Chapter 40: Bounty Hunters, Ceremony Unveiled!

Chapter 40: Bounty Hunters, Ceremony Unveiled!

Uchiha Ci exhaled, standing up. He glanced around at the three teammates who were about to set out with him.

It felt a little absurd.

Mastering dual Bloodline Limits, the genius from Kirigakure, who had taken on the alias 'Tsukimi Ming'—Terumi Mei.

A hidden figure, wandering as a doctor in the shinobi world, secretly the mastermind behind the Sky Ninja Village—Shinno.

And lastly, a future member of the Akatsuki, currently in his wild, cub-like form—the Hot Water ninja, Hidan.

No matter how you looked at this lineup, it made you want to scratch your head.

Why exactly were they all gathered together?

"Whatever, let's go. The target is the Jashin Cult's headquarters."

"Hidan, lead the way!"

At the same time,

In the underground plaza of the Jashin Cult headquarters, not far from Yumegakure.

The Jashin Cult's archbishop stood coldly, observing the scene before him. He watched as several cultists forcefully dragged a group of terrified and panic-stricken civilians from the Land of Hot Water.

They tied them to crosses, piled firewood at their feet, and with sinister smiles, selected tools from racks full of torture instruments—spikes, iron chains, and nails—preparing for the grand Jashin ritual that was about to begin.

The archbishop suddenly felt a sense of absurdity and boredom. He turned around and pulled out a necklace bearing the Jashin symbol from his robe. His gaze became distant as he stared at it for a long while.

Until one of the cult's leaders, dressed in a black robe, knelt halfway behind him and reported urgently:

"Lord Archbishop, the three elite members we sent to retrieve the child have been killed."

"If they're dead, they're dead," the archbishop replied indifferently, his face remaining impassive as if he was used to such events.

He turned slightly, his pale purple eyes sweeping over the cultist before he spoke in a faint voice:

"This country is like that—death and chaos everywhere."

"Hot Water ninjas, shinobi from the great nations, samurai, civilians, nobles— even the daimyō can be mysteriously killed one day."

"Haven't you realized the tragic reality of this meaningless era yet?"

"But Lord Archbishop," the cult leader asked hesitantly, "what about the child needed for the ritual?"

The archbishop looked toward the darkness beside him and said calmly:

"Leave it to the professionals."

From the shadows emerged a burly, bearded man, smiling as he stepped forward:

"The archbishop is right."

"Our underground exchange was created for situations just like this."

"Kidnapping, extortion, bounties, information, assassination—whether you want to become a noble of this country tomorrow or something else—we're at your service, as long as you can pay the price."

The archbishop closed his eyes and asked:

"How long until you bring the child?"

The bearded man smiled sincerely and replied:

"Rest assured, we immediately tortured the villagers to find out the whereabouts of both the person who killed your cult members and the child."

"This is a big job. We've already dispatched our best bounty hunters. Within half a day, at most, we'll have that child named 'Hidan' back."

"Alright, that's enough," the archbishop said, waving his hand with a lack of interest.

"Kagami, take him to collect the deposit."

The Jashin Cult member named Kagami nodded, then couldn't help but ask:

"Lord Archbishop, what if the one who took Hidan comes back again?"

The archbishop pressed the necklace to his forehead.

His emotionless voice responded calmly: "It will be handled."

"Kagami, we are but a humble church that worships the gods. Stop thinking violence is the solution to everything."

Just as he finished speaking—

Not far away, a cultist grinned and viciously plunged a spike into an eyeball.

A blood-curdling scream echoed from the many crosses behind them.

The scene was a cacophony of agony.

Even the hardened, underground bounty exchange's bearded leader flinched, his smile freezing.

A "humble church," indeed.

Is this how your "humble" church prays?

"Hoh, are you saying that's the Jashin Cult's headquarters?"

"Are you sure this isn't the daimyo's palace?"

On a cliff, Uchiha Ci looked down at the massive fortress nestled in the hills below, somewhat surprised.

If it weren't for Hidan explicitly telling him that this was the Jashin Cult's headquarters, he would have thought it was a noble's domain.

"It's not too far off," Hidan explained, pointing to the ancient castle below and shaking his head. "This place was built by our Hot Water Ninja Village for one of the country's nobles."

"As you know, the Hot Water ninjas can hardly get decent missions anymore. We're basically like those declining samurai, barely acting as private soldiers for the daimyo and nobles."

Hidan pointed out the difference. Uchiha Ci followed his gaze and saw that beyond the luxurious castle, there was a sprawling shantytown that stretched for about ten miles.

Thousands of refugees from the Land of Hot Water huddled within, curled up in sheltered corners, unable to sleep through the night. It looked like a vast refugee camp.

At that moment, the sky was dim, and the horizon was dark.

The four-person team had traveled for three hours and, by the time, should have been nearing dawn. However, being early spring, the days were short and the nights long—there was still some time before the sun would rise.

"How should we proceed?" Hidan tilted his head and asked.

As if uneasy, he added: "I've been to this place once, back when I accepted the Jashin Cult's guidance."

"Don't underestimate it."

"The internal security here is tight. Especially the road leading to the underground headquarters—it's practically guarded every ten steps."

"Moreover, the Jashin Cult has recruited a large number of samurai and refugees as informants. It's almost impossible to sneak in from the refugee camp without alerting them."

"And we have no idea how many shinobi are under the Jashin Cult's command."

Hidan, not even a genin yet and without sensory ninjutsu, couldn't tell who was a shinobi and who wasn't.

When he first spotted Uchiha Ci, the only reason he knew he was a ninja was because of the Konoha dog tags on him. It made sense that Hidan didn't have further intel.

Uchiha Ci nodded, rubbing his chin but inwardly grinned.

As a man of action, the more chaos, the better.

If he killed every enemy in sight, no one would know he had been there.

(Pushes up glasses, grinning with gold teeth.jpg)

Turning to his team, Uchiha Ci said with determination:

"I'll distract the enemy. You three sneak in and open the gates."

"Then we charge straight in!"

"Kill anyone who stands in our way, whether human or god!"

"Once we reach the underground caves, I'll use a barrier to seal the gates and block their reinforcements."

"How's that for a perfect plan?"

His plan, however, didn't sit well with his teammates.

"Are you an idiot?"

Terumi Mei couldn't help but chop Uchiha Ci on the head, scolding him.

"We're ninja! Ninja!"

"Do you think this is a stage for heroic speeches?"

She pointed to the cliff beneath their feet and the fortress below, connecting them with her long fingers.

"We can descend from this cliff to the castle wall."

"Although it's a bit high, we can use our tree-walking skills to scale it. After scouting the wall, we can climb down quietly."

"Let's try to avoid drawing too much attention."

Terumi Mei's approach was quickly endorsed by the other two, but Uchiha Ci shook his head:

"You've overlooked an important detail."

"We can climb down, no problem—even run down the cliff."

"But," Uchiha Ci patted his little brother's shoulder with a grin, "this kid probably can't walk on trees or water yet."

He glanced at Hidan, raised an eyebrow, and asked:

"So, what do we do? Leave him here?"