@ghost-kaiju from CuriousCat š±āļø:
āUnpopular Opinion: I don't think Hidan should have been recruited by the Akatsuki, a religious zealot is way too much of a liability (especially with how Jashinism works). I would have loved him as a wildcard, like some kind of anti-hero/anti-villain who simultaneously helps/harms every sides >:Dā
š±: man what a great question
im gonna take a long time to answer this bc it goes deep into my hcs re: how Hidan feels about Konan and Pein in particular and the Akatsuki overall. Pls note that these are just my opinions and they donāt in any way invalidate anyoneās opinions or preferences.
Without even getting into the details of how Jashinism works, where canon is vague, it is true that the Akatsuki was based in Amegakure, where Pein and Konan were worshipped in a quasi-religious dictatorship. Any true man of god would automatically reject the thought of faith and spiritual matters being used to amass political/secular powerāat least in ways that are ingenuine/manipulation. (Well-intentioned theocracies may be tolerated).
Pein made himself into a false god; Konan, just as bad, knowingly supported and bolstered that claim, making herself into the image of an angel and promoting worship of Pein and herself.
I really enjoy that theyāre written like this, but it does spark a lot of antagonism between him and the Ame partnership.
Being a criminal organization, the Akatsuki itself is not the issue, in the eyes of Hidan.
Itās the dishonesty. Itās the manipulation. Itās the blatant abuse of religion to consolidate power.
To Hidan, devout and concerned with destructionā
As the Akatsuki commits crimes under order of Pein and Konan, the hypocrisy of the Amegakure theocracy only becomes more pronounced. Hence, remaining in the Akatsuki for prolonged periods of time will eventually create some sort of cognitive dissonance for Hidanā āhow can I serve these heretics?ā
Once it becomes intolerable, he will leave, and because he cannot be killed, he cannot be silenced. (Except by cutting him into pieces fjdhdjfjfhdjhs)
Konan and Peinās way of doing things is canonically opposed to his way of life. Not even taking into account the Infinite Tsukuyomi plan (which would end free will destroyed and the world being sucked dry by another false goddess), a world of peace ruled by idolators would be.... mmmph, not for him, thanks.
So, recruiting him? A big whoops.
But I donāt think Konan or Pein were thinking of this when they recruited Hidan (or for that matter Kishimoto when he was designing him). It was stated in an interview that Jashinism was supposed to have a bigger role in the original Naruto plot; it may be that in the original, Hidan was meant to defect. Or at the very least burst out of his hole like,
āEy, heathens, itās ya boi!ā
Before wrecking havoc on the world at large lololol
He may help the good guys as a āfuck youā to those that abandoned him. Conversely he may sacrifice the good guys to his god bc thatās just the mood Jashinās in this week. He is a zealot, as you saidāhas no loyalty to anyone but himself and his mission.
TL;DR, for Hidan, loyalty to god supersedes loyalty to a corrupt government any day. ur unpopular opinion is valid ghostie, 10/10 do recommend.