Bang!
Deepa's body slammed heavily into the ground, and he sank into a deep coma.
Itachi Uchiha's expression remained calm as he slowly said, "This man's name is Deepa. He is an Inner member of Kara."
Seeing this, Kisame Hoshigaki could not help clicking his tongue in amazement.
"As expected of Lord Yuzuru's son. Itachi... your genjutsu really is terrifying."
"Enemies inside your illusion world suffer pain as if their entire bodies are being sliced apart every second, yet even the flow of time inside that illusion is under your control."
"Even I don't have much confidence that I could hold on to my convictions inside your illusion world, Itachi."
An opponent he had been helpless against had failed to last even a single minute in Itachi's hands. Not only that, he had spilled every piece of information he knew.
What a terrifying genjutsu...
Kisame shook his head and asked, "What do Inner and Outer mean?"
"Kara is divided into Inners and Outers. The Inners are the organization's core members."
"The leader of Kara is called Jigen. He is a monk who has lived from ancient times until now, and he is also a temporary vessel for a god."
"Aside from him, Kara's Inner members include Kashin Koji, Delta, Victor, Amado Sanzu, and others."
"Boro, whom Father killed in the Land of Valleys, was also one of Kara's Inners."
"As for the Outers... there are countless numbers of them."
Itachi briefly summarized the information he had obtained from Deepa, then said, "Just as I was about to ask about the locations of Kara's bases, Deepa's brain died."
"It was probably a contingency Amado Sanzu planted in advance when he modified his body."
After saying this, Itachi slowly walked toward Bagu, who was hiding in a corner.
Bagu's body trembled like a sieve, and his eyes were filled with fear as he looked at Itachi.
The man before him always wore that calm, indifferent expression, yet he was terrifyingly powerful...
Even Deepa had failed to last a minute in his hands.
And judging from what he had just said, Deepa seemed to have suffered horrifying torture inside that genjutsu.
Damn it. He had said from the beginning that they should have canceled today's gathering.
"Will you answer my questions directly, or would you rather experience my illusion world first?"
Faced with Itachi's question, Bagu did not hesitate at all. He dropped to his knees and said, "I'm willing to tell you everything."
"I am an Outer member of Kara. I was originally one of Boro's subordinates."
"Deepa ordered me to establish the Ōtsutsuki Cult and develop believers for Kara, using them to provide intelligence to the organization."
Hearing this, Itachi frowned. "This little bit of information won't be enough to save your life."
Bagu thought for a moment, then said in a low voice, "I also know something else. Something even Deepa, and perhaps even Jigen, doesn't know!"
"Oh?"
A trace of curiosity appeared in Itachi's eyes.
The man before him was merely an Outer, cowardly as a rat and seemingly without any real ability...
Yet he claimed to know a secret even Kara's leader, Jigen, did not?
Thinking this, Itachi slowly said, "Let's hear it."
Bagu nodded and immediately said, "There are two extremely special beings in Kara. Their names are Eida and Daemon."
"Because Jigen feared their unknown abilities, he ordered Boro to dispose of them."
"But Boro obeyed in public while defying him in secret. He secretly transferred the two of them into stasis pods hidden in a deep mountain in the Land of Snow and ordered me to watch over them."
"After Boro died, I became the only person who knew about this."
"As long as you are willing to spare my life, I am willing to take you to Eida and Daemon."
After hearing Bagu's words, Itachi nodded slightly. "Very well. I accept your condition."
"Really?"
"I swear on my name as the son of the Emperor that I will absolutely not lay a hand on you."
Hearing this, a delighted smile appeared on Bagu's face.
With this guarantee, he should no longer be in danger of losing his life.
Kisame stepped forward and said with a smile, "That's quite a good harvest. In that case, take us there now."
"Yes!"
The two set out at once, following Bagu's lead toward the depths of the mountains.
However, while descending the mountain, Bagu saw a river of blood dyed deep red.
The sight instantly made Bagu's scalp go numb.
The stench of blood permeating the air told him that a massacre had undoubtedly taken place here not long ago.
Was it... the believers?
While Bagu's thoughts ran wild, Itachi slowly said, "After the Divine Kingdom was established, no one was allowed to practice religion."
"Those who violate this law... are executed."
Bagu wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and forced a smile onto his face. "You're absolutely right. In truth, most of the people I was able to deceive were idlers or people buried in debt."
"There were also some ambitious people who dreamed of splitting the Divine Kingdom apart. Deep down, they were dissatisfied with the Divine Kingdom's rule. They deserved death, absolutely deserved death!"
After saying this, Bagu saw that neither Itachi nor Kisame spoke, so he did not dare say anything more and simply lowered his head as he led the way.
Kisame walked up beside Itachi and asked quietly, "Itachi, that old man who drove us in the three-wheeler that day..."
"If he came here, then he should already be dead by now."
"You planned this from the start?"
"Is something wrong?"
"Nothing. I just thought that since you handled him so gently back then, you wouldn't do anything to them."
After hearing Kisame's words, Itachi fell silent for a while before slowly saying, "A bodhisattva's heart, and thunderous methods."
"The peace we have now was not easily won. I will never allow anyone to destroy it."
As the son raised under Yuzuru's teachings since childhood, Itachi would never show mercy in matters like this.
The three of them pressed onward through the snow for two days and two nights before finally arriving at a hidden cave deep within the mountain range.
The cave was not large, situated halfway up a snowy mountain.
A machine operated at its center, supplying power to the equipment inside the cave.
At the center of the cave were two stasis pods.
A young man and a young woman lay quietly inside the pods, completely motionless.
"My lords, this long-legged beauty is called Eida, and this green-haired girl is called Daemon."
After giving a simple introduction, Bagu asked, "Should I wake the two of them now?"
"No need."
Itachi shook his head.
In the next second, a kunai pierced Bagu's heart.
"You... you promised you wouldn't kill me..."
"I didn't kill you. Kisame did."
Facing Bagu's accusation, Itachi felt no guilt whatsoever.
If it had been Father, he would certainly have made the same choice.
"Amaterasu!"
Looking at the already dead Bagu, Itachi directly activated his Mangekyō Sharingan.
Black flames instantly swallowed Bagu's body, and before long, burned him completely to ash.