In the evening, the teams that went out to gather information returned one after another.
At this moment, they all had solemn expressions, lacking the relaxed air they had during the day.
It wasn't that the strength of the Evil God Cult they scouted exceeded their expectations, but rather that the cult's practices had shattered their worldview.
The commoners in every area were filled with adoration for the Evil God Cult; the elderly at home would worship the Evil God every morning, noon, and night.
Young people took pride in joining the Yellow Turban Army of the Evil God Cult.
They were actually carrying out land reforms in this country, confiscating the lands of nobles to distribute to the commoners, and even distributing the grain and wealth hoarded by nobles to the poor.
People who previously couldn't eat their fill or stay warm now had every household eating full meals, and even the elderly and children had stable rations.
Branches of the Evil God Cult were established in every village and town; if any family had difficulties or faced famine, seeking them out would always result in aid.
Children no longer had to beg for food with adults as they did before; people in the cult would teach them to read, keep accounts, and even treat their illnesses.
This wasn't an evil cult; they were practically living Bodhisattvas.
"Shikamaru, are we really going to move against them? That Evil God Cult seems like good people!"
Naruto really couldn't convince himself to attack those people; it went against his Ninja Way.
The others also looked at Shikamaru with complex expressions, wanting to know his decision.
Shikamaru let out a helpless sigh; he knew this would happen before they even arrived.
His father had told him about the things the Evil God Cult was doing before; although they were good deeds, they were digging up the roots of the nobles in every country.
As a Ninja, one cannot be influenced by their own emotions and must execute the mission to the letter.
"We'll check out the Evil God Cult branch later. Maybe they have a deeper purpose, and this is just a means to win people's hearts."
The others nodded upon hearing this; the Evil God Cult definitely had a deeper purpose.
"Captain Aoki, what do you think?"
They had also been gathering intelligence everywhere during this time, and to put it bluntly, the commoners in the Land of Birds were definitely living better than those in the Land of Fire.
At least they were free from the exploitation of the nobles.
They had even suppressed all the mountain bandits, local thugs, and gangs; the current Land of Birds could be described as having efficient governance and social harmony, where people didn't even need to lock their doors at night.
It was simply outrageous.
They have such great ideals? Then why is the name called the Evil God Cult? Wouldn't the Light Cult be better?
"Who knows? Everything will come to light once we find that Evil God and the Cult Leader."
"However, they have done something unprecedented. I believe that even if they are wiped out, this fire will not be extinguished; instead, it might grow more and more intense."
The clone Yagami Light had already lit the spark; people of insight within the Ninja World would surely throw themselves into this transformation one after another, prepared for death.
Even if they die nine deaths, they would have no regrets.
A single spark can start a prairie fire. There will be countless organizations similar to the former Akatsuki Organization, holding the Yellow Turban Army Doctrines and treating them as the ultimate truth. Even if the path ahead is a blazing fire, they will rush toward this only light like moths to a flame.
Of course, in this world with superpowers, it's very hard to achieve, and one must even be prepared to be suppressed for hundreds of years.
But who can guarantee that the world's strongest powerhouse won't emerge from among them in the future?
When that time comes, everything will be solved easily.
At the very least, organizations like the Akatsuki Organization will emerge in an endless stream.
Just like Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara's ideal of establishing a Ninja village, it was also unacceptable to the Ninja clans during the Sengoku period.
But in the end, they did it.
And didn't they rely on the strength to steamroll the entire Ninja World?
Whoosh—
Shikamaru and the others appeared one kilometer away from the Evil God Cult branch.
"Shino and Neji, scout who is inside and what their approximate strength is."
"Yes!"
The two immediately used their respective methods to investigate the situation inside.
After a short while, Neji deactivated his Byakugan. "There is only one person inside with Chakra, and their Chakra volume is not even as good as a Genin. There are also twelve others without Chakra."
Shino, who was beside him, also said, "The news from the Parasitic Insects is exactly the same as what Neji said."
Shikamaru was stunned for a moment after hearing this, not expecting the strength of a branch to be so weak.
Shikamaru didn't know that in a small country like the Land of Birds, being able to refine Chakra already made one a person of high status.
Being able to station one person with Chakra in every branch was thanks to the continuous popularization of Chakra Extraction Methods over the past two years, casting a wide net to cultivate them.
"Alright, when the time comes, Team Kurenai will be on guard outside, keeping watch and sniping any enemy reinforcements. The others will launch a direct assault."
Then he looked at Sai. "Sai, the sky is yours. Watch out for enemy attacks from above."
"Yes!"
Boom—
The Evil God Cult branch was blasted open, and Neji, who was proficient in both offense and defense, was the first to charge in.
Unsurprisingly, the people inside could not form any effective resistance and were captured one by one.
Shikamaru looked at their calm expressions and asked in confusion, "Did you know we were coming?"
A fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl wearing glasses said with a calm face, "The headquarters notified us that enemies might attack."
Shikamaru's pupils constricted upon hearing this; their intelligence had been leaked. How was this possible? The Five Great Ninja Villages' operation this time was very secretive.
"It seems I need to re-evaluate the strength of the Evil God Cult," Shikamaru couldn't help but think.
"Then why didn't you run?" he asked in confusion.
"You should know you are no match for us."
"Run?"
The girl said, "This is our home, it carries our dreams. If we run, what happens to the millions of commoners who follow us?"
"I was originally a slave, and I was rescued by the Yellow Turban Army."
The girl clenched her fists. "They taught me Ninjutsu, taught me to read, and more importantly, they made me understand that the world shouldn't be like this. I stay here just to protect the hope they gave us. One day, this world will become fair."
The others also showed expressions of being ready to die for their cause.
Subsequently, Shikamaru looked at Ino. "Ino, I'll leave it to you."
Ino nodded and pressed her hand against the girl's head to read her memories.
Immediately after, she extended her mental probe to the others, and scattered fragments of memories were easily read by her.
Most of these people were commoners without Chakra, and their mental strength was inherently weak. They simply could not resist Ino's mental intrusion and couldn't even put up a struggle.
Before long, Ino finished reading.
She shook her head. "There is no valuable intelligence."
"Is that so."
Shikamaru showed a disappointed expression upon hearing this.
To be honest, he wanted to find their evil deeds so that they could be cleared away as a matter of course.
At this time, Naruto, who hadn't spoken, suddenly opened his mouth, his tone unusually serious: "Shikamaru, let them go. They just want to protect their home and haven't done anything bad. There's no point in holding them."
Today's events had a great impact on Naruto; he really didn't want to move against innocent people.
Shikamaru nodded upon hearing this. "Fine, they can't stir up any big trouble anyway."