Is Hidan really immortal?

He is presented as arguably the only truly immortal character in the manga: he survives beheading and dismemberment. But he feels pain and can be neutralized — Shikamaru ends up burying him alive, in pieces.

How does his curse ritual work?

He must first ingest his target's blood, then draw the symbol of Jashin on the ground with his own blood and stay at the center of the circle. As long as he stays there, everything he inflicts on himself is passed on to the linked person.

How did he kill Asuma Sarutobi?

After collecting Asuma's blood and linking himself to him, he pierces his own heart with his retractable spear; the wound is transferred to Asuma. Beheaded earlier by Asuma, he had survived thanks to his immortality and to Kakuzu.

Shikamaru Nara, to avenge Asuma. He immobilizes him in the forest of the Nara clan, blows him to pieces with explosive tags, then buries his still-living remains at the bottom of a pit.

Why are Hidan and Kakuzu called the "zombie duo"?

Because both of them escape death: Hidan is immortal, Kakuzu survives thanks to his multiple hearts. The nickname was coined by Kisame.

Hidan: The Immortal Ninja of the Akatsuki

July 10, 2026

1215 words | Reading time: 7 min

CharacterAkatsukiHidan

You simply cannot kill him. A rogue ninja from Yugakure and a fanatic of the Jashin cult, Hidan survives beheading and dismemberment alike — but he feels pain perfectly well. This profile breaks down his ritual: the ingested blood, the symbol of Jashin, the three-bladed scythe on a cable and the spear that turns his own wounds against his opponent. Then comes the murder of Asuma, and the revenge of Shikamaru, who buries him alive.

You simply cannot kill him: Hidan is arguably the only truly immortal character in the series. Here is the profile of the Akatsuki fanatic, a follower of the bloody Jashin cult.

The Jashin Fanatic
A One-of-a-Kind Immortality
The Curse Ritual
Asuma's Killer
Defeated by Shikamaru
Summary Table
FAQ

The Jashin Fanatic

Hidan comes from Yugakure, the Hidden Hot Water Village, a former ninja village that had become a peaceful hot spring resort. Convinced that shinobi are made to kill, he could not stand that pacifist turn: he slaughtered some of his own people before deserting and joining the Jashin cult, a deity that preaches the total destruction of all forms of life. Within the Akatsuki, he prays before and after every fight, rosary in hand.

Portrait of Hidan, gray hair slicked back, the red collar of the Akatsuki cloak, a scythe handle behind his back and a metal forehead protector worn around his neck, scored with a horizontal line. — The headband worn around his neck is crossed by a slash: the mark of the rogue ninja he became when he left Yugakure.

A One-of-a-Kind Immortality

Hidan survives beheading and dismemberment alike: his immortality, tied to the experiments of the Jashin cult, is never fully explained. Beware of one common confusion, though: he is neither immune to pain (he even takes masochistic pleasure in it), nor truly invincible. He can be neutralized — you simply cannot make him die.

Two Konoha ninja in green vests drive their blades into Hidan's body from either side; he stays on his feet, arms hanging at his sides, his face impassive. — Run through on both sides, he is still standing: you can wound him and neutralize him, but not kill him.

The Curse Ritual

His signature technique transfers to his target the wounds he inflicts on himself. The ritual requires two conditions: ingesting his opponent's blood, then drawing the symbol of Jashin (an inverted triangle inside a circle) on the ground with his own blood and staying at its center. His skin then takes on a skeletal look. His three-bladed scythe, attached to a long cable, serves only to wound his opponent in order to collect his blood; to run himself through, he uses a separate retractable spear. The flaw in the method: if he steps out of his circle, the link is broken.

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Hidan, his skin turned black and streaked with white like a skeleton, stands at the center of a symbol drawn on the ground: a scythe with three red blades attached to a cable in one hand, a raised black spear in the other. — Two distinct instruments: the scythe is used to wound the opponent and collect his blood, the spear to run himself through.

Asuma's Killer

Facing Team 10 of Konoha, Hidan collects the blood of Asuma Sarutobi and links himself to him. Asuma manages to behead him, but his partner Kakuzu reattaches his head to his body: Hidan then completes his ritual by piercing his own heart, killing Asuma from a distance. The pair he forms with Kakuzu, both of them beyond the reach of death, is nicknamed the "zombie duo".

In a village street, Hidan, his torso marked in black and white, runs a long spear through his own chest, standing at the center of a circle drawn on the ground; several meters away, a Konoha ninja in a green vest has collapsed to his knees against a wall. — The blow he strikes against himself is the one that reaches his target, standing far away.

Defeated by Shikamaru

It is Shikamaru Nara who avenges his master: he lures Hidan into the private forest of the Nara clan, immobilizes him with his Shadow Possession Jutsu, then blows him to pieces with explosive tags. Unable to die, Hidan is buried — still alive, in pieces — at the bottom of a pit that only the Nara clan can reach. In other words: buried alive, for all eternity.

Deep in a dark forest, Hidan is covered in explosive tags stuck all over his body and his cloak, blood at his mouth, taut wires radiating around him; in the foreground, seen from behind, Shikamaru in a Konoha vest holds one of those wires. — Immobilized in the forest of the Nara clan, he is covered with explosive tags before being blown to pieces.

Summary Table

Aspect	Details
Origin	Yugakure (Hidden Hot Water Village), which he deserted after a massacre; follower of Jashin
Distinctive trait	Immortal: survives beheading and dismemberment (but feels pain)
Weapons	Three-bladed scythe on a cable (collects blood) + retractable spear (self-inflicted wounds of the ritual)
Technique	Blood curse: links the target (ingested blood + symbol of Jashin), inflicts his own wounds on them
Final fate	Kills Asuma; defeated by Shikamaru, blown to pieces and buried alive in the Nara forest

FAQ

Is Hidan really immortal?
He is presented as arguably the only truly immortal character in the manga: he survives beheading and dismemberment. But he feels pain and can be neutralized — Shikamaru ends up burying him alive, in pieces.
How does his curse ritual work?
He must first ingest his target's blood, then draw the symbol of Jashin on the ground with his own blood and stay at the center of the circle. As long as he stays there, everything he inflicts on himself is passed on to the linked person.
How did he kill Asuma Sarutobi?
After collecting Asuma's blood and linking himself to him, he pierces his own heart with his retractable spear; the wound is transferred to Asuma. Beheaded earlier by Asuma, he had survived thanks to his immortality and to Kakuzu.
Who defeated Hidan?
Shikamaru Nara, to avenge Asuma. He immobilizes him in the forest of the Nara clan, blows him to pieces with explosive tags, then buries his still-living remains at the bottom of a pit.
Why are Hidan and Kakuzu called the "zombie duo"?
Because both of them escape death: Hidan is immortal, Kakuzu survives thanks to his multiple hearts. The nickname was coined by Kisame.

In summary

A fanatic to the point of madness and impossible to kill, Hidan remains one of the most chilling opponents in Naruto — a man that death itself refused to take.