Chapter 40: Bounty Hunters, The Ceremony Begins!
Tsukasa let out a breath and stood up.
He looked around at the three teammates who were about to set off together with him.
The situation felt somewhat surreal.
The genius of Kirigakure, Mei Terumi, who possessed dual Kekkei Genkai and was traveling under the alias 'Tsukimiya Mei.'
The mastermind behind the Sky Ninja Village, Shinnō, who secretly traveled the shinobi world disguised as a wandering doctor.
And there was also a future member of the Akatsuki organization—currently in his wild, untamed form as a Hot Water ninja—Hidan.
This lineup was bizarre no matter how you looked at it.
How in the world did they all end up together?
"Forget it, let's go. Target: the Jashin Cult headquarters."
"Hidan, lead the way!"
At the same time,
In the underground plaza of the Jashin Cult headquarters, not far from the Hot Water capital.
The Jashin Cult's bishop watched the scene before him with cold indifference.
He observed as his followers dragged terrified civilians from the Land of Hot Water, bound them to wooden crosses, piled kindling at their feet, and with twisted grins, pulled awls, chains, and iron spikes from a rack laden with torture instruments—preparing for the grand Jashin ritual that was about to commence.
Suddenly, he felt a wave of absurdity and boredom.
He turned and pulled out a necklace bearing the Jashin Cult's symbol from his pocket, staring at it in a daze for a long moment.
A black-robed cult leader half-knelt behind him and anxiously reported:
"Bishop, the three elite members we sent to retrieve the child have been killed."
"Killed? So be it," the bishop replied with indifference, his face expressionless, as if he were accustomed to such incidents.
He turned his head and glanced at the followers with his pale lavender eyes, then said lightly:
"This country is like this—deaths everywhere, chaos everywhere."
"Hot Water ninja, wandering ninja, samurai, civilians, nobles, even the daimyo—all could be killed inexplicably on any given day."
"Don't you recognize this tragic reality and meaningless era?"
"But, Bishop..." the leader raised his head slightly and asked, "What about the child needed for the ceremony?"
The bishop looked toward the shadows at the side and said lightly:
"Professional matters should be left to professionals."
A bald man with a thick beard stepped out from the darkness, a smile on his face:
"The bishop is correct."
"Our Underground Exchange was created for precisely this purpose."
"Kidnapping, extortion, bounties, intelligence, assassination—even if you wanted to become a noble of this country by tomorrow."
"As long as you can pay the price, we serve you wholeheartedly."
The bishop closed his eyes and asked:
"How long until you bring the person here?"
The bald man smiled slightly with a sincere expression:
"Rest assured, we immediately interrogated the villagers from that settlement and have already determined the whereabouts of both the man who killed your cult members and the child."
"This is a major contract. Our most elite bounty hunters have already departed and will return within half a day."
"We will definitely bring back the child named 'Hidan.'"
"Very well, that's all." The bishop waved his hand dismissively.
"Kyōji, escort him down to collect the deposit."
The cult member named Kyōji nodded in understanding, then couldn't help but ask:
"Bishop, what if the man who took Hidan comes back to attack us?"
The bishop pressed the necklace against his forehead.
In a calm, emotionless voice, he said: "Someone will handle it."
"Kyōji, we are simply an ordinary congregation that believes in our god. Don't always rely on violence to solve problems."
As soon as he finished speaking, a cultist not far away, clutching an iron spike, grinned and casually drove it through someone's eyeball.
A shrill scream echoed from the densely packed crosses behind him.
This scene repeated itself over and over.
Even the bald man from the Underground Exchange, accustomed to the darkness of the shinobi world, found his smile freezing.
What a load of crap about an "ordinary congregation."
Is this how your "ordinary congregation" worships?!
"Wait, you're saying this is the Jashin Cult headquarters?"
"Are you sure this isn't the palace of the Land of Hot Water's daimyo?"
Standing on a cliff, Tsukasa looked down at the massive castle built on the hillside below with genuine surprise.
If Hidan hadn't clearly told him this was the Jashin Cult headquarters, he would have thought this was the estate of some Hot Water noble.
"That's essentially what it is, actually. This place was originally built by our Hot Water ninja for a noble from the Land of Hot Water."
"You know, Hot Water ninja rarely get any worthwhile missions. They're like those declining samurai—practically serving as private soldiers for the daimyo and nobles of the Land of Hot Water."
Hidan explained, gesturing toward the ancient castle below. Then he shook his head.
"But there's one difference."
Tsukasa followed his gaze.
Beyond the magnificent castle below stretched nearly ten miles of shabby makeshift shelters.
Crowded among them were densely packed Hot Water refugees, huddled in whatever sheltered corners they could find, hugging their knees, unable to sleep.
It looked like a massive refugee settlement.
The night was dark, the sky dim.
The four-person team had been traveling for three hours, and by this time, dawn should have been approaching.
However, in early spring, the days were short and nights long, so there was still some time before daybreak.
"What's the plan?" Hidan asked, tilting his head.
Looking somewhat concerned, he continued: "I came here once before when I was being recruited by the Jashin Cult."
"Don't underestimate this place."
"Security here is extremely tight, especially along the passage leading to the cave where the Jashin Cult's underground headquarters is located. There's a guard posted every ten steps."
"Plus, the Jashin Cult has recruited numerous samurai and refugees as informants. Trying to sneak in through the refugee camp near the main gate without alerting anyone inside is pretty unrealistic."
"Besides, it's hard to say exactly how many shinobi forces the Jashin Cult has."
Hidan wasn't even a proper genin yet and couldn't sense chakra signatures.
He looked at everyone as if they were ordinary people.
It was only when he saw Tsukasa, covered in wounds and wearing a Konoha headband, that he confirmed Tsukasa was a ninja. It was understandable that he couldn't gather more detailed intelligence.
Tsukasa nodded and stroked his chin thoughtfully.
But internally, he was secretly delighted.
As someone seeking a heroic death, he naturally wanted to make as much commotion as possible when carrying out this infiltration.
After all, if you kill every enemy who sees you, no one will know you were there.
(Adjusting sunglasses with a confident smirk)
So Tsukasa turned his head and said with a determined expression:
"I'll create a distraction to draw the enemy's attention while you all sneak in and open the main gate."
"Then we'll charge straight through!"
"Kill anyone who stands in our way!"
"Once we reach the underground cave, I'll seal the entrance with a barrier jutsu to cut off their reinforcements."
"Well? Isn't the plan perfect?"
Clearly, this plan didn't sit well with his teammates.
"Are you an idiot?"
Mei Terumi couldn't help but chop Tsukasa on the forehead with her hand, saying angrily:
"We're ninja! NINJA!"
"Do you think this is some kabuki theater performance?!"
Then Mei Terumi pointed to the cliff edge and the castle below, connecting them with two slender fingers.
"We can descend from this cliff directly to the castle walls."
"It's quite high, but we have chakra control for tree-walking. After we've assessed the wall defenses, we can climb down easily."
"We should try to avoid attracting unnecessary attention."
Mei Terumi's suggestion immediately gained agreement from the other two.
But Tsukasa shook his head: "You're overlooking one important issue."
"We can climb down. Forget climbing—running down the cliff face wouldn't be a problem for us."
"But—" Tsukasa patted his younger brother's shoulder with a cheerful smile—
"This kid probably doesn't know how to tree-walk or water-walk yet."
Tsukasa glanced at Hidan, raised his eyebrows, and asked:
"So what do we do—leave him behind?"
End of Chapter 40
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