"Run! A fanatic from the Jashin Cult is chasing us!" two passing civilians shouted urgently as they rushed past Ryōsuke's group.
"Run! There's a Jashin Cult lunatic coming!"
They had encountered a self-proclaimed follower of the Jashin Cult on the road earlier who had tried to invite them to join.
How could they possibly join? Just hearing the name told them it was nothing good.
The Jashin Cult was a notorious evil organization even within the Land of Hot Water.
This wicked group worshipped a deity known as Jashin.
Yet, the three of them didn't move an inch upon hearing the civilians' words.
Zabuza, naturally, wasn't afraid of some Jashin Cultist.
He was an elite Jōnin-level shinobi.
How could he possibly be afraid of such a person?
Aside from Kage-level figures and Tailed Beast Jinchūriki, he didn't feel there was anyone he needed to run from.
Haku stayed put simply because the God King was here.
The God King was a figure capable of even seizing Tailed Beasts.
It was impossible for him to be afraid of a mere lunatic from the Jashin Cult.
Seeing that Ryōsuke and the others made no move to escape, the two civilians stopped worrying about them and continued racing ahead.
They had given their warning, after all.
If they didn't run and waited for death instead, that was their own decision.
Ryōsuke looked in the direction the voice had come from.
A man with short, silver, slicked-back hair and violet-red eyes slowly ran into view.
He held a large, red, triple-bladed scythe.
He looked a bit manic.
When he saw the three people standing their ground, he stopped chasing the fleeing civilians.
Instead, he looked at the trio with excitement.
"Hey, do you three want to join the Jashin Cult? If you don't join, I'll have to sacrifice you to Lord Jashin!"
Ryōsuke's expression beneath his mask turned serious.
He only reacted this way when encountering someone who posed a threat to him.
This man was Hidan, a future member of the Akatsuki and Kakuzu's partner, who possessed an immortal body.
He had an immortal body and would not die regardless of what kind of injuries he sustained.
Moreover, he could exploit his immortality to the fullest using the Curse: Death Controlling Possessed Blood.
This was a forbidden technique that could guarantee a kill simply by obtaining the opponent's blood.
Any damage dealt to himself would be reflected back onto the opponent.
Such a person still posed a significant threat to the current Ryōsuke.
In the current shinobi world, this was the only man capable of threatening his life.
If Hidan took his blood and performed the forbidden technique, self-mutilating his own heart would reflect that damage onto Ryōsuke.
It was actually possible for him to kill Ryōsuke.
Even though Ryōsuke's physical defenses were currently strong enough, if his heart were pierced...
He would likely fall into a massive crisis.
This man could achieve what no one else could.
Not to mention, he was a completely insane individual.
Ryōsuke already felt the urge to eliminate this guy.
He pulled out a kunai and hurled it with a sudden, violent motion, sending it flying toward Hidan at extreme speed.
He aimed straight for the heart; the heart was the source of a person's power.
He wondered if Hidan would lose his mobility if his heart were destroyed.
If he lost his mobility, Ryōsuke intended to incinerate him until nothing was left.
Even with an immortal body, if he were reduced to ashes, he probably wouldn't be able to resurrect.
Hidan, looking excited, hadn't expected the person in front of him to attack so suddenly.
The speed was too high; he didn't have time to react, and the kunai pierced right through his heart.
Blood splattered uncontrollably, causing him to cry out in pain.
"Hey, what the hell are you screaming about so suddenly?"
His body was in intense pain, but he still gripped his red, triple-bladed scythe tightly.
He charged straight at the man before him.
He had kindly invited the other party to join the Jashin Cult, but the guy had responded by throwing a kunai into his heart.
It was obvious he wasn't going to join.
"Kid, I'm going to sacrifice all of you to Lord Jashin!"
Ryōsuke was slightly surprised.
The guy could still move after having his heart pierced; it was a truly perverse ability.
A normal person would be dead if their heart was shot through; even among powerful ninja, one could hardly find someone who could stay alive with a destroyed heart.
Even with a body as powerful as Ryōsuke's.
He wouldn't go looking for death like that.
By now, Hidan's triple-bladed scythe had swung right in front of Ryōsuke.
Ryōsuke pulled a kunai from his pouch and blocked the attack directly.
With his current abilities and physical fitness, he could see Hidan's movements clearly even without opening the Sharingan.
Hidan's strongest points were his taijutsu and that terrifying Curse: Death Controlling Possessed Blood.
However, he was clearly no match for Ryōsuke in taijutsu.
Ryōsuke took this opportunity to raise his leg and kick hard toward Hidan's heart.
He put a lot of power into this kick; if a normal ninja were hit by this, their heart would be crushed into mincemeat.
Even if Hidan realized something was wrong, he couldn't dodge this move.
He took the kick head-on.
His body went flying, vomiting blood while still in the air, before rolling several times on the ground and lying still.
He lay prone, only able to prop himself up with his hands while the rest of his body was immobile, his eyes filled with fury.
"You bastard... how dare you wound me so badly!"
"You will definitely face the judgment of the Jashin Cult!"
"And I will be the one to carry it out personally!"
Although his heart had been blown into several pieces, it would only take some time to recover.
Then he would take the opponent's blood and use the forbidden technique to execute him; no matter how much stronger the opponent was, they would be powerless.
Ryōsuke looked at Hidan in his current state.
It seemed that after having his heart blown apart, there wasn't much of his body he could move.
After all, the heart provided power to the entire body.
Zabuza was quite shocked to see the Jashin Cultist could still move.
'Just what is the deal with this guy?'
The kunai the God King threw had undoubtedly pierced the heart, yet the guy could still attack the God King.
'He took such a fierce strike from the God King head-on; his heart must be completely destroyed, yet he's still alive. How could such a person exist in the shinobi world?'
"God King, what is the matter with this person?"
"How is he not dead even with his heart destroyed?"
Zabuza had never encountered such a person before, nor had he ever heard of such an instance in the shinobi world.
Ryōsuke explained slowly.
"He is afflicted by the Curse of Jashin and possesses an immortal body."
Hidan, pinned to the ground and unable to move, roared in dissatisfaction.
"Bastard! Stop talking nonsense! This isn't Lord Jashin's curse, it's Lord Jashin's blessing!"
Zabuza's eyes widened. An immortal body?
No wonder the guy was still alive and kicking after taking a hit from the God King.
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##Discount##
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