Ryōsuke pondered how to handle the ashes left behind after Hidan had been incinerated on the ground.
It was necessary to dispose of these ashes properly.
Naturally, this was to prevent Hidan from ever finding a way to resurrect.
By this time, Haku and Zabuza had also approached him.
Haku looked at the pile of ash on the ground and let out a sigh of relief.
"That madman from the Jashin Cult was terrifying. He took two of Lord God King's attacks and was roasted by flames, yet he could still move."
"Fortunately, he's finally dead."
"Not necessarily."
Ryōsuke did not believe that Hidan was truly finished.
After all, the ashes still remained.
If his flames had been a bit stronger—strong enough to leave absolutely nothing behind—the man might truly be gone for good.
Haku looked at the God King in surprise, then down at the pile of ash.
'He can survive even this?'
This was truly beyond the limits of imagination.
However, if the God King said so, there had to be some truth to it.
After all, this Jashin Cultist possessed an immortal body.
Zabuza, however, did not share this view.
"Lord God King, the guy has been reduced to ash. He's as dead as can be; it seems impossible for him to return."
There wasn't a single cell left of the Jashin follower. How could he possibly revive?
Ryōsuke simply shook his head.
"Resurrection is possible because he carries the Curse of Jashin. Logic doesn't apply to him."
"The shinobi world is much more treacherous than it appears."
He continued to think about how to dispose of the ashes.
It would have been perfect if he could activate the Rinnegan. A single Chibaku Tensei would seal these ashes inside a massive sphere of rock; even Hidan wouldn't be able to crawl out of that.
Chibaku Tensei was an exceptionally powerful sealing technique.
Even someone as formidable as Kaguya-hime had been sealed by it, unable to escape.
Despite his thoughts, his eyes did not evolve into the Rinnegan this time.
They did not respond to his desire.
Perhaps there wasn't enough stimulation, or perhaps his eyes deemed it unnecessary to use Chibaku Tensei just to seal some ash.
He would have to resort to a more mundane method.
"Zabuza, take half of these ashes and dump them far away. I'll take care of the rest."
"Understood, Lord God King."
Zabuza replied, drawing a kunai and a small pouch. He bent over and began scraping the ashes into the bag.
After the bag was half full, he walked off into the distance.
Following the God King's reasoning, if such a dangerous man really could revive, then his remains had to be scattered as far away as possible.
These ashes were technically his body. If they were separated by such distances, the chances of them gathering to resurrect him were slim to none.
Internally, Zabuza still found it hard to believe. They were just dust; it could hardly be called a human body anymore.
No matter how they were reassembled, it shouldn't be able to turn back into a human.
Once Zabuza was far enough away, Ryōsuke looked down at the remaining ashes.
He extended his palm and made a sharp sweeping motion. A violent gust of wind whipped up, blowing the ashes into the air and scattering them far into the distance.
Rain would eventually wash these remnants away in every direction.
If Hidan could still return after that, it would be a true miracle.
Haku watched the scene. Lord God King was being incredibly cautious, which meant the Jashin Cult was truly terrifying.
Surely he couldn't survive once his ashes were scattered to the wind.
Only after finishing this did Ryōsuke feel more at ease. Even if the guy could survive, it would likely take until the end of time to reform.
In other words, he would never walk the earth again.
Unless the Wicked God behind him personally intervened.
There was no need to worry about that anymore. His next destination was Otogakure, the Hidden Sound Village.
It was a small hidden village established by Orochimaru after he defected from Konoha, taking root in the Land of Sound.
The man was an invaluable researcher with a talent for finding ways to increase the strength of the Uchiha clan.
The Uchiha's power resided in their eyes.
To awaken those eyes, one had to endure immense suffering and grief. Simply put, one basically had to sacrifice their loved ones to gain power.
This flaw had to be overcome.
The Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, believed that the power obtained by the Uchiha was inherently evil.
He understood that the Uchiha felt love more deeply than anyone, and it was when they lost that love that their Sharingan awakened.
Thus, he deemed the Uchiha an evil clan.
That was absolute rubbish.
Anyone who went through such tragic loss—sacrificing their friends and family—would naturally have their psyche twisted.
It could be said that everyone was prone to this, or rather, everyone should be.
Those without power simply couldn't act on their grief, making them harmless, while those with power would naturally seek vengeance in their rage.
This was true for Uchiha Madara, Obito, Nagato, and even the Orochimaru he was about to seek out.
Orochimaru was essentially from Tobirama's lineage of disciples, yet he wasn't an Uchiha.
He had still become wicked—so evil that he delighted in human experimentation, caring nothing for the lives of ordinary people.
Danzō, who participated in those experiments, was the same.
Even the Third Hokage allowed it.
Therefore, one could not say the Uchiha clan was uniquely evil.
Whether a person became evil depended entirely on their experiences.
If they met with misfortune, their outlook would easily become extreme.
Even an ordinary person was capable of such a shift.
Someone might start out bright and optimistic, but if they suffered through enough pain and loss, they too would become evil.
It was all quite normal.
Although Ryōsuke hadn't brought Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan to use the ultimate genjutsu, Kotoamatsukami, on Orochimaru...
Since he hadn't expected to travel to the Land of Sound on this trip, he hadn't prepared for it.
But that wouldn't stop him from using his own eyes to quickly subdue Orochimaru, drag him back to the village, and then use Shisui's Mangekyō to rewrite his mind and memories.
It would be a waste to kill such a talent; it was better to treat him as a useful puppet.
In terms of raw ocular power, his own eyes were certainly superior to Shisui's.
Subduing Orochimaru would be trivial.
Half an hour later, Zabuza finally returned.
"Lord God King, the task is complete."
Ryōsuke was satisfied and didn't ask for the details.
Next, he set out for the Land of Sound with Haku and Zabuza.
To reach the Land of Waterfalls and the Land of Earth later, they had to pass through the Land of Sound.