In the shinobi world, within the depths of a remote mountain in the Land of Rivers, an empty great hall had been constructed underground.
At the very center of the hall stood a massive statue. Although the details of its body were meticulously crafted and its eight arms were lifelike, there was nothing on its face. It was a faceless statue. This striking contrast created an inexplicably eerie and wicked atmosphere.
What would make ordinary people even more terrified was that below the statue sat a giant blood pool nearly ten meters long! Fresh red blood filled this pond, emitting a horrible, foul stench.
A middle aged man in his forties or fifties stood before the blood pool. He took a deep breath, and a look of enjoyment immediately appeared on his face. He held a necklace with a circle on the outside and a triangle on the inside. A hint of madness surfaced on his aged face as he commanded in a raspy voice, "The auspicious hour has arrived. Quickly, bring all the sacrifices up!"
"Yes!"
As the archbishop's order was given, the expressions of the dozens of followers around him turned equally frantic. They began dumping corpses one after another into the blood pool. It wasn't just bodies; there were also various poisonous creatures like centipedes, spiders, and venomous snakes.
For this annual Jashin festival, they had prepared for several days. Now, the auspicious hour had finally come!
The archbishop frantically raised his hands. The thick, murky scent of blood almost enveloped his entire being, and a bloody tint appeared in his eyes.
"Great, omnipotent, and eternal Lord Jashin!"
"We offer you our songs, our praise, and our sacrifices!"
"Please cast a glance from the distant unknown and bestow your blessings upon us!"
After the archbishop finished speaking, all the followers knelt together, slamming their heads heavily against the ground while shouting, "Great! Omnipotent! Eternal Lord Jashin! We offer you our songs, our praise, and our sacrifices! Please cast a glance from the distant unknown and bestow your blessings upon us!"
Suddenly, a bizarre aura descended upon the temple. It felt as if something had glanced at them from the darkness. A massive pressure descended on everyone's hearts, making them terrified yet incredibly excited!
The archbishop's breathing grew heavy. His expression shifted from shock to immense joy, then to excitement, and finally to madness! Lord Jashin had finally cast his gaze!
In the entire Jashin Religion, if anyone were truly to receive the blessing of Jashin, that person would undoubtedly be himself!
The blood pool suddenly began to boil, and a figure slowly stood up from within.
"It's done! This great me has mastered it!"
"Hahahahahahaha!"
A burst of frantic laughter echoed throughout the hall. The madness on the archbishop's face came to an abrupt halt. He clearly remembered that only dead people were thrown into the blood pool, so why...
A boy who looked only eleven or twelve years old slowly walked out of the blood pool. He walked unsteadily, occasionally making strange movements while constantly muttering, "I did it! This great me has finally mastered it!"
"You fellow..."
The archbishop's eyes narrowed slightly. Suddenly, his eyes widened as if he recognized this person!
"Wait, you're Hidan, aren't you? When the hell did you get into the blood pool?!"
"Huh? Hidan?"
The other followers also showed expressions of disbelief.
Hidan was covered in blood. He reached out and used the blood to slick back his hair, revealing a grin.
"Archbishop, I am no longer a trainee of the Jashin Religion. I am the most loyal spokesperson for Lord Jashin!"
He spread his arms and let out an extremely arrogant laugh.
The archbishop froze for a moment before snapping back to reality. His face was full of shock as he asked, "You mean... you received the favor of Lord Jashin?"
"That's right!"
Hidan stuck out his tongue, licking the blood on his hand. He said coldly, "I am now the favorite of Lord Jashin!"
The archbishop was stunned. Why? Lord Jashin! I was the one who came first!
Before he could speak, the blood pool boiled once more.
"Hmm?"
Hidan turned his head in annoyance. He hated being interrupted while he was showing off.
Another figure emerged from the blood pool. He was incredibly pale, looking almost like a sheet of white paper. He walked out of the blood pool with his upper body bare. His black hair clung to his skin, and he was even wearing a pair of black, flat-framed glasses.
"I am pleased to meet you all. My name is Kamizuki Simu. You can just call me Simu."
Where did this guy come from?
The archbishop and the other followers looked at each other. Hidan was an orphan adopted by the Jashin Religion, but where did this person come from? He looked so handsome; surely he had no real strength!
Without waiting for them to speak, the arrogant Hidan looked at Simu with an annoyed expression.
"Who the hell are you?"
Simu, slowly walking out of the blood pool, smiled slightly and spoke plainly, "I am the head spokesperson sent by Lord Jashin."
As expected, Hidan was instantly enraged. He had just said he was the spokesperson for Jashin, and now you claim to be the head spokesperson? Wasn't this just looking for trouble?
Hidan couldn't take it. He pulled out a pitch black spear from somewhere and charged back toward the blood pool.
"Lord Jashin loves only me! You fake, die for me!"
Hidan held the spear, bursting forward with terrifying speed toward Simu.
Facing this attack, Simu merely pushed his glasses slowly. Suddenly, an incredibly massive purple centipede grew out of Simu's waist! The purple shadow expanded frantically. In the dim light, Hidan had nowhere to hide!
Or perhaps he simply didn't want to hide.
The massive centipede tail carried a gust of wind and instantly pierced through Hidan's chest! Terrifying amounts of blood sprayed from the wound. The centipede writhed its body with joy, looking extremely satisfied.
This scene left everyone dumbfounded. Good heavens, the newly born spokesperson for Jashin was taken out in a single encounter?
However, the archbishop's expression remained relatively calm. If he were a true spokesperson for Jashin, then...
Sure enough, Hidan's face showed no pain from being impaled. Instead, a hint of a pleasant smile appeared.
"Hahahahaha! That felt good, so good!"
Hidan stared into Simu's eyes, his mouth curling into a mad arc as he became completely hyper.
"As a true dependent of Jashin, I possess an immortal body!"
He announced his ability as if showing off. Then he turned the spear around and stabbed it fiercely into the centipede, drawing out a large amount of purple blood.
Simu frowned. He controlled the centipede tail to sweep Hidan away, slamming him heavily onto the ground. However, this level of damage couldn't cause Hidan pain; it only made him more pleased.
He picked up his long blade and stuck out his tongue to lick the blood on the spear as if tasting fine wine. Blood continued to spill from the wound in his chest, but he didn't care at all. He simply used his foot to soak in the blood and drew a pattern of a triangle within a circle on the ground.
This was the symbol of the Jashin Religion.
The archbishop's pupils instinctively shrank upon seeing this pattern. Combined with Hidan's lack of reaction to being stabbed through the chest, he was almost certain that this guy had truly received the favor of Lord Jashin!
Indeed, after completing the ritual of drawing the diagram and licking the blood, Hidan's body underwent another earth-shattering transformation. His entire body first turned pitch black, and then a large number of white stripes appeared on his surface. He looked incredibly bizarre!
This does fit the setting of Jashin...
Simu, standing in the blood pool, complained internally.
Hidan stared fixedly at Simu, speaking in a crazed tone, "Kid, are you ready to welcome the descent of Lord Jashin?"
"Cursed Jutsu: Death-Controlling Blood!"
"And then..."
A frantic smile appeared on Hidan's face again.
"How do you want to die? Should we start with a strike to the abdomen?"
After saying that, he hesitated not at all and stabbed the long blade into his own stomach. The blade pierced through his abdomen, yet an expression of supreme pleasure blossomed on Hidan's face.
Simu's brow furrowed because the centipede tail he had named "Bikaku" actually suffered damage out of nowhere. The thick exoskeleton was sliced clean through, and purple blood flowed from it.
Is the ability of Death-Controlling Blood to reflect the damage he receives onto others?
Simu made a guess almost instantly. If the position where the Bikaku was injured were mapped to a human body, it would be exactly the abdomen. That was a truly remarkable ability, but what a pity.
Since that's the case...
Under Hidan's watch, the pretty boy opposite him indeed let out a muffled groan and then clutched his abdomen in pain. Although the speed was a bit slower than he expected, it was certain that Lord Jashin had not lied to him!
Of course, Simu had just walked out of the blood pool and was covered in blood. No one could tell if his abdomen was actually injured and bleeding.
Seeing Simu injured, Hidan became even more excited.
"Since the abdomen is finished, the heart is next!"
He smilingly aimed the long blade at his heart. He used so much force that his eyeballs seemed to turn outward.
"Are you ready?"
"Puchi!"
Under the unbelievable gaze of everyone, the spear pierced through his heart once more.
"Hahahahaha!"
Even though blood kept flowing from Hidan's body, he remained extremely excited. He spread his arms high and shouted, "Lord Jashin, this is the first sacrifice I offer to you!"
"If Lord Jashin knew you only knew how to play these circus tricks, he would be very disappointed."
Simu's calm voice caused the smile on Hidan's face to freeze instantly. He looked at Simu, only to see Simu casually plucking off the centipede tail that had become a corpse and discarding it into the blood pool. Simu then sneered:
"If you think that kind of soft, unthreatening self-harm—which carries less risk than choking on a piece of cream cake—can kill me, you'd better go back to the womb and apologize to Lord Jashin."
"What did you say?"
Hidan's face instantly became distorted. Just as he picked up his long blade to charge at Simu again, a red blood-shadow cut through the air, cleanly slicing off Hidan's entire head.
A foot suddenly appeared, stepping on Hidan's rolling head.
"Even you are worthy of being Lord Jashin's dog?"