He can survive any injury or damage, even if his body parts are severed or destroyed. However, he still feels pain and can die from starvation or dehydration.

Hidan’s immortality also allows him to perform his signature jutsu, the Curse Technique: Death Controlling Possessed Blood. By consuming an opponent’s blood and then drawing Jashin’s triangular-design on the ground, Hidan can create a voodoo doll-like link with his opponent.

Once this link is created, any damage done to Hidan’s body is reflected on his opponent, allowing him to kill them by giving himself fatal injuries. Hidan usually stabs himself in the heart with his scythe while chanting Jashin’s name, resulting in his opponent’s death.

Hidan is partnered with Kakuzu, another immortal member of the Akatsuki who can manipulate his body parts and use multiple elemental attacks. The two have a mutual dislike for each other, often arguing and bickering over trivial matters.

Hidan is annoyed by Kakuzu’s greed and obsession with money, while Kakuzu is irritated by Hidan’s recklessness and stupidity. Despite their differences, they are considered to be the perfect team by their leader, Pain, as they can complement each other’s abilities and weaknesses.

What is Hidan’s personality?

Hidan was a very foul-mouthed and disrespectful young man; he frequently used profanity and complained towards allies and opponents alike, despite being a “highly religious” person. He rarely used honourifics when speaking, and, even then, usually as a form of sarcasm, for example when he called Deidara “Deidara-chan”.

He was the only member of Akatsuki who did not respect their leader, Pain, and openly declared his willingness to kill him around others. The only respect he ever seemed to give was to his god, and, even then, he was quite willing to use his name as an insult and found some of the rituals and practices of his religion to be annoyingly tedious.

He openly held his partner, Kakuzu, in contempt for his habit of blasphemy, love of money, and Kakuzu’s frequent ridicule of Hidan’s religion and battle style.

Despite this, whenever Hidan was in the mood to kill, the two worked together flawlessly in battle, and one can infer that he did care somewhat for his partner, from his panicked reaction when he almost killed Kakuzu while being possessed by Shikamaru’s technique.

Hidan had absolutely no moral restraints regarding the people he killed; he considered slaughter a religious calling, and often took considerable pleasure in making his opponents’ deaths as painful as possible.

He firmly believed that shinobi were meant to kill and revel in violence, and found his village’s deterioration into peace and disarmament to be infuriating, resulting in him slaughtering his neighbours before defecting.

Hidan is sadistic and enjoys torturing his opponents. The amulet around his neck was a symbol of Jashin, and he used it to pray to his god before battling, requesting a good kill, or (when he was not allowed to) for forgiveness.

Given the requirements of his voodoo-like curse ritual, he was quite willing to inflict pain and injuries on himself, and showing a masochist side as he openly relished the shared pain between him and the cursed victim. Despite this, he reacted “normally” (that is, he didn’t enjoy the pain) to being injured by someone else, or when the opponent didn’t share the pain.

Hidan’s behaviour in the anime bordered on insanity he was frequently heard shrieking loudly while attacking, and laughed maniacally when he was about to kill Asuma Sarutobi.

Hidan also appeared to be quite spiteful towards his enemies (and nearly everyone else), even commenting to Shikamaru Nara that “I’ve been waiting for this” (“this” referring to using his ceremony to kill Shikamaru).

However, his immortality had made him arrogant, and he frequently engaged opponents with no regard for strategy, save to acquire some of their blood. Although ridiculed for his foolishness by Kakuzu and Shikamaru alike, being obviously inferior in tactical genius to either of them, and even admitting that he was not very intelligent himself, he was able to analyse the nature and limits of Shikamaru’s Shadow Imitation Technique, and conducted battle accordingly (though he retained his arrogant attitude even under these circumstances).

Interestingly, he seemed to panic when Shikamaru took control of his body, shouting at Kakuzu to do something in a rather frantic voice. He didn’t particularly like it when Kakuzu assisted in his battles, and only called for his help when he decided he needed it.

Kakuzu tended to return the favour by coming in “late” and letting Hidan be wounded (though still alive) as punishment for underestimating his opponents. After his head was reattached, he showed a great hatred towards Asuma. In the anime, after being recreated, Hidan stated that being controlled by Kabuto Yakushi was the worst.

Despite his disrespectful and unlikable mannerisms, Hidan showed genuine respect towards those who showed interest in Jashin, seen as when Hidan eagerly explained the “benefits” about the cult to Ameyuki, and despite being adamant to kill him as another sacrifice, willingly delayed the killing after Ameyuki’s desire to make a sacrifice of his own, and upon witnessing Ameyuki single-handedly destroy Shangri-la, Hidan openly exclaimed that he would celebrate Ameyuki as a martyr.

He also respected other forms of religion to a certain degree, as he disliked the idea of attacking the Fire Temple for the sake of money, condemning Kakuzu as blasphemous for doing so.

What is Hidan’s role in Naruto Shippuden?

Hidan first appears in Naruto Shippuden during the Kazekage Rescue Mission arc. He and Kakuzu are sent by Pain to capture the Two-Tails Jinchuriki Yugito Nii from Kumogakure. They manage to defeat her and take her to one of their hideouts.

Later, they are assigned to capture the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki Naruto Uzumaki from Konohagakure. However, they encounter Team Asuma along the way and engage in a fierce battle with them. Hidan manages to injure Asuma Sarutobi with his scythe and activate his curse technique on him. He then stabs himself in the heart with his scythe while chanting Jashin’s name, killing Asuma instantly.

Hidan and Kakuzu then face the rest of Team Asuma, along with Naruto, Kakashi Hatake, and Team Yamato. Hidan tries to use his curse technique on Shikamaru Nara, who is Asuma’s student and friend, but Shikamaru manages to outsmart him and trap him in a pit of explosive tags. Shikamaru then detonates the tags, blowing up Hidan’s body and severing his head.

Shikamaru then takes Hidan’s head and buries it in a forest that belongs to the Nara clan. He tells Hidan that he will never be found or rescued, and that he will be left to rot in the dark for eternity. He also vows to avenge Asuma’s death and protect his unborn child.

Hidan is later mentioned by Kakuzu, who is reincarnated by Kabuto Yakushi during the Fourth Shinobi World War. Kakuzu takes Hidan’s absence as proof that he is still alive, but trapped somewhere. He also expresses his annoyance with Hidan’s constant complaining and nagging.

Hidan’s Appearance

Hidan has medium-length grey hair that was slicked back and distinctive purple eyes. Before joining the Akatsuki, he wore no shirt, had bandages wrapped around his stomach, wore maroon pants with long, black shinobi sandals (each bearing an attached zipper attached).

After joining the Akatsuki, he remained with no shirt, but bears the organisation’s cloak, which he kept slightly opened, revealing his Yugakure forehead protector around his neck and Jashin amulet; his forehead protector bore a slash across the village symbol, signifying he severed ties with it.

He changes his bottoms to grey pants with matching shinobi sandals. He also wore dark green nail polish and his orange Akatsuki ring on his left index finger, which bears the kanji for “three” (三, san).

When not fighting, he was always seen with his Triple-Bladed Scythe on his back. After his fight with Asuma, Hidan lost part of his left ear and Kakuzu stitched his neck after he was briefly decapitated.

In the Power arc, upon being recreated, Hidan initially lacked clothing, but later wore a black cloak with red lining, similar to the one worn by Kabuto and the reincarnated Akatsuki members at the time.

Rather than the purple eyes of his original self, the recreated Hidan possessed eyes with dark grey sclera and white, snake-like irides. When Kabuto used a talisman to take full control of Hidan, his eyes instead had black sclera and white, pupil-less irides.

Why is Hidan a fan-favorite character?

Hidan is a fan-favorite character for many reasons. Some fans like him for his unique and gruesome abilities, which make him a formidable and terrifying opponent.

Others like him for his humorous and sarcastic personality, which provides comic relief and entertainment in the otherwise dark and serious story. Some fans also admire his loyalty and devotion to his faith, which make him a complex and interesting character.

Hidan is also popular for his interactions and dynamics with other characters, especially Kakuzu. Their constant bickering and banter are amusing and entertaining to watch, as they showcase their contrasting personalities and styles. Their relationship is also intriguing and mysterious, as they seem to hate each other but also depend on each other.

Hidan is a character that stands out from the rest of the Akatsuki, as he is not motivated by power, money, or revenge, but by his religious beliefs.

He is also one of the few members who does not have a tragic or sympathetic backstory, making him more unpredictable and ruthless. He is a character that challenges the morals and values of the protagonists, as he represents a different worldview and ideology.

Hidan is a character that has left a lasting impression on the fans of Naruto Shippuden, as he has been involved in some of the most memorable and emotional scenes in the anime.

He is a character that has shown both the dark and the light side of humanity, as he has been both a cruel killer and a loyal follower. He is a character that has made the fans laugh, cry, hate, and love him. He is Hidan, the immortal butcher of Jashin.

Hidan’s Abilities

Hidan is a very powerful shinobi, whose skills lead to Yugakure choosing to not deal with the S-rank missing-nin, as there wasn’t a ninja in the village that could take him on.

His skills were of a high enough standard to be recruited by Akatsuki, where alongside his partner Kakuzu, he defeated the Two-Tails’ jinchūriki in her Tailed Beast Mode, as well as Asuma, one of the Konohagakure’s top jōnin.

Immortality

As a result of extensive experimenting with the Jashinists’ various techniques, Hidan’s main advantage is his inability to die from virtually all causes, with the exception of malnutrition.

His immortality allows him to survive numerous fatal injuries, and almost any form of dismemberment; he even retained his ability to speak after having his head cut off.

However, his head still needed to be connected to his body in order to control it, requiring Kakuzu to reattach it, and other body parts, when needed.

Even Shikamaru’s attempt to blow Hidan into pieces using hundreds of explosive 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.

This inability to die was the primary reason for Hidan’s partnership with Kakuzu. Since Kakuzu couldn’t kill him, Kakuzu didn’t need to find new partners after his fits of rage. 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 with the greatest example of this being 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, piercing his leg, getting his whole body perforated by Shikamaru’s shadow, stabbing his chest with his retractable spear, having his scythe piercing his abdomen and go through his back, and getting his neck sliced then reattached.

Even his burn scars inflicted by Asuma’s Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning completely vanished a mere couple of days later.

Physical Prowess

In battle, Hidan is shown to be very skilled in bukijutsu. He wielded a Triple-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.

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.

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.

He could also evade a massive fire ball fired at him at point-blank range, which reduced the building he was standing into rubble. He was also shown to be capable of dodging Shikamaru’s Chakra Blade aimed 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 bone and muscle 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. 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.

Despite his arms being severely damaged by Shikamaru’s Shadow Sewing Technique, Hidan was still steadily dual wielding his weapons. Even taking a direct hit from Kakuzu’s Wind Release: Pressure Damage, which hollowed out an entire area, did not leave any visible damage on Hidan’s body.

Jujutsu

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.

Once this link is established, Hidan takes on a Grim Reaper-like appearance, with black skin and white bone-like markings. 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.

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.

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, and then relishing it 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 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.