Chapter 34: Then I'll Be Your God!
Not far away, the silver-haired youth's eyes flashed crimson as he threw all the firewood in his hands to the ground with a crash.
He rushed forward and grabbed Tsukasa by the collar.
Tears welled up in Hidan's eyes as he sniffed hard, his expression one of utter defeat, but his eyes blazed with rage!
He seized Tsukasa by the collar and roared:
"Do you have any idea what you've done?!"
"Didn't we agree to join the Jashin Cult together?!"
"Didn't we agree to build a bright future together?!"
"Why—why are you trampling on my dreams, crushing my will, and destroying everything like it's worthless!"
Hidan's voice gradually cracked, taking on a sobbing tone:
"Why! WHY!"
"Tell me—why is this happening?!"
"I thought we were friends!"
The chill of the early spring breeze blew across his face, while clear moonlight illuminated the mist.
The crackling sound of burning wood echoed from the bonfire.
Hidan lowered his head like a desperate job seeker who'd failed his first interview. While reviewing the reasons for his failure, he'd discovered the cause was a sudden betrayal from a teammate he'd trusted—someone who'd cut the rope just as he was about to achieve his goal.
This was a devastating blow to Hidan, who was already deeply disappointed with Yugakure's inaction and desperately wanted to join the Jashin Cult to restore the Land of Hot Water's former glory.
Tsukasa took a deep breath and gently patted Hidan's hand that gripped his collar.
This was the second time Hidan had saved him.
He could understand Hidan's feelings—it was similar to his own recent attempt to take down three Cloud Village shinobi with a suicide attack, only to be forcibly restrained by some mysterious scroll, leaving him with nothing accomplished.
The same unfulfilled desire, the same crushing despair.
It had left Tsukasa wanting to devour his enemies whole.
Imagine putting on your best suit, spending six months preparing for the perfect job interview, then confidently arriving only to discover the entire company you're interviewing with is being raided by authorities. You return home dejected, and your mother hands you a toilet plunger and tells you to clean the bathroom.
You enter, only to find it's expanded fifty times its normal size—the size of a football field—and overflowing with sewage.
The gap between ideals and reality is truly soul-crushing.
The Land of Hot Water had become that football field of sewage.
And now, the proud Hidan—with no bloodline limit, no powerful ninjutsu, no money, and no political power—didn't even have a proper plunger to work with.
Tsukasa looked directly at Hidan, exhaled deeply, and asked in a serious tone:
"Hidan, do you really want to join the Jashin Cult?"
"Your dream, your will—"
"Is it to become the next 'demigod' who can restore the Land of Hot Water, or do you actually believe in that twisted deity?"
When Hidan heard this, it was as if he'd been struck by lightning. He immediately shouted in fury:
"What could you possibly understand?!"
"Tsukasa—or rather, Uchiha Tsukasa! You're a shinobi from a major nation, a great village, a powerful clan! What could you possibly know?!"
"The Land of Hot Water is sandwiched between superpowers—it has nothing!"
"No sovereignty, no hope, no strength!"
"So we can only rely on Lord Jashin!"
"Pray for His coming to purge everything!"
"Only that way can we save this hopeless land!"
Tsukasa's eyes gradually sharpened as he asked in a low voice:
"So all you want is a future where the Land of Hot Water is saved! Just power sufficient to save your homeland!"
"That's the 'god' you need!"
"Am I right?"
Hidan fell silent for a moment, then shook his head and sneered:
"Even you want to lecture me like my old jonin instructor?"
His eyes turned cold as he looked at Tsukasa, sneering mockingly:
"Uchiha Tsukasa, your words sound so noble!"
"Only a shinobi like you—from a major nation, a great village, a powerful clan—can speak such beautiful words!"
"A bright future, overwhelming strength—what dream-like concepts!"
"But who's going to give that to me?"
"If I don't beg and grovel like a dog, who's going to grant power to someone like me—someone so powerless and helpless with absolutely nothing?"
Tsukasa's eyes darkened. He suddenly reached out, grabbed the brat by the nose with two fingers, and delivered a brutal shoulder throw.
Hidan hadn't expected Tsukasa's sudden move—
THUD!
He was slammed to the ground.
Lying on his back, he looked up at Tsukasa from this position.
Tsukasa's eyes flickered, his scarlet Sharingan suddenly blazing to life.
He leaned down, straddling Hidan on the soft green grass, staring intently at him.
Then Tsukasa's gaze became firm, his tone resolute, as he shouted in a deep voice:
"I'll give it to you!"
"You want power? I can be your power!"
"You want a future? I'll personally create that future!"
"Since you're desperate, helpless, crying in despair, feeling powerless and unable to accomplish anything—"
"Then stand behind me!"
"Stay right behind me and watch carefully as I seize your will and fulfill the dream you've yearned for!"
Tsukasa raised his sword finger and pressed it firmly against Hidan's forehead, shouting in the most determined tone:
"Let me be your god!"
Tsukasa's voice rang out powerfully, striking Hidan's ears like a tolling bell!
Hidan's eyes went vacant, as if those words had brutally torn open old wounds and laid bare his heart.
Then, without realizing it, a single clear tear quietly slid down his cheek and dripped onto the damp earth.
In all his time in the Land of Hot Water, no one had ever acknowledged Hidan's will and dreams with such unwavering conviction!
Everyone would only tell Hidan: Run away, we can't win, it's not our problem, just become the Jashin Cult's dog.
But this man rejected everything!
And he even arrogantly declared he would steal away the dreams that proud Hidan had cherished since childhood!
Tsukasa—he was simply a madman, arrogant beyond all measure!
Hidan opened his mouth, swallowing saliva mixed with tears, and stared at Tsukasa blankly.
He gazed at the black tomoe slowly rotating within those crimson eyes.
Those tomoe seemed to be forged from the strongest will in the world!
Under those mesmerizing eyes, he suddenly felt his throat go dry, his scalp tingle with electricity, and all the denials he could think of became utterly meaningless in that moment.
Finally, he could only ask in a tone of broken defiance:
"Why?"
"You're clearly just a genin! Just an Uchiha with a single-tomoe Sharingan! Just cannon fodder in this world-shaking Third Shinobi World War!"
"What right—WHAT RIGHT—do you have to say such things?!"
Tsukasa frowned, glancing guiltily at the line on his mental status screen that read:
[Employee: Uchiha Tsukasa.]
[Insurance Status: Active.]
He then coughed twice and spoke with conviction—
End of Chapter 34
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