Chapter 30 — My Cult of Jashin Does Not Accept Illiterates!
"Stop!"
Uchiha Ci's furious shout didn't cause the leader of the Cult of Jashin to hesitate in the slightest. His cold eyes remained emotionless as he thrust his black spear straight toward the young girl, Yuko.
Seeing this, Uchiha Ci no longer cared to hide his identity as a shinobi. He immediately gathered his chakra and flashed forward, blocking in front of the little girl.
In that desperate instant, he could only reach out and grab the incoming dark spear with his bare hand.
The razor-sharp edge sliced open his palm, blood seeping from the bandaged fingers of Uchiha Ci and dripping to the ground.
Uchiha Ci frowned slightly as he looked at his bleeding hand.
Letting members of the Cult of Jashin get hold of his blood—that was definitely not a good thing.
"I said—stop!"
He slowly raised his head, a pair of cold Sharingan eyes locking onto the cult leader before him.
"Sharingan? Uchiha?" The cult leader narrowed his eyes, momentarily pausing. His gaze flickered with uncertainty.
An Uchiha—here? Not watching over those Blood Pond savages in Hell Valley, but stepping into their territory?
What was he planning?
"Ci! What are you doing?!"
At that moment, Hidan ran out in a hurry, positioning himself between Uchiha Ci and the cult leader. He quickly explained,
"Sir, this guy's my friend! He's also determined to join our great Cult of Jashin!"
The cult leader's icy gaze shifted to Uchiha Ci, as though waiting for him to explain himself.
Seeing that the tension had eased a little, Uchiha Ci's eyes flickered as he quickly said,
"Hidan's right. Let her go—take me instead as the sacrifice!"
His words shocked everyone present.
He… wanted to sacrifice himself?
For the sake of saving a random little girl?
Among the crowd, a hooded girl watched quietly. Wrapped entirely in a dark robe, only a few strands of reddish-brown hair peeked from beneath her hood.
Moments earlier, when the cult leader had attacked the girl, she had been ready to intervene—but when she saw Uchiha Ci step in, she withdrew the hand that had already formed the Ram seal.
Now, she watched him with quiet confusion.
Who would be foolish enough to sacrifice themselves for a stranger?
"Wait—Ci, what the hell are you saying?!"
"Didn't we agree we'd walk to the cross together?! Why are you trying to go first?!"
Of course, the first one to lose his composure was Hidan. He looked completely aghast, his expression screaming I knew it!
At this moment, he looked exactly like a desperate job seeker who had the bad luck of being second in line at an interview—watching the guy before him steal the last offer from the recruiter's hands.
Inside, Hidan was howling in despair:
This bastard! He's trying to steal Lord Jashin's favor from me!
"You… want to be the sacrifice?"
The cult leader's expression froze, taking several involuntary steps back. He slowly drew another spear from behind him and studied Uchiha Ci with disbelief.
His eyes repeatedly drifted toward the blood-red Sharingan—and he couldn't help but take a deep breath.
An Uchiha…
Wanted to join the Cult of Jashin…
And become a sacrifice?!
Was this some kind of dream?
"That's right." Uchiha Ci stepped forward confidently.
"I want to become a sacrifice! Please, sir—take me to the cult headquarters!"
However—
The cult leader didn't look pleased. After a long pause, his expression twisted into something complicated, as though he had just ordered a pineapple online but received a durian shell instead—disgusting and spiky.
If the Uchiha clan ever found out that the Cult of Jashin had strung up one of their brats as a sacrifice, he wouldn't live to see the next morning.
The Uchiha garrison in Hell Valley would cross half of the Land of Hot Water overnight, skin him alive, and hang him up as a warning.
The longer he thought about it, the uglier his face became.
Finally, under the watchful eyes of everyone around him—and despite his reluctance—professionalism forced him to ask dryly,
"You're… a shinobi?"
"Yes," Uchiha Ci replied with a nod.
"Then we don't accept shinobi," the cult leader said immediately, seizing the excuse.
"What did you say?" Uchiha Ci's eyes widened as he turned toward Hidan, silently asking, What the hell's going on?
You invited me to join this cult, and now they're telling me there's no room left? You looking down on me or what?!
Hidan was stunned too. He turned toward the cult leader and said carefully,
"Sir, I thought we do take shinobi. And didn't you tell me to capture another one last time?"
The cult leader's smile froze.
I told you to capture a shinobi, he thought bitterly, not to bring back an Uchiha!
Didn't Hidan know that the Uchiha ranked second on the list of the ten most dangerous people in the Land of Hot Water?!
"Oh—maybe I remembered wrong," the cult leader said, sweat dripping down his face.
But to really sacrifice a child of the Uchiha clan? He didn't have the guts.
His expression hardened, and he secretly signaled two of his subordinates behind him.
Then he turned back toward Uchiha Ci, his voice low and cold.
"Then tell me—do you even know what our Cult of Jashin's creed is?"
Uchiha Ci froze.
What the hell? Has the job market gotten this competitive?
He was just trying to be a quiet little sacrifice—did he really have to pass an entrance exam too? What's next, studying from a 'Five Years of Scripture, Three Years of Faith' workbook?!
"Ah, wait a sec… I remember this…" Ci muttered nervously, pulling out the small pamphlet Hidan had given him earlier and flipping through it like a student during an open-book exam.
But just then—
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two black spears suddenly shot toward him from either side!
The cult leader gritted his teeth, finally dropping all pretense. He let go of the spear Uchiha Ci had been holding and drew two more from his robe.
Coldly, he barked,
"Hmph! You don't even know our most basic creed—and you think you're worthy to hear Lord Jashin's gospel?"
"My Cult of Jashin does not accept illiterates!"
The twin spears sliced through the air with a fierce gale, and a surge of killing intent made the hair on Uchiha Ci's neck stand on end.
The overwhelming sense of danger crawled through every nerve of his body.
He immediately realized—these three cultists were all experienced fighters!
The next second, glowing text flashed before his eyes:
> [You are under attack by Cult of Jashin Lackeys (Rogue Chūnin from the Land of Hot Water). Their leader has even called you a "tone-deaf illiterate songstress"!]
[Talent: Battle Instinct (S) — Activated.]
A jolt like lightning raced down his spine.
Instantly, Uchiha Ci twisted midair, his Sharingan spinning, tracing two trembling red lines through the air as they locked onto the trajectory of the incoming spears.
He spun his body in midair and hurled the blood-stained spear in his hand, smashing aside one of the black lances—
—but the other was still heading straight for his vital spot!
Ci's pupils contracted sharply.
He remembered the deadly techniques Hidan would one day use—but midair, he couldn't dodge with full strength. The only choice was to shift slightly, avoiding a fatal hit.
Still, that meant he'd be injured.
And once his blood spilled again, the cult could collect it—
Combine that with the blood he'd already shed earlier, and they could easily use it to perform the Curse Technique: Death Division by Blood.
Under such a terrifying jutsu, he'd be nothing more than a dish for them to toy with!
Ci's eyes widened slightly. Truly, the Land of Hot Water was fraught with danger.
Even a few random cultists could mount such a deadly ambush!
But just then—
From the crowd, the hooded girl slammed her hand against the cattle pen and vaulted over it.
Reddish-brown hair swayed beside her ear as she pulled out a kunai from beneath her robe. Her hands flew into a Snake seal.
Then, her clear emerald eyes—bright as gemstones—locked onto Uchiha Ci as she shouted,
"Idiot—duck!"
"Water Release: Water Fang Bullet!"