"Damn you, I'll kill—"
Before Hidan could finish, Kikuchi Miura raised his foot and stomped down hard.
The sheer force smashed Hidan's face into the ground, blood splattering instantly. The impact even left a small crater, perfectly embedding his head into the pavement.
Now, he couldn't even speak.
With his body already restrained by Miura's water techniques, it seemed he had completely lost the ability to move.
"There we go."
"So much for the so-called 'Chosen One.'"
Miura clapped his hands together, a satisfied smirk creeping onto his face.
As a devout follower of the Jashin faith, effortlessly defeating the "Chosen One" filled him with an immense sense of triumph.
He slowly turned, one foot still planted on Hidan's head, and locked eyes with the calm, bespectacled figure standing nearby.
"Next is you, Kamizuki Shiki."
Watching Miura handle Hidan with such ease, Shiki lightly applauded. "As expected of Senior Miura. Your ninjutsu transitions are flawless."
"First, you used Water Release and explosive tags to disorient Hidan, making him think he had an opening. Then, under the cover of the explosions, you replaced yourself with a water clone while hiding your real body."
"When Hidan launched his attack, thinking he'd succeeded, you used the remaining chakra in the water clone to trap him in a Water Prison. Finally, you reappeared and effortlessly took his head."
"Such masterful coordination—truly eye-opening."
Shiki's words were genuine. This was the first time he'd seen someone use ninjutsu so precisely to dismantle an opponent with such ease.
In a way, Kikuchi Miura had just given Shiki a glimpse into the true essence of shinobi combat.
But instead of being pleased by the praise, Miura's face twisted into an ugly scowl.
"You damn brats! You're nothing but rookies, yet you act all high and mighty!"
"Let's see just what makes you so special in Lord Jashin's eyes!"
Shiki maintained his polite smile. "If I'm not mistaken, Senior Miura, your chakra must be nearly depleted by now, right?"
The words instantly darkened Miura's expression like a storm cloud.
Shiki wasn't wrong. Hidan's unexpected resilience had drained most of his chakra.
Gripping his kunai, Miura sneered. "Even with little chakra left, dealing with a rookie like you won't be a problem."
"Oh? Then I look forward to your performance, Senior."
Shiki's smile remained, his tone almost mocking—as if Miura wasn't even worth his concern.
This only fueled Miura's rage further. He swiftly gathered the last of his chakra, channeling it through his body's pathways before erupting from the soles of his feet.
Shunshin no Jutsu!
Miura vanished in an instant, the force of his movement leaving slight depressions in the ground.
Shiki didn't move.
In the blink of an eye, Miura was right in front of him.
'He didn't even react?!'
A flicker of excitement crossed Miura's eyes.
He had expected Shiki to be more troublesome than Hidan, but it seemed this guy couldn't even keep up with his speed.
And unlike Hidan, Shiki didn't have an immortal body. One solid strike, and he'd be done for!
This was his chance to prove himself—to show that the so-called "Chosen Ones" were nothing but stepping stones for him!
"Die!"
His kunai sliced through the air with a sharp whistle, aiming straight for Shiki's arm.
But the moment he appeared—
WHOOSH!
A piercing sound followed.
"When did—?!"
Miura's body froze mid-motion, alarms blaring in his mind.
Years of experience told him that if he went through with this attack, he might sever Shiki's arm and cripple him—
But whatever was coming from behind would pierce straight through his own body. Possibly even a vital point!
In that split second, he made his choice.
Abort the attack!
He twisted mid-air, swinging his kunai with all his strength.
CLANG!
Sparks flew as the blade met a jet-black spear.
The impact nearly tore the weapon from his grip, but he managed to block the lethal strike.
Just as he let out a relieved breath—
The spear, still mid-air from the deflection, suddenly changed direction.
Under the sunlight, Miura caught a glimpse of golden threads connected to its end.
"It's…"
"Not over yet!"
From the ground, Hidan—his head still buried in the dirt—grinned wildly.
From the stump of his neck, countless threads shot out, latching onto the spear's hilt.
Oh no.
Miura's face paled.
Because with those threads guiding it, the black spear—now like divine retribution—came crashing down once more.
Miura, still off-balance from his earlier dodge, couldn't react in time.
He tried to sidestep, but Hidan wasn't stupid. With a tug of the threads, the spear adjusted its trajectory mid-flight.
Even as Miura twisted desperately—
SCHLICK!
The spear grazed his cheek.
A thin line of blood welled up.
The spear, now bloodied, retracted swiftly along the threads. Meanwhile, Hidan used Parasitic Spider's ability to stitch his head back onto his body with silk.
"Keh heh heh! I'm back, bastard!"
With his head reattached, Hidan's body erupted with renewed strength, shattering the water restraints.
He stood up, stretching out his hand as the bloodstained spear returned to his grip.
A manic grin split his face as he licked the blade, his voice dripping with ecstasy.
"Now…"
"Let the ritual for Lord Jashin…"
"BEGIN!"
His body began to transform.
His pale skin darkened to an inky black, eerie white patterns snaking across his flesh—mysterious, dangerous.
Seeing this, Miura touched the bleeding cut on his cheek, his hand trembling.
He knew exactly what it meant for Hidan to have his blood.
"Am I… going to die?"
No!
"If I interrupt the ritual, I still have a chance!"
His resolve hardened. Hands flying through seals, he gathered the last of his chakra in his mouth.
But before he could finish—
Hidan had already sliced open his own stomach.
Blood gushed onto the ground, forming the Jashin cult's signature symbol—a circle enclosing a triangle.
Miura's eyes bulged in horror. His hands moved faster.
Faster! Faster!
"Water Release: Surging Wav—"
Just as the last seal formed—right before the water could burst forth—
Hidan drove his spear through his own mouth.
THUNK.
A matching wound tore through Miura's lips.
The chakra he'd painstakingly gathered dispersed instantly.
"No…!"
Despair filled his eyes.
Meanwhile, Hidan grinned around the spear impaling his cheeks, his expression one of pure, twisted delight.
He slowly pulled the weapon free, then turned his mocking gaze to Miura.
"Senior Miura… where should I strike next?"
He playfully tapped the spear against different parts of his own body—his heart, his head, his stomach.
"Why…"
"WHY DO YOU GET LORD JASHIN'S FAVOR?!"
The pressure of impending death shattered Miura's composure.
Swinging his kunai wildly, he charged at Hidan.
Hidan only laughed, spreading his arms wide as if welcoming an embrace.
"Lord Jashin… are you watching?"
Miura's blade plunged straight into his heart.
"Ahhh~"
Hidan moaned in pleasure.
Miura, still gripping the kunai embedded in Hidan's chest, trembled violently—
As an identical gaping hole burst open in his own heart.
Blood gushed from his mouth.
With one final, hateful glare, Kikuchi Miura collapsed at Hidan's feet.
Enemy eliminated.
Hidan's legs gave out, and he slumped to his knees, the kunai still lodged in his chest.
He closed his eyes, inhaling deeply, savoring the thick scent of blood in the air.
His expression was one of pure bliss.
The villagers hiding in the shadows could only watch in stunned horror.
When Hidan finally opened his eyes again, he found Shiki staring down at him with an amused smirk.
"What?"
Hidan scowled, suddenly defensive.
Shiki shoved his hands in his pockets. "Nothing. Just impressed by how well you've mastered Parasitic Spider."
Hidan immediately bristled. "I—I haven't been practicing it!"
Shiki nodded sagely. "Sure, sure. I believe you."
Then, with deadpan sincerity: "Really."
"AAAAARGH! I'LL KILL YOU, YOU BASTARD SHIKI!"
After the two left, the villagers finally dared to emerge.
Surveying the bloodstained streets and wrecked buildings, they exchanged uneasy glances, relief outweighing their fear.
Anger?
Nonexistent.
They couldn't afford anger.
In this era, ordinary people had no power against shinobi.
When ninja clashed, the worst casualties were never the combatants themselves—but the villages caught in the crossfire.
They didn't even dare think of revenge.
What could they do?
Shinobi wielded earth-shattering, mountain-leveling power.
Even a single explosive tag or kunai could snuff out their lives like candles.
And what did they have?
No ninjutsu scrolls. No way to learn chakra. Some didn't even know what chakra was.
"Caw! Caw!"
A cacophony of caws shattered the heavy silence.
A murder of crows—no, ravens—descended upon the village, their black feathers blotting out the sun.
Their eyes gleamed with an eerie crimson light.
"Get back!"
The villagers scrambled away as the birds swarmed the three corpses.
In three minutes flat, the bodies were gone—only bloodstains remained.
Those stains formed the Jashin symbol: a circle enclosing a triangle.
Like an eye from another world, watching.
The ravens carried their gruesome feast back to Jashin's main temple, regurgitating the flesh into a blood pool.
Shiki, now in his lab, sorted through the genetic samples.
The two ordinary cultists held little research value.
But Kikuchi Miura—a skilled Water Release user—was a goldmine.
As someone from another world, Shiki was deeply curious about this planet's power system.
Now that he had Miura's cells, he could finally dissect its secrets.
[Water Release Shinobi Gene] – Analysis in progress…
[Current Progress: 1%]
By reconstructing Miura's body and decoding his DNA, Shiki could:
Replicate water-natured chakra in future experiments.
Integrate these traits into other species, creating new lifeforms.
Study shinobi physiology to reverse-engineer ninjutsu principles.
This was his first real step toward unraveling the [Chakra → Ninjutsu] system.